1. Blog post

Lofalitsidwa: 07.08.2017

WHY AM I GOING TO SOUTH AFRICA?

Dear friends,

As some of you already know, I will be going to South Africa with the organization OM (Operation Mobilization) from August 22 to early March. I want to explain to you in this newsletter what I will be doing there and why I made this decision.

"But my life is no longer important to me.
What is important is to finish the work that the Lord Jesus gave me to do.
And that work is to tell people the Good News about God's grace."
Acts 20:24

This Bible verse is one of the reasons why I am going to South Africa. I want to let God use me during the six months that I will be in South Africa and get to know Him and myself better.

WHAT WILL I BE DOING IN SOUTH AFRICA?

On August 22, I will start my journey to Holland. There, the Go Conference will take place, where many people who are doing long-term mission with OM will gather. We will learn how to behave in a different culture, what to pay attention to, etc.

On September 2, I will go directly from Holland to South Africa. I will participate in the MDT (Mission Discipleship Training). There will be about 50 other people from all over the world. We will have 3 lectures every day to talk about the Bible. There will also be times of prayer, worship, and mentoring. We will be staying at a base where we will also take care of cleaning, cooking, and gardening. The base is located outside the capital city of Pretoria in the Gauteng province. During the MDT, the whole team will participate in several mission trips in South Africa, where we will go directly to the people and offer them practical help or prayer. One mission trip will be to Lesotho, I will find out about the other places on site. The MDT will last until mid-January, but my time in South Africa is not over yet.

From mid-January to early March, I will help at the "Tshega Christian Missions". Tshega runs a school and a kindergarten and has many other projects where God's love is shared with people through practical help. I will support the teachers and students in the school together with other volunteers. Through my education at BAKIP, I have already gained a lot of experience with children that I can share there. At the same time, I want to learn new things and gain new experiences.

In early March, I will return to Austria. I expect that my time in South Africa will help me grow in my faith and learn many new things. I will try to write a blog post every 1-2 months.

If you feel led to support me financially, I would be very grateful. I already want to thank you for your support.

Steffi

Recipient: OM Austria
Bank account: Sparkasse Upper Austria
IBAN: AT52 2032 0321 0027 1330
BIC: ASPKAT2LXXX
Reference: Stefanie Rad South Africa
The donations can be deducted from taxes.