The Goal

In September 2006 Crusade for Christ (CFC) accommodated a group of students from the Baptist Theological College (BTC) for 1 week of ministry. The plan was for the team from BTC to travel to the CFC farm near Margate where they would be put to work by Crusade for Christ in areas where they needed help. 3D-Outreach joined the expedition in a effort to assist with the planning and logistics of the trip. The goal was for us to help Crusade for Christ in whatever they wanted done.

Crusade for Christ had planned for us to do some maintenance work on their farm, be involved in some tent and youth/kids ministry and then travel to Transkei to help with building and establishing a new church. All of this in just 1 week. What a challenge.

The Team

The team consisted of 4 students from the Baptist Theological college: Aquiline (Zimbabwe), Peter(Nigeria), Charlotte (South Africa) and Lawrence(Nigeria). Solomon (South Africa) joined the team from Edenvale Baptist, where he is a year of your life schools worker, as well. The from 3D-Outreach we had Charl, who was the main organizer, and Paul, the bus driver! The 7 of us set out to make an impact and leave our mark on the South coast and Transkei.

The Journey

Our journey started bright and early on Sunday, 24 September 2006. We all packed our gear into the trailer and piled into the combi for the 9 hour trip to the coast. As with any mission trip we had to rely on what we had and so we prayed very hard over the poor combi, which had over 300 000 Km’s on the clock, to get us there safely

We arrived at the CFC farm on Sunday evening without any mishaps. Our worked started right away as the team decided they’d like to attend the tent service on the Sunday night, just to see what we were in for.

Loud! This is the only word I can use to describe the meetings Loud and confusing, since few of us could understand Zulu. This is only to be expected though. We quickly had to adapt to their way of worship and ministry in order to be effective. The team jumped right in and soon were sharing testimonies with the people.

The next day we set up a routine. Manual labour on the farm during the day and tent ministry at night. Each team member had a chance to share his/her testimony and Peter took the opportunities to preach.

The Blessing of Rain

On the Tuesday it rained. And rained. And rained. The rain did not fall so much as it travelled horizontally through the air. The farm buildings we used to sleep in (they were the stables…) were not designed to deal with horizontal rain. Thus, after a few hours, we had our own indoor swimming pool. Everything was wet and we were all feeling pretty miserable. But in my time in ministry I know that “…in all things God works for the good of those who love him …“ as you will see.

On Wednesday we packed our bags and headed off into the Transkei. Our task for the next 2 days was to help Pastor Lionel build a new church in an area that had no church. Work started immediately and the results can be seen in our gallery. But the real miracle lay in the water.

The area by the church has no water. Water must come from the local well. Any water from the well must be paid for. It could become quite expensive to buy enough water to mix all the concrete and cement needed to build the church. However, the torrential rain that had fallen, the same rain that made us wet and miserable, had filled the foundation trenches with water. Enough water to mix all the concrete needed for the foundations! The torrential rain had also uncovered large amounts of stone next to the road, so when we ran out of stone for our concrete we merely had to collect more from beside the road. A small miracle, but a miracle indeed!

The Return

One week of hard labour in the day and ministry at night takes it’s toll. By Sunday, 29 September we were all dead on our feet and glad to be going home. Although 1 week is so very short we all felt that we were able to leave our mark on the communities we met. As the communities also left their mark on us. Peter wrote the following regarding the trip:

“The outreach to Transkei was heart-warming and a blessing from beginning to end. The trip afforded us time to serve and preach the word of God. We impacted lives and learnt their culture. We learnt from the people in their vibrant way of serving God. The tent programme was full of people daily, children service and youth activities blessed the trip. This is making disciples of all nations (Matt 28:19-20).
Pastor Peter Ajayi, BTC”

Filed Under: News and Stories
Associated Tags: 3D Outreach, Transkei