I have been back in America for about a month now and have finally settled back in to life in Minnesota. I don’t think it is possible for me to summarize or accurately express what the time spent in South Africa has meant to me and my faith journey. This past summer was perhaps the most challenging summer of my life, but it was also the best summer I’ve ever had. God revealed Himself to me in ways I have never seen before, and the way I see Him and other people has changed a lot. I have a love for God and people that wasn’t as strong before I left. I understand that I don’t have to perform for God to earn His love, but he is pleased with me because I am His son. I see that there is no guilt in life because Jesus died on the cross and paid the price for all of my sins. I will never be perfect, and I’ve accepted that there is no sense making others think otherwise. Those are some of the things God has shown me. God is good!!

Thank you all for reading these posts, for the prayers, and the financial support many have provided. This experience would not have been possible without all of you. I’ll conclude with a video that paints a nice picture of what our tennis team was like.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6OgIbtX59w

Enjoy and God bless!

The past week five of us guys left out Impact team to join other guys who would serve as chaperones during Craven Week. Craven week is the biggest U-18 rugby tournament in South Africa where twenty all-star teams from around the country come and play three games over the course of a week. As chaperones we were each assigned a team, and our job was essentially to serve the team in any way that we could to help things run more smoothly and also build relationships with the intention of being a spiritual leader for the guys. My team was the Limpopo Blue Bulls. They are from the northeastern part of the country. The majority of the players were farmers and hunters, guys I could relate to being from Missouri Valley. I noticed that my team was often racially segregated. In the dorms most of the white players were on the first floor, and the black players were on the second floor. This was also the case at meals. It was a little difficult for me to make sure i was hanging out with everyone on the team when they were so often separated.  But overall my team was super cool. They were always cracking jokes and wrestling with each other, I speak that language well. The language I don’t speak well if Afrikaans, which was team’s language, and they didn’t like using English unless they had to. In spite of the language barrier I was able to connect with the guys on multiple levels. I was able to have some deep conversions with a few guys, and by the end of the week I knew they accepted me as one of them. On the last day the team manager gave me a picture of the team and a few of the guys asked me want why I wasn’t in it. That moment was pretty special for me. Craven week was definitely a highlight of my trip. God challenged me on a lot of ways, but he also worked through me in a lot of ways. I definitely think I was in my element. Oh and I also learned a lot about rugby! I hope to play it when I get back to the states.

We are now on the last leg of our trip. We have finished with most of our outreaches and are now in the re-entry phase, learning how to deal with coming home. We are also working on our ministry plans and putting on paper what God is calling us to. That is a daunting, but exciting task. Thank you all for the prayers and support you have shown me. I truly wouldn’t be where I am without you all.

God bless

So this weekend marked the end of our training and we were finally able to put what we learned this past month into practice. With only a day to plan the camp, we hosted about 40 South African children between the ages of 10-14. I was a huddle leader with 7 kids in my huddle. This was one of the most challenging experiences because my kids, in general, were pretty difficult. Most of them didn’t want to participate, they were often way to cool to do anything, and there was a language barrier to deal with. For a lot of the huddle time they would joke with each other on their own language. But overall it was an awesome experience because the patience and perseverance I had during camp could only have come from God. Also, when I got frustrated when the kids wouldn’t listen to me I remembered all the times that I didn’t listen to God, so it gave me a greater understanding of God’s love, and was humbled.

Today was our Sabbath day so me and give other bros climbed all the way to the top of Stellenbosch mountain. The journey was difficult, but I felt so much peace when we got to the top..

And the view was unreal. We have more camps coming up and I’m really excited for what God is going to teach me.

It has been another awesome week in South Africa. We are learning a lot and being challenged intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually. The tennis outreach in Kayamandi is still going well. After practice on Wednesday I became a human jungle gym for the kids. It was exhausting but so worth it.

There is also a family living in Stellenbosch who have opened their home to us, and they are one of the coolest families I know. They have five daughters who are adorable, and a puppy that is the cutest I’ve ever seen. We played games and had a dance party for line 3 hours last Monday.

One of my biggest take aways from this week is that as a Christian there shouldn’t be any separation from the sacred and the secular. There shouldn’t be a distinction between “Christian time” and other time, rather God had given us opportunities to worship him in every area of life. Whether it is playing a sport, watching a movie, or hanging out with friends, it is an opportunity to worship Christ. We were all made to be different with different skills, interests, and passions so there is no one way of worshipping God, but can and should use every avenue we can to glorify His name.

This past week was pretty awesome. We started outreaches into the community. The first day we went to Kayamandi, a slum just outside Stellenbosch. Right when we got out of the car the kids ran up to us, jumped on our backs, and wouldn’t stop holding our hands. Seeing their joy and excitement encouraged me so much because they were so happy in spite of having so little. I also got to help coach the tennis team in Kayamandi, the kids ranged from 8 year olds to 15 year olds. Go Hawks! That’s the team name. Within two minutes of being there I became “Coach Rasta” to the kids, which I’m totally cool with! There was a bit of a language barrier but the team captain was a good leader and translator. I’m excited for the work we are gonna do there this summer.

Another night we went out on the streets to have conversations with homeless people. We had peanut butter sandwiches and coffee for them, but the main purpose was to let them know that we care about them, we respect them as God’s children, and just encourage them and pray for them if they wanted. It was cool to hear their stories and seeing their struggle was heart breaking. I ran into one of the guys I talked to about three days after talking to him. Which was nice to know that he remembered me.

Today we had church in the morning and then went to the beach to play some touch rugby. It was a blast. Definitely an ideal Sabbath day. I’m excited for the coming weeks, and for the struggles and challenges that come with it.

Postcard Cafe. God is good.

Me and Fanie Van Der Merwe. World record holder.

My first rugby match.

The view from the island.

I arrived into Cape Town, SA at around 9:00 PM on June 1st and was taken to “The Island”, my home for the next month. It’s winter here, so nights can be cold, but I do have a roof over my head, electricity, and running water (although it is usually pretty cold). I am apart of the 23 member IMPACT team with people from Texas, Carolina, Indiana, and even some from South Africa. These people are so awesome, and although we just met a week ago I feel like I’ve known them for years. For those back home, one of the girls on the team was Alex Gochenour’s roommate at LSU! Small world, huh? But God has blessed and challenged me in many ways this week. One day we woke up at 2:00 AM to pray, and we prayed in 20 minute shifts for about three hours. We then climbed a mountain, and walked the 7 km back to the island. From there we did a two hour long workout, keep in mind we ate nothing during this time. We ended the night with more team building and worship (and a delicious meal!). Throughout this process I’m learning more and more that my reputation does not matter because God knows my heart and my character, and He requires my unconditional obedience. I have much to learn about what this looks like practically, but I trust that by God’s grace he will continue to change me.

Also, I really like this area. I am surrounded by mountains, the people are friendly, and they love their sports. We went to a rugby match last night and got to experience all the madness and excitement. Rugby is so much rougher than I thought it would be, but overall it was a great night.. And I got dinner in the stadium for about $4, which is unheard of in the states. And lastly I was fortunate enough to have a conversation with the gold medalist and world record holder in the 100m and 200m in the Paralympics. He was Oscar Pistorius’ teammate and is just a phenomenal human being and follower of Christ. I pray that I continue to grow closer to God and my teammates in the next couple months. I will probably have another update next week. Thank you for your prayers and support. God bless.

I am currently packing up my stuff and preparing for what God has in store for me in South Africa. This will be my first time out of North America, and also my first time on what might be called a Mission trip. But this trip could not have come at a better time. I just graduated from Macalester College and have no idea what to do with my life. I’m praying that during my time away God will give me a clear calling for my life throughout this trip, and if not I at least hope that He breaks down any self-centeredness and pride in my life and allow my to boldly follow Him as a warrior for Christ. Throughout the fundraising process I have been blown away by how God provides through family and friends. I want thank everyone who supported me financially, spiritually through your prayers, and just for encouraging me on this journey. You have all made this possible for me. Going to Africa has been a dream of mine for about five years now, and I have always wanted to go and serve the African people. To be able to go is a huge blessing. Stay tuned for more updates, stories, struggles, and of course pictures.