New Directions

Goodbye Ocean View

Life this past week has been like a rollercoaster of uncertainty. Our outreach group had been preparing for India, when our plans were suddenly changed. We began our week by visiting the Indian Consulate here in South Africa, had finished our prerequisites for our visas and believed we were all ready to go.  We got a phone call a couple days later saying our visas were denied due to the fact that we were on a volunteer visa in South Africa and not applying for our actual visa in America. So after trying a couple other routes we decided not to press our luck and choose a different location. I don’t quite remember how Nepal came up as an option, but one of our team members mentioned it and with only a week left before our plane took off, we transferred locations. There were a lot of details that came behind this decision; it actually was a weeklong process and a hectic one at that. When you have been preparing for a certain people group, praying for the outreach, and getting your mind wrapped around going to a certain area and then all the sudden a week before you leave, visas get denied, you now have no location for outreach, and the limited funds people had that were spent on the plane ticket and visa fees were going to be lost, life becomes a little crazy. 

However, it was still amazing to see what God did. He brought our team together in a way we never imagined and taught us so many lessons this past week. He taught us the importance of coming together as a team in prayer and hearing His voice. We prayed a fasted many meals together and the final day when we would find out if we were going to India or not, my friend Amanda and I spent a couple of hours at the beach just praying and talking together. We had gone to Kommetjie Beach, which is one of the best surfing spots in the area, and normally when I walk there the waves are rather large. However this particular morning the sea was completely flat and peaceful, there were no waves. It was the first time I had ever seen an ocean like that. We were just filled with this indescribable peace, knowing that no matter where we go or what we do it was all in God’s hands. About five minutes later our leader called and told us that India would not grant us our visas. This time though we just prayed and began asking where He was sending us instead. Then Nepal came up. The great thing about going to Nepal was that we wouldn’t lose the plane tickets and to get a visa all we had to do was get off the plane and we could get our visas there. So our team came together, laid out the different options and began praying about the new location. Some of the other options were Zanzibar, Zambia, Botswana, other areas in South Africa, or Zimbabwe. In addition to a new location, one of the girls gave us a word of knowledge about following the elephant, sounds different, but as we looked into it more we found out that elephants make their own paths. Our theme word steamed from that, which is “unchartered.” As we prayed and the Into Africa team prayed we all had this sense of peace about us going to Nepal, so we changed our tickets and are now preparing for Nepal. I think the most exciting part for me is the unknown. We don’t really know where we are staying or exactly what our ministry is going to do, but I cannot wait to see where the Lord leads us. During our prayer time over the week, we were also taught about the importance about fasting and really hearing the Lord. It was so awesome to hear direction and to see Him work as He directed our footsteps. I cannot wait to share what the Lord does in Nepal. I am so excited to meet the people and learn a completely new culture. Please pray for our team as we head into this new area! We fly out on Sunday and are headed to Khatmandu, Nepal

In other news we finished up our teaching last week and have been just preparing for outreach. We said all of our final goodbyes to people in Ocean View and had a goodbye party at Blou Berg Beach, one of the best views of Table Mountain and Cape Town. I really enjoyed our team and getting to know them. Each person brought a new dynamic to the team and we worked so well together. I am really thankful I have gotten to spend the past two months with them. Most of all of our other free time has been spent preparing for outreach and purchasing things we need for our trip, along with vaccinations and other necessities.