Thanks so much for stopping by the blog once again after a fairly long break since the last post. I have been working on a much longer post sharing my testimony which I still need to touch up a bit. That will be next time! So it has been quite awhile since the last post and I apologize for that!
As far as what I am up to currently, I have continued to work with the homeless at Living Grace in the mornings and with my kids in Ocean View in the afternoons. If you happened to read my previous post you know a lot about what goes on during my time at Living Grace and at Kids Club. I have been asked to speak to the people at Living Grace several times now. This consists of preparing some kind of sermon-like message about 15-20 minutes long for about 50 people. It has been a wonderful opportunity to share a little more of myself with the people there and it has been great practice for preaching on short notice in the future. On Monday I was asked to speak about 5 minutes before everyone arrived... Great practice!
It was a little unsettling to have to intelligently speak for such a period of time on such a short notice but I felt as if it was the most relevant and quality message I delivered. I’m not really sure if its a good thing that I speak better with less preparation than with hours of it... It is so true that preachers often need to hear and learn from what they are speaking about than their audience. It has been such a blessing to have to dive into God’s word on a regular basis searching and listening to what He might have to say. I just hope I can communicate it in a somewhat understandable and interesting manner!
Many of my friends/volunteers have now left S.A. and are back in the States... And yesterday we returned the car we have been renting for two months. Life is much different now. There is a lot less to do but at least I have plenty of time to read. I read Letters From Iwo Jima and am now worried I may run out of books before heading back home! Buying new books here is a major expense. For example, I was planning on reading Nelson Mandela’s autobiography A Long Walk to Freedom, until I saw the price. It was 302 rand... Which is about 45$. -- 45$ for a book!-- I’m sure you are not surprised to learn that I decided to read something else!
My time with the kids in the afternoons has continued to be great! I really love playing soccer with them every day before we start our lessons. It is my rare opportunity to do some kind of exercise here! The worship, singing, and dancing before the Bible story has also produced some of my favorite moments during my time here! The weather has been much warmer here as of late, which is a real blessing. I can’t stand the cold and I can’t wait to get back to the hot summer weather!
On a very positive note: All of the money has finally been raised to cover this trip! It took longer than I had hoped but I am so thankful to my God, church, parents, grandmother, and all of you who have done so much for me, not just financially but also in thoughtful prayer! I know I could not have experienced what I have experienced and be where I am right now with out all of the above!
New blog post coming soon!
God Bless,
Josh Shep
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