Canaan is an intern with Leadership International, currently serving in South Africa. Here is what God is teaching Canaan about the diverse global Church:

“Since coming to South Africa, I had the privilege to meet people from many different cultures, and I have truly been kept busy during my time here. My trip started off with a Bible reading conference at the African Leadership Center in southern Cape Town. Students from the African Theological College in Khayelitsha stayed for the weekend and I was immersed in the Southern African culture. That week, I began to work with Pastor Mfundo in Khayelitsha. We primarily concerned ourselves with children’s ministry, and that is mostly what my time has consisted of since then. I’ve been blessed to have met many amazing kids throughout that process, as well as learning the Xhosa language as best I can and forming relationships with the Sunday School teachers involved with African Leadership’s ministries, most of whom are around my age.

During the time of children’s ministry, Korean missionaries and pastors from all over the world gathered at the Center for a weeklong conference. During that time, I met many of the missionaries that I have worked with in the area since then, and really began to understand the scope of the work that God is doing in South Africa. The next week, a team of young adults from Segero Church in Busan, South Korea came to the Center. During that week, they worked with Pastor Mfundo and I in children’s ministry. We went to a few different schools in Khayelitsha, and the team did an amazing job singing and dancing and praising God. They were so amazing at involving the kids, and the children were, in turn, understandably intrigued by the team. They reached many souls that week. We traveled to Paarl to witness to farmers’ children in rural areas, Hermanus, and even Worcester, essentially exploring the different facets of African Leadership in the Cape Town area. With all of these cultural and spiritual experiences, I feel cause to look at the amazing power of our Creator. It’s so incredible to see all of these people from so many different backgrounds and cultures united on common ground- Jesus Christ. I feel so blessed to be a part of it, and I have no words to express how thankful I am to God in this situation.

About two weeks ago now, Pastor Young Ohm and I traveled to Namibia with Pastor Hombana and students from the ATC. We traveled twelve hours from Cape Town to the small desert farming community of Bethanie, Namibia in the south of the country. It was a very dry place, founded by German farmers on the outskirts of the Namib desert, and inhabited by the indigenous Nama people. We, along with the team, bathed the town in prayer, did door to door evangelism, worked with children, visited schools, schoolteachers, even a prison, and praised God, proclaiming his glory wherever we went. The experience was something I will treasure for the rest of my life. One thing that Pastor Hombana said that week really stuck out to me though. He plainly stated that it was Africa’s time to reach out and spread the gospel. It didn’t seem like much at first, but when I thought about it more, it seemed almost a radical idea. When I thought about it, I realized that Europe, the original source of Christian missions, has albeit abandoned God. Asia still has a few strongholds, but many countries still oppress and persecute Christians. In America, faith is rapidly declining as our society becomes more and more godless. That is why it is time for Africa to press towards the mark. I saw it even in Bethanie. The Nama people responded very well to a group of black Africans proclaiming the gospel to them. It was much different than the white missionaries who historically used the Bible to oppress the Nama people. It showed them that the gospel is truly meant for all people, even themselves.

To conclude, I am so grateful for everything God is doing in South Africa and I’m so grateful to be a part of it. I’m really excited to  see what He will have me do in the next month. God bless all of you. For the Kingdom.”