As you might have heard already, in the beginning of February Mike
had the huge privilege of teaching the first ever Faith Discovery Group at Hope
Africa Collective.
 |
| Mike taking his work very seriously... |
But first, during December and January, "my man" spent much of his time
working with a Xhosa co-worker named Mawande Mani, to write the material for this
course (see my sister-in-law’s post for more information about this man of God http://charlenefast.blogspot.ca). In case you don't have time to read it, it is safe to say that we have a special family bond with uncle Mawande, although he has yet to realize we're not actually related.
 |
| Mawande - A.K.A. Petti is Vincent's BFF |
The goal of
the course was to introduce the students to Jesus-Christ, as the large majority of
our students are not following Him, even though some of them might call themselves Christians.
 |
| Mawande loves teaching students and using white boards. |
This is what
Mike had to say about how the class went, and boy-oh-boy it’s worth reading (and not just because I said so)!!!
“Our first
class was amazing! We had 10 students
and immediately on day 1, God was working in powerful ways. We opened up the class so that everyone could share a little
about themselves, and it was incredible to witness how the Spirit just opened
up these students to share powerful and painful life
experiences that they have struggled through.
We prayed and ministered to them, and praised God for how His hand was
working early on.
Our students
also engaged with us in what we were teaching.
For example, when talking about money, one of our students who is about
a 30 years old said if offered the choice between money and his wife, he would
immediately chose money and leave his wife.
And then if offered the choice between money and his children, he would
abandon his kids.
 |
| Xhosa girl in Phillipi near HAC |
And from many
conversations like this we presented how different Jesus teaches us to look at
our world and our values. We spent time
teaching about how Jesus related to people and how Jesus desires to relate to them.
We spent time discussing the Kingdom of God and His magnificent plans for our
world. Finally, on Friday, we presented
the finished work of Christ on the cross and through to the resurrection.
The group
was quiet as we gave time for reflection and response. Mawande and I then went person to person and
just asked what was happening in their hearts and minds and how we could pray
for them. Here are
a few of the words that they shared:
“I want
God’s love in my life.” (This was the
student who had at the beginning of the week wanted to trade in his wife/kids
for money)
“God has
awoken my heart.”
“I feel more
connected with God, I felt his presence.”
“I have felt
abandon by God because of serious sickness in my life. Now I feel encouraged that God loves me! I haven’t been to church in 3 years, but I want
to go back to church.”
“I want to
follow Jesus, he has helped me to forgive people this week. I want to apply him to more areas of my
life. I learned that God has good plans
for me.”
I was so
blown away by these testimonies and each one took significant steps towards
God. To hear a student on their own say
“I want to apply him to more areas of my life” is massively encouraging for
Mawande and I as we lead these classes."
 |
| Mike excited about how well the class went |
So thank you
for praying for Mike and Mawande, and please continue to pray for them as they follow
up with these students over their remaining weeks in Life Development at
HAC. Please pray for them as they are
seeking the Lord, that they will completely surrender their hearts and lives to
him.
