From anywhere in Ocean View, we can see countless mountains and a body of water. It's unreal. Today, our family took us out to breakfast and down to the beach: talk about a great Saturday morning 🙂 We love our family and the way they have made us one of them.
So our first week of ministry is over and I am so confused by my own thoughts and feelings! Yesterday, some of us were talking about how we felt like we weren't able to do much here since we're only in Ocean View for a week. But our contact, Chantel, had some wise and encouraging words to say: "You can spend a year with someone and not make a difference, or you can spend a few minutes with someone and change their life." She continued by telling us more about the youth in Ocean View–some of them have never had someone to hug/hold them, or to tell them that they are special, or let them play with your hair (which they LOVE to do). We may not think much of it, but to them it means the world. So often, I find myself guilty of putting God into a box, thinking it takes a lot of time or skill to touch a life, but God doesn't need that. He uses ordinary people, like you and me, to do extraordinary things.
As we drive through the mountains of Cape Town, I wonder if that's what heaven will look like. The glory of God shaped and placed the beauty around us, how much greater is His heavenly home? It reminds me that when God asks us to "give up" something, not matter how important we may think it is at the time, it is merely an investment for something so much greater He has in store for us. (Matthew 6:19-21)
His promises are true, and His ways are good!
We leave Ocean View tomorrow and we begin minsitry at a school for students suffering from fetal alcohol syndrome. Please keep our ministry for the rest of the trip in your prayers!
