here's the deal...
in the last year & a half, approximately $200 has been raised for project OneLife: One School - South Africa (who is working directly with our team here in cape town).
$200.
that's it...
in a YEAR & A HALF!
that doesn't go far.
let me just be REAL with you for a second in hopes that my own struggles will resonate with some of you:
while on a week-long mission trip to kenya a few years ago i found myself extremely convicted. time after time i had asked people to "prayerfully consider" supporting me financially as i went on trips to india, alaska & africa. as i looked around the room that night i did the calculations in my head.
10 of us on the trip.
each raised $3,000 or MORE to go.
= $30,000+
let that sink in for a moment.
$30,000+
FOR A WEEK.
have you ever been on a short-term trip like that?
did you go shopping at some point?
sight-seeing?
if you're really honest, do you think the funds you raised could have been put to better, more efficient use? a use that was possibly more God-honoring?
when i sat down & thought about it...& really did the math, adding up the # of international mission trips i'd taken & the grand total of the costs from each...& i weighed that against the work that had been done, i was honestly ASHAMED.
please hear my heart...
the Lord used those very same short-term mission trips to bring me to where i am now & i know that's been true for so many. BUT...that night in kenya, my heart cringed. & from then on, my mindset on financial support for international missions changed a little. i began to re-evaluate my own motives.
that $30,000 COULD HAVE done so much for projects like OneLife: One School - South Africa in particular.
one by one, xhosa students are coming to know Jesus. olwethu is just one of those whose life has been impacted. she is a grade 7 learner who attends mzamomhle primary school - where we serve on thursdays. you should check out just PART of her incredible story here as covered by a recent media team:
over the course of the last 2 years olwethu came to know the Lord.
she stepped up & began to be a leader in the classroom & after-school clubs.
she visited a nearby orphanage with missionaries here & shared Bible stories with the children there.
soon there will be a video posted on her story, too!
but the work doesn't stop with olwethu.
the GREAT MAJORITY of the population here is under the age of 25.
"greater things have yet to come
greater things are still to be done in this city...
we believe in You, God."
so here's my challenge:
seriously & prayerfully consider donating to the OneLife: OneSchool - South Africa project. no, you will not get a souvenir or t-shirt in return...but 100% of the funds WILL go directly to the work that's happening with xhosa students in cape town, south africa.
thanks in advance for what He is going to do through your generous gifts!!
i wrote about the project a few months ago:
the actual website is here:
1 comment:
Beautifully said! You have such a heart for this ministry and it is so obvious!! I love you, sister!!
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