Connecting with the Broken

A lot has taken place since the last time I have typed a new blog post. The unexpected adventure of Philip Pretorius has still been exactly that, an adventure!

I don’t want to make you read TOO much that you fall asleep half way, so what I am going to do is split the highlights I want to share into two separate blog posts. 

In this post I am going to share some random info on what I’ve been up to and then share a testimony of how I had an opportunity to connect with a broken person and how it has touched my heart.

In the second post… umm wait, I think I will keep that a surprise. Let’s just say, this adventure of mine isn’t just mine anymore, but more on that a bit later.

Here goes…

• I have been one of the group facilitators at our massive Kranskop youth camp

• Elevation (Every Nation Youth) has still been going strong with teaching, praying, worshipping, fellowshipping, raising leaders, making disciples  etc. (just got the great idea to take photo’s with all my Connect Groups and Leadership Groups and post them in one of my next blog posts, ‘watch this space’)

• We also had an Elevation outreach where we took our youth to do ‘The God Test’ with people at The Grove mall! Was amazing to see young people standing up as evangelists.

•  I have taught at our church’s Victory Training

• I have had the opportunity to serve at our evening services by preaching, raising new leaders to do announcements, being the spiritual oversight and helping the power team

• And finally, I have still been enjoying my studies at South African Theological Seminary. I have been busy with the subjects, Christian Counselling and Apologetics, and I have really been enjoying both!

In a nutshell, those are some of the main highlights that has taken place lately in my life specifically ministry wise, but like I said earlier, I want to share a specific testimony of how I have had the opportunity to connect with a person in desperate need of love and support.
 

Connecting with the broken

During the Kranskop Youth Camp I was one of the group facilitators of a group of boys. I ended up facilitating a group of boys from a school in Johannesburg. This school is one of those schools that you would definitely not see as famous, but rather notorious. To give you an idea, many kids use drugs, there is graffiti in the bathrooms, there is no sport at the school due to a lack of interest from the teachers and the hand-full of kids who want to follow Jesus and rise up out of their circumstances are often cursed and even spat on by other kids who is not shy to admit they worship Satan. By the grace of God one of our churches other youth leaders, Eugene, got open doors to minister in that school weekly and help the hand-full of passionate Christian kids start to be the light in that school. Two of these ended up in my group during the Kranskop camp.

One of those boys name is Marcellus. Throughout the camp I could build relationship with him and get various opportunities to show love towards him and speak truth into his life. A friendship was built. He shared with me that his brother was in hospital because he was stabbed in the neck with a knife while protecting his mother... from his father... who is now in jail! On the final evening of the camp we had praise and worship and Marcellus suddenly came running to me with tears in his eyes. His mother phoned to inform him that his brother has passed away. I had the opportunity to minister and counsel him, but mainly just to be there for him… As you could imagine, his heart was broken in tatters.

Amazingly enough the next day he was sharing with me who his friends are that he is going to speak with back at home, on how much God loves us.

But I can’t help but ask myself, what if he weren’t on that camp? Who or where would he have run to for help then? Jesus had a heart for the lost, the weary and the broken. All of us are probably somehow and somewhere exposed to people who are going through a tough time. Maybe you are even going through a tough time? I ask myself, am I loving and interested enough in my ‘neighbour’ to know that he/she are going through a tough time?

After the camp I went with Eugene to Marcellus’ school to follow up on him and Eugene is now continuing to reach out to him. It takes sacrifice to be a helping hand and a loving heart to others, but man oh man it is sooo worth it!

My next post, which will be on a ‘lighter’ note, will be coming soon!