DKEA Mission trip to South Africa (4th – 12th July)
For I know their works and their thoughts and the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and shall see my glory… v19And they shall declare my glory among the nations (Isaiah 66:19-19)
This summer a team 7 people from the diocese of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh will be heading to South Africa for a missions trip over 10 days. The team will be based St Thomas a church in township called Heideveld, just outside of Cape Town. The team will be coming alongside Crosslinks mission partners Alun and Debbie Burt who are leading the church about 10 years and previous to that were involved in other roles with St Thomas. Hedeveld is a socially deprived area of the city known as the Cape Flats. The Cape Flats owe their existence due to the system of racial segregation and discrimination known as Apartheid. Even though Apartheid has been dismantled the legacy of it can still be seen visibly.
On a Saturday in April the team gathered for a day of orientation with Crosslinks staff. We took the time to understand what mission is and why it is important. We thought about what is involved with cross cultural work. We were shown a useful evangelistic tool called Two Ways to Live that is a tool designed to explain the gospel in 6 simple drawings. We explored the context of South Africa and we thought about the importance of working together as a tram.
One of the main things we will be engaged with is a children’s holiday club at St Thomas. We will also be visiting some other ministries in Cape Town. One of these is a homeless ministry called U Turn where we will be getting an overview of what they do and visiting two of their social enterprises. These initiatives aims to help facilitate recovery and reconnection to those who are homeless as well as giving access to basic needs such as meals, clothing and ablution facilities. We will also be involved in the Sunday morning service at St Thomas over two Sundays, help run a youth group meeting, a ladies breakfast and visiting a township in the beautiful town of Stellenbosch where a local bishop is planting a church.
It won’t be all work however. We also have a day set aside to experience some of the many tourist attractions that Cape Town has to offer. The team is very excited to partner with the Burt family and look forward to meeting them and the church family in St Thomas. We pray that it will be transformative time away, a blessing to each individual on the team and our host church St Thomas. But pray most of all that the trip will bring glory to God as we join in his mission in South Africa.
Canon Christiaan and Karen Snell
How can you pray for the team?
Give thanks to God for his provision for the trip.
Give thanks to God for the link with Crosslinks and committed and faithful mission partners Alun and Debbie Burt who are based there.
Pray for the team (Christiaan, Karen, Marion, Mary, Jeniffer, Raimey, Joel, Joshua and Victoria) as they prepare to go that God will prepare their hearts and take away any worries.
Pray for holiday club that children will be excited about the good news of Jesus as we share it and that God would be gracious to save.
Pray for our host church St Thomas that we will be warmly received and that we might build strong relationships with the Burts and the congregation.
Pray for team harmony as we serve together.
Pray for team’s safety as we move from place to place on the trip and that we might be alert and wise.
Pray that the trip will excite us about God’s mission in the world and give us eagerness to see his kingdom grow, there and here as we return
