CAPE TOWN, South Africa – Carson-Newman All-American utility player Elayna Siebert is spending the first part of her summer break on a missions trip to South Africa. This is a blog of her experiences.
The Lord has given me the amazing opportunity to take a trip with a group of students and professors to Cape Town, South Africa. Thirty-plus hours of travel, intense cardio work from gate to gate in multiple airports, and the help of some Tylenol PM is what it took to arrive in this beautiful port city. To be blunt, I never pictured myself in South Africa. Actually, I never pictured myself outside of my comfortable little East Tennessee home, but the Lord made it happen! He provided financially in amazing ways, and has given me peace and courage in abundance. Soli Deo Gloria!
Every morning and evening, our team of students and professors gathers together for a short devotional. Also, because this is an academic trip as well as a mission trip, we (the students) have begun listening to lectures given by our professors in the evenings. Tonight, however, was a special night, as the founder of Living Hope - the organization our team will be doing mission work through during this two-week trip – provided the lecture for us. In his autobiographical article on the Living Hope website, John Thomas states that his "on-going dream is this – when people look at Living Hope I want them to see Jesus in action." While listening to his message, Mr. Thomas's Christ-like passion for helping the poor and the needy was evident and inspiring.
The message Mr. Thomas spoke to us revealed just how much Jesus Christ emphasized the need for His church (us) to care for the poor and needy in ministry. He made incredible points throughout his message, including the fact that "when we love the poor and needy, we will find that Jesus is dressed in that distressed disguise." As indicated in Matthew 25:40-46, by serving and helping the poor and needy, we are serving Christ. Elsewhere in the Bible, Christ emphasizes the importance of sharing the Gospel with the poor. This point, Mr. Thomas showed us, is highlighted in Luke 4:17-19 and Matthew 11:3-5.
Conviction began setting in as we read these passages. Who am I called to witness to? How should I witness to them? Christ answers both of these questions. As a church, we are called to witness to the poor and needy by clothing them, feeding them, giving them water to drink, and showing them God's love in our actions, words, and demeanor. Mr. Thomas wrapped up his message by challenging us with this question: What would Jesus do if He was in our shoes today? Who would He spend His time with? How would He have served others? These are the questions we are all left to reflect on throughout the remainder of our stay here in Cape Town, though I feel they ought to be questions every Jesus-follower reflects on continuously.
