Cafe Afrika

Posted by Grace Kim, short-term missionary, Summer 2010.

This mission trip to South Africa wasn’t my first mission experience, but it seemed like I needed to experience it as if it were my first.

The two weeks I was there with my team, I really had to get over the fact that I had “done missions”. The Lord humbled me and amazed me with the youth workers and teenagers he was using there.  He taught me that I still need him… that His love, grace, and sovereignty has to be not just enough, but more than enough in my life.  If I wasn’t at that place, something was wrong.  Then I experience His unbiased love and grace through the young youth leaders there and my team members.  I didn’t realize how much I needed them to see what God was doing in South Africa, in their lives, and in mine.  His love and grace was so evident because of their pure hearts.  God is just great.

Thank you Solomon, Danielle, Eddie, Judy, and Bryan.  I not only experienced the joy of “ubukumkani”, but also the present blessings of it through you all.

Posted by Sophia Birch, short term missionary 2007,  currently a banker for the Kingdom in Toronto, Canada

It was such a blessing to be at African Leadership Conference 2010 in Montreal.  It’s important as believers to fellowship with one another, especially people who have a heart for Africa and taking back Africa for Christ.

Sharing was key to the weekend -sharing the Word with each other and what it was speaking to us, sharing what was in our hearts, sharing our vision of the kingdom, sharing meals, sharing what the Lord was speaking in us and through us and hearing Pastor Ohm share with us what’s happening in South Africa.

It was also a great opportunity to pray together, in one accord with old friends and new friends. I was so blessed for having attended.

This is a guest post by Donald Oh, a pastor at GoodTree church in Calgary

What a great Sunday Service of worship we had at GoodTree just a couple of weeks ago. Pastor Ohm and Tobi came to visit our church and share about what God is doing through African Leadership in South Africa. Pastor Ohm challenged us to understand that God’s Kingdom has already begun. God’s Kingdom is all around us because it began within our own life. God’s Kingdom has been planted into our souls and wants to break out from our hearts as an overflow to this world. God’s Kingdom wants to breakthrough! And that word “breakthrough” is the vision of our church this year: To challenge everyone to make themselves available to be used by God. We don’t need to be super “talented” or “gifted” or “smart” to be useful, but rather we need a heart that aches to experience God authentically by being an active part of His Kingdom. If we make ourselves available, God can, and will, do the impossible. I know many of us repeatedly say we “seek” God’s will for our life or we are waiting for “His call”, but let me challenge you by saying that we sit and wait on God way too much. When we wait for his call our posture is passive and yet we claim to be seeking His will. To “seek” is an action, a movement forward and that is what God desires. If we sit and wait for a “call” we may never get up and go. My challenge is to ask the Holy Spirit for courage to take a step of faith and make yourself available, rather than asking and waiting for direction.
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