Hello everyone! I decided to start this blog separately to kind of track my travels and give people an opportunity to come along on the journey with me here. In one week from today, I will be co-leading a missions trip to Cape Town, South Africa with 4 other leaders, 14 high schoolers, and 5 college students. Crazy! I'm nervous and anxious, but SO excited!! It's going to be an amazing experience, and we have a really incredible team of students. Here is a letter I wrote explaining the trip and where my heart is. Feel free to check it out and contact me at any point along the way! I'll do my best to update often while we're gone. Keep us in prayer!!
Love, Erica
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March 2009
Dear Family & Friends,
I hope this letter finds you all doing well and loving life! I am in my final semester at Biola University; it seems impossible that time could have flown by so quickly. My college experience has been an incredible one – I’ve had the chance to get involved with our new student orientation program every year, which has definitely grown me in many areas. I’ve made great friendships, learned from truly brilliant professors, and gotten to live in beautiful Southern California. What a gift! Now as my university days are coming to an end, I’m trying to figure out what comes next. My degree is in Journalism with an emphasis in Public Relations, and I still love music and photography, which leaves many diverse career opportunities and a girl with too many interests to choose just one! But I am confident that God will continue to shape my direction and be with me along the way.
I am writing to you now to tell you about a beautiful opportunity I have been given during this last semester of school. In just a few weeks I will be co-leading a group of 14 high school kids from Rolling Hills Covenant Church in Palos Verdes, CA on a missions trip to Cape Town, South Africa! I am so excited about this incredible journey God will be taking us on, and how he will use us to impact the people there. We will be leaving from Los Angeles on April 5th, and arriving in Cape Town the morning of April 7th (it will be a LONG travel experience!). From there we will drive about an hour to the township of Franschhoek, to a “farm” called Bridges of Hope Academy. Our time there will be split into two separate weeks and we will leave Cape Town April 19th and arrive back in LA on April 20th. Let me tell you a little bit about what we will be doing each of these weeks and the children we will be working with:
-Bridges of Hope Academy – This is much like a boarding school for high school aged kids who have been orphaned by AIDS, and many of them are actually infected with AIDS as well. While we are there we will be teaching them in their classrooms, tutoring them, giving them Bible lessons, and teaching them more liberal subjects that they don’t have the funds or means to learn about, such as drama, music, art, and some sports. We will truly be building friendships with these kids, and be giving them opportunities to accept Christ for the first time, to grow deeper in their relationship with Him if they already have one, and to have some good conversation and answer some of the questions they have about being a Christian.
-Eagle’s Nest: After School Program – This is a combination of summer camp and a Vacation Bible School program for about 80 elementary school kids who have just finished a school program through the Academy. The theme of the camp is “Jesus Has Not Failed Me Yet” and we will be working with interpreters to teach the kids about Jesus, most likely for the first time ever. We will be playing games, doing crafts, teaching lessons, having “cabin times” and everything in between with these kids! We will also be ministering to the interpreters as well as the kids, since many of them are not Christians either.
I cannot believe God has given me such a great opportunity to travel, to build relationships, and of course most importantly to share the amazing news of the life we can have in light of His grace and love for us if we just accept His gift of salvation! I have tried my best to be prepared for this trip in all of the ways I can… logistically, emotionally, and spiritually. I’m writing not only to tell you what’s going on in my life right now and share my experience with you, but also to ask you for diligent prayer over this next month as we finish preparing, as we go on this journey, for our integration back into the fast pace of American life and for the weeks of debriefing and wrestling with the ways God will teach us and grow us on this trip.
Here are the ways you can pray for us:
- Team strength and unity as we travel, live, and work together for the first time.
- The finances necessary to make this journey possible.
- The hearts of our high schoolers, that they would let go of their expectations and be open and prepared for what God has in store for us there.
- Many hours of safe travel for our entire team.
- Our strength physically, mentally, and spiritually, as we are sure to face many battles during our time serving the Lord.
- Boldness and courage in interacting with another culture, people group, and language we are unfamiliar with.
- Wisdom, discernment, and openness in how God will have us serve and reach the people of South Africa.
- Our leadership team – Whitney Vidlock (a very close friend!), Chad McNicol (my boyfriend!), Jordan Munde (a great guy!) – as we do our best to lead these students and learn to let God lead us and mold us into the kind of leaders He wants us to be.
Since I am going on this trip as a leader, I have the incredible blessing of being hugely financially supported by the church, but I do still have to raise a percentage of my personal expenses, which total around $3500. I truly am not writing this letter to ask for your financial support, especially in this economy, but if you feel God tugging on your heart to support us, you can make out a tax-deductable check to Rolling Hills Covenant Church (do not write my name anywhere on the check!) and email me for the address (I don't want to post it on this blog!).
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this letter. Going to Africa to serve the people there has been something on my heart for a number of years, and I am ecstatic that God is giving me such an opportunity! And I get to share it with you all!! If you would like to be updated during and after our trip, please send me a quick email (or comment on this blog) and I will add you to our email update list (or just check back here, I'll be updating this blog as well!). Also, if you can commit to praying for us, it would be a great encouragement to know that, so feel free to email regarding that as well. Don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or comments! And if you have a few moments, please update me on your lives and your families; it’s hard to keep people integrated into your life during the college years!
So much love to you all,
Erica Sawrey
Email: erica.sawrey@gmail.com
Bridges of Hope - http://www.bridges-of-hope.org/index.php
Rolling Hills Covenant Church – www.rollinghillscovenant.com
Sunday, March 29, 2009
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