Rezolution Conference, Johannesburg, South Africa

I took a trip to Johannesburg, South Africa, from October 12-19 for a conference with John Piper and Conrad Mbewe. I went with Pastor Brian and 8 college students. We drove from Malawi through Mozambique and Zimbabwe before arriving in South Africa. I will give more details about the road trip but I do not want it to overshadow the power of God working in my life.

            John Piper focused on finding joy in the glory and majesty of God and sharing that with others. He puts it like this: I exist to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples. I have heard this and read this many times but God really reminded me that my passion should be for God’s supremacy and finding my maximum joy in Him. Again, Piper says that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. Like I said, I have known these truths but God reminded me in a big way that He is supreme and I am commanded to find joy in Him (Psalm 37:4). Sitting under the teaching of Piper and Mbewe for 4 days was a refreshment for my soul and I am excited once again to seek my joy in the supremacy of God and spread that to others. This is the most loving thing on the planet that I can do. I was also struck by the fact that God is uppermost in His own affections and it is not idolatry because He is God and is the highest treasure. I could go on and on about the greatness of God and how I have a renewed passion to seek Him and show that He is my supreme treasure in everything. The urgency to share the gospel and disciple others has once again captured my heart and I am praying that God would lead me wherever He wants and that I would be willing to follow. Thank you for encouraging Carson and me as we seek to follow God in Malawi. I pray that we would be faithful to God in everything we do.

Conrad Mbewe

Piper & Me

Piper & Us

Mandela Statue

Skywalk

So now for the road trip part of our journey. We left at 5 am on October 12 and were through the Malawi/Mozambique border by 7 am. About 200 km into Mozambique the van broke down. Brian worked on it for a while (thinking it was a fuel problem) and we were on the road again. We broke down 3 more times within about 60 km and worked on it each time. Finally, someone towed us to Tete, Mozambique, and a mechanic worked on it also. He did not find anything wrong with the van, so we headed out again. It was about 5 pm by the time we got through Tete.  We were cruising pretty good for about 50 km and then broke down again. We were in a town so we pulled over by an outdoor bar and Brian worked on the van again. We spent about an hour working on it this time. The van started and we took off again. We made it about 100 km and the van shut down again. We were not in a good place on the side of the road to work on the van, so we waited for a bit, turned the van back on, and headed down the road. We made it all the way to the Mozambique/Zimbabwe (Zim) border at Mutare and spent the night at the border in a tent. Since it was not a safe place to set up a tent, the students took 30 minute shifts sitting outside the tent to keep watch. After sleeping for about 4 hours we were up again to cross the border and head to South Africa. We made it all the way to Masvingo, Zim, and stopped at a mechanic shop because a tire was low on air. When they aired up the tire it blew which was okay with us because it was better than being in the middle of nowhere. After spending a few hours in Masvingo we were on the road again. We made it into the border of Zim/SA that night, ate at KFC in Musina, SA, and headed to Polokwane, SA, to stay the night. Brian has friends who teach at Christ Seminary in Polokwane and they had a few extra dorms for us to stay in. It was a blessing to not have to drive 3 more hours into Joburg that night. So you are probably wondering what was wrong with the van. We are pretty sure it was bad tank of fuel that clogged the fuel pump and filter which just shuts the van down. We made it to the conference in Pretoria on Thursday and then traveled to Joburg that night to stay at host homes. I actually stayed with Brian at his in-laws house (he married a South African woman about 7-8 years ago).

Breakdown

Towing

The Guys

The Guys 2

Moz/Zim Border

  South Africa is very nice and it made me feel like I was in the States in many ways. Although I have only been out of the States for 3 months, it was very refreshing to have some “normal” things.

Texas T-Bone 

 Now for the trip home. We left Joburg at 4 pm on Sunday after the conference was over. Our goal was to make it an hour into Zim and camp at The Lion and Elephant, a lodge and tourist place. We made it through the SA/Zim border by 1 am and were headed to our campsite. An oncoming 18-wheeler was coming at us and there is not a shoulder in Zim and it is hard to see when oncoming traffic is approaching. We hit a pothole that extended about 3 feet onto the road from the side and the rim got bent and the tire went flat. When I say a pothole, really there should be a sign that says, “Road washed out ahead” because it was that deep. We had a spare so changed the tire and headed down the road again to get to our campsite. Within the next km, we hit another pothole (road washed out) and bent another rim and the tire went flat. It was now about 3 am and we are stuck on the side of the road in Zim. We decided to throw up the tent and sleep for a while on the side of the road. The next morning Brian caught a ride back to the Zim border to get the rims repaired and tires put on. By 11:30 am we were back on the road and headed toward Mozambique. We made it past Harare, Zim about 8 pm and came to a police stop about an hour east of Harare. Brian asked if we could set a tent up and sleep close to them in order to have some safety. They directed us to the police station, so we went and inquired about sleeping there. They were gracious and let us set up a tent at the police station which was actually really nice with green grass (better than the dirt and rocks on the side of the road the night before). We got up about 4 am to hit the road again so we could be home on Tuesday. We made it to the border and the guys at the border held us up longer than necessary because they just wanted to be difficult. Once we got through the next obstacle was going to be crossing the bridge at Tete (it crosses the Zambezi which is similar to the mighty Mississippi). The only problem is the bridge can only have one way traffic so they let one side go for a while and then switch. When we arrived in Tete, we did not have to wait because traffic was flowing our way!!! That was probably the biggest answer to prayer on the whole trip (other than us being kept safe of course). We finally made it to the Mozambique/Malawi border and one last obstacle stood in our way. We had brought a lot of stuff back from SA for the house and other people and stuff, so the Malawi border could have us unload everything from the top and back of the van to inspect it and possibly charge duty. Well, Brian started driving to immigration and went through the gate, the one he isn’t supposed to go through, because there were cones out but the gate wasn’t shut. The border officer got very angry and told him to reverse immediately. Brian complied and we parked and went to get our passports stamped. On the way out, Brian went and smoothed things over with the officer and told him how he was sorry for not following the rules and became “friends” with the guy. When we pulled up to the gate, where they can ask us to unload everything, the officer simply waved us through as he sat in the shade!!!! We made it home Tuesday afternoon about 5:30 for a trip of 49 ½ hours! I really enjoyed it, but I think if I go next year I will take a 2 hour flight from Lilongwe to Joburg.

Zambezi

As always, thank you for the prayers and support! We love you guys more than you know! If you have questions feel free to email or facebook us at anytime.

Because of Jesus,

Jeff