This past weekend I took part in a Christian retreat put on by the Student Y. It was an awesome, tiring, and intense weekend of teaching and worship. The theme of this retreat was “Vuka Sizwe!” meaning, “arise nations.” The camp hosted 120 students, and was nestled into the hills outside of Simonstown. To the left of the camp was a towering mountain, and to the right was the ocean. It was gorgeous. The students, who went to UCT, were from different countries all over Africa. I made friends from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia….and the list goes on. It was great to get to know such awesome individuals from all over Africa.
The days were jam-packed with messages given by speakers, bible studies, worship, and seminars. My favorite speaker that we heard was David Bliss, an elderly man from Boston, who works as a minister in youth prisons. His speaking was enrapturing, as he told stories of his travels as a missionary throughout Africa, encouraging us to take on a missional attitude. His wife, Deborah Bliss, was really nice. She was from San Diego originally, and invited me to come visit them on a weekend. (they live about an hour away inland…I will definitely visit them soon :)
The worship this weekend was amazing! It was such an experience to worship with people from at least 15 nations. Not only did we worship in English, but we also sang worship songs in Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, and a few other African languages. My friend Dudu (who I was roomed with, and loved getting to hang out with), translated the songs for me when we were singing. It was amazing to worship in so many languages. Dancing, clapping, and joyful shouting filled the worship sessions. I am so amazed to see how God’s message of love is global, and how he is worshipped all across Africa.
During free times we hiked around and explored the area of Simonstown. The first day we went on a small jaunt up the mountain. I was craving ice cream and desperately needed to go into town. On the second day, our newly made friend Grant, who had a car, offered to take us into town. We saw the penguins at Boulder’s beach, talked about shark attacks, drove up to the top of the mountain overlooking the town, and most importantly went downtown where we got ice cream and hung out at the harbor. There were tons of fish restaurants in Simonstown. I will definitely be taking the train back soon to experience South African Fish and Chips.
Overall, my weekend was amazing. I got to know some awesome girls. I made tons of friends, most of which go to UCT. I got to worship in crazy African languages. God taught me a lot over this weekend about what it means to be completely fulfilled through my relationship with him. I learned that I wasn’t putting enough trust in the plans that God has for me. I felt fulfillment and complete love, something that only He can give. I found so much joy in this weekend, and thank God for teaching me, and giving me the opportunity to make so many African friends.
No comments:
Post a Comment