What it Means to Know Him

"'He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?' declares the Lord." Last night I read those words in Jeremiah 22:16 and today we met people who know what it means to know the Lord and I'd say that it is going very well with them! Where did we meet them? At PopUp. This unusual acronym stands for "People Upliftment Process", an incredible ministry that our team had the opportunity to visit today. Through skills training classes in a wide variety of areas including sewing, home-based care, business, computer skills, and many others people from around the city of Pretoria and beyond are empowered to change the course of their lives and not only on the outside, but the inside too!

A team of dedicated staff, these people who truly know the Lord, speak to their learners about God's purpose in their life. Despite the many difficulties that the learners have faced, the challenges that they encounter, they begin to see that God created them in His image for His glory and that He has given them specific talents and abilities to use as a means of providing for themselves and their families, but also to reach out and bless others. Several of the learners stood up and shared their testimonies. The joy in their hearts was evident on their faces and in their voices. As they sang us a chorus about there being no one like Jesus, their harmonious voices moved our team to tears. One gift that God has given our brothers and sisters of African heritage is definitely song!

In addition to skills training PopUp also includes a medical, dental, and eye clinic, plus a kids day-program called PopMed, PopDent, PopEye, and PopKids respectively. We spent the afternoon with the kids. It was amazing how they readily accepted us as their friends as we sang songs, told stories, blew bubbles, did a craft, and played games. We reminded them that they are "children of the King," the King who defends the cause of the poor and the needy. He's their dad. He cares for them. Several dedicated African women are His hands and feet to these children. Day in and day out they minister to them. It was such a joy to interact with these mommas. Mostly they spoke English for our benefit, but as I heard them speak to each other in their own languages, I realized every now and then some of what they said seemed to make sense. There are similiarities between some of the languages here and Swahili, which I speak. It was fun to try and speak to each other in these African languages when we discovered that we could sort of understand each other.

Last night we spent the evening with an entirely different group of people who know what it means to know the Lord--the youth workers of Doxa Deo Church. They serve in the youth ministry at Doxa Deo's North Campus not only during the weekly meetings, but many of them serve throughout the week at various public schools around the city. There is an open door in many schools for Christian youth workers to have a presence on school campuses. These youth workers counsel students, organize evangelistic events, and develop relationships with the kids. It's a pretty amazing thing that they have going on over here and the youth workers are so dedicated, putting in long hours at the schools and church. Please pray with us for them, that God would continue to establish them as his "planting for the display of his splendor." Pray that they would bear fruit, that a forest would begin to grow. We had the opportunity to pray over them last night. Please join with us in lifting up their requests for wisdom, unity, and purity among them.

Through our time here in South Africa we are learning more and more what it is to know the Lord. What an incredible opportunity it is to fellowship, share, and learn with other parts of His body.

What would you say it means to know Him? Please comment :)