At the beginning of May, we had a group of 18 Americans come to be a part of the ministry here in South Africa with us. They stayed to partner with us at Ukukanya and on the UKZN campus for 6 weeks. It was such a blessing to have them here and to have extra hands reaching out, numerous lips to preach the Word, and more bodies to stand out on campus and make a difference in the lives of students. Being one of only three staff in Durban can often feel limiting to all that we want to do. Three people trying to reach out to thousands sometimes feels impossible. But God is good. And praise HIM for sending more workers into his fields! With the summer project, we were able to accomplish so much and spread the gospel to hundreds of students through multiple outreaches during the week. Here are some of the things we did:
Mental Toughness:
The majority of our students involved with Campus Crusade at UKZN are Sports Science majors. With their eagerness to share the gospel with their fellow classmates and faculty, we encouraged the idea and planned a Sports Science outreach. Amanda, my roommate, spoke in the gym on campus about "Mental Toughness." She used to be a black belt Tae Kwon Do instructor and shared a piece of her testimony with the sports science students about being tough in sports. It was amazing to see the students' eyes fixed on her and relating to her story in so many ways. "Yes, we need to be tough!" You could see the attitude in their faces as they proudly puffed their chests. But as Amanda carried on in her talk, she gradually began to reveal her understanding of her utter weakness. She explained to the students that her strength lasted her so long until she recognized the source of her strength came from the LORD. To be strong..to be tough..is ultimately to recognize your weakness and let God take control of your life. Students faces went from total self confidence to a deep understanding of being humbled. Amanda continued in her talk and began to share the gospel with these students and how the LORD completely changed her life. Afterwards, students stayed around eagerly waiting to discuss what they had heard. Some prayed to receive Christ, some re-dedicated their lives to Him, and some wanted to hold onto what they had heard and explore their spiritual lives for the very first time. Praise God.
Soularium Freeze Frame:
If you remember a while back, I explained an evangelistic tool called Soularium. To remind you, it is a set of 50 pictures that depict everyday life and emotions. As we show the pictures to the students we talk to, we ask questions to further our discussion and help them explore their spiritual life deeper. The questions are:
Which image describes your life right now..Why?
Which image do you WISH were a part of your life right now..Why?
Which image would you choose to describe God..Why?
Which image best describes what you've experienced spiritually..Why?
Which image best represents what you wish were true about your spiritual life or journey..Why?
When we use Soularium, we approach one, two, or three people and have a discussion with them in a more personal and private setting. It is extremely effective and allows us to really grow in our relationships with students on campus. SO, we decided to take the idea of Soularium and run with it on a much grander scale. What we did, was post all 50 pictures and the 5 questions onto poster board and displayed it in the main quad of the campus. Next to the posters, we set up a table with surveys to fill out answers to the five questions, information about campus crusade, and sign-ups to be a part of the movement. As students approached the poster of pictures in curiosity, they began to intently fill out the surveys. Staff and students in the movement stood around, available to those who had questions, those who wanted to discuss their answers further, and those who wanted to pray to receive Christ for the first time. In the middle of the quad, we acted out a few of the pictures to get the attention of others around us.
One picture, is of a man with post-it notes all over his head. Anele, one of our student leaders, stood in the quad while his friend Sbu held the number of the corresponding picture next to him. One by one, students came up and yelled aloud different post-it notes and taped it to Anele's body. The post-it notes were things like "Failed exam," "Fight with parents," "Broke up with girlfriend," "Need scholarship money," etc.
Another picture is of a guy dancing in the rain. One of the summer project students posed dancing with an umbrella while another held the number of the corresponding picture. As students passed by, they were drawn to our table and we were able to have hundreds of conversations with students about their spiritual life. It was such a success and an extremely fun way to evangelize with a little out-of-the-box thinking.
Think About It:
Every night at 8:00pm there is a South African reality TV show that is watched by every South African student, no matter who they are. When a student was first telling me about it, she said I was a complete alien for not knowing what she was talking about. In the Residence Halls, there is aTV room for students to watch movies, tv shows, relax, or just hang out. We decided to make most of the opportunity of having a large number of students in the TV room every night after the 8:00 show. So at 8:30, right after the show ended, we made an announcement for the students to stay and take part in watching a 10-12 minute Nooma Video. Nooma Videos are short videos made by Rob Bell, who is a pastor of a church in the States. He addresses many questions about faith and the Christian life. For three nights, we set up a big screen and played a different video for each night. The first video discussed sin in the world and in our lives. It talked about guilt and shame after doing something we know is wrong, but that there is a God who says there is nothing we could ever do to make Him love us less. The second video discussed suffering and the storms we face in life. It talked about walking through rainstorms and how sometimes we can't feel God is there, but He always is and promises to walk us through the storms in life. The third video discussed having a relationship with God and what it means to live in tune with the Creator of the Universe. After each video, we broke off into groups and led discussions with the students on a more personal level. It was amazing to see how willing they were to open up, how many questions they had about God, and how much the Lord allowed us to share the gospel through these videos.
I really learned what it means to seize every opportunity to share the Good News with those around us. It really opens the doors for incredible ministry, and opens the hearts of so many souls.
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