My First Outreach

If I remember correctly, my first outreach took place the Easter weekend of the year 2012. We camped at a caravan park in Scottsburgh, a resort town south coast of South Africa. After school that Friday, we took our luggage that was packed the previous day and got to our Church where we were set to leave at 3pm. But of course, some people arrive late so we ended up leaving at 4pm. As soon as we arrived, i was already tired. However, our youth leaders had other plans. There was another youth group that were joining us on this trip, so we were playing games with them on the beach! At 8pm, here I was running around hoping it would be my last game! Finally, when it was all over, the youth leader of the other group decides to take out his guitar and start worshipping on the beach. I love worshipping God, don’t get me wrong, but I was tired and here we are singing and dancing to old classics at 10pm! The other youth were so energetic that I had to move out the way for their rapid movements. I eventually had enough as I was literally falling asleep, I had a shower and hit the sack. Strange thing though, the other youth group had fasted the entire week …..

Our youth group had many items that were rehearsed such as dance and skits so when we visited churches in Scottburgh, we had a schedule that fitted in well with the sermon that our youth leader had prepared. It was a pretty cool arrangement and this stunned the congregation. We then decided to visit a block of flats where speakers and sound were set up and they started to preach the Gospel. We were given tracts and told to go give them out and tell people about Jesus. I walked around handing out tracts as I made my way to the flats. I climbed the stairs as I made my way up along the floors and many accepted the tracts while some shook their heads in disregard.

I finally arrived to the last address at the very top. The door was open but the gate was closed. Not locked. A lady sat on the sofa.

“Jesus loves you ma’am” I stated as I stuck my hand through the gate holding out the tract. She didn’t respond. So I stuck the tract in the gate’s design and turned to leave and stopped when I heard ‘Pray for me’.

I turned back decided to go inside to pray for this old lady. I was praying like crazy! Thinking what could go wrong. At the beginning of the outreach, the youth leader gave us all a sinners prayer card that was laminated. I had stuck it in my Bible which i was carrying with at the time.

“Do you want to accept Jesus as your personal Saviour?” I asked the old lady who just nodded.

So I opened my Bible and told her to repeat after me, “Dear Lord Jesus….”

She nodded.

“You need to repeat after me.” I repeated.

She nodded.

“Dear Lord Jesus….”

She whined, almost like a puppy’s cry.

I was getting freaked out so I just blurted out the entire salvation prayer while I heard her whine the entire time. I got up to leave and she started to raise her hand and praise God. Worshipping Jesus right there. I looked at her as if she as crazy.

“I was mute and now I can speak….”

At first I couldn’t register what was happening, then it hit me….

She was whining because she couldn’t speak. I prayed for her and returned to where the rest of the youth had gathered. That old lady was one of the many souls that were saved that day….

I woke up the next morning quite early. I sat on those benches that faced the rolling waves that washed up onto the beach. I took picture with my old Nokia that had a VGA camera. The cool breeze wafts through as I read my Bible, thinking, we can claim to say that we believe in this book but do we really? Why do we doubt? Why can’t we see whats happening all around us? Are we too busy with what’s happening with our own lives? Do you really believe that that theological degree you are planning to obtain one day is going to help you accomplish what God has planned for you today?