The gospel trip to South Africa was a fruitful and sweet time of building and mutual shepherding of the saints. In my team, there were 8 consisting of 5 brothers and 3 sisters.

     During the two days, we all stayed with the trainees at the Full-time Training in Pretoria and followed their schedules. Each FTTP trainee was paired with a FTTA (Anaheim) trainee to preach the gospel at University of Pretoria (aka TUKs). This week is a crucial time in that only incoming freshman who are registering for the first time, are on campus. This is a great opportunity for us to tell them the purpose of their human lives. Due to recent protests/riots, TUKs has put up gates at every entrance with security guards so we were unable to enter the main campus. We moved to the neighboring Sports Campus (TUK’s recreational area) and were able to speak to many open, some God seeking, students.

   The following week, two brothers were sent to Durban (South Eastern Coast) to labor with a brother and his family by spending time with them and visiting the University of KwaZulu-Nata (UKNZ) spoke to students, and handed them Basic Elements of Christian Life booklets. Another two brothers were sent to Cape Town (South Western Coast) to support the two serving brothers and lampstand there. They resided in Somerset West, laboring on Stellenbosch University, one of the two last Afrikaans speaking universities in the country. While four of us stayed in Pretoria, took hospitality with saints, to serve for a week-long college student workshops, with the burden that we would become vital, and these groups would bear fruit during the term. In the student workshops, we were divided into groups of 6-8 with 2 sisters groups and 3 brothers group. We lived together, cooked together, prayed and read the ministry together, and preached the gospel together in pairs. The purpose of such a time was to be built up with one another, get constituted with the Word in order to speak the gospel on campuses. Many of the students were gained from campuses in various areas with some being the only saints on campus.

     Throughout the week, as we gained truth on the mystery of human life and the basic elements of a Christian life, we became more bold while preaching the gospel outside of TUKS campus. The week ended in a student bible study which would be held weekly for the students in the surrounding campuses in Pretoria. Here, each group presented a topic in gospel preaching from the Basic Elements booklet. As we wrapped up the week, the students from other campuses were so encouraged to go back to their campuses and speak the word of God in order to gain their friends to pursue the Lord with.

    As the week progressed, in Durban, The Basic Elements of the Christian Life was distributed at a local shopping mall, gaining many positive interactions with local there. And in Cape Town, the gospel was preached in English, on the Afrikaans speaking University of Stellenbosch. They had their first follow-up appointment with the young man.

    The final week, the brothers returned to Pretoria and we again followed FTTP and labored with the trainees on preaching the gospel at TUKS university. Some contacts and second appointments were gained from our time outside the campus entrance. We prepared to set up tables on the two main freshman orientation days with much prayer that in this small window of time with the best opportunity all year to gain students, the Lord would call out His Sons of Peace. Two tables were set up on the streets outside of the campus entrance where students passed by to queue for registration and orientation. The atmosphere was quite intense as parents accompanied their freshmen and security was tight, as a response to the previous year’s campus riots & protests. Nonetheless we followed the leading of the Spirit and spoke to many students. Some of us along with the full-timers also visited off-site campuses, medical and education campuses and set up tables for bible-study sign-ups. We were able to speak to many whom were open and interested for bible study and second appointments.

    In the last weekend prior to our departure, we went to visit and stay with families from different surrounding, small lampstands in the towns of Centrion, Brits, Johannesburg (big city), and Kempton Park. Each of us got built up with the saints whom we stayed with and had the Lord’s table in the respective small localities. It is marvelous to experience the Lord’s moving and working in South Africa.

     Our gospel time in South Africa was very sweet and opened up many more channels of prayer for the Lord to gain what He is after. The saints and students were truly incribed in our hearts.

5) The lampstands in Johannesburg, Brits, Centurion, Kempton Park, Cape Town, Durban would be in the reality of Philadelphia.

Praise the Lord!

With love,

Grace