Worship is Fun

Have you ever been guided through a warm up before worship on Sunday morning?

I think anyone who has had a chance to come to Hope Baptist Church gets excited about Sunday morning worship... you know that it is going to be unlike anything you'll get to experience in the United States.  

Today was no exception. 

Our worship leader gave us heads up that our worship should be heard through our voices and seen in our movement - and then led us in a bit of a warm up (maybe she didn't want any of us visitors to pull a muscle while we were dancing).  So many wonderful songs and dancing (yes, dancing) followed bringing us into such a wonderful time of praise and worship.  The songs ranged from very fast paced with lots of clapping and more dancing (you'll probably want to ask Linda and Kathy about how the spirit literally moved them around the sanctuary) to very slow and worshipful songs - some in English and some in different African languages.  What an awesome treat to get a glimpse into how worship might be in Heaven.

A familiar hymn: 

Our very own Pastor Keith was invited to preach - and he definitely brought the Word!  He shared a timely message of how we are called to worship in spirit and in mind, and to illustrate his point, he then sang a song he taught our children's choir a while back in an African language as well as "Come Though Fount of Every Blessing".

While that was going on, Hannah and Joy got an opportunity to teach Kids Church to about 50 kids from ages 0-17 (all in one room!).  Joy taught a lesson about friendship: how God invented friendship and how Jesus is a friend who will never disappoint us.  The kids then joined in a fun craft of friendship bracelets and a laughter-filled game with a 20' parachute (which barely fit in the room). 

The volunteers then served all of the church a delicious braai (BBQ) South African style of rice, pap (cornmeal porridge), beef, pork, chicken and sausages.  Such a wonderful act of service for us and the whole congregation. 

After some time to visit with Julius & Cintia, we made a quick trip to a small nearby mall and returned to the hotel to sort our glasses.

 

 

Some food for thought: 

- our worship leader started the service today by saying: make someone feel comfortable with a smile on your face... 

- at some point today, most of us were out of our comfort zone in some way (at least out of the dead center of the comfort zone) - and we discussed how the day was full and awesome.  What blessing might you miss by not stepping into a new environment?

- over and over, this congregation amazed us with how well they served our team - including something I don't think any of us have experienced before: prior to lunch a woman (assisted by John) came by and helped us wash our hands by pouring warm soapy water over our hands and into a bowl.  It was somehow both helpful and humbling at the same time.  It conjured a similar image of Jesus' feet being washed by Mary.  How can we challenge ourselves to serve others in a more Christ-like way?

Pray for: 

- continued health, safety, and protection from fatigue - we are going to be tired tomorrow!

- the fourth suitcase of glasses still has not been delivered

- tomorrow, our first day of the eye glass clinics where we hope to have the opportunity to pray with many people to make decisions for Christ or encourage them in the Lord.

A video perspective from Hannah on the day: 

First day in SA, like we never left!

 If you have never had the opportunity to take a trip for 20-hours on a various airplanes, it will be difficult to truly know some of the idiosyncrasies of international travel. It's exciting and fun and eye-opening, and at the same time it's tiring, and uncomfortable (in more ways that one) and personal space isn't the same in all cultures.

Nonetheless, the seven of us arrived on the same flight into Johannesburg International Airport, and were greeted by Pastor Julius - we were all so happy to see him!  We rented our 9 passenger van driven by the international-driving-left-side-of-the-road-expert, Keith Matney and his trusty navigator stay-to-the-left-watch-for-humans-in-the-road, Steve Waller.  We safely made our way to the beautiful Oppihoek Guesthouse in Pretoria. 

After our traditional first day lunch at Nando's (a local chicken fast food restaurant) and a quick stop at a men's conference being taught by some pastor friends of Julius (in the mall!), we came back for a shower and some rest.  

We have just returned from a fun and delicious dinner with our team, Julius & Cintia, Julius' sister Esther and her son (dad's out of town) and a cousin.  One of the great gifts from God is how relationships in His Kingdom often feel like coming home even when the surroundings and people are very different.  It has been so wonderful to connect with each other again.

Prayer Requests: 
- please pray for one of our suitcases to arrive in the next day. It has glasses in it and should be on a late flight from Heathrow.
- our first Sunday service tomorrow
- for everyone to get good rest and to acclimate to the time zone quickly

Hannah also captured some fun video of the day: 

2023 trip: Leaving on a jet plane!

 We are very excited to finally be leaving for South Africa today!  The team has been preparing for several months now... in spite of that, there always seem to be so many last minute things to do before you get on a 20 hour flight - including mentally preparing yourself for a 20-hour flight!

We will be working with Pastor Julius Mbu and his wife Cintia at Hope Baptist Church in Pretoria (Sunnyside), South Africa.  How we have anticipated this moment to see how God has continued to move in the four years that has passed since we last saw them.  

We are going to hand out non-prescription eyeglasses in an ongoing ministry that the church has in the community.  This is something that our teams have done in the past as well.  FSBC Scottsdale and FBC Fountain Hills (now Cornerstone) have donated about 1000 pairs of glasses that we will hand out. 
We will also lead some workshops in counseling for pastors, marriage enrichment, and worship leadership.  The team will also get to help in an after school program and help some kids with homework!

No trip to South Africa would be complete without an opportunity to see some animals out in the wild - so, this week we will also head to Pilanesberg, a game reserve, where we will take a break during the week, and bring Julius and Cintia along to have fun and relax!

Pray specifically: 
- For safety, logistics, and health of our team

- For the opportunity to share the Gospel with those we meet

- For a time of encouragement and ministry with Julius and Cintia

In the meantime, we are off on a great adventure... but first 20-hours on a plane!

Blessings, 

The 2023 team: Keith & Kathy Matney, Linda Briseno, John Herr, Steve & Joy Waller & Hannah

Some closing thoughts...

Joy Waller
FSBC Scottsdale
→1st time serving with Hope Baptist Church in South Africa; forever connected through love and family


Some closing thoughts about our time in SA...

I was happy to be back in the familiar culture of warmth and openness this past week in SA.  What a great

Steve and Joy Waller with children from the eyeglass

clinic in Soshanguve.

week we had! Your prayers covered us in physical safety, encouraged us through fatigue, and provided words when we needed to share God's hope.  The beauty of stepping out of your comfort zone is being able to gain new perspective and learn some new things about yourself as well.  I am privileged to have the opportunity to travel many places. I always enjoy seeing the wonderful diversity of the body of Christ, and it reminds me to actively remember to reach out to those who aren't like me. 

I will share some closing prayer requests for you:

• Pray for the many seeds planted through the eye glass clinics, and for the SA team as they follow up with each of them.

• Pray that God strengthens the leaders at Hope Baptist Church: giving them endurance for the work, building character and leadership skills. Pray that they take the many learnings from the conference and are able to put them into practice.

• Pray for Julius and Cintia: that their marriage continues to thrive, they have wisdom in their work, and energy for busier church life than we can even imagine.

l-r: Joy and Steve Waller,

     Julius and Cintia Mbu

• Pray for Julius: wisdom as he shepherds many people, plants new churches, builds education and leadership programs, and casts an ambitious vision for Hope.

• It is said that because of the many people who immigrate to Pretoria that all of Africa can be reached.  Pray that the church in Sunnyside continues to draw an international congregation that can in turn reach many countries.

• Pray for the members of the 2018 team as God revealed Himself in new ways through this trip. May they also all be emboldened and re-energized in their walk with God.

And to our many readers: If you ever have an opportunity to go to the continent of Africa - go.  It will forever change you.

l-r: Edith Lyle, Mitch McDonald, Mona McDonald, Kathy Matney, Keith

     Matney, Wanda Bagwell, Bill Bagwell, Tracy Newcomb, Joy Waller, Steve

     Waller, Beth Shook, Steve Shook

Saying Goodbye

Tracy Newcomb

Foothills Southern Baptist Church, Yuma

→ 2nd time serving in South Africa

It’s hard to believe that our time in South Africa is coming to an end. It’s been a great week and we have been able to witness God do some awesome things!

We started today packing up and getting ready to leave our home away from home. The staff at The Wardrobe Guest House has taken good care of us this week. Then we headed back to Hope Baptist Church for one final ministry event.

Edith Lyle sharing the gospel with a

young man attending the eyeglass

clinic

We were blessed to work with the Pastor Julius and the team at Hope for an eyeglass clinic in Sunnyside. 

We saw about 60-75 people during the clinic this morning. At least five people accepted Christ during the clinic and many more will be contacted by the church for follow up.

We said goodbye to those at the church and headed to get some lunch before heading to the government buildings. As we looked out over Pretoria we were able to spend some final moments in prayer together as a team. We prayed for the Pastor Julius & Cintia, Hope Baptist Church, Sunnyside, Pretoria, and for God’s work in South Africa as a whole. 

Mona McDonald celebrates with a 

young man who accepted Christ at 

the eyeglass clinic

Now we are once again beginning our lengthy journey via planes, trains, and automobiles as we head back home to Arizona.

Although this blog post is titled “Saying Goodbye,” in reality we know that we are actually just saying “see you later” to so many of these great people. We have confidence we will see our brothers and sisters again, either in another trip to South Africa or ultimately one day in heaven. We are so thankful for these relationships that God has given us in His body!

Tracy

Good morning Washington DC!

Safari Day

Kathy Matney

FSBC Scottsdale

→ 1^st time serving in South Africa with Hope Baptist Church

Today was Safari day at Pilanesberg National Park. God favored us with the most amazing display of His creativity. We saw at least 13 different species of animals- a herd of elephants, a family of hippos, a crash of rhinos, a pride of lions, a zeal of zebras, a tower of giraffes, a herd of wildebeests, a troop of baboons and several more. What made this even more amazing was our ability to see them up close and traveling in large numbers. It was a breathtaking site!  

After the safari, we had lunch at a market, took a little time to shop for souvenirs, and traveled back to our B&B to get ready for our evening session. Joy did a fabulous job of leading the Hope Baptist leadership team and us in identifying our personality types for the purpose of effective communication in ministry.

We are excited for tomorrow, the last eyeglass distribution. Please pray for us as we share the love of Jesus with the people of Pretoria.  

A Special Day

Steve Shook

Foothills Baptist Church, Ahwatukee

→ 3rd time serving in South Africa

A moment of prayer before Steve Waller gives the message at Hope Baptist

Church, Soshanguve.

Today was a special day of worship and prayer not only at Hope Baptist Church, Sunnyside, but also her two church plants in Soshanguve, South Africa: Hope Baptist Church of Soshanguve and Faith Baptist Church.  The team served in the three locations somewhat simultaneously in order to assist and lead out in the morning activities. While Keith Matney preached at Hope Church, Sunnyside, Steve Waller and Mitch McDonald preached at the churches in Soshanguve. God’s message of hope and love was shared through these three men of God, resulting in several new additions to the body of Christ.  Praise God!

l-r: Keith Matney preaching at Hope Baptist Church, Sunnyside. Steve Waller 

sharing at Hope Baptist Church, Soshenguve. Mitch McDonald gives the 

message at Faith Baptist Church, Soshenguve.

One of the more anticipated outreach events connected with this South Africa partnership is the eye glass clinic. The clinic provides much needed glasses to members of the community around the church, at no cost.  Today we held the clinic in the community around Faith Baptist Church in Soshanguve. This event gives us the chance to touch the lives of those who participate by providing prayer support and the opportunity to present the gospel while they register and wait to receive their glasses.  The setting for this clinic was quite unique - inside the tent that was used for the worship service earlier that morning. The closest I’ve ever been to a tent revival!

After a quick lunch, we returned to a significant crowd lined up to receive their glasses. In addition to those making professions of faith in the worship services, there were many that professed a new life in Christ today as a result of the clinic. God is Amazing!

I think I’ll leave you with a few more pictures to tell the story I really want to share. What a great day of worship!!

Steve Shook