and finally... glasses arrived!

 The final suitcases of glasses finally arrived!  Thank you for praying - it arrived about an hour in to our final clinic today and Pastor Julius will be able to hand them out in other upcoming events. 

We were at Hope Baptist Church again today for the glasses clinics.  We saw over 200 people come through and we estimate over 25 professions of faith today.  Praise God!  Our conversations were encouraging, enlightening, and humbling - the daily lives of people in this part of the world are quite different than ours, and in other ways they are quite the same.  The predominant prayer requests that heard this week were related to: searching for jobs (the unemployment rate in SA is around 34%, with the rate over 60% in young males), illness, alcoholism, family issues, parenting decisions, safety, etc. 

We returned in the late afternoon to start the evening session.  John Herr had made himself available to hold counseling sessions for individuals who had signed up during the week.  Of course, we don't have details but according to Pastor Julius they were for a life-changing purpose. 

Pastor Keith held a session with a group who were interested in learning about worship leadership.  The session was well received and it was very touching to hear how comfortable people are to be vulnerable.  Someone asked the question: how can I lead worship and stand in front of everyone when my own life is falling apart?  Questions of worthiness seem to be universal, don't they?

Steve and Joy pivoted to teach a session that was originally meant to be for "marriage enrichment", and instead taught tips on communication, intentional time, and true partnership to some couples, young adults and youth.  They discussed how to harness their strengths and bring them to their relationships in marriage, friendship, and business using these tools. 

It was a really great day!

By the way, I meant to also mention that yesterday Pastor Keith had an opportunity to be interviewed for the oldest Christian radio station in South Africa.  It is a station for which Pastor Julius records a weekly sermon and discussion.  It has over 4 MILLION listeners!

Prayer requests: 

- praise God for the arrival of the suitcase of glasses!

- pray encouragement and support for the new brothers and sisters in Christ 

- pray for needs to be met in this community

- pray that the team leaving tomorrow can pack up easily and return to the States on time