Crosby: Update #2

Hey friends and family.

I can’t believe a week has gone by since I last updated you. The week has flown but so much has happened since last Monday. Last week was our first official week on campus ministering full time. It was very tiring (long days) but very encouraging as well. We spent a lot of time with the Campus Oureach leaders in Lebone (the res I’m ministering in). This year is a unique year for Campus Outreach Johannesburg. They have been on campuses in Jo’burg for 6 years now. Ministry has exploded and the Lord has been alive and working, but the staff have been very overwhelmed. Finances are also a big issue. Virtually their entire staff team was pretty deeply in the red with support. They came together and prayed about the situation God had placed them in, and decided to take a step back instead of moving forward in the Campus Outreach movement on the campuses. Their theme for the year is “re.” They are reflecting on what the Lord has done, taking a step back from campus to rest and rejuvenate for the years of ministry ahead, and preparing to re-launch ministry full fledge next year.

We’ve come during this unique period of time. Because the staff is primarily off campus raising support, the student leaders are primarily keeping the Campus Outreach ministry afloat this year. The main objective and purpose for our team's time here is to encourage and help equip their leaders in their walks and in their particular ministries with unbelievers. At first I was kind of disappointed with the task we had been given. I wanted to spend a lot of time going into the res (dorm) in order to build friendships and share Christ with unbelievers. After spending time with the CO leaders this past week, I can see now why it’s vital for us to be spending a lot of time with the CO leaders. The CO leaders are essential to sustain and move forward the CO ministry. I think I had high expectations for where the leaders in Lebone were at in their walk with Christ. This past week I discovered that some of these girls are very new believers and are not completely sound in their faith. On top of this, some of these girls have had very hard lives. I have been reminded of how blessed I am when it comes to the family I was placed in and the community I grew up in. One of the girl’s father is a priest yet lives a very worldly lifestyle. He essentially has two lives but believes he is hiding it well. He has been unfaithful to his wife and has emotionally abused his children. The girl also told us that most of the men (around 90%) in her village are unfaithful to their wives and display poor leadership skills. This has had a traumatic impact on her life, and it has been hard for her to be rooted in the truth of the Gospel instead of the reality of how she grew up and what is considered “normal” to her. What she needs is someone to come along side of her, affirm and encourage her. It was neat to see how she felt comfortable enough to be so vulnerable with Meredith and I. We were able to read her Scripture and speak truth into her life. Through that conversation I saw why I am here in South Africa. I am here to, by God's grace and help, come along side women and help raise them up to be women who love the Lord and are committed to His kingdom on a continent filled with discouragement, pain, and suffering.

I also noticed through this week that the CO leaders in Lebone are not as connected to each other as much as I thought they were. On top of this, their dorm has very few Christians. It’s very hard to walk with Christ alone—that’s why we have the body. It’s also hard to have ministry and reach out to unbelievers when you feel alone. I think a large part of our ministry will be encouraging them and finding ways to grow them closer to the Lord and to each other. This week I plan to get in the Word with each of the leaders and through His Word, reveal and speak truth into their lives. They first need someone to encourage them and spur them on in their faith before they begin to know what it looks like to give their own lives away. Nevertheless, we really want to get the leaders around other unbelievers we have been spending time with to allow them to see what ministry looks like. I think part of their fear is that in order to be a leader and to be in ministry they have to be perfect. But, in fact, this is not true. The Lord did not come for the righteous but for sinners. The Lord does not require that we be perfect, but that we be faithful.

Meredith and I have also been spending some time with the freshmen in Lebone who don't know the Lord. I'm excited to see how the Lord will use us. I've been convicted that I may be the only taste of Christ they will ever see, and that I need to make the most of every opportunity. But then again, it comes back to the dilemma of who would lead them and aid them in their faith if they do become Christians? That is why it's so important that we spend a lot of time with the Campus Outreach leaders in Lebone so that they will be able to come along these first years if they do become Christians and aid them in their walk with Christ. I'm sorry if this has been scattered, but I have not had much time. I hope this gives you a little glimpse of what ministry has been like this past week and what we will be doing in these upcoming weeks. Please pray for discernment for me as I seek guidance from the Lord of who to spend time with and invest in; after all, I cannot pour all of my time into a lot of different people because I am on a time line. Instead, I want to go deep with a few girls and really love and encourage them. Please also pray that my reliance will be upon the Lord. Days have been long and we do not always get a lot of sleep or down time. Pray that my dependency will be upon the Lord and not on how much alone time I get or how much I sleep.

One last thing-- as I told all of you ealier, we've been studying the Gospel of Mark. The Lord has been teaching me so much. Just seeing what Jesus was like and how he handled minstry has been so encouraging and challenging. One of the main points I've taken lately is that Jesus was misunderstood often-- even by those He was closest to (his disciples and family); however, He was grounded in His purpose on earth and was in continual communion with His father. Because of this, his passion for people and purpose on this earth did not waiver. I want to be more like Jesus in this way. Pray that the Lord would convict me of my purpose as a Christian (to love Him and to spread His good news) so much that I will not waiver even when I am misunderstood. Thank you for your prayers for me and your encouraging emails. They are both greatly appreciated. I appreciate your partnership in the Gospel and look forward to seeing how the Lord continues to work in South Africa.
Grace and peace,
Katie Crosby