Youth Week--Tzaneen

May 22-27 Youth Week in Tzaneen!

The Leadership Track got the opportunity to run a youth week in Tzaneen! We were hosted by an amazing church and we ran an "evening service" Monday thru Thursday. It was so cool!!

Sunday: We got up early to pack up and head out! There are a lot of us on the team so we had to take the combie plus two other vehicles. So, Anika, Lesinda, Kyler, and I rode with Franco in his car. It was such a fun road trip!! Once we got to Tzaneen, we went to the house we would stay at for the week. It was extremely nice to be able to stay all together! Pastor Johan took us to his church and explained what we would be doing for the week and debriefed us on some things. We got to attend their youth's Sunday evening service and connect with some of the teens. It was really cool! We introduced ourselves and shared a bit about YOYL, then they introduced themselves. That evening we had supper and Schalk and I did wash-up.

Monday: In the morning we split up into two teams that would visit two different schools to advertise for the youth week. My team went to Merensky High School. So we came up with a plan on what to present during their assembly. Kyler, TK, and I did a short little skit that covered all the info they would need. Before we actually presented at the assembly, we got to explore Merensky a little. It is such a beautiful school with farm plots all around. After we finished at the school, we went back to the church to plan for the evening. After lunch, we had free time so some people napped, and the rest of us watched a movie. Then we went to set up. We did each evening at Ben Vorster School Hall. For the first night, Schalk and I were MCs. It was tons of fun!! We had worship, did some ministry pieces, and then Franco preached. Afterwards, we had time to connect and pray with the youth. I met and prayed for some really amazing people!! Once we finished cleaning up, we got home and had dinner and chatted about the day over tea and coffee.

Tuesday: We had the morning free-ish, so we had "class". We got to discuss some stuff we had been taught in class the previous weeks and continue learning about Godly leadership. Then our hosts took us rock sliding!! It was SO fun!! We drove out to the spot and then hiked a little ways to some awesome spots to slide down! The water was stinkin' cold but it was so worth it! We had a braii lunch there and then headed back to get cleaned up for the evening. The program went a little more smoothly because we knew how everything would work. We still had worship, a ministry item, and then BK preached an awesome message! Afterwards, I got to continue connecting with some girls I had met Monday. It was such fun! And we got to stop at Mugg & Bean on the way home, so Lesinda and I got coffee and muffins to eat back at the house. We were both so tired, we kept falling asleep on the couch! But it was an amazing day of ministry and fun!

Wednesday: In the morning, we met up with the pastor at the church expecting to be put to work. Instead, they took us to the Couch House nougat factory!! We got to tour it and got a few free samples and enjoy the scenery outside. It was so fun! Then we went to a mall for a bit and then had lunch at Tuki's house. We played Scrabble and other board games, and just chilled. Then we got ready and headed to the school hall to go over some things before we began. We had a lot planned this evening but it all went well!! I got to preach this evening and it was such a cool experience!!

Thursday: We got to do one more tourist thing!! The pastor took us to a lion park! We got to see lions and tigers and bears...koati bears to be exact! It was tons of fun! Then the afternoon was free so I rested. The program in the evening was lots of fun! It was the last night so we did a lot of our dances and stuff which was a lot of fun. Cuan and Raquel even came to see us!! That was so amazing! Tuki preached and we got to minister and connect with all the students afterwards. Then we all went back to our house and hung out.

It was such an amazing experience to be part of! The best part was being able to apply what we have learned in our track. And to see everyone minster in their own unique way was a beautiful representation of how amazing our God is!!

So sorry that I'm just now getting to blog about this, but I'll do my best to catch up on the end of my year in South Africa!!


--sea'sadventures--