Hello friends and family,

I am back from my amazing adventure in South Africa. It was eye opening and life changing to see the struggles of people outside America but also their joy and faith. I saw great poverty and hopelessness there, but I also saw God working and the joy of the kids there. Thank you so much for helping me go on this journey through your monetary and prayful support, I could not have done it without you. Here is a recap of our week in South Africa:

We got to South Africa around 8:00 on Saturday night. We met people from City Hope Church, the church we partnered with for this trip. These people were the main leadership of the churches primary school (kindergarten to 7th grade) to high school ministry.

The next day we went to City Hope’s church service. It was cool to see because in many ways it reminded me of a smaller version of our group’s home church. Though it also felt more personal, more warm and welcoming, and more alive than churches in America. One thing I love that they do is that they take moments in between worship songs to pray or to read scripture that the singers thought of that day or thought of when they sang. After the church service we went to a marketplace where we ate lunch and got to buy some small items.

Monday we went to LIV Lensaria, which is a school like a missianary school in the city of Lensararia. We sang and played with the kids and helped the high schoolers with their homework. I met a person named Marc, who liked to play chess. I had brought my backpacking chess set so I played three matches with him.

The next day we went back to LIV and did the same thing during the day. Our group ate dinner with the leaders of City Hope Church. We got to play games and listened to a talk from one of the leaders from Perimeter Church.

Wednesday we went to a preschool called Philile. It was a preschool in the main part of Johannesburg, one of the capitals of South Africa. We played games with the preschoolers, sang songs, and had a lesson on the gospel. After we left Philile, we went to the Apartheid museum. Apartheid was a time in South African history where there was extreme legal racism and segregation, and it only ended 32 years ago. That night we ate at a restaurant called Carnivore, it as the name suggests is a meat restaurant. We ate zebra, warthog, eland, crocodile, and many other animals. My favorite thing there was eland, and I learned that warthog tastes like chicken.

Thursday we went to City Hope Church to help with the Baby Box Project, which is a ministry that gives boxes of supplies to new mothers for the first month of a baby’s life. A lot of mothers in South Africa do not believe they can support their babies, so they leave them at the hospital or let them die. The Baby Box Project helps these moms and encourages them to keep their baby. Our team helped make around 70 bags full of supplies for the moms. After we made the bags we started to paint some of the kid rooms in City Hope Church.

Friday we finished painting the rooms, and the girls went to Leratong hospital so they could talk to new mothers and give them the supplies from the Baby Box Project. That night our group also went to City Hope’s youth ministry meeting where we got to meet high schoolers from South Africa and  we had a SA vs. USA competition, SA won. It was a fun night meeting new people and learning more about the South African people.

Saturday our group went to a lion park and safari. We saw a lot of animals and got to see a lion feeding. During the afternoon we went to a bartering marketplace where we decided on the price with the stall owners.  I probably paid more than double the normal price on most items I bought there, and so I learned I could improve my bargaining skills. After the bartering market, the boys watched a rugby game with the boys from South Africa and the girls had a slumber party with the girls from South Africa.

Sunday we helped in their kids ministry during their 10:00 service and went to their 5:00 service.

Monday, our last day there, we took a cultural tour at Lesedi village in the morning. Then we went on the plane around 8:00 pm and got back at 10:00am on Tuesday.

It was an amazing trip and I learned so much during it. Thank you so much for what you contributed in so many different ways. This trip really has made me want to help the rest of the world outside the American bubble, and the people inside of it. It has given me more courage to speak up, and it has encouraged me through seeing God’s church working and thriving in the whole world.

From,

Gavin Grubbs

Hello support group!

We are almost done with our trip. I will give a short recap of we have done on our trip.

We have helped a missionary school called LIV Lensaria. I helped sort donations for them, played and sang with their primary school children (kindergarten to 7th grade), and helped their high schoolers with their homework.

We also helped a kindergarten called Philile by playing and singing with them. We also preached the gospel to them and made bracelets with them to help them remember it.

Our group has been working with City Hope Church, which is the church we are partnered with for this trip, throughout the week. We have went to their service is Sunday, met their faculty on Tuesday, and have been to their high school meeting on Friday. We have heard talks from one of their lead pastors and have gotten to know their high schoolers and leadership. Our group has also painted some of the rooms of City Hope Church. We painted one whole room and two other walls in their kids area.

The team also has helped The Baby Box Project, a ministry that gives bags of supplies for babies to brand new moms. We all wrote letters to the moms and packed the bags. The girls of our team left to talk to, encourage, and give the bags to the new moms at the hospital.

Tomorrow, Sunday, we will be helping with the kids ministry at City Hope Church in the morning, and attending their night service. The team will be leaving South Africa Monday morning and back in the States early Tuesday. This has been an amazing journey and I cannot wait to tell you all about it when I get back.

From,

Gavin Grubbs

Hello support group!

It has been a while since this we started getting ready for this trip, and now it is here! I am leaving tomorrow, Friday, at 9pm. I cannot wait to be going. I have been packing and getting ready this week and I am ready. Thank you so much for your support, it has brought me here and given me the chance to go on this adventure.

I have been given more information on what I will be doing there so I will share it with you. We will be helping City Hope Church and serving their kids ministry. We will also be attending the City Youth ministry\'s service and their small groups. We will help make new parent boxes and also help lead their version of Vacation Bible School.

As we are going out to do all these things we will be preaching the gospel and being God\'s hands and feet. Though we cannot do this alone, can you continue to pray for us as we are there for God\'s hands to be in everything and to help us and protect us. 

Here is a picture of the group that is going. Not all in the picture are going it is the teenagers in the middle and some of the adults in the front.