Bragging Rights

As we kick-off Term 2 of our Twenty4Seven internship program, I wanted to take a few moments to brag about our awesome group this year. 4 amazing young women, strong in their faith, motivated to make a difference in the world, and hungry to learn from “front-line” experiences here at Thrive Africa.

What’s cool about our year-long internship is that young leaders experience 3 areas of ministry.

First, they minister among the Basotho people in many exciting ways – teaching Launch Pad discipleship classes, leading our Hope House orphanage ministry, sharing the love of Christ through weekly Relationship Evangelism just to name a few.

Second, they are equipped through a variety of classes ranging from language and cultural training to digger deeper into Biblical foundations to exploring other relevant topics such as leadership development and world missions. Personally, I’ve enjoyed teaching the weekly world missions classes.

Third, they gain valuable ministry experience working behind-the-scenes at Thrive Africa within our various departments – Launch Pad, Leadership Summit, and Outreach.

It has been such an exciting and fruitful first Term! I hope you enjoy the pictures I’ve posted from their Hope House and Launch Pad experiences!

Please pray for these amazing ladies - that they continue to discover, develop, and use their leadership gifts as they serve the people of South Africa.

Modeling Leadership

One of the things I love about working at Thrive Africa is our deep, passionate commitment to training Godly leaders – in our schools, in our churches and communities, and also in our own Thrive Africa family. We know that we must model Godly leadership ourselves before we are able to pass truths on to others.

So within our Outreach Department, Pastor Abram and I have been digging deep into the Foundations for Christian Growth with our team of interpreters. Our most recent lesson was about becoming free from sin and being fully alive through Christ. The weekly classes have been life-changing. It has been wonderful to grow together, challenge each other, and equip ourselves to teach others.

We asked our interpreters “What impacted you most as you reflected on achieving freedom from sin?” Here is what some of them shared:

“That we are forgiven for our sins, but also that we should not misuse the grace of God by continuing to sin. We have the power and freedom to make good choices in our lives.” - Rabele

“When we sin, it’s by our own choice. We have the power to say no to sin.” – Eric

“In order to stop sinning, we need to identify the root and remove it, or like a weed it will keep coming back.” - Christinah

Please pray for our Outreach team - that we continue to grow as Godly leaders better able to serve and pour into others.

PS. In this picture are Rabele and Elias leading Children's Ministry with one of our Thrive Africa mission teams.

Through Tornados in Life

Through the tornados of life, literally and figuratively, God is with us. And our Thrive Africa family is experiencing this right now… Our Director, Amy Riep has expressed this so powerfully and beautifully that I wanted to share it just as she did…

"I’m thankful that God doesn’t sugar coat things for us. He tells us in His Word that living by faith and following His direction will be tough (see James 1:2). He uses words like trials, tribulations, and persecution. So I don’t know why I still get surprised by hardships or momentarily discouraged by circumstances. Like I did yesterday. In the late afternoon hours our mission base was hit by a tornado and several cabins were destroyed. When I stood looking at what is pictured above, I felt like I’d been punched in the gut. I felt angry that Thrive has faced so many challenges in the last 18 months and I was battle-weary.

But then I heard that still small voice inside me say, turn around. I did, and arching over my head was the most spectacular double rainbow I’ve ever seen- literally spanning the borders of our ministry home. My heart was immediately assured: We can look at His promises rather than the wreckage, and press on. My heart was also full of thanks that no one was hurt and that the damage was minimal compared to the destruction that could have happened.

After grounding myself in what I know to be true about God, I went back to our Thrive community covenant to help steer my emotional response, which reads in part: “We live from the heart. Without passion, what we do means nothing… We laugh in the face of hardship and we press on in spite of opposition. We are enthusiastic about the task that God has placed before us. We maintain a positive attitude regardless of the condition or situation.”

Our ministry will not be hindered because of the damage. The remaining cabins provide enough housing for our upcoming mission teams and ministry guests. We will press on, trusting in God’s provision to restore what’s been lost and to provide with abundance for every financial need Thrive has.

Today we are standing on Romans 5:3-5 which reads, “We also rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character, and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”

Thank you for praying for us and standing with us!"

- Amy Riep, Director, Thrive Africa

Indeed, thank you for standing with us.

Seven Pounds

Yikes! Seven Pounds! No, I’m not talking about the Will Smith movie…4 weeks and 7 pounds later I’m back in South Africa.

What have I missed the most being in South Africa? Definitely Jets Pizza and Chinese food! We can get pizza here, and even make it homemade, but it’s not as THICK and YUMMY as Jets. That’s why Jets was on the menu for my family going-away party Friday night. And for Chinese food, we pretty much need to go to Johannesburg (or another big city) which is 3 hours away.

Other yummy treats I enjoyed while in Michigan included Middle Eastern and Italian food, the best steak dinner ever, Cheezits, Golden Grahams, Mt. Dew, Panera, Taco Bell and Arbys. And I chowed-down the Arbys while driving just because I could…yay for automatics!!

I had such a great time connecting with family, friends and partners, typically over a delicious meal. Now I just need to keep remembering that when I restart my running. Thanks Rob, Wendy, Paige and Brandon for the early birthday present – Trailing Running and Hiking Shoes.