New Blog

I've created a new blog to keep all of you updated on what's going on in my life. Because this one was made specifically for my time in Africa I wanted a new one that I can use as a general blog for all of my adventures.

The new blog is called Journey From Tarsus

I hope you will follow the new blog, as I will be using it to share what God's been doing in my life and as a general update for what's going on.

Thanks!

Love Me First

Whenever I talk with people about my time in SA they usually ask me something like this, "What's the most important thing you learned while you were there?" My response is "God always needs to come first and loving Him is so much more important than ministry work." It was a recuring theme in nearly every book I read during my time in Africa and I was constantly reminded of it. It was obvious that God was trying to teach me that lesson; however, I believe it's something that I have begun to forget.

I've been home for over a month now and have yet to find a job, or finalize any plans for future ministry work. I know that God has everything under control, but after a while I've gotten tired of "doing nothing", and wondering what I'm really going to be doing for the next year. There's a lot of different options as to what I could do, which on one hand is nice but on the other it's overwhelming trying to figure out which one is the best option.

My passion is helping people, and spending the last month not having the opportunity to serve that much has been hard on me. I feel like I'm doing nothing productive and I'm wasting valuable time. I truly believe that this passion is from God and He continues to burden my heart for the lost and those in need; with all that said, I think I've lost some perspective on what's most important though.... The only thing that lasts in this world is God and people, but God must come first. I struggle with this a lot. I love God and I love people, but sometimes I think I love people and the thought of helping people more than I love God and spending time with Him.

I spent a lot of time with God when I was in Africa, but we honestly had pretty hectic schedules most of the time and a part of me longed for the days when I could come home and spend as much time reading and praying and just being with God as I wanted. I knew for at least a month or so I probably wouldn't have a job and I could use that time to rest, get readjusted to life in the States, and get some quality Jesus time. I had great intentions of doing all of that, but those intentions haven't gotten me very far. For some reason, even though I have a lot more free time than I did in Africa, I spend less time with God than I did in SA! My devotional life is still better than it was before I went to Africa, but it has not progressed at all in the last month, if anything it has digressed.

This past week looking for a job and trying to figure out what the best thing to do in the next year really started to get to me. I became overwhelmed and was getting very stressed about it all. "Should I stay in Fort Scott, or move to Manhattan? Should I go to some kind of bible school or just get a job? Should I look for any job, or try to find one that I may actually enjoy?" Constantly going though my head. At times I would just think to myself "Why does this have to be so hard, all I want to do is help people!" A part of me also wished I could go back to Africa where life was more simple. I had no real responsibilities there and didn't have to make any major decisions. I know that's not possible though, and that it's not what God has for me right now, and I have to face reality at some point... Last night, as I was doing my devotions I started thinking about all the hurt and need there is in this world and how I want to help, but then I clearly heard God say to me, "Love me first." I realized that God is still trying to teach me the lesson that He has to come first. I've become more concerned with figuring out how I can "help" people than I have with my relationship with Christ!

People say that the enemy of what's best is what's good, which is very true. Helping people is a good thing to do, for me and for them. But, my relationship with God is what's best! Something that I lost sight of all too quickly. I'm very thankful that God gave me a nice slap in the face last night and reminded me of this crucial lesson.

So, what's eternal in this life?

God and people, but God must come first.

May we remember in this Christmas season what it's all about. It's about Jesus. It's about His love for us and the price He paid for us. Let us not forget or loose sight of this. He loves you more than you could possibly imagine. He's desperate for you, and wants the same in return!

Although what God said to me last night was meant for me, I believe we all need the reminder that He always comes first... May the phrase "Love me first" stay with you during this Christmas season!

"Love Me First"

Is This a Dream?

"This can't be real, or maybe the past 9 months wasn't real. It all just seems like a dream now" That's what I was feeling the moment I got back to Kansas... I've been back in the States for a week now, and in some ways it feels like being in Africa was ages ago!

Overall, I think I've adjusted fairly well to being back. It definitely still feels like I'm dreaming sometimes, or that being in Africa was all just a dream. It's quite odd essentially having two different lives on opposite sides of the planet. The life I had in Africa is so different than the life I've had here and I've discovered that it is incredibly difficult to explain, or even talk about. Where does one even begin to describe what's happened in my life and what I've learned?

I spent the first few days at my parents house relaxing and getting all of my stuff organized, and trying to wash all the sweat and dirt out of my clothes! Then on Wednesday I came up to Manhattan for a visit to see all of my friends from college. I went to see my campus pastor and close friend. As soon as I got there they looked at me and said "Well, enlighten us. How was it?" The only thing I could come up with at first was, "Uhhh, it was really good . . . " I had no idea it was going to be this hard to talk about! Eventually I was able to explain some more of what I did and learned, but I felt like my words were weak at best. I was then asked to speak at Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship on campus the next night for a few minutes. I said yes and was hoping that somehow I would be able to summarize the last 9 months of my life into 10 minutes!

The next morning as I was starting to work on what I was going to say I realized that I had not taken the time to really sit down and process what had happened in my life, but more importantly in my heart. I realized how much God had revealed to me during my time in Africa. All the things that I learned I had an understanding of before, but after experiencing it first hand I was able to apply it to my life.... I ended up speaking for 40 minutes at Chi Alpha and I feel like God really gave me the words to describe my experience.

During reflecting back I also realized how awesome it is that God is always with me! It's very hard being back in Kansas where no one really knows what I experienced, and there's no one to reminisce with about my African adventures. But that's not true. God's been by my side every step of the way, and He's always there to reminisce with and He knows everything I've experienced.

Also, God reminded me that He is just as able to speak to me here as He was in Africa. There may be less or different distractions in Africa, but I know that if I take the time to continue to seek after Him he's there waiting for me.

One of the things I learned in Africa is to just trust in God and not worry about what's next. As for what's coming up in the next few months, I really don't know. I do know that later next year I will be going over seas again for ministry work, but until then I'm just trusting that God will provide a job for me. I know that He's got it all under control and I really have complete peace about it.

Is being back in Kansas a dream, or was Africa a dream?... I know that neither of them are, and for that I am very thankful. God's blessed my life abundantly. My life in Kansas, and my life in Africa. It's still odd thinking about having spent so much time in Africa and now being back in Kansas, but I know that God planned it that way so I'm not going to worry about it.

Saying Goodbye

It seems not that long ago that I was starting up this blog in preparation to come to South Africa, and now I find myself packing up all of my things and saying goodbye. The past 9 months have been an incredible experience to say the least! There's been so many highs (and a few lows) that I'm not really sure what say.... What I can say for sure is that I'm not the same person anymore, and I know that I've gotten so much closer to God. I think I have a better understanding of what it means to truly be one of His disciples and having to give up everything for His sake. I find that I'm able to trust God a lot easier now as well. I finally get it that He has everything in control, and all I need to focus on is loving Him and my neighbor.

In thinking about South Africa I find that it is a country of opposites. There's so much beauty, and so much pain. Black and white. Mountains and plains. Rich and poor. Hot and cold... It has some of the most incredible sunsets you will ever see. But more than the physical beauty of the land, I found another beauty here. It's the people-- black, white, or colored. Their love and hospitality have blown me away. The children can steal your heart with a smile, and I must say that I've come to love children so much more than I did before. God's been breaking my heart for these people for the last 9 months, and I must say that as much as I am excited to go home and see my friends and family, my heart aches when I think about leaving this place!

I don't know if God will ever bring me back to South Africa, but I know that it has changed my life and I'll always have a part of South Africa in my heart.

Saying goodbye.... it's so bittersweet, but I know that God's in control and even if He never brings me back to South Africa I know I will get to see many of my brothers and sisters from here in heaven.

Thank you all so much for your continued prayers and support! I am so grateful for it. God's done so much here, and you were such a critical part of that!... So again, thank you and God Bless!

A Moment

Confess… ‘Jesus is Lord’ and… You Will Be Saved.

It seems too good to be true. Doesn’t it? All I have to do is confess Jesus as my Lord and Savior, believe in my heart that Jesus died for my sins and God raised Him from the dead, and I will be saved and spend eternity in heaven with God… Incredible! (Romans 10:9)

A few weeks ago we had our 3^rd International Leadership Academy (ILA) of the year at Shikwaru. ILA is a week-long camp for learners and educators in secondary school. We work with educators to select learners who are displaying leadership skills to come to the camp. The week is spent teaching the children how to become better leaders and instilling the Word of God into their life. The learners are given a project they must complete in order to come back to camp next year. This week was a bit different for ILA. We had a first year and second year camp running at the same time. Running one camp is exhausting, so the thought of running two separate camps in the same facility at the same time seemed overwhelming to say the least! However, we had a team coming from the States that had done the camp before, so I was hoping it would run smoothly.

I was excited about ILA this time, I had already helped with the previous two this year and I knew that it was a great opportunity to invest the lives of these children. I knew that helping with the first year group would probably be easier and I was really hoping to get to work with them…. Well, the Nomads had a meeting prior to the American team coming and not only was I put with the second year group, I was put in charge of making sure everything was running as planned for second year. Basically this meant I needed to be in all the sessions and get anything for anyone who needed something. Needless to say I wasn’t too excited about that! To add to that the second year campers are taught a program called Kids Games. It’s a really cool program that teaches kids about Christ using games. However, this would be the 3^rd time that I had to go through the training, and to be honest helping crowd control the 200+ kids that we would have later on in the week isn’t my idea of fun… I knew that I could easily get a bad attitude about the upcoming week, so I asked to Holy Spirit to keep my attitude in check and remind me of the awesome opportunity I had to share with the kids coming for camp. That prayer was answered! I’m not saying I loved every second of what I had to do, but my attitude was completely different this time and God did some awesome things.

Speaking of awesome things, this last Academy has probably been one of the best weeks I’ve spent in South Africa thus far!... Throughout the day we have a few small group discussion times to talk about the morning devotions and to get to know the kids. This time I actually wasn’t assigned to a small group, but I decided to join in on the two groups that had boys in it. On Tuesday I decided to join Jerry’s group that had Trevor and Karabo in it. Before I go on, let me tell you a little bit about Jerry. He’s 70 years old, and doesn’t like to interact with people that much. He’s a professed introvert, but when his church announced the trip God told him to go. He didn’t want to at all, but he was faithful to God’s call. Jerry didn’t know why he was here, but he would soon find out… Back to Tuesdays small group. The morning devotion was about purpose, we had a paper with some discussion questions about the devotion and we started going through them. We got through most of the questions, but it was time for lunch so I asked the boys if we could get our food and then keep on discussing, they agreed. We all got our food and then continued to go through the questions. I was the one asking all of the questions, some from the paper and others that I felt the Holy Spirit leading me to ask, Jerry sat and listened. The Holy Spirit led our conversation to salvation and what that really meant. I could tell God was moving in a great way and the boys were responding. All of a sudden Jerry pops in and takes over the conversation. At first I really didn’t want to let him take over because I was on a roll and I knew where this conversation was heading, but I let him take over. Jerry asked the question, “If you died right now and were in heaven standing before God and He asked why He should let you in, what would you say?” Both of the boys answered something along the lines of, “Because I worked hard in life and tried to do good and help people.” Jerry and I went along to explain to them that doing good things had nothing to do with getting into heaven. As Jerry was talking I started looking up some scriptures in Romans to show the boys. Obviously the Holy Spirit was telling us the same thing because he started referencing the very scriptures I had looked up. I read Romans 10:9 to the boys, “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” We told the boys that all they had to do was this and that is how they would get into heaven. We explained it’s not about how much good we do or how hard we work, it’s about accepting God’s forgiveness and loving him. We told them this was their decision and they didn’t have to do this. Their response in unison was “No, we have to do this!” Jerry then asked me to lead them in the sinners’ prayer. The prayer was short and simple, but it was an incredible experience! Trevor and Karabo are now going to spend eternity in heaven with God!

All I can do is give God the glory. Trevor and Karabo’s salvation had nothing to do with me or Jerry, we were simply the willing vessels the Holy Spirit used to bring them to God! I’ve never felt so much joy in my life. I feel honored to be used by God like this. His plans are so incredible. He’s known for all eternity that on Tuesday September 28^th 2010 in the middle of nowhere South Africa at around 1:20 p.m. that I, Jerry, Trevor, and Karabo would be sitting at that table and the Holy Spirit would use Jerry and me to share God’s love and plan of salvation with the boys… I couldn’t believe that I had just met these boys 2 days ago and they had already given their lives to God. The day after the boys accepted Jesus, I told both of them that if the only thing I accomplished during my year in Africa was helping to lead them to the Lord, than that makes every second here and every penny spent to get here worth it, and so much more! I honestly feel that way.

I feel like God gave me a little insight into how much He really loves us though this experience. I can’t explain it, but I love those boys so much. It made me think, “If I feel so much love and concern for these boys that I just met, how much more does God love me!”… There was a special bond God planned between Trevor and me. The other Nomads teased me about how much of a bro-mance we had, but it was a friendship that was of God... Later on during the week the kids all cooked their own dinner over a fire at their camp, with the supervision of the Nomads. I went up with the second year boys to help them. We were sitting around the fire and then out of no-where Trevor said to me, “You know Paul, sometimes I was you were my brother so we could hang out all the time.” That was a moment I will never forget. I told him we were brothers in Christ, and even though we will only get to spend time together for this one week, we will both be in heaven for eternity and we’ll have plenty of time to hang out then!

The pastor of the church that came from the States began the first session of the week with a presentation about “Moments that can change your life” I know that many of the kids that were at camp had a moment that changed their life, and I thank God for that! We interview the second year learners at the end of camp and one of the questions we asked them was, “Was there a moment this week that changed your life?” The video below is Trevor’s answer to that question…

Healing Vingerkraal

At first glance Vingerkraal looks like any other small village in South Africa-- tin houses, kids playing soccer, dust, and some trash lying around. But this village has a tragic story...

About 2 months ago 17 children were caught between a bush fire and an electric fence. 10 of the children died from burns, 4 are still in the hospital, and 3 have made it home to Vingerkraal. This is not the only problem Vingerkraal faces. The village is without electricity, with the exception of the one school, they frequently run out of water, and there are practically no jobs there. The unemployment rate is about 80%. The people of Vingerkraal are all from Namibia and other African countries and have pretty much been used by the government and forgotten by everyone. They purchased the land that the village is on; however, the government insists it's theirs and the local lodges aren't too fond of them being near their high-end estates. Rumor has it that someone started the bush fire that resulted in the children’s death.

When we heard about Vingerkraal we decided to spend a week working in the community. We simply tried to show them that we care about them, but more importantly that God cares about them and there is always hope! We did school presentations, soccer clinics, surveys, and service projects throughout the week. It's evident that the people are still mourning the death of the children, and that they are desperate for God. Several of the people surveyed said that they needed bible study leaders to help them.

Among all this pain and tragedy I saw hope. I met a young man by the name of Hilarious (yes, that's spelled right). He was 20 years old and got saved about a year ago. I could see the hope in his eyes. He cared about the people of his village, and unlike many young people, had a plan for his future. He had a true understanding of who Jesus was and the cost of being a disciple, something that is rare to find in Africa, and America for that matter. I took the opportunity to encourage Hilarious and let him know that God could use him as the leader that Vingerkraal needed. I shared my story about how I had started leading bible studies at KSU when I was the same age as him. I didn't feel qualified and was a pretty quiet guy, but I told him it’s not about what I could do, it’s about what God could do through me, and that the same applied for him. He was hesitant about it at first, but he said he was willing to give it a try with the help of his friend Antonio, who is planning on studying theology next year at University.

I also saw joy among other members of the village. It’s crazy to think that they can be so joyful when they have so little, but most Africans I meet are very happy, much happier than many of the Americans that I know- even though they don’t have a computer, Ipod, car, house, or even very many clothes.

I feel like most of us have missed the mark when it comes to joy and peace… Recently God has given me a lot of peace and joy in my life. After years of being saved and hearing how God cares for us and has everything under control, it’s finally starting to sink in. In many of the books I’ve been reading recently it talks about how Christians are supposed to have a peace and serenity about them, so much so that anyone who doesn’t have it instantly longs for it and asks themselves “What’s different about that person?”. I realized that is something that is not displayed in my life very often. I spend hours fretting about what’s coming next in life, and am I really doing God’s will, and what is His will for my life anyways?... The truth is, God is more concerned with our love and friendship, and doing what He wants us to do today, than what our 5 year plan is. The only way we can have this peace, joy, love, and the other fruit of the spirit is by allowing The Holy Spirit to work in our lives! If you are saved, then you have the Spirit of God living in you! He’s called our Comforter and Counselor. He’s there to help you, but you have to listen to Him…. And then do what He asks of you. Sure, it may be out of your comfort zone, but don’t you think that God knows better than us? I mean He was able to create the whole Universe without our help; certainly He can help us make the right decisions in life.

My question for you is this… Is your life so directed by the Holy Spirit and so filled with peace, joy, love, self-control, and the other fruit that someone who met you would ask themselves what was different about you? And are you allowing God to take you outside of your comfort zone to the place that your friends know that what you are doing has to be from God?....... I’m not there yet, but I’m asking the Holy Spirit to help me. I pray that the Holy Spirit will speak to you and that you will do what He asks of you. If you read this and feel something tug in your heart, know that it’s straight from God, not me. It’s for His glory that I am writing these words, not my own praise.

I ask that you would please pray for Vingerkraal, and especially for Hilarious.

I hope you all have a blessed week, and that the Holy Spirit will speak something to you today.

Paul Cook

Fall Semester... Or is it Spring?

Our time of rest in Cape Town was incredible to say the least! After being there for one day I was ready to become a permanent resident. We got to stay right on the beach and had a great few days seeing the sights and just relaxing. The weather was kinda cool and the ocean was freezing, but that didn't stop me and Theo from taking a few swims. We got some odd looks walking around on the beach in just our swimming trunks when everyone else had on jeans and coats, but who cares, we enjoyed it!

We returned to Shikwaru and started Bush Camp 2.0. The new team had been up there for a few days when we joined them. Once again the Bush Camp experience was great. It's so nice to just get out in nature and spend time with Jesus.... The new team is great, although there is quite a bit of estrogen around the Hope Lodge now! Josh and I are outnumbered 8 to 2.

Although back in the States summer is coming to an end, it's just beginning here. It's definitely starting to warm up again, and we are starting to see some green coming up out of all the brown around us! We're hoping it will start to rain again soon. I think its been a good 2-3 months since we've had any.

The past few weeks we've been doing a lot of training with the new team. We plan on spending a lot of time in the local communities this semester investing in just a few schools. Most of our plans have been put on halt for the moment though. All of the schools in SA are on strike demanding an 8.5% increase in their pay. Since about 90% of our ministry involves working with schools, this is an obviously throws a monkey wrench in our plans. But God has other plans in mind... OneHope has a new curriculum they've recently come out with called 17 stories. It's 16 different stories from the Bible starting with creation and ending in Jesus' resurrection. The stories are displayed as pictures on a card that children will collect. When they get all the 16 cards and put them together and turn it over it shows the 17th story, a summary of all the 16 stories. With all of the children out of school with nothing to do, we've decided to start training some of the mothers and grandmothers in the community on how to use the curriculum so that they can simply gather up the local kids around their house and have story time.... We've also been continuing to do research in other communities.


God's been showing me a lot lately that all He really wants from us is our love. So often we worry about what God's will is for our life. I can tell you what it is, simply love Him! We complicate our lives and spend countless hours trying to make sure we are doing what we are supposed to be doing, when all along God is in complete control and He just wants us to spend time with Him. Although spending time with Jesus seems a simple task, many times it can become quite difficult. The last thing the devil wants us to do is to become closer to Jesus, so he will try everything he has to get us away from him. We live in a world that's in an epic battle; however, much of it we are blind to. There are angles and demons both fighting for us, and this is something we need to be aware of. We know that the ultimate victory lies with Jesus, but we need to pray God's protection over our lives and continue to seek after Him... I challenge you to seek after God with a new passion and conviction! If you aren't reading His Word, I encourage you to do so. And if you are already reading His Word on a regular basis, read more. Take aside 30 minutes to spend in prayer with Him, or just go for a walk and enjoy His creation... When you take the time to be with Him, even when you are tired and may not feel it it, you will become more and more aware of how much He loves you. Jesus died for you, and He would have gladly died on the cross if you were the only person in all of humanity that He could save!

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and in some way I hope that God will speak to you through it. It's not because of anything I've said, I normally don't even write like this, but I just felt like God was calling me to do so... It's been so awesome getting to know Jesus better, and I just want you to experience to same.

Please continue to keep me, the team, our ministry, and the children of SA in your Prayers!