Live Report from Confederations Cup

Entry from Bill Adams:

 

Missions trips consist of three areas:  ministry, fellowship, travel.

 

The ministry time so far has been divine.  Thanks to the steady hand of Gary Crous who has patiently driven us we have proclaimed Christ at three stadiums & downtown Joburg twice.  

 

Gary has made possible for Thomas & me to cover many areas which we would not have been able to if we were here alone.  I can’t emphasize this point enough:  the grace Gary is showing to us strangers (Matt. 25:35) is a divine gift.  His heart to serve is to be emulated by each & everyone of us as we interact as the body of Christ.  Otherwise we are clanging gongs & brass symbols.

 

All three of us therefore have preached to the locals in downtown Joburg Wednesday afternoon for three hours.  

 

It was a beautiful site as Thomas witnessed to many, Gary began distributing tracts & drew a large crowd to whom he presented the law & the Gospel.  I was able to simply read through the Book of Luke for three hours.  Many were ministered to; many encouraged; others seemed stunned & confused as to our presences; others told us of their ministries.

 

 

Then it was off to Rustenberg for the game between Bafana Bafana (the South African team) & New Zealand.  There is much zeal for the Bafana Bafana.  Fans cheering, blowing vuvuzelas and wearing the national colors.  

 

Gary expertly navigated us so that Thomas & I got out of the car to walk to the stadium.  Security is very tight in terms of allowing vehicles close to the stadiums.  So we walked several hundred yards and set up outside the gate.  

 

We preached & Thomas distributed tracts for two hours  Agaiin it was so beautiful to stand in the midst of thousands of fans proclaiming Christ even in the dark the Word of Light penetrated the hearts of the hearers.

 

Many responded with hallelujah & at one point ten teenagers surrounded Thomas shouting the name of Jesus.  Even the police heard the Word.

 

Gary was posted where he let us off &, by God’s grace, was able to distribute tracts & converse with those walking to the stadium from that direction.

 

One other note is that whenever we have stopped for gas or to get a soda Gary & Thomas immediately begin talking with the men who pump the gas & work in the stores.  They patiently share the Law & the Gospel with each.  It’s heart rending to see these two Saints boldly & joyfully proclaim Christ.

 

Yesterday we did a doubleheader:  first game was the USA vs. Brazil at Pretoria & the second game was Egypt vs. Italy in Joburg.

 

Ah such grace.  Gary astutely got us down to the main pedestrian gate for the first game.  And for 90 minutes we preached & distributed tracts.  This picture of of Gary witnessing to a fan.   

 

 

What else can be said that Gary & Thomas spoke with people, distributed tracts & boldly proclaimed the Truth for two hours.  

 

Candidly, we do the same thing everywhere we go.  The only thing that changes are the ears that hear the Word & the eyes that see the Ambassadors of Christ.  Our mission to sow & water as much as possible & that’ll always be our mission.

 

Then yesterday concluded with Thomas & me preaching for 45 minutes at the Joburg stadium.  Traffic was terrible from Pretoria & around the stadium otherwise we would have arrived in plenty of time.

 

But nevertheless thousands of fans heard the Word.  One of the policemen spoke with me along time.  He was so encouraged to see us.  He even noticed how when the Muslim fans passed me they began to blow their vuvuzelas to drown out the Word.  

 

Fellowship:  the great intangible is the fellowship.  When you spend 16 hours a day with people you have plenty of time to get to know each other & the Spirit works to connect our hearts.  Man, this is the sweetest part of missions.  I already miss these guys and we are only three days into the trip.

 

Each of us has his personal testimony that is shared & that brings a variety of perspective & passions to our time & outreach.  See, this is what you truly pay for when you go on a missions trip.  You can minister anytime, anywhere, but you can’t create the fellowship except in this intense environment.  So I whole heartedly encourage you to sign up & participate in the sweetest gift of our Christian faith this side of heaven.

 

 

Travel:  Ah.  The travel.  For Thomas & me seeing the sites of South Africa has been wonderful.  We’ve been in three cities so far; seen the Capitol in Pretoria (where we met two American missionaries); seen the countryside & heard the history of South Africa from Gary.

 

 

He’s a native.  He calls himself a South African & takes great pride in the national sports teams.  Gary was born in Cape Town & now lives in Pietermaritzburg near Durban.  He loves his country & shares his passion for it with us.  

 

 

Travel also gives a glimpse into the lives of the people & into God’s hand. 

 

 

There is more to come later…we’re off now to Joburg & the game tonight at Ellis Park Stadium.