SMASH Cape Town

Recently, I returned from a short term missions to Cape Town which is at the southern tip of South Africa. Along with about 45 other teens, WOL staff, & young adults, we loaded up into 5 vehicles and started the 16 hour trek down. I went into it not really knowing what to expect. I knew that we would have opportunities for evangelism, children’s ministries, & community outreaches but wasn’t quite sure what that would entail. I went into each day a hopeful expectancy of what God would do in the midst of whatever the day would hold.

Our team was split into two groups. One stayed at the church we were staying at & ran a Holiday Bible Club (VBS) for the children in the community while I was a part of the group that got to do open air evangelism & community outreaches. On our first day of open air evangelism, we went to The Strand, a nearby beach. The last time I had the opportunity to do that type of evangelism was a few years ago. Honestly speaking, it was not a very enjoyable experience for me. I remember clearly the vast range of emotions from fear to anxiety to excitement. I already struggled to talk to strangers much less with the intentions of sharing the gospel. While I was thankful for the experience, I walked away without much desire to ever do it again.

Miraculously, that day at the beach yielded a very different result. I found that all the fears and anxieties that I had associated with OAE had dissipated. I no longer feared awkward encounters, not knowing what to say, or being rejected. With each new encounter came a renewed sense of excitement and anticipation. For the first time, I actually enjoyed it. I never thought I would come to that point. I know that this had nothing to do with me and everything to do with the Lord. It’s amazing the things he will do when we decide to take those steps of faith.

For many on the team, however, this was a whole new frontier for them. I watched them struggle through many of the same emotions that I had. However, I also saw God work in BIG ways despite those fears and insecurities. On that day and the days to come, I stood amazed as I saw God work time and again through our team. What an awesome privilege to watch as God used our many different backgrounds, ethnicities, and language abilities to bring people to him. My heart was filled with thankfulness that He would chose to use each of us despite our weaknesses and pasts in order to bring him glory. This was especially true of one of the guys on our team named Victor.

On Easter Sunday, Victor, a struggling drug addict, walked into my church. That day, after some initial resistance, the Lord softened his heart and trusted Christ as his Savior. Since then, he has joined a rehab program and has been clean for over 150 days. Obviously, he had little ministry experience coming into this trip. He was completely new to the whole Christian thing and had never really shared his faith with anyone. However, it was so awesome to see the Lord use him and his testimony and even his language abilities (he’s an Afrikaner & many people in Cape Town speak Afrikaans) to work in the lives of others. What a beautiful sight to see God use him and his broken past for His glory!

During one of our community outreaches in a small farming community, we had the opportunity to minister separately to the men, women, and children. After playing some games with the kids, one of the students shared the gospel with the kids. After she finished sharing, I sat down to talk with one of the younger girls who was about 7 or 8 years old. As I asked her questions about her understanding of the gospel, it became clear that she had already trusted Christ as her Savior. She went on to tell me about how God had created everything and even made her. My heart welled up with joy as I listened to her describe God. What a sweet reminder of child-like faith.

In all the places we had the opportunity to minister, I was consistently reminded of the fact that we can’t change people. We are simply called to step out in faith and obedience and share the message that God has entrusted to us. While many denied the gospel, there were also many who’s hearts were open and receptive. On several occasions, I personally had the privilege of leading people to a saving knowledge of Christ. One of the girls who made this decision thought that her sin disqualified her from having a relationship with God but I got to explain to her that that’s not how grace works. That’s the beauty of it. It never depends on us. What an awesome opportunity to see her accept this truth and trust in Christ.

All in all, there were 56 people who chose to trust Christ that week; 28 from Holiday Bible Club and 28 from OAE and community outreaches. Not only were the lives of those people changed, but each of our lives were changes as well. God does big things when we chose to step out and obey him & I’m so thankful that he allows me to be a part of his redemptive plan to bring people to him.