Blessed Relationships

Robin and I have just returned to the US after 3 weeks in South Africa. We were incredibly blessed by the time there which absolutely flew by. Unfortunately due to some struggles with internet access I was not able to post a real-time update on our trip the final 2 weeks. So I want to give a brief synopsis of some of the highlights of the rest of our trip that included.

• Sweet reunions with our home cell group from Norwegian Church and so many other friends in South Africa
• The miracle of finding a new flat in town at the right price for Debbie, Rachel and Nunus; seeing their joy in having a better and more secure place to live
• The Ugu AIDS Alliance meeting during which Two Tunics and the other members shared their programs and mapped out who's working where in the Ugu District
• Our visits with Doug and Suzy Hufton to Moi at Sinekhono Project and Cornelia at Jesus Christ Cares Ministry
• Our precious time with Sharon Jones, our dear friend and manager of the Genesis Care Centre on her return from England on the day of our departure
• And most especially 12 September 2010, the day Rachel and Nunus (our "adopted" nieces) prayed to invite Jesus into their lives as Savior and Lord as we shared the gospel with them

The event of this last bullet will certainly be the most enduring memory of our trip and the one with a certain eternal impact. The amazing growth we have seen in the girls over these last 4+ years has been incredible to be a part of. (We also celebrated Nunus' 8th birthday during the trip.) The seeds planted through the commitment to get them weekly to the Norwegian Church services and children's church, the children's Bibles given and read with them, the Scripture Union camps and the gospel message shared with them last March have, through the watering and nourishment of the Spirit born fruit for a harvest now. God is good!

In my previous post about the first week of our trip I mentioned the word or theme that stood out for me was "progress". Progress that brought me a little taste of heaven. As I reflect on the highlights of the last half of our trip listed above another theme word is clear. That word is "relationships". Every one of the highlights listed above involves a very important and precious relationship that God has brought into our lives since he first called us to South Africa in 2005.

God is a God of relationships. He accomplishes His purposes through the relationship of His people with Himself and with other people. The Bible is full of the stories of relationships of God with his people and their relationships with one another. God initiates a relationship with us and then pursues it. As we respond and enter into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, He grants us life, faith, hope and love. And that love must be lived out in our relationships with other people. God has blessed us with incredible loving relationships with so many people in South Africa. Being with them again was such a blessing to us and another foretaste of heaven.