“For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him in whom they have not heard?” Romans 10:13-14a

Our greatest desire is for everyone to believe in the gospel, yet we are asked how will they believe if they have not heard? People need to hear the gospel! This past May and June my wife, Kearsten, and I were privileged to lead seven college students from across Indiana on a six week trip to Cape Town, South Africa on what Campus Outreach calls a Cross Cultural Project (CCP). This was an amazing opportunity we all had to share Jesus with university students, learn about and live in a culture very different than our own, and see God at work in the global Church.

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The pressure that builds up on the backs of students at the University of Cape Town is enormous. The University of Cape Town is the top university in all of Africa and has an extremely low acceptance rate at around 30%. Many families invest all of their resources to send one of their children to university with the expectation they will make enough money to be able to help provide for the family and the next generation.

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Campus Outreach Cape Town (COCT) currently has four staff members and has existed for less than three years. Our main focus was to share the gospel with university students, but we also had two other goals. One of them was to help their current students who are already a part of the ministry grow in vision to share their faith with their friends and help them learn how to do that! The other goal was to model Christian community in hopes of creating a sense of unity and a body of believers that exists on the campus.

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We saw God answer both of these prayers while there! One CCP student, Nevah, challenged a COCT student leader, Athi, by asking the question, “Is there anyone who comes to mind that you could invite to tomorrow’s bible study?” Athi brought her friend Kiki the next day! Over coffee, Nevah was able to share the gospel with Kiki while Athi was watching. A week later at church, Athi told Nevah that she was taking notes during coffee and shared the Bridge Diagram with another friend! Additionally, we were able to use our guest house often and hosted 21 events for the university students. As a result another student Masego said, “We were not all close friends like this before, but it’s so wonderful now we are!” It was such a blessing to see some of the results of our prayers & labors through God’s grace and Spirit at work! *Cue the Doxology*

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One of the events we helped plan and attend was their first annual COCT Winter Conference. At this conference, we thought about 12-15 students would attend and instead over 20 attended! Students heard perspectives about how to have a personal relationship with Jesus & how to grow as a Christian. They also spent time playing games, engaging over discussion questions, and eating meals together! One student, Thato, said, “I am so glad I came to this conference; my life has completely changed forever.” Praise God!

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All of the events, goals, and ultimately the trip were accomplished because of each of you! Your thoughtfulness in prayer to our Lord gave us energy and boldness each day to continue to evangelize to those we don’t know in a place we were unfamiliar with. SO… thank you so very much for all your prayers and all you did to send us! At the end of the day, what better way to spend any amount of time than to help those around us understand the love and beauty of God. We are grateful to have had the opportunity to share in South Africa, however, we also count it a joy and a privilege to labor alongside each of you here daily in Indianapolis.

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-Mickey and Kearsten Barnes

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