We are into our 7th week in South Africa, and I can hardly believe it. We are continuing our ministry here in Masi and plowing through with only 3 weeks of ministry left. The longer we have stayed here, the more my heart has begun to burn for these lost people, swayed by alcohol and drugs. I desire to see their hearts be anchored in identity and freedom in Christ and am so full of hope to see Jesus move here.

1 week ago, as some of the team was coming home from an outing, a man came up to us and asked for prayer. We invited him into our living room, and he bagan to share with us some of the burdens his spirit has been caring. He was addicted to Tik (the drug that many are lost to, a pure form of meth), and 2 days before he came to us, he felt and saw demonic presence on and around him. He was frightened, and came to ask for prayer because he didn't know what else to do. He was clearly high on the drug when we began to pray and within 10 minutes of prayer, his mind had completely sobered and was physically more peaceful. He said he felt some of the demonic presence leave and then he began to thank us, saying we had no idea how powerful we were because of what we believed, and that he appreciated us just being in Masi. The Holy Spirit moves so much when we follow His commands to love God, love each other, and love the lost.

In my time here in Masi, I have learned to pursue Jesus in all circumstances. There are, of course, times when I fail horribly at this, but He has never and will never turn away. He may be silent at times, but He does not abandon. Jesus is who He says He is. He is love, He is provider, He is protector, He saves, He redeems, He is our hope, He keeps His promises. In the past 2 and a half years of truly following Jesus, I have seen Him as all of these over and over again, despite what my flesh is feeling. Jesus is real, moving in my heart, the team, and in Masi :)

With only 3 weeks of ministry left, please continue praying for us in these ways!

• Team unity
• Safety/wisdom
• Open doors to share the gospel
• Continuation of building relationships within Masi

South Africa!

Almost 5 weeks have gone by since we landed in this beautiful, crazy, wild, nation of South Africa. We have made our home in the middle of a local township called Masiphumelele, or Masi for short. This township is unlike anything I have seen in the past 2 years of missions. Over 40,000 people live on this plot of land that you can walk through in 30 minutes. Most homes are shanties, built in clusters and made of tin, with a few dozen stone houses scattered among them. Roasting chicken feet and sheep’s head can be bought at any corner. Taxis, in the form of large vans, race down the streets, horns blaring. Bars are open with a consistent flow of buyers, and Tik (their version of meth) is as common and accepted as cigarettes. Kids run barefoot and mamas’ walk to the corner store (known as Spazas) with their babies on their backs, held in place by strapping them on with a bath towel. We are the only white people who live here, but drive 10 minutes away and you’ll find your self at a western mall, selling your favorite brands. 

                                                                          (street in Masi)

Our days are spent partnering with different ministries and running along side the long term missionaries here. Some ministries are working with women learning to sew to make a living, and for the men, learning to woodwork. We meet up with our local friends and study the Word together. We partner with BabySafe (a local ministry helping mothers and babies) in intercession and playing with kids. But our biggest ministry is just living. Simply obeying Jesus, becoming more like Him, and letting our overflow of that influence the people we see everyday. Our home is open during the day so locals and children can come and build relationship, discover more of God together, and learn from each other. 

                                                                     (Cape Town Coast)

Our team has been learning how to grow in community each day. Our team of 10 live with an African, who has been walking with Jesus for the past year, and we all share 1 bathroom. It is safe to say we have all grown in the area of patience! We cook for ourselves and rotate days we make dinner for everyone. We have been growing in intercession and taking everything we struggle with as a team to the Lord. We have grown so much in overcoming passivity and fear and I am excited to see how much more God will do with us!

There are several things you can be partnering in prayer with us during our time here!

- We will begin prostitution ministry next week, please pray with us for that!

• Safety 
• For continual breakthrough in our team
• For health! Sickness has been going around our team
• Wisdom as we go about our lives here in Masi

Thank you so much for your prayers and support! Internet is not that common, but I do hope that I can continue to share stories of what God is doing during our time here!

Much love,

Kristi 

Thoughts

It is the 7th week of lecture and my mind is getting blown. Our speaker this week is Matt Rawlins, teaching about the Fear of God. He tore apart (in a good way, trust me) Psalm 147:7 to really show just how big our God is. "He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name." Did you know there are 30 billion trillion stars in the universe? I don't even know how many zeros that is. And that is just a guess. As wild as it is to even think that they are there in existence, God knows their names. HE KNOWS THEIR NAMES. He could stand before me right now and list 'em all of, no prob. What the heck. Our God is so BIG. And He effortlessly hold 30 billion trillion stars in His hands. With that context in mind, let Psalm 139 blow your mind for a minute. "You have searched me and you know me." The very God who created and can name those stars in a split second knows me in and out. It stuns me. I am so overwhelmed by His love! What an amazing God we serve. 

A theme that keeps coming to my mind this season is relationship. It is what we were created for. Adam and Eve walked daily with God in the garden. Moses hung out with Him on a mountain. Jesus, God in the flesh, was here for 33 years making friends all over the place. And its the same today. Every human soul on this earth was created for relationship with the Father. Some have no idea of this because the enemy comes in with lies of legalism, telling us we have to do do do and work work work to reach the Father. I lived that way for 20 years, my friends, and let me tell you, it is better on the other side! The pressure of failing (which I did often and still do since I am human) is gone when we know who our Father is and how much He loves us! The best part of this is that it can begin at any time. Whether you are 5, 105 or somewhere in between, the invite never ends! 

I will be leaving exactly a month from today with 9 of my dearest friends for South Africa! With this fire burning in my heart and revelation of relationship, I am bursting to go forth and share with those in Masi. Please be praying for my team as we prepare to head out! Also, please partner with me in praying for a release of finances! I personally need around $1,600, and my team needs around $4,000 by August 30th. If you feel led to donate, please clink the link to the right and help us change the world!

"Left to Right, top to bottom: Michael, Anna, Jin, Sophie, Kevin, Annika, Kourtney, Kelsey, Co-leader Amy and myself)

Much love,

Kristi 

5 weeks down and only 6 weeks to go! It can be difficult to sum up all that God has done in these 5 weeks without going on for hours and hours, so I will just hit on a few major things that has been going on in the DTS.

Out Reach Locations Revealed! 

The second week of school was buzzing with excitement after the announcement of outreach locations!  We played a short video revealing the 11 outreach nations, released them to pray about it, then they came back with the nation they felt God was leading them to. The following week, us staff were in prayer, watching as God assembled each team so divinely and then announced them the following week. I have the privilege of co-leading a team with my amazing friend, Amy, to Cape Town, South Africa! We have an incredible team of 8 students, ages 18-33, from all over the world joining us on this crazy adventure on the other side of the globe.  We will be partnering with a community plant that has been running there for over a year and has seen God move among this nation. Our team will be the only westerners (and the only white people) living in the township of Masiphumelele (Masi, for short), composed of 30,000 impoverished South Africans. Our home will be an open house so we can minister to everyone and anyone. In the course of our 3 months there, we will be partnering with other ministries such as soccer ministry, children, Community Eats, and Living Way. I have been dreaming of going to Africa since I was a little girl and am so excited to see what God has in store for myself and the team there!

(The other outreach locations are India, Togo, Mozambique, Iceland, Brazil, Nepal, Turkey, and Cambodia *not all are listed due to locations that are being protected*) 

Break Through in the Class!

This past Thursday, the staff were in a time of ministry with out speaker, Christian Gonzzales (check out his podcasts! He'll blow your mind!) while the students were in a time of worship in the classroom. Towards the end of our meeting, we get a text saying that the students in the classroom were totally getting encountered by God. We head down there and sure enough they were going for it!!! Some praising, some praying, and others gathered around each other praying for breakthrough in their identity in Jesus, and they were getting it! This went on for hours! It was awesome to see God do His thing without the staff. They knew what they wanted, went for it, and God did the rest.

Prayer requests
We are half way through the lecture part of DTS which means we have begun preparing for Outreach! Please partner with me in praying for...

• More breakthrough!
• Unity in the class and team South Africa
• Finances! I personally need $2,800 by the end of this month and many more in the class need funds for outreach as well. 
• Wisdom and Amy and I plan for our time in South Africa

Thank you so much for all the support, love, and prayers you have sent my way! It means the world to me to have such amazing family and friends all over the world who are supporting me :)

Much love,

Kristi