Final update from my time in America

I've been meaning to post this for about a week or so, but saying goodbye to everyone in America and moving back to South Africa and getting ready to leave for a missions trip in 4 hours (and it's 2am now and I should be sleeping) means that this hasn't happened till now. So, here is a newsletter that I wrote to my supporters a little over a week ago. I explain a bunch of the stuff I learnt in my time away and what I'm up to next. Enjoy :)

---------- Written on Thursday 21 June 2012 ----------

A week from today I'll be home. It's such a weird thought. I'm so excited to go home but so sad to be leaving here, it's very bittersweet. My time here has been so special and such an incredible privilege. I feel so blessed to have spent the past six months at this beautiful base under such amazing leadership. They have poured into me, taught me, encouraged me and helped me grow. I really am so grateful.

This has been such an incredibly season of growth and learning for me. God has taught me so many practical things which I'm excited to put into practice for the rest of my life. And he's also grown me so much in my identity in him and taken me deeper in my intimacy and relationship with him. He is so good and so patient and so loving. I just love him so much and I know that it can only get better from here because he only wants good things for me. I'm excited to walking forward in life with the promises that he's given me and in the anointing that he has put on me. I look forward to living out my calling, knowing that everything I do, I do in his strength and I am never in my own ability alone.

If you are interested in hearing some of the songs I've written, two of them are on my blog. With All My Heart, a worship song, can be found at http://spalser.blogspot.com/2012/04/with-all-my-heart.html. Aeidan, a love story song for my friend whose baby was miscarried, can be found at http://spalser.blogspot.com/2012/05/aeidan.html. My other two will be going up soon. I will also be posting photos on my blog from my Art Worship piece that I did last week and an explanation about my project. Once I'm home I will continue to write on my blog, so please feel free to subscribe to it. I will keep posting the things that I'm writing and creating. Just add your email address to the subscribe section on the left. If you run into any problems, please let me know.

I'm very excited about what the rest of this year has in store. I arrive home next Wednesday morning (27th) and will be leaving for Mthatha early on Saturday (30th) morning. I will be joining a mission’s trip with a team from Pinelands Baptist Church and partnering with a missions organisation there called Sondela which is part of Zema. This will be my 6th trip there and I am so excited to see all the kids and teenagers again and continue to build the relationships that God has allowed me to form over the years. We will be working primarily in the rural villages near the mission’s base, doing a Holiday Bible Club for kids, a youth ministry program and helping with practical things at the base.

One of my prayer requests for this trip is for team unity. I've missed all the initial bonding and preparation for the trip, so please pray that I will fit in well and be able to make a good contribution to the team. Language is also a big prayer need. I do know some basic Xhosa and my grammar is quite good, but my vocabulary is rather lacking. Please pray that God will give me an ability to pick up words and phrases again easily and be able to communicate well even across the language barrier. Another prayer request is for our physical safety. We will be travelling for two days to get to our ministry location and the roads aren't very safe in some places. Please also pray for our physical protection as there have been some incidences of theft in the past.

Wisdom and discernment are also a huge request. I really want know what God's heart is in every situation. So please pray that I'll be attentive and sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. During my time there I will also have the privilege of leading worship, so please pray that God will help me in that and that I'll be listening carefully to his leading. Pray that I will make the most of every opportunity that God gives me and that I'm able to apply what I've learnt here at YWAM in the ministry opportunities that I have on the trip.

After the Mthatha mission trip, which is ten days long, I don't have any set plans for the rest of the year. Next year I plan on doing my Masters in Computer Science at UCT, focusing in an area called Information and Communication Technology for Socio-Economic Development (ICT4D) which basically involves using technology to help with community development. I'm very excited about this and about possibly having an opportunity to work with Learn to Earn (a Christian skill-training NGO) again as I did last year during my Masters.

In the meantime, however, I am purposefully keeping my time fairly open and unstructured so that I can do all the things that God has put on my heart to do. This will include doing quite a lot of tutoring (Maths, Science, Computers, English etc) and starting to teach Music. I'm looking at starting private piano lessons, but I'd also be open to teaching the recorder and flute. Within our church I want to volunteer a lot of time to the ministries that need me most. I see myself naturally getting involved a lot in the music ministry, training, discipleship and equipping the different musicians in our church, as well as working with the admin and communication side of things if I'm needed. In addition, I'm looking at getting involved in children or youth ministry, depending on where the biggest need is, and helping out with some of the IT stuff in our church too.

And then in my person time I want to keep as much flexible time open in my days to be able to continue to train and develop myself in various areas. This will involve studying the Bible more and making sure that I am reading good books and listening to podcasts that help me continue to grow from the place that I'm in now. I also want to make sure that I make space for creativity and song writing because that is something that I've seen myself grow in during this time but never really made space for at home. Additionally I want to ensure that I am practicing and continuing to grow in my musical skills and competency on piano, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, flute and voice; and possibly getting further lesson on guitar and voice training.

So while I'm very sad that this season of my life is coming to an end, I know that it's only beginning of what God has in store for me in my life and I want to make sure that I'm stepping into the abundant life that he has promised. And so because of that I'm really excited about coming home and stepping into God's plans for me. As I finish up my time here, please continue to pray for me. It's going to be very hard to leave after investing so much of myself here over the past six months. Tonight (Thursday 21st) we have our CD Release Concert where we play all the songs on our new album and give out copies of the CD. The album so now available online for free download here.

I am so grateful for all your support over the past six months. Your prayers have been so impactful and meaningful in my life. Thank you for lifting me up when I was struggling and for encouraging me and interceding for me. Thank you for every one of you who have supported me financially. Without you I would not be able to be here. Even the smallest contribution has meant so much to me. If you would like to continue to receive updates from me, please let me know. This will involve the ways that God is working in my life, things I need prayer for, updates from the ministries and mission involvement.

May God bless you hugely and continue to grow you in intimacy and depth of relationship with him.

Much love in Christ,

Sarah

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Whatever Happened To Worship?

- A Call to True Worship - By A. W. Tozer

Book report by Sarah Palser for School of Worship

Whatever Happened to Worship was compiled from a sermon series that A. W. Tozer preached in the 1960s shortly before His death. Even though it was written 50 years ago, Tozer’s thoughts are still very relevant to the struggles that the Christian church faces with worship today. The book starts by looking at worship in the church, where people often feel like they are rich and lack nothing. But what is really lacking is a true, unadulterated worship of God. We were not created to obey a set of laws, but to worship God and enjoy Him forever. He does not need our worship, be He loves it. Sadly it is often the case that those who lead in the church are not those who pray, seek God and spend time adoring Him together. This is something that I have witnessed in my own church and it is a tragedy indeed that breaks God’s heart.

Tozer then goes on to say that true worship demands new birth. We need to have a biblical understanding of who God really is and how He wants to worship in order to really worship Him. “True worship of God must be a constant and consistent attitude or state of mind within the believer.” (page 24) It is birthed through our understanding of who He is. We please Him most when we stop trying to make ourselves perfect but give ourselves wholly to Him, knowing that He understands and loves us completely. And this comes through a correct understanding of the fear of the Lord.

We often call things ‘worship’ that are not actually true worship. God loves it when we worship and we need to ask Him how He wants to be worshipped. This was a new insight to me which has challenged the way that I view worship. I have always worshipped God in the ways in which I have been taught, or in the way that I like to worship, without considering that God may have a particular way in which He wants to be worshiped. I want to apply this to my life by seeking God and asking Him how He wants me to worship Him. Tozer also pointed out the importance of worshipping in both Spirit and Truth. One without the other would not be adequate. We need both to really bring pleasure to God’s heart.

We were born to worship God. It is a tragedy that many people never come to this understanding. We need to focus on teaching people the true reason for their existence. Jesus walked on earth to reflect God’s glory and we were created to do the same. Tozer ponders that when people lose God they spend their time trying to find something else to worship. It is a tragedy that while humans were made more like God than any other creature, most now reflect His glory less than the rest of creation.

Tozer next discusses the fact that we cannot find God by our own intellect. If we could, we would be equal to Him. Instead, we are awed by the presence of God and drawn to Him by His revelation to us of who He is. Tozer defines worship as “to feel with the heart”. For us to worship in Spirit and Truth we need to feel wonder and experience the mystery of God.

The church, Tozer says, exists to do corporately what each Christian should be doing individually – to worship God. The church fails God when it fails to allow people to truly worship Him together. When we align ourselves with Him again, His Spirit will realign the church with the Word of God. I really like this quote: “There is no limit to what God can do through us if we are His yielded and purified people, worshipping and showing forth His glory and His faithfulness.” (page 101) We often limit the way that God can use us and how effective we can be by not yielding to Him and worshipping Him wholeheartedly. What power there is when we live out what we were created to do!

It is not the exception that Christians worship God in Spirit and in Truth, Tozer states, but rather that is what a normal Christian does. Those who do not cannot be considered normal Christians. We have become a generation that has lost sight of the sacredness of our worship. To really know God is to love and worship Him. They cannot be separated. Our worship is not something that happens only on Sundays, but is something that should be lived out every moment of each day. “If you cannot worship the Lord in the midst of your responsibilities on Monday, it is not very likely that you were worshipping on Sunday!” (page 122) This is something that I need to be constantly reminded of in order to make sure that my whole life is lived as an expression of worship to God. This cannot be done if I have not fully surrendered every aspect of my life to God and if I am holding on to things that I know are displeasing to Him. This book has challenged me with the importance of really living a life of complete surrender, one that glorifies God every moment of my day, for I was made to worship Him and that is what I want to do. 

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Truth and Transformation

The first book that I read during CDFM (Community Development For Missions) is called "Truth and Transformation". It is written by an Indian man named Vishal Mangalwandi. It is subtitled "A Manifesto for Ailing Nations" and looks at the ways in which communities can be transformed through the truth of the Bible. Below is the book report that I wrote for my class, answering three specific questions. I decided to post it as a blog so that you guys can get a little glimpse of the type of stuff I'm learning about.

A - What are the key themes and principles that were communicated in the book?

The first part of the book addressed the question “Do we need transformation?” The West was transformed by the Reformation in the 16^th Century, when the moral values of the Bible became the foundation of many nations. From corruption and an uprooting of these values that originally transformed societies, it is possible that the West is slowly losing the moral ground that has helped them prosper in the last half millennium. Rationality is discussed to be rooted in Christianity and the trigger for the technological progress of the West. The value in humanity and the freedom from menial labour that Christ’s death brought enabled humans to advance societies. Instead of seeking spiritual enlightenment through meditation, they sought to develop their minds and stretch their capabilities to experience life abundantly. Societies where this has not happened still are still spiritually oppressed and burdened by menial labour.

The family unit is highly valued in the Bible and its importance in Western civilisation’s history enabled strong communities to be built. The downfall of the family unit’s importance in more recent years has been a trigger of the West’s recent collapse. Likewise, the idea that humans are made equal in the image of God shaped much of the West’s previous success. However, in societies where value is not given to all people, oppression, poverty and death result. 

The second part of the book continued by looking at the question “Can nations be healed?” When looking at what Jesus accomplished on Earth and through his death and resurrection, Vishal discusses that Jesus’ wounds are for the healing of the nations, not just to save our souls. This includes bringing reconciliation between hostile people groups. Jesus has a rebellious compassion that practically loved people, while fighting against the injustice in Israel.  We are called to do the same in order to bring transformation.

The Kingdom of Heaven comes on Earth when we submit ourselves to God’s Word. Recognising the spiritual forces on the Earth, both good and evil, is necessary in order to combat the strongholds of the enemy, which hold communities in bondage, to bring freedom and life. Truth is the key to transformation and the ability for us as humans to cultivate our minds is a gift from God. Christians need to take an active role in education and teach people to know God. Jesus came to give us the knowledge of truth, for the truth will set us free. The Law that God gave us sets the way for community development to occur. When even one of the Ten Commandments is not upheld in a community, its downfall is inevitable. The consequences of our sin lead to poverty and pain. God’s law is a blessing that can revolutionise cultures and communities.

Following from this, the third part of the book addressed the question “How does the Gospel transform?” For a society to be reformed, it needs to be made aware of what is wrong, what is right and how it can change. This requires a spiritual awakening and mass movement. Evangelism is thus vital for proclaiming the truth that sets people free. This must include both that Jesus saves and that Jesus is Lord. This revelation can only come by the power of the Holy Spirit, who gives us the strength to stand against the powers and principalities that are corrupt and evil. Through Him we are able to refuse to accept injustice, no matter the consequences.

The church has been given to nurture people into truth that encourages loving relationships. As a community of self-sacrificing love that it is intended to be, the church can stand against poverty. We need to stand up to empower the oppressed as Jesus did. Through His death, Jesus brought about restoration in our relationships with Him, each other and with creation. We can thus have hope, even in the midst of what circumstances that might seem hopeless, for in Jesus there is hope in spite of our human failures. God’s purpose was to restore man’s dominion over the earth and will not destroy it when He comes again, but will make it new and come to live with us on Earth forever (John 14:23, Rev 21:2-3). If we want to see God’s power bring deliverance, we need to act in faith and obedience to what he calls us to.

Finally, the fourth part of the book posed the question “How can I participate?” This section is an appendix to the main book and deals with three different topics: Corruption and the Culture of the Cross; From Worldview Programs to Kingdom Movement; and finally, Transform America: Retake Education.


B - How can you apply these themes and principles to both your personal life and as a community development practitioner?

This book has opened my eyes to see the amazing way that God blesses communities who are founded on his Word. I was not previously aware how influential this has been to the successful development of the West since the Reformation. I can now see that even those who do not believe in Jesus are blessed through a community that follows his commands. This has influenced the way in which I understand Jesus’ prayer, “May Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven”.

In my personal life I have been thus challenged to look for every opportunity to bring the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, no matter where I am. I want to bring freedom for the captives, like Jesus did, and stand up against injustice, no matter the cost. As a community developer practitioner I one day hope to bring restoration in communities with each other, God and humankind, through teaching them God’s truths and a knowledge of Him. This will free them from the dominion of Satan and allow them to step into their purpose as people made in God’s image.


C - Is there anything in this book that you have more questions about or disagree with?

There are a number of times in the book where I felt that Vishal’s arguments were too generalised out of a specific case study and where he assumed an understanding of a premise that wasn’t fully rationalised in his argument. From this I struggled to fully agree with some of his arguments, while still understanding the heart of what he was trying to convey. There were also times in the book where I had to grapple with his argument for a while before being able to agree with what he was saying.

His focus and case studies often came from very different cultures from the ones in which I have grown up and thus I sometimes saw times where, while his application may apply in a European and Eastern society, it was not true for an African society. An example is his illustration of the ancient societies being able to build temples to their gods but not to liberate the menial labour of their people, keeping them in poverty. In Africa there has never been significant technological progress that was hindered by an incorrect worldview. Overall, however, I found the book to be a very interesting read, with a unique outlook that broadened my understanding of Community Development.

The Bride - an amazing evening with God and the United Pursuit Band

This week I've had the opportunity of worshiping with the United Pursuit Band twice, on Thursday with The Deep River and on Sunday night. And what amazing times they have been! I experienced so much love from God and I just am so so excited about the amazing journey that I'm on with him and all that he has in store for me in the future! One of these is that I'm heading back to YWAM Denver next year for two training schools. The first three months I'll be doing WISE (Worship, Intercession, Spiritual Warfare and Evangelism) and the second three months I'll be doing SOW (School of Worship). I'm totally amped! But I'll write more about what led me to this point and what all it'll entail in another post...


Right now I want to write about a picture that God showed me tonight during the song "Come Away" tonight at New Life Vineyard church in Cape Town. Now to be honest I don't really think in pictures so I don't really "see" pictures for people when I pray, I more get impressions or descriptions of images in my head. I seem to think in a much more "wordy" way than many other people... but anyway. So this song is playing and it's written as a song from God to us, so I let God just sing it to me and listened and relaxed and enjoyed it.

And while I had my eyes closed I SAW a really beautiful engagement ring. It was platinum with a huge beautifully cut solitaire diamond on top. And this wasn't just any ring, it was really special! And then I noticed that it was only one out of MANY and they were moving on a kind of conveyor belt. They were so many, yet it did not take away from the incredible beautiful and worth of each ring. And I just knew they were from Jesus to his Bride, the Church.


I was expecting to next see Jesus down on one knee offering me a ring, ready to place it on my finger. But instead I saw Jesus, arms outstretched on the cross; blood pouring, streaming down from his body. He was paying the ultimate price; the price that could afford each and every one of those rings and a million more. It's the price of my heart, my soul, my love, my redemption and my eternal salvation. Because of that blood, I am his beloved, his chosen one, and part of his Bride.

"Open up your heart and let me in

Come away with me
Come away
It's never too late
It's never too late
It's not too late for you 

I have a plan for you
I have a plan
It's going to be wild,
It's going to be great
It's going to be full of me"

I look forward with great expectancy for our marriage day when the Bridegroom, Jesus, comes down to be united with his Bride, the Church; when he returns to Earth in all his fullness to make everything new and to dwell among us forever.

www.aueysantos.com

"Open up your heart and let me in
I am aching with love for you"

 I also recorded one of my favourite United Pursuit songs, "Waterfall", on my phone. It was too beautiful a moment for me not to keep a memory. So here it is if you're interested.