To the Deep South! (South Africa that is)

Hello friends,

Tomorrow morning, I will be boarding the plane to head back to South Africa! The last few days have gotten me excited for the trip as more of the final details have come together. We will be spending the first week in the township of Khayelitsha, working with African Leadership's sports leagues, Sunday schools, preschools, and high school ministry. Then on July 23, we will head 12+ hours away to Transkei, the rural Xhosa homeland in the Eastern Cape for a week of ministry there. Afterward we will be back for a few more days in Khayelitsha (although many of the others will be staying longer). In this time, we will also get to visit an AIDS clinic called Living Hope.

Even though we've been talking about it for months, it feels like the trip is suddenly here. I don't feel totally prepared - I'm not sure I ever really have - but I'm excited to see how God uses this trip to work both in and through our team. I was deeply encouraged by the sermon this past Sunday, looking at Ephesians 2-3 and all the reasons that Paul has to "kneel before the Father:" God's grace bringing us from death to life, our new purpose of doing the good works that God has prepared for us, being part of the Body with the saints, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, to name a few. I want these promises to sink in ever deeper so that I can pray for the South African church what Paul prays for the Ephesians:

"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ."

As the team heads out, please pray:

• For safe travels as the team converges on South Africa from all over the country (and the world)
• For us to be a blessing and an encouragement to the people in Khayelitsha and Transkei, and to the missionaries with African Leadership
• For God to give us a deeper desire to live For The Kingdom as we experience his work in South Africa.
• For grace to lead the trip well, and for the words to faithfully give witness to the grace that I have received.
  

For those who want a glimpse of the places we'll be visiting, I have pictures up from last summer:

• Khayelitsha - http://picasaweb.google.com/scudderphotos/KhayelitshaPt3
• Transkei - http://picasaweb.google.com/scudderphotos/Transkei

New pictures will be up from this trip when I get back. I don't know if I will be able to send out e-mails during the trip, but I will certainly send out e-mails about it afterward. You are also welcome to check out our team blog: http:/sajourneys.blogspot.com.

For The Kingdom!
David

Return to South Africa

Dear friends,

My time at Stanford is quickly coming to an end. For the past four years, God has blessed me with rich fellowship and has matured me as I have struggled to grow as a Christian in a secular environment. On June 17, I will graduate from Stanford and move on to the next chapter of life. That chapter will start in the fall, when I will begin a nine month fellowship with the Trinity Forum Academy in Maryland (www.trinityforumacademy.org), living and studying in a community as we wrestle with how our worldview impacts all aspects of life.

Before that adventure begins, I have the joy of returning to South Africa. Last summer, I spent five weeks in the township of Khayelitsha, South Africa (near Cape Town), working with Pastor Young Ohm and the ministries of African Leadership, a non-profit organization working throughout the continent of Africa. I was thrown into the midst of the various ministries there and challenged deeply to see all of life as living, as they say at African Leadership, "For the Kingdom!"

This summer, I have the opportunity to lead a team of five other students from Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) at Stanford back to Khayelitsha, so that they can enter into the work of God's kingdom in South Africa and see firsthand how in Christ, the old barriers of race, class, and nationality are overcome. My hope is that this experience will challenge them to live "For the Kingdom" in all areas of life.

Khayelitsha was established during the days of apartheid as a black settlement, and is now the largest township in the Cape Town area (~a million people) with a population that is primarily from the Xhosa people. Though apartheid is officially over, the township still faces serious issues with great poverty and crime. Pastor Ohm has been in Khayelitsha since 1996 working to share God's love through all sorts of ministries: preschools, sports ministry, high school ministry, Sunday schools, business development, and a school of theology for training pastors.

I will be with the team in South Africa for two and a half weeks (July 14-August 2), living at the African Leadership mission house and working with Pastor Ohm in Khayelitsha. We will be participating in an array of ministries in Khayelitsha: helping with the Sunday schools where over 1000 children come to hear the Gospel; working with sports leagues and high school ministries; encouraging the local churches and joining with them in evangelism; and serving the ministries through physical labor. We will also be traveling to the rural region of Transkei to take part in church-planting and evangelism.

Please keep me in your prayers as I travel to South Africa. Pray:

1. For God to prepare my heart for the trip and draw me closer to Him.
2. Especially for God to give me grace in leading the team. While I have been involved with many missions projects, this is my first time to lead a team, and it is a true learning experience for me.
3. That through us, God can bless Pastor Ohm and the ministries and churches in Khayelitsha.

Missions is never an individual activity – the whole body of Christ participates, whether by sending or going or praying. I need your support in this endeavor, and I want you to share in the blessing of the work. Here's how you can be a part of this:

1. If you are willing to pray for me during the trip, please let me know by e-mail. It is a great blessing for me to know that you are supporting me in prayer, and I want to be sure to let you know how those are prayers are answered.
2. If you would like to provide financial support to help cover the costs of the trip (~$3100 with airfare), donations can be made through African Leadership, a registered non-profit. Make checks payable to African Leadership and with my name in the memo line, and mail them to African Leadership, P.O. Box 682444, Franklin, TN 37068 (or just give them in person to me or my parents).

If you are interested in learning more about these ministries you can check out the African Leadership website (www.africanleadership.org) and Pastor Ohm's website (www.africanleadership.org.za). I look forward to sharing stories of what God does.

Now, as they say at African Leadership, For the Kingdom!
David Scudder

"You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." – Galatians 3:26-28