Also check out the short video John and I made for the trip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvKHi8UEA-0&feature=plcp

After arriving here in Nashville on Monday, its hard for me to find something to say. I already miss Cape Town and all my relationships back in South Africa so much. John and I’s experience in South Africa was at the very least amazing, and truly believe God brought me on this trip at His perfect timing. God prepared my heart for this trip specifically, whether I realized it or not. In college, being on my own for the first time, I had a lot of struggle with my faith and lots of doubts and questions. I felt like I did not really know how to genuinely live for Christ. Thus, I know for a fact God brought this trip into my life at the perfect time. While in South Africa, God used His word, His Spirit, and the people I came into contact with to teach me. Pastor Ohm was a huge contributor to this, and God constantly gave him wisdom to speak into John and I’s life. Each day he would encourage us in the mission field, but he also would give us guidelines to live by when we went back to university in the fall. Through all this, I began to understand the true meaning of “For the Kingdom,” which I think every Christian should learn/experience. Our purpose on this Earth is to serve and love Christ, love those around us, and bring forth his kingdom. Every aspect of our lives should involve furthering God’s kingdom, loving others, and bringing God glory. Though I am not in South Africa anymore, my work as a missionary is not over. I don’t have to be in Cape Town to make disciples of Christ and love others. I pray very seriously that God will bring me back to Cape Town to work in the future because South Africa now holds a huge place in my heart, but right now I know God’s plan for me is in Knoxville. Already I feel the temptation to just jump back into my old schedule and live as if South Africa was just a vacation. But as I go back to Knoxville, I want to study for God and not seek money or approval. I also want to make my relationships more God focused and Kingdom minded. Lastly, I want play Rugby for God’s glory and experience His joy, as well as share Christ with my teammates. Please pray that God will give me the strength, focus, and grace I need to be obedient to Him and follow his will with every step that I take. I hope to pray harder, read more, love better, and live more joyfully as God takes me into this new year.

I can’t believe we only have one week left here in South Africa. It’s sad but these past 3 weeks have been amazing and I am super excited to enjoy this next week. Teaching character this past week in the Khayelitsha high schools was really interesting. We were joined by two local missionaries named Pumzelay and Twanda and a Korean missionary named Paul. We all enjoyed sharing with each other about our lives, about South Africa and American culture, and about God in each of our lives. We went to a different high school each day, and in the class room, John and I would be introduced and helped by Pumzelay, then I would explain the meaning of diligence, and John would relate it to the students lives and explain why it is importance. While in the schools, I observed a number of things. It was discouraging to see how students were always late to class, would just leave trash on the ground where ever they went, and most of all, made very very poor scores on their tests. It seemed like there was such a wasteful and apathetic attitude in the students. However, although this was discouraging, it showed me how important this character class was to these kids lives and made me thankful that Paul, Pumzelay, and Twando were giving their time for these kids on a weekly basis. Despite these discouraging things, it was also awesome and super encouraging to see these kids reactions to our lesson on diligence. At the end of the lesson, John got the kids to write down what they wanted to be when they grew up, what steps they would take to accomplish it, what distractions or obstacles there might be, and how they can overcome them. In Khayelitsha, there are a lot of broken families, unemployment, drunkenness, and gang violence, and so it was sad to see so many kids apathetic about school. But then to hear them put their dreams into words and write steps they want to take to become they dreams was such a blessing. In general, high school kids need hope, encouragement, and inspiration to make their situation better than it is, both in the U.S. and in Khayelitsha and I pray that the schools we went to can continue to be changed into places of hope and character. This is what we would do each morning of this past week, and then in the afternoons after lunch, we would go to the construction sight and continue building. We completed all the frame work this week, cemented the floors, and nailed on the roof and most of the walls. I pray that this preschool will be an encouragement to the community and be a place of hope, learning, and a place for God to do his work. Lastly, today, our team got to climb Lion’s Head Mountain, which was awesome. Every part of South Africa is so beautiful that it literally looks like a postcard or something out of National Geographic where ever you go. Anyways, please continue to pray for us, pray for the youth of SA, and pray that John and I would continue to grow and be obedient to God on this trip. Thanks.

These past few days have gone really well.  Thursday we got to go teach a 7^th grade class about hope, dreams, and creativity at a deaf school. The kids laughed so much and were so much fun. We helped them make stars out of paper that they could decorate, and then we had them write what they wanted to be when they grew up in the middle. Then we took a picture of each of them holding their stars up. It was really cool to get to see these kids put their dreams into words and to get to see the smiles on their faces as they concentrated on coloring. It’s easy to think that these kids would let their situation or their disability discourage them, but they had so much joy and were so attentive. As we were leaving, the teacher came out of the classroom and stopped me real quick.  She told me the kids really wanted to know if they could have copies of the pictures. John and I hope we can print out each of their photos and give them to the kids before they leave. Also, construction on the pre-school has been going really well. Today we finished the frame of the building, so our next step is to lay the concrete for the floor and nail up the metal walls. Today was also my birthday, so yesterday after church, me, John, Asisipho, Luvvyo, Zulani, Josh 1, Josh 2, Sarah, and Jessica all went to eat at one of the malls in Cape Town and played mini golf. None of the local leaders had played before, so it was a blast. Today, they also all wished me a happy birthday and I got a card signed by everyone, which was awesome. Tomorrow, we will continue construction but we will also have our first day in the high schools teaching character. I think we might start with diligence. To close, I feel so blessed for all the relationships around me on this trip and everything I am getting to be apart of in Khayelitsha. Please pray that God will continue to work here, and that he will bring his joy, hope, and salvation throughout South Africa. Also pray for the people of Khayelitsha, because the gang violence and witchcraft is so much more prevalent than I imagined. Many of the local leaders, such as Pastor Mfundo, Lucky, and Luvvyo were all very deeply involved in gangs before the became Christians. But this violence even starts at early ages. This morning, one women gave a prayer request at Bible study asking to pray for some 15 year old kids who have been fighting each other and killing each other. So please pray for these people and for God to move. The local leaders mentioned above are amazing examples of how God has moved, saved, and redeemed people here, so pray that God continues to do so. 

Pictures of me(John)!

Pray for Khayelitsha

Whats up everyone!?!? I hope you are having a great day, and seeing how God is blessing you! Well I thank you ALL so much for your prayers because they are working! I was pretty sick this week and I needed super natural strength and to go on with my day. And God answered my prayers, but please be praying for Luke because I think I might have given it to him! :/ So just pray for Luke and I's health, because we are very active and it sucks when you feel terrible! In other news I just want to share with you all what God is doing here, and how He is working inside of me! Well one thing that I realized this week is God is working on my patience. I have just got aggravated this week over small things, but are affecting my day. Also  I'm recognizing that South Africa needs our prayers for; the parents, they are not accepting their responsibility as a parent. Also pray for the South African boys, there is a lot of teenaged boys getting involved in gangs, and terrorizing the community. And lastly pray for the men in the community. In Cape Town there is an 80% chance that at some point before your child is 18, that he/she will be raped, and a little more than 60% will be raped more than once! And what's even worse is that, most of the rapings are done by their own fathers! When I herd that my heart just sank.. I didn't what to say.. should I ask God if he fell asleep in Khayelitsha? I don't think so, I think this shows how much these men need God, and how we as a world are not standing up for what is unlawful , for what is unholy. I know that is some serious stuff, but it is time to start praying for serious, real problems. Thanks so much, and I know we have the power to move mountains through our prayers. Much love you all! I can't wait to see all of you soon!!
-John

Luke: Working in Khayelitsha

Above are just a few more photos from our time at Trans-Sky and Cape Point. At the beginning of this week, we were given our new schedule for the next three weeks. Now that we are in back in Cape Town, our work and focus is in Khayelitsha, a slum that holds about 1 million people. All the roads are mud and potholes and most everyone lives in metal shacks. Generally, each morning we will go into the public schools to teach classes on character, such as self-control or patience. This allows for us to play games with the children and teenagers and share the Gospel with them.  Then in the afternoons we are helping to build a pre-school, which will help educate the community and be a place for God to work. We also have children’s church after building each day, were we play games, act our Bible stories, and give snacks to the children. Today was our first full day, and I loved it. We arrived at one of the primary schools at about 930. We got to teach 3 different 7^th grade classes about patience, and John got to share how praying to God takes patience, but God brings blessing, even if it is not in the way we think it is. The kids listen so well and are somehow both shy and enthusiastic at the same time. In between two periods, the kids had break/recess, so we all got to play soccer with the kids, which was a ton of fun. Then we all went to lunch at this hole in the wall restaurant called Sasa before we went to the construction site. I had a plate full of lamb, beans, and potatoes with some gravy and vegetables on the side. When we got to the construction site, the outside cinderblock was already set, so we spent the afternoon cutting planks and nailing them again for the frame of the walls. Lastly, we did the children’s church, playing games, acting out Jesus calming the storm, and eating chips. There was one little girl and one little boy that came up and talked to me and wouldn’t let go of my hands or stop smiling, hahahaha. They even got in a fight with other children who were trying hold my hands too, woops. Any-who, I’m so thankful for each new experience I get to have here in Cape Town each day. It’s a joy to get to joke with the local leaders here and have them teach us new Xosa sayings each day. Their commitment to African Leadership and their joy in serving Jesus is so encouraging. Keep praying that God will send the Holy Spirit to each place we go, and that each community we are involved in would be given hope and encouragement and would come to know Jesus.

John's First Week in Cape Town!

So we left on the 5^th of July! I was kind of scared leaving because Luke and I were on different flights until we got to London the next day. Then we were on the same plane from London to Cape Town. The plan was for Luke to meet me at my gate when my plane landed in London, because his flight was supposed to land earlier than mine. Well when I got off my plane Luke wasn’t there. So plan B was to meet at our gate where we would leave later that day, but the air port didn’t know the gate until 2 hrs before take off. That was in 5 hrs. So they said that there is a place where everyone has to go and wait for their flight gate to be called. So I went through security to this waiting area they talked about. To my surprise it was huge! It was around 60 yards wide, and 400 yards long, and two stories! So after walking around for almost 2 hrs. I went in the middle of the down stairs floor and sat down. There were easily 1500 people where I was. 10 mins later I see Luke looking up at the computer monitor!! I stud up raised my hands and he saw me! When he came over I asked him how long has he been here, and he said he just went through security and came down stairs. Luke and I were in awe that God cared so much for us that he made what seemed like the impossible, possible! When we landed in Cape Town the next day, we went to the mission house and we were there for maybe 30 mins to shower and drop off our bags. We left and went straight to the kid’s camps in Khaylelitsha. We were there till around 6 at night and Luke and I were incredibly tired haha. When we got back to the mission house at around 7pm and the pastor said that we were going to leave at 4am the next morning to go to TransSky, which was a 16 hr car ride into the bush of ZA. When we got there the terrain was very mountainous. And since there was zero pollution, we could see the Milky Way!! It was so incredible to think that our God just breathed every single one of those stars into motion. For the next 4 days Luke and I slept on the ground in a hut! It was awesome to dance and play with the kids. But one of my favorite parts was waking up, sitting on the grass outside and reading my bible! It was an awesome way to start my day! While we were there in the mornings our team went hut to hut to share God’s love, and then in the afternoon we had children’s church! It has been a really cool experience to be here in Africa and I can’t wait to see what else God has for us! Thank you so much for your prayers! Please be praying for us because tomorrow is our first day that we will be leading kids camps in Khaylelitsha, and talking to the kids in middle and high school about character! Pray that God will give us the words to say, and give these kids the ears to hear! Thank ya’ll so much and have an awesome rest of the day! Talk to you soon, 

John.

Luke's First Week In South Africa

Well, I definitely can say our first week has been crazier and more joyful than I think I could of imagined. And though it was crazy at times, I found myself feeling more at peace than usual. I still don’t know how me and John found each other in the airport with no internet, phone, or point of reference, but it worked out. So then we landed in South Africa together, stepping into a new place with nothing but each other and a lack of sleep. Pastor Ohm picked us up and immediately things began going fast. Driving on the left side of the road was immediately startling as Pastor Ohm filled us in on a bunch of things. When we arrived at the mission house, John and I each took a quick shower, ate breakfast, and immediately drove to one of African Leaderships day camps they were holding for children. John and I jumped into the mix of Korean missionaries, helping them run the games for the children and cook lunch. When we got back to the mission house, I could barely keep my eyes open, but John and I had to prepare to ride 14 hours at 5 the next morning to go serve in a rural area called Trans-Sky. Our team was made up of 10 Canadian Koreans, two local Xosa people to help us translate and lead, John, and me. Joined by two of Trans-Sky’s local pastors, we woke up in our hut each morning, had coffee, devotion, and breakfast in the main hut, then went out in smaller teams to do door to door evangelism (or hut to hut evangelism) until lunch. Lunch consisted each day of bread and tea and then we would go have children’s church/vacation bible school with the children of the village at 3. Last we would have church in the main hut at 6 with anyone from the village that wanted to come, then close the day with a sharing time amongst our team and dinner. Those four days spent in Trans-Sky were truly amazing and peaceful. God truly revealed himself each day and His spirit worked in so many ways. As we went to each hut to evangelize, it was humbling to be allowed into each persons hut and have them open up to us, sharing their lives, pain, and prayers with us, and in many cases, accepting Jesus into their lives. The children’s church was amazing each day, watching the kids sing and praise God, and fall out in laughter during games. God truly stretched me to be more obedient this week, whether by being bold in my faith, expanding my prayer life, or trusting in his power more.  Now that we are back in Cape Town, I pray that we can continue to work for God’s Kingdom and spread his love here.

Luke Learning to say "Yes"

With both my parents growing up in Nigeria, Africa has always been a place I dreamed of going to. This past winter, however, was the first time a real opportunity presented itself, and that was to work with African Leadership in Cape Town, South Africa. Through a series of emails with different people, I got into contact with Pastor Ohm, one of the leaders in Cape Town for African Leadership. He said he would love to have us and John and I immediately started training sessions with one of African Leaderships coordinators, Angie Song. I was immediately excited about this trip and the fact that I would get to do it with my best friend John. We wouldn't be going with either of our home churches, but we were going with each other, so we were super excited. But as the training for the trip really began, God started testing my faith a lot and really shook my spiritual foundations. I began trying to really explore who God truly is and I struggled with doubts and found holes in my faith. But as spring came, God help me with this struggle and cemented my faith in Him more and more. Then John tore his ACL. That kind of shook my world and I immediately took a step back. Was John not going to be able to go on this trip? Then I had to face a question I had avoided since the beginning of the process. I felt God ask, "Luke, what if I called you to cancel this trip to Cape Town and stay in Nashville to minister there, would you follow me?" This question knocked the wind out of me for a few days, and it really burdened me. Finally, I decided the answer was "Yes God, if thats your will." Then immediately after I said yes, it was like God said, "Ok cool, your committed, lets go to Cape Town then." Unfamiliar people and unfamiliar places are way outside my comfort zone, and possibly going to Cape Town without John was the last thing I wanted to do. But I knew God had confirmed for me to go to Cape Town, regardless of whether or not John was able, so I went ahead and bought my plane ticket. Then, before I knew it, John was recovering at amazing speed, had bought his ticket, and gotten support letters out. With each step of this trip, God tested my faith, seeing if I would say yes to his will, and then immediately provided. Now we are 48 hours away and I can't believe its already here. I pray that I can continue to be obedient to God's will for me and that John and I will be able to experience and spread his love throughout Cape Town.
-Luke

John learning to say "Yes"

This trip for me has been one of the hardest to continually say "Yes" to. When this trip first came about in December of 2011, Luke called me and said that there might be a possibility to got to Africa this summer! When he told me the country (ZA, South Africa) I was not to excited about it, I wanted to go to Sudan, or Rwanda. Some place where I thought I could truly experience God and Africa. And I thought that ZA would be a really expensive, spirit filled vacation. I wanted to Spirit filled part but not the vacation, haha. So when I said "Yes" to God, when I felt called to go, I was trusting that God would challenge me in every area of my life... little did I know what I was asking God to do in my life! In February we were told more about what we will be doing. Which is teaching the kids English, Soccer camps, after school programs, and going out into the city and sharing God's love to everyone! I was so excited about playing soccer with these kids, and going out in to the city! Well on March 28th was my first big road block. I tore my ACL, (for those of you who don't know what an ACL is, it's a ligament in our knee that helps us to run. And at minimum it take 6 months after surgery to start running again). So when I went to the doctors that following Tuesday and got an MRI, he said that I would not be able to be active for a whole year!! This meant no soccer in ZA. Well that weekend I called Luke and said I don't think I'll be able to go, I mean the doctors think that I'll still be on crutches when were scheduled to get on the plane. Fast forward a couple weeks later, Surgery was scheduled for May 1st, and I still didn't know what to do. The reason why was because there were two different types of surgeries that they might have had to preform and wouldn't know which on until they cut open my knee. If I just had to get my ACL replaced I could go to ZA, but if I have to the my ACL replaced and my meniscus to get worked on then I wouldn't be able to go, because the recovery time is way to long and if that happened and I wouldn't have been able to walk on my own two feet half the time Luke and I would be there in ZA. So the night before I was in my sisters house talking about what I was going to do, because I didn't want the surgery to decide if I would be going or not. I know my God could do anything!! So I thought that If I felt God said "Go" in December then I'm not going to let an injury stop me from doing God's work! Well after the surgery they only had to replace my ACL! But I still wouldn't be able to run and play soccer with the kids still. Well a week ago I started running in PT (physical therapy) and went and played soccer and basketball this past weekend! So I'll be able to play soccer!! By the way if your counting that is only 2... yeah 2 months after my surgery that I'm running around playing soccer!!The second road block was a job opportunity, and a sweet one! I would be driving nice cars all day and make around 8,000 dollars this summer, and would look awesome on my resume. But after a week of praying about it I still had no answer, I had to tell the people the next morning if I was going to take the job or not. Well God put this question in my head: "Where would I be able to experience God the most? Going on a mission trip that I have wanted to do for 8 years and he has made a path now, or a job?" Well I knew the answer right away, it wasn't easy to turn down the job but I knew it was the right decision. The third road block was money! I thought this trip was going to cost me 3,500 dollars. So I sent out my support letters on June 8th, yes less than a month from leaving. A week past, then another and I only got 300 dollars, which was awesome but I needed 3,200 more!! well on the third Sunday of June I was really mad at God because this trip was 3 weeks away and I still had a lot of money to raise. Well that night me told me that this coming week I was going to get 700 dollars! And the next day I got 700 dollars!! well then another week past and no money came in. Then God just said "John don't worry about it,  I can do anything.. just wait on me, I will provide". Yesterday July 1st he did just that, I got all of my money in!! The trip was more than I expected but God came through, and I raised close to 5,000 dollars! Everything is ready to go, and in 48 hours I will be getting on a plane to do something I felt that God put on my heart 8 years ago. I have learned that God has everything in His hands, he is our only provider and will never fail us, never.

Matthew 6:25-34. This is the verse that goes alone with my story! Read it!! :)
-John