How do I begin to describe what God has been doing in my life as of late? I suppose it would be better to illustrate a specific incident rather than being too general, so I'll have to leave out a large chunk of the Lord's work these past few weesk. Just know that God has done immeasurably more in Jeffreys Bay than what is about to be expressed. Although this story will bring enormous glory to His name, it does not do justice.

Let me start by stating the reason God had room to move so much. The weekend before last was dedicated to making disciples from the youth in South Africa. UCSA, the compound in which the team lives, ran a 4 day camp for students from schools across the country. We hosted over 300 bodies in a place that barely fits 100 of us! These students were singled out to come because they had qualities of a leader and potential to encourage changes for Christ in their schools.

The "leaders for these leaders" made a total of 50some and included MXP (Mission Expedition Students), LXP (Leadership Experience Students), and 18 amongst the AIM team. Each leader had a group of around 8 kids. (A side note that I don't have time to explain - my group was amazing!) It was an extreme blessing for everyone involved because we weren't just teaching the students, but we were journeying with them.

So diving into the intense part of my story...

On Monday, the last evening of the camp, I had one of the other leaders randomly pull me aside. She explained that a girl living in her cabin had been stressing about talking to me since the first day. Keep in the mind, I had never seen or spoken to this girl the entire weekend. So I made my way over to a hunched over body which had clearly been full of emotion during the past hour or so, all the while being utterly confused. Through many ums and ahs Anika explained to me that since the first moment she saw me something in her heart began to stir. She knew God was pushing her to approach me, but her fears prevented her from obeying Him. We immediately looked to the Lord in prayer in hopes that he would bring clarity to the situation. He answered fast! As soon as I finished my words with an "Amen", Anika was made aware of why God had drawn her to me. Apparently I had a strong resemblance to her best friend who had passed on a few years earlier. Long story short, it was time for her to lay this loss down at the foot of the cross. After some discussion we both concluded that she should go through the night as usual and seek God's guidance as to how he wanted her to let go. After the evening service we met and debriefed. The Holy Spirit worked intensely in both her heart and mine through over an hour of prayer and discussion. Not only did she give her friend completely up to the Lord, but many other things her life were revealed. I believe she found her true identity in Christ that night! And what a privilege to be a part of that!

First and foremost, all kudos to God. And God would not have been able to work as he did had the head leaders at UCSA not enforced countless hours of prayer among both leaders and students. I don't think I've ever prayed that much in 4 days! How awesome God is when you allow Him to intercede!

I must admit, when I first found out I was required to work the camp I had my share of negative thoughts, but did God ever prove me wrong. I would live the weekend over in a heartbeat - a heartbeat closely connected with Christ.

A note to the reader: Jeffreys Bay does not have an apostrophe (I'm not grammatically incorrect.)