In the Wilderness

 By Lisa Cameron

Today’s sermon this morning in South Africa sounded vaguely familiar. It was about the wilderness. If you remember, Hopewell UMC , had a sermon series on different spaces and Pastor Eddie, who also happens to be my spouse, spoke about the sacred space of the wilderness.  What a coincidence! Honestly speaking, this sermon came at a really good time for me and I needed to travel halfway around the world to hear it. 

The pastor spoke about the transformative opportunities we can have in our season of wilderness. He reminded us that so many, who have gone before us, have needed to travel through the wilderness in order to reach the promised land. And while the journey in the wilderness sometimes makes us feel lonely, uncomfortable, and forgotten, God has not forgotten us. We have not been overlooked. God’s love for us has not changed. Interestingly, the takeaways I’m remembering from Eddie’s sermon is that there is a sacredness to this wilderness traveling. Because the time in the wilderness is temporary (though some of us are in our season of the wilderness) and necessary in order to learn and gain insight into what God wants us to do.

There are those who have those mountaintop moments – the moments of clarity, of seeing the path before us, of knowing what the ‘next thing’ is. But you know, I think there are those of us who experience the same thing in our seasons of wilderness: experiencing the love and graciousness of God in the most astonishing of ways. 

A beautiful woman, with a ‘ministry’ lanyard around her neck, came to me after church. She looked into my eyes and straight into my soul. She said that the Lord had given her a message for me and she wondered if she could share it with me. Here’s what she said: “There are so many dimensions of God. I pray that your eyes will be open to them and that you will see the Lord in your life. You have not been forgotten. You have not been cast aside. And If you are ever questioning if God wants to meet you in your most intimate places, the answer is yes.” 

For those of us in our season of wilderness, we are not alone, friends.

There is still hope in the wilderness.

There is still love in the wilderness.

And God still sees us in the wilderness.

Has always seen us. 

 

Thank You for your generosity!

 by Cammy Brantzeg

I spent the weekend packing 13 suitcases full of donations.  We have 15 mission trip team members going on the trip to South Africa.  We all can check two bags so everyone will pack one bag with their clothing and items for themselves and I am packing the second bag for everyone filled with donations.  

My church Hopewell UMC had a Campaign for Kindness in October where people went out of their way to help others and be kind.  As part of that campaign, I talked to five different groups about South Africa and they helped me prepare donations for my trip.  Thank you to the group of older adults at Hopewell UMC, the kids in The Well after school program, the youth from Hopewell UMC, and a group from Arbor Terrace (a senior living community) who helped me pack toiletry bags for teens, fill pencil bags with school supplies, color scripture cards, make angel ornaments, etc.  I could have never accomplished all these tasks on my own without your help!

Thank you to St Daniels UMC for collecting donations, filling toiletry bags and writing cards to encourage mothers in South Africa.  One of their members Paulette is going on the trip with us and organized these projects.  They collected so many items that we will be able to share the extra toiletries they collected with Cornel's prison ministry.  

Thank you to Trinity Garden UMC and New Life UMC!  Their pastor Shayla dropped of so many items (toiletries, purses, phones, etc) that it brought tears to my eyes as I organized and packed everything. 

Our team collected donations from Collegium Charter School, the Chester County Intermediate Unit, friends on Facebook, etc.  

Thank you to Amy Snyder, Annie Brantzeg and others who made plastic canvas crosses for me! 

Thank you to the individuals who colored scripture cards!  

Thank you to Barb Smyzer for the angel ornament idea and the groups that helped me make them!

Thank you to Bill and Sandy Bradley for the costume jewelry donations!

Thank you so much for your generosity!

I am a little afraid to list names because I don't want to leave anyone out.  If I did forget someone, please email me and I will update my list.  :-)

On your mark, get set....grow.

by Karyn Ross

I have been wanting to go on a mission trip to South Africa for a few years. There were a couple of times I came close, but the timing was never right. 

This time, when the opportunity presented itself my initial reaction was another resounding no. I had been traveling a lot, I had many loose ends I was trying to tie up, the group of young adults I had started here needed me, my family needed me and my energy already seemed to be focused in too many places, I didn’t feel grounded. But this time, I couldn’t shake the feeling that in fact THIS was the trip I was meant to take. No matter how many excuses I seemed to come up with, I kept getting the feeling that I needed to do this.  I decided I would trust this feeling and take that leap of faith. 

I knew right away I had made the right decision and I am so excited for our journey to begin! However, there have been a few moments, particularly this past week, when moments of panic set in. How will I get everything done? Who will handle the things that I normally do while I’m away? Will my family be ok? 

While trying to process these thoughts and reassure myself that all would be well and that I had in fact made the right decision to go, I thought back to when I was younger. Whether it was a friendly backyard race among neighborhood kids or I was standing on top of the block before a swimming competition, the words “On your mark, get set, go!” elicited insecurity, anxiety, and fear. Would I be fast enough? Would I come in last? Would I even finish? It only lasted a split second but nevertheless it was there. 

Over the years I have grown in so many ways. I am now a confident adult, capable of making decisions and even feel I have imparted important lessons that I have learned to my children. Just recently I was telling one of them “Never stop learning, never stop growing and never be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and take that chance.” 

This week I came across this quote by Madeleine L’Engle…”I do not think that I will ever reach a stage when I will say, ‘This is what I believe. Finished. What I believe is alive…and open to growth.’”

Yesterday my daily devotion from Lisa Terkeurst was this…”When I take on a growth mindset, I don’t chain my identity to my insecurity. Instead, I chain my identity to the Word of God that breathes hope and powerful potential back into any situation.” 

Coincidence? Maybe, but I choose to believe it is a message, one that I have received with great clarity and as our trip draws near, instead of hearing “On your mark, get set, go!” I will take a deep breath, trading fear and anxiety for peace and joy as I slowly exhale and whisper ”On your mark, get set…Grow.”💓

Preparing for our Trip

Tony and I will be leading a group of 15 people to Paarl Valley, South Africa November 11-22.  We have our second meeting tomorrow to prepare the group for the trip.  I wanted to set up the trip blog before our meeting so I thought I would write something quick.

Our team plans to build two brick houses for Mosaic Paarl Valley and visit the Mosaic mothers, the Mosaic After School Program, the Ma's for Wellington preschool, the Ma's for Wellington Avodah group and possibly visit a prison with my friend Cornel.    

I am excited to share the love I have for this country and the people with this team.  I am excited to see South Africa through the eyes of the 5 new people going on this trip.  I am excited to return with the 9 people who have traveled to SA with me before.  I am excited to see my SA friends again and catch up.  I am looking forward to walking off the plane in Cape Town and knowing I am back.

With each trip I take to South Africa, I am learning to hold lightly to the plan and be open to where God leads us.  On my first mission trip to South Africa in August 2015, I remember the day we had our commissioning at Hopewell UMC before our trip.  We had a meeting with our team after the commissioning.  Tony had to walk into that meeting and tell the team that the plan we had for that trip did not work out.  Our friends in South Africa quickly came up with an alternative plan and we ended up in a park renovating shipping containers that became the start of the Mosaic Paarl Valley Community Center.  God had a plan and worked it out but it wasn't what we expected.  (The photo below was in the park at the end of my first mission trip.  We took a group photo.)

Most trips do not have something that dramatic happen on them but God always shows up in big and small ways on our trips.  I can't wait to see where He leads our group and who He places in our path.

Please keep our team in your prayers as we prepare for our trip.

If we pray, we will believe.
If we believe, we will love.  

If we love, we will serve. 

- Mother Teresa