We've wasted no time jumping right in to the Prince's daily life in Cape Town. On Friday afternoon we got to see Casey's Ubuntu soccer team play in a 'friendly' that Casey arranged for his team against one of the best soccer teams in the area. They didn't win, but played hard and stayed focused under the pressure. After the game, we all grabbed dinner at McDonald's (yes, they're even in Africa) and then took all of the kids to Hillsong Church's youth group. It was amazing. For those of you who grew up in a Raleigh youth group, its like a combination of Fun in the Son and Passion Conference...except they have it every week. There were hundreds of students jumping around and a massive stage up front with a really talented band leading worship. Lucinda Dooley, one of the main pastors of Hillsong, gave the message for the night. She talked about not following the crowd, but being a leader. She referenced how Jesus didn't follow the crowd, but compelled the crowds to follow Him and how we as disciples of Christ should do the same. I know if I lived here I would try to get involved with their youth ministry just so I could experience it myself and see so many kids going crazy for Jesus. For the Ubuntu boys, this was the first time they had been to Hillsong and they were definitely taking it all in as they sat in the front row with huge smiles and their eyes wide open. At the end of the night, the students had the opportunity to commit their lives to Christ. Those that did went to the front of the room and were given a bible and prayed for. 7 or 8 of the Ubuntu boys did this, which is incredible! Even though they will likely still go through struggles in their daily lives, this is a commitment they can look back on and hold onto as they move forward in their lives.
I think its so great that Casey is able to reach the boys on a spiritual level and bring them to stuff like this all because of a connection he made through soccer. Doug and I have been working on interviewing all of the players to create bios that we can put on Ubuntu's blog and when asked what their favorite memory with Ubuntu was, several of the boys even mentioned Friday night at Hillsong. I think thats so cool.
Later today we're going to go on a prayer walk through Ocean View with Sarah. I'm really excited for God to open our eyes to everything going on here and to get the chance to pray for the people of Ocean View.
We'll try to write on the blog later this week with a longer update of everything going on.
-Alison
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