Countdown

We have been closing down on the days left on campus. From tomorrow it will be two days left. Unfortunately, students are going home to their families and I will never be able to see students again. As students leave the res hall I must come to the realization that there is an eternity at stake for their life. If I haven’t shared with them then I am driven to have them hear the gospel. Is there anything better for them to hear about than their eternity? I could talk about what they are going to do at home, if they are going to be with friends, what food they are eating, or anything else that seems pointless in light of eternity. Time draws to an end here on campus and I cannot leave any regrets as I go on the plane. I want to have gospel conversations with students!

So now that I got that out of the way let me fill you in on our last week... What an incredible time! My ministry partner and I have gotten a chance to see some pretty awesome (literally awe-inspiring) views of Jozi. We have climbed to the top of something called the Tower of Lights with one of my friends Themba.  

Though It doesn't seem high (it really isn't) the view is crystal clear and we are able to see out to Joburg all around...

After that the group we were with went around campus and they have something I call the "Tunnel of Graffiti"and some of the art is incredible! We had to get a picture in it. It is tunnel that goes underneath a main highway that connects East Campus and West Campus. I could stay in there all day and just look at the Art.

This past saturday we went to the Walter Sisulu Botanical Garden in South Africa. We had seen pictures of the gardens but arriving there was just incredible! The Gardens were HUGE!!!! It had a waterfall that we were able to climb to the top of and peek over it (a little intimidating... to be honest) and if kept climbing up we were able to see an incredible view of South Africa!

This week is going to be tough! I just ask that you can pray for our team as we--sadly-- say goodbye to students we will probably never see again. Pray that the gospel can penetrate their hearts. Also pray that the team, though utterly exhausted, can keep pressing on for Jesus' name to be made known!

This will probably be my last blog update before I head home... We have a lot of stuff to do in the next week and a half and I will actually not be anywhere with internet (I know... no excuse). I will write it when I get back to the States... But we have a lot ahead of us. Our Winter Camp is happening next week so pray that students will have a good time and hear the gospel with open ears. Thank you for praying for me this whole time in South Africa... I can't express it enough that the prayers of others have really made an impact on my life and the lives of others.

Grace and Peace,

Zach

Happy Fathers Day

What a busy week! This week we got Monday off because we worked all the way through our weekend and didn't get to take a sabbath. In that time I have been reading a book by Mark Driscoll called Death By Love... It certainly is an emotional read... Never-the-less it is an incredible book that points me back to the gospel every time I read it. I am also reading a book called Desiring God by John Piper. I would certainly advise you to read those books.

We hit up campus on tuesday and have been trying to recruit out to our retreat called the Unashamed 116 Winter Camp. Recruitment is quite difficult because we have been attempting to meet with students but they are in the midst of studying for exams (our equivalent to 1st semester finals). The Witsies are very hard workers and have incredibly hard tests.

This weekend we went to the Bruma Market. It is one of the biggest markets in the city of Joburg. Wow! What a blast! We spent a good 3 hours shopping and learning about the culture in Jozi. I was able to get some pretty neat things for a cheap price! The market really taught me about my greed because I was willing to keep knocking down prices without care of the person selling them (even though bartering is expected I still need to realize that the things being sold are the peoples' way of living).

I hope to keep you updated! Happy Fathers Day to my Dad, my Step-Dad, and my Brother. I hope you men are continuing to reflect christ!

God Answering Prayers

I will have to make this quick so I will give you just the fly-through!

1. A guy who came to Christ (on thursday) started to share the gospel with his family, roommate, and his classmates... He sees how great the gospel is and he can't keep it to himself!

2. I wanted to share the gospel with a guy and his roommate ended up hearing it (Note: his roommate is someone I have been, quite honestly, intimidated by). He was so interested by the gospel that we ended up having a whole conversation on Christ's love!

3. My ministry partner was sick and unable to go on campus for a couple of days and now he is feeling better!

4. God is growing me to understand how much I need Jesus more and more.

Sorry this isn't a lot but we have been extremely busy but extremely blessed!

Grace and Peace

Glorify Our Generous God

It has been a busy week! It has been an incredibly fun and busy week! To get right to the point, Jesus did answer the prayer about the young man who wanted to talk to me. I was doubtful at first because when I first came to see him he was asleep in his room but God brought him to the weekly meeting and I was able to show him (to my best ability) his need for Jesus and he ended up saying how powerful and simple the gospel was and how he had never heard it before! It was so sad to hear from him how the gospel had never been told to him.

We have been able to meet most of the freshmen on our floor and so have been able to build relationships with the guys. We have about 19 school days left on campus. It has been crazy to see what a BIG God can do on a (relatively) small area in the universe.

Yesterday as a treat we went out to a movie and then to dinner. We all dressed up and went out to eat and got an incredibly filling meal while also getting to know the rest of the team members. The whole night was so much fun and relaxing (which was needed).

Please post questions you have about what is going on in Jozi. I would love to help answer your questions!

Prayer Requests
1. The student I shared with comes to Christ
2. Energy to keep going hard on campus
3. Building good relationships with my teammates
4. Not a wasted minute on campus

Spamandla

Big news people! When I arrive back home from Jozi something incredible will happen to me. I am changing my name to Spamandla! Just kidding! But I was given that name by a fellow african brother in Christ. Spamandla means "give us strength". Ironically I don't go to God for enough strength. I ask that God really can point me to Him as much as possible.

Got to meet a guy who asked me how much sin can we have until we get kicked out of Heaven... WOW! If that question doesn't break someone's heart I don't know what does... I got to open up to him about how God changed my life and how his death on the cross saves us from sin. I told him how even one sin separates us from God and that we sin unconsciously! Today while at a bible study (which I'll get to) he texted me and asked to meet with me tomorrow... Lets pray that a seed is planted in his heart!

Today at the bible study the Wits CO student leaders talked about how we need to be satisfied in Jesus and how finding our joy in anything else is like using a broken bucket to get water out of a well... we would just be drinking drops of water when Jesus could satisfy our thirst with His life!

Prayer Request
1. God can let me depend on Him for strength
2. Students hear the gospel and want a changed heart
3. Students start to understand that the gospel is fully satisfying

Vision Casting and a Surprise Visit

This weekend has been quite a rush! On friday we went to the Apartheid Museum which saddened my heart and made me realize how destructive sin really is! Sin caused the eye to look away from God and look at the temporary satisfaction that Gold gives. The reality is that Jesus is our only satisfaction now and forevermore! A buddy of mine told me his brother went missing during a (black) south african march on Joburg and he believes that he was killed during the violent response to the march.

On a better note we had our CCP Vision Night which really opened our eyes to what has been happening to the Campus Outreaches throughout the United States as well as what has been happening in South Africa. I really am beginning to understand the concept of globalization for Jesus and it has been an exciting thought to develop! I only hope I can apply it to my life so that Jesus is made known more! Neal (the guy who gave the talk) said that we need to be Working Worshipers taking the Word to the World. He talked about how we need to see the need for the lost and how we are called to pray at all times! So Pray!!! Those who are not world Christians (taking the gospel to the world) become Worldly Christians (living for what is in the world)

Also yesterday I got a visit from my older sister Stephanie:

Steph and I got to talk for a while and catch up on our time in South Africa as well as just some Brother/Sister time. Steph has been in SA for about 6 months now and she will be there for another 4 and a half years. Keep praying for my sister!

Prayer Requests:

1. Thank God for the missing Campus Outreach man, Matt Hill, who has been found 

2. Pray that the racial separation goes away

3. That we can be World Christians and no longer Worldy Christians

Bible Study= Answer To Prayer

I will have to keep this quick... I don't have much time to type this

In the past few days we have been trying to share the gospel but we have come up with just about nothing... Yesterday my ministry partner and I, out of frustration, gave up on the trying to meet students because all of the students were studying and no one was in the room. We sat down and for our last 30 or so minutes discussed why the gospel wasn't able to be reached that day. We realized we hadn't prayed that morning for the students we were about to talk to nor had we clung to a promise.

This morning we pulled away before going on campus and we opened up our bible to look at some promises and the first thing we saw was Romans 1:16 "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew and then to the Greek."

WOW!!!!

God really promises that he will save the men who he has called! We then prayed that God would open doors to the rooms we walk past. The first room we were able to go to had about 4 guys just hanging out in it and we were able to talk to them for a while and play some soccer with them (which I am horrible at!). That night we recruited them to a bible study being led by some of the student leaders on campus. Not expecting a big turnout... God brought FIFTY-TWO students!!!! How incredible! My ministry partner and I left worshiping the Father so much more than we started the day off! God really is awesome!

Sowubona!- Hello!

Greetings from South Africa! It has been incredible here! If only I could take you along with me to explore the rich life that glows from the culture here! We arrived at the airport around 9 at night tuesday night and after eating drove back to our place and crashed. Following that night we took a tour of Jozi/joburg (Johannesburg) and shopped for supplies that we would need at our lodge. We got a little situated, met lunch at Wits' common eating lounge, went out to dinner, and then crashed into our bed after being affected by the jet lag (remember we are 6 hours ahead of most of America). Thursday we received our CCP training and we took a tour of the Campus (which is incredibly beautiful!). We then went to the campus prayer where we first sang a song of worship (in three different languages... awesome) and prayed with students.

Friday we started the real grit of our project. We went to campus to meet students and point them to a braai we were holding. For those who aren't from South Africa (which I believe is most of you) a braai is a grill with music playing and dancing... like a cookout party. A braai is incredibly appealing to students because of the free food, the fun, and the dancing. I went with my ministry partner (mike hoy) to bring some students to the braai and got to meet a good handful of students at Dals (the res I'm laboring at).

At the Braai we met got to talk to a group of students and were able to share the gospel with some others. The braai was so much fun. It was a good taste of South Africa

(A group of students I met at the Braai)

(Rodney, a student leader with CO at Wits, has helped us in our ministry at Dals... An answer to prayers)

The next day we went to Soweto (the Harlem of South Africa). We watched a soccer game played by the Orlando Pirates (not orlando florida... Orlando the providence). The Pirates were playing for the league championship. I was not the biggest soccer fan before this game and the game itself made me a huge fan. Five of us decided to go into the superfan section of the stadium where there were bongos and horns (vuvuzelas) being played! It was so crazy! The Pirates won the game by a score in the last 7 minutes. We ended up rushing the field and there was chaos (we were the only white people on the field... It made it easy to point us out to the other students who didn't want to run on)!! Never have I been to a game like that (american football has nothing on it!).

(The group of CCP guys who rushed the field)

At the end of the game we left and were able to get a taste of Soweto after the game with people celebrating by honking their cars (hooting) and cheering. There were a lot of kids asking for our red shirts we were given at the beginning of the game (for free). I was reluctant to give my shirt away but God really showed how greedy I was and so I joyfully gave my shirt away.

Today at church we studied how to know God better. The person talking really humbled me by hypothetically asking us to sit down for five minutes and attempt to write 50 attributes of God... I don't think I could do it... I felt like I need to grow in my understanding of God.

Please pray for our time here in South Africa... We have a lot to learn and no room for Pride in it all.

Please pray for:

1. Our ministry- when we leave the students at Wits will be in bible studies with the student leaders.

2. My walk- That God might grow in me a hunger to know him more

3. My brothers and sisters- That God will build an environment of humility and grace in our team where we are able to mess up and still love each other.

Grace and Peace

"I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more."

2 Samuel 12:8

Waiting for the Shuttle

Its 7:30 in the morning and I am waiting to get shipped out to the Indianapolis airport for the plane ride. Our team met last night at the hotel to catch up and learn what our theme was/what we are studying/what we are reading for the summer. This past week flew by as I prepared for my time in South Africa.

I spent some good time with my family over the week. One of my biggest highlights was that I got to hang out with my little brother a lot. He is a skinny red-headed child who is extremely athletic. Over the week we would play catch with a baseball (I'm not the best at it) and we would eventually spend his birthday time together going to the batting cages. I love learning small things about him (and others!).

I also got to spend time with a lot of my past high school friends over the week and share the gospel with them. A statement made to me (not meant to be negative or positive) was that I talk about God a lot. I personally took that as a compliment given that the best thing I could possibly talk about is God. Everything else in this world that I could possibly talk about is futile and short-lived!

We were told our theme for the our time down in South Africa. It is "Down and Out" because our goal is not to see what God does through us but rather what He does to us. We want to have the gospel go further down in our hearts so that it overflows and we might go out to others and proclaim His name.

Our first book we are reading (which I would strongly advise reading) is called "Humility"

This book packs a punch to the readers about approaching the Cross of Christ and how to (with grace) humbly bow down to it.

The other book we are going through is something by World Harvest Missions called Living in Light of the Gospel Story. I have not gone through this book before but I have done a study by the same group and I know that it will be incredible!

Well, we leave in about 15 minutes to head out for our day of fun! Please pray that I can use my time to the fullest as I seek to have the Gospel sink so far into me, my brothers, and the lost. Please also pray that I can not waste my time in the airports.

I cannot believe it is about time! AHHHH!!!!

Grace and Peace

"But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Romans 5:8

Summer Joys

Done
I am finished with my finals! I took a break from my blog writing because my body was breaking down from the lack of sleep and overloading of (potentially useless) information. It would have been easy for me to find my satisfaction in being done with school but I must realize that Jesus is my sole satisfaction! I was able to say with Paul in 2 Corinthians that God is the God of all comforts. He is the Lord over everything I wish to make my lord (rest, no school, summer). Jesus is my true satisfaction.

This semester has been my hardest with a final in every class and roughly 10 research papers. It certainly built discipline in me! I am approaching my final year in college. I am quite excited to graduate and see what comes around the corner for me.

A Week Away from Africa
Yes... it is true... In one week I will (still) be on a plane to South Africa. I cannot believe that it is this close! I have been so excited for it! I only wish that I could make Jesus more famous in South Africa. In 5 days I will arrive in Indianapolis to spend the night at a hotel with my team. In 6 days from 9-9:30 we will be saying goodbyes to family (come if you wish to say bye!). We will spend roughly a total of 10 hours in waiting or moving in an airport. Finally, in 7 days we will arrive in Johannesburg, South Africa.

(Johannesburg, South Africa... Beautiful!)

Gospel at Home
I am back home in Fort Wayne (for the time being) and while I am here I wish to share the gospel with some of my friends. I want to reflect David in Psalm 57:3 and have God exalted and glorified above everything (including my life). This is a scary process for me because my friends knew me before I was saved by Jesus. The reality of it is that I am not the one who changes hearts but God! Please pray with me that I cling to the promise that Jesus is my true Hope (and not what my friends think of me).

Prayer Request

1. Once again please pray that our team might cling onto 2 Timothy 2:2 and seek to make disciples in a lost world (at home and in South Africa)
2. Pray that I spend my time home wisely in order to glorify God
3. Pray that when I share the Gospel (or speak it to myself) that, as it says in 2 Samuel 23:2, "The Spirit of the Lord speaks by me; His Word is on my tongue."

Grace and Peace

"As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God."

Psalm 42:1

15 Days and Counting

I cannot believe we are only 2 weeks away from leaving. In two weeks from today we will be meeting up in Indianapolis to stay at a hotel for a night. At twelve we leave from Indy to Atlanta and (after a 7 hour layover) we go straight to Johannesburg (we leave at 8 p.m. and arrive at 5 p.m.). One of the most comforting things to realize with the whole idea is that even though the flight might be long the trip will be absolutely worth it.

I have been praying lately that God can provide me with a few young men to share the gospel with that are from another country within Africa. I dream of seeing men come to Christ that are from another country who will go home and share the gospel with their family and see a gospel movement in their city, town, or tribe! What an amazing opportunity! This is a HUGE prayer in my life and I want you to pray along side of me about this.

Another thing I am praying about is developing a close relationship with my team. One of the most common reasons missionaries go back home aside from lack of support is the inability to get along with their team. I pray that our team will be bonded together by the Blood of Christ (blood brothers). I ask that you continue to pray our team that we will continue to be in a grace environment (not a condemning one) and we love each other far more every day we are there.

Finals Week
The reality has hit-- I have only one more week of my junior year... Yes, just a week and a year away until graduation from Indiana State University. I am in my last week and therefore finals are becoming a very real thing to me right now (I should be studying right now instead of writing this!). 4 finals and 1 paper away until my Junior year is behind me.

I want to encourage you to what my last week composed of:

1. Jesus- Last week I was reading through 1 Thessalonians 1. I encourage anyone to read it if they want to see the effects of Discipleship and the power of the Spirit (SPOILER ALERT: The lives of the body is so powerful that it reaches EVERYWHERE!)

2. South Africa- Getting excited about where we will be living during the summer. We are staying at a place called the Tower Lodge in Auckland Park. Below are pictures of where we will be staying.

I encourage anyone who wants to read about other people do in South Africa to read my sister's blog. She is on staff with Campus Outreach Johannesburg at a campus called Pretoria. http://www.journeytojohannesburg.blogspot.com/

3. Discipleship- I had my last discipleship group meeting on wednesday night with my leader (brett) and the guys I am in it with. Below is a picture of us after a retreat in February

(From Left to Right: Zach Chike, Zach Hamil, Ryan Teppen, Brett Barnes, Julian Chike, Derek Hayes)

4. Bittersweet- Julian Chike (2nd to the left) is graduating this semester and we had a senior send off on friday. What is crazy is that a year ago he and I were not the closest of friends and yet God reconciled our relationship through Christ that he is one of my best friends. I say it is bittersweet because even though he is leaving I know that he will be making disciples as he leaves. He is still making Jesus his priority!

"In you presence there is fullness of joy"

Psalm 16:11b

Preparing to leave

I leave in 23 days! I cannot believe it! Our team last week had our CCP (Cross Cultural Project) retreat in order to prepare us for the 8 week summer opportunity we have been given. Our team consists of 11 girls and 9 guys. We all have spent the summer together in the past during the Orlando Project where we were trained and equipped on how to share the gospel. This summer our team will be going to Johannesburg, South Africa teaming up with another Campus Outreach (CO Johannesburg) and sharing the sweet news of the Gospel with students on the campus of Witswatersrand (if you don't want a mouthful you can call it Wits). Be praying that our team is able to be well prepared and able to grow closer in the midst of a gracious environment.

Our CCP team

On the other hand my Junior year at Indiana State is coming to a close (despite the overwhelming amount of work). Never-the-less God will not rest until He has seen me conformed to the image of his son (Romans 8:29). This week God has fed me with the promise that He does not love me because I am lovable (my sin has hidden his face from me Isaiah 59:2) He loves me THOUGH I am unlovable (through his Son's death I am counted as clean). One of the clearest portrayals of this picture is something I read in 2 Samuel 9:7-8 as David is showing kindness to Mophibosheth (don't ask me to pronounce that) only through Jonathan's work even though a cripple would never eat at the same table of a king in David's time. His only response is humility; he cannot be prideful for he did not do anything nor did he even deserve to be near the king. God is truly gracious!

Finally, I want to share with you a student I have been trying to share the gospel with. Joey is a freshman who is about a foot shorter than I and half my weight. We most frequently talk when he and I are playing basketball. Yesterday Joey and I got on a conversation on why he has been going to 858 (our weekly meeting) even though he is an agnostic. He simply explained that he enjoyed the people and it was something to do. I continued to ask about his life and then circled back around to the gospel in order to ask what his opinions were of the talks about 858 (up until then the majority of the talks were evangelically based). He told me that he doesn't really like to talk about "politics" and so we left it there. Please pray that God puts a drive in his heart that He will ask me to tell him the Gospel (not that I am ashamed but in order that his ears will be opened). I trust that you will cling to Ephesians 3:20 with me as we pray for him.

"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or do

 according to the power at work within us"

Ephesians 3:20