Malibongwe

Day Thirteen

Sunday July 8th, 2018

(Psalms 46:10 - "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!")

     We awoke this morning to the reality that today would be our last day we'd be at Moletsane, and tomorrow we'd be leaving South Africa. We finished breakfast and began our familiar drive from Johannesburg to Soweto. My mind still weighing heavy on the events that happened over the last week and all that the group had experienced. We've been forever changed and how we view the world. The world seems so much larger than we ever really acknowledged it to be. And yet God controls all of it, the good and the bad, all to His glory.

     Our van made its way into the familiar Moletsane neighborhood and parked near the chain link fence surrounding the church. Upon entering the church, we saw many children from HBC present for Sunday service. We arrived at our pews and the congregation then began to sing traditional African worship songs, much like previous Sunday. It was so stirring to hear the congregation singing hymns in their native tongue and the passion that was tied to it. They aren't just singing a song, they are worshiping their God and their singing was a pure reflection of what was being spoken in their hearts.

     Once singing had concluded, Mike made his way up to the pulpit and began to preach over Hebrews 10:24, about how we should stir each other up as believers to do good deeds. The word stirring in many circumstances is taken to be a light nudge or encouragement and sometimes it is. In other situations it's an intense encouragement; it's been described to me in the example of baking; instead of using a spoon to gently stir and encourage, it's as if you're forcibly whisking and adding pressure to build up cohesiveness and in doing so, encouraging others to do good works. In this sense we aren't commanded to idly or passively encourage our brothers and sisters. This verse commands us to be almost forceful or exuberant in our encouragement of others. That we should get excited when we hear that other Christians do good works, or go through trials. God has created us to be relational being and to be there for one another, and to not do that would be a disservice to you, your brother, and to the body of Christ.

     After service, we went up to the front of the church and led the kids in a few songs from holiday bible club. Then lunch was served by a few ladies of the Moletsane congregation. I forget the names of what was all served but, I know it was traditional African food and it was quite good and filling!

     As we started to take pictures and say goodbyes, Reitumetse clinched me tighter and tighter. The night before I had decided to give her my copy of the biggest story, so I decided to write inside the cover,

     "Reitumetse, I pray as you grow and begin learning how to read, that this book will help you grow in your knowledge of God in the pursuit of Him. And that you always remember the fun week we all had! Love, Uncle Nathan."

     More goodbyes and hugs were given to our group and as we began loading up into the van I saw little Reitumetse and she ran up next to the van and and said,

     "Goodbye Uncle Nathan, I love you."

     I have never felt as bad as when I shut the door, drove away as she started crying... Ruth later had told me that Pastor Sammy had texted her and told her that she was crying that I was leaving, and that she's never gotten emotional about someone like this before. When I heard this I did my best to keep it together and to keep from crying but I am a bit torn up inside.

     The group then headed to pick n pay a South African grocery store. I was able to grab some snacks for back home. I got rusks, peanut butter Kit-Kats™, mint crisps, and biltong. Unbeknownst to us we cannot bring biltong into the US; I mean, we could try but, I don't want to pay a fine or get delayed when we get to Amsterdam or Los Angeles. At least I can enjoy some of it while I'm still here. We then got some much-needed rest and relaxation. Ruth then began to make malva pudding, but to be honest I've had malva about five times this week and I'm almost all 'malva'-ed out , but I think it would be awesome to make it for the potluck for our group at church the Sunday after we return.

     The evening began with us going to Antioch for evening service. Pastor Tim started by talking with the body, individually asking how they were doing and it was very great to see them if they had been away for some time. I thought it was great to see how Tim loves on and cares for his flock. Tim then went through Zechariah 14. There was a lot of theology about end time and prophecy. I tried my best to keep up with Tim's sermon, but he went through one large chapter with a lot of material which was a huge undertaking. Since it was prophecy though, you can consider what we were taught as a secondary point of belief, since it has not come to pass so it can be seen only as what to expect. It's still very fun to dive into God's word to look at these things closer.

     Once service had concluded we were able to talk with Tim who had just gotten back from a sabbatical in Jerusalem. He told us a bit of his adventures and experiences he had. Moments later Duncan came up to Mike and began saying goodbye when wrapped him up in both arms one of the most awkward and hilarious hug ever. Glad we got it on video. It's like someone had planned it or something...

     Rocco-Mamas was the next stop of the night. This restraint serves smash burgers, with any or all the toppings your heart could want or handle. When we got back we devoured our burgers and our combined pile of chips. After that we shamefully ate Ruth's malva pudding. Hopefully my body can handle all of this food and we can have a smooth 20 plus flight tomorrow. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't dreading the flight tomorrow, but we'll just have to take it as it comes and pray that God would give us traveling mercies tomorrow.