TO SOUTH AFRICA AND BACK

04/15/2007

The following is a letter I received from Nicole Suhonen of Wright who recently went to South Africa on a mission trip with Campus Crusade for Christ.

TO SOUTH AFRICA AND BACK by Nicole Suhonen March 2007

How does a person even begin to explain a 10-day trip to South Africa that will forever be a part of them?  It almost feels like a dream that I was even there.  It was such an incredible time of my life and I’m so grateful that God provided a way for me to go.  I experienced some very difficult things and some of the most incredible things of my life thus far.

There are so many stories that I could share with you; I learned a ton. It’s so funny how God brought me to a third world country, where people have nothing, and showed me how big He is and how small I am, yet how much He loves me and how much He loves people.  He showed me how He is the great provider of all that we need.  I just want to share a bit with you of what I experienced.  If you want to hear more about my trip, please feel free to ask!

A highlight of the trip for me was in the afternoons when we ran Vacation Bible School for the kids.  We taught them a story from the Bible, sang many songs with them, had a couple of group activities, and then just had free time where they went crazy playing with the beach balls, balloons, jump ropes, and bubbles that we brought with us!  They were so precious and full of energy!  We learned some fun African songs, played Frisbee and football with them, had our hair braided, and played hand games with them.  They didn’t really care what we were doing. They just wanted to be near us.  It reminded me of God.  All that He wants is to be near us.  He longs for us to want to be near Him, to hold His hand, to sit in His lap, to sing with Him.

One of our main focuses was to serve the people in Qwa Qwa, the poorest region of South Africa.  This was our small way of showing them Christ’s love.  It probably seemed quite strange to them that us crazy white people would come all the way from the US just to wash their dishes, sweep their floor, help them with laundry, and just try to learn about them and their culture.  Another tangible way for us to show them the love of Christ was to plant a garden for them.  The unemployment rate is at a staggering 85%! There are hardly any jobs.  Since 1 in 4 people have AIDS kids are not getting the education that they need. The kids have to quit school at an early age either because they are sick or a family member is and they need to take care of them.  This later on in life leads to unemployment, which leads to no income, which leads to no food, which leads to starvation.

Most of us can’t even begin to fathom what this is like.  I realized how I take everything for granted.  I have a roof over my head, clothes on my back, food in my pantry, and some extra spending money; I could go on and on.  I live in luxury compared to these people.  Yet I continually want more.  I try to find my contentment in things.  Life is not about what I do or do not have.  It’s more about who I do or do not have.  Relationships are what matter.  This is the most impacting thing that God showed me through the Basotho people.  These people have nothing.  Yet they are so full of joy.  Genuine joy.  No faking it or trying to cover things up with a smile. They are truly joyful.  They focus on people instead of things.  What matters to them is their family, friends, and people of their community.

I believe that the most important relationship that anyone can have is one with Jesus Christ.  He came to Earth so that each one of us, through Him alone, can spend eternity in Heaven with the one true God who loves us unconditionally.  This is what we want the people of Qwa Qwa (and everyone around the world for that matter) to know.  God loves them and has a plan for their life.  All that He asks is that we admit that we cannot get to Heaven on our own efforts, that we need Jesus to save us.  If we ask, He will come into our lives, and cleanse us from all our sins, all our unrighteousness, all the junk in our lives.  What an amazing gift!  We’re so lucky!  I can really see the urgency for this Good News to be shared with people all over the World, but especially in Africa where people are dying from AIDS and starvation at an unbelievable rate.  Material things do not matter because we cannot bring them with us when we die.  Things of the Earth will only wither and fade away.  The only thing that we can bring with us is people.  I think the Basotho people are on the right path in how they cherish relationships.  I just pray that God will make Himself known to them, and that they will trust Him with their lives, and accept Him as their Lord and Savior.  My prayer is that when I get to Heaven, I will see the people that we met because they saw a glimpse of Jesus in us and put their trust in Him alone.

Again, if you’d like to hear more about this experience, please do not hesitate to ask!  You can also check out the website for the organization we were working with at www.thriveafrica.org.  They are doing some incredible things in the city to build the children and young adults up to be leaders, and to teach them about abstinence and AIDS awareness.  They are playing an integral role in changing the direction of Africa!  They could use our support as they are currently in deficit right now.  If you feel lead, please consider partnering with them!

Thank you again for partnering with me and allowing me this opportunity that will forever be a part of me!  I’m so grateful for your prayers and support!