| We made it back from the States a month ago, and were just in time for me (Ryan), to debrief our outgoing class of 15 interns! That was a huge blessing and answer to prayer because the majority of the internship class had been with us for around nine months. |
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| Debrief is one of our favorite times of the year because we are passionate about setting up our outgoing interns with the mentality needed to sustain their fire, and ply the vast array of new tools and deep ministry experiences they gathered while with us at Impact Africa. Pulling back the curtain on debrief a little, here are just a few of the subjects we hit on during debrief: -Finding your new community when home, and how to create new and lasting friendships (many of our interns are going to new places like jobs, new churches, or colleges). -Navigating the emotions they feel when going back, like nostalgia for the mission field, alienation from old friends, or negativity toward their passport culture. -How to stay plugged into missions, even if full-time missions is not their ultimate calling. -Knowing the potential traps that are ahead of them in terms of difficult relationships, past besetting sins, or even just allowing themselves to return to their old spiritual status quo. |
    We had a few weeks of just a couple interns, and then we welcomed our summer interns(pictured below) on June 3rd! Woohoo!  We have a class of nine, and they will be with us for eight weeks. Our summer classes are very leadership and service-centered as we raise them up to help host our summer missions teams. We are currently in the midst of immersion week, meaning that they are getting the Impact Africa culture and ministry training needed to have a powerful summer with us. Kindle will be focusing on pouring into our summer interns spiritually through regular preaching and equipping sessions, and I will be leading the charge on the big-picture side of things by setting up the whole internship team with pastoral leadership and care over the course of the summer. We are believing for a big impact on our interns and for a big harvest in the local communities we will be doing ministry in this summer. There are many people who are ready to give their lives to the Lord but have yet to hear the gospel! We can’t believe that the year is already half over! Thanks to everyone who invests in us and prays for us to make living in South Africa a reality. It is so rewarding seeing these interns become bold as lions on ministry, and seeing them carry that same boldness back home at the conclusion of their internship time. We are so blessed to see Impact Africa alum all over the world, and changing the world in their spheres of influence. Nothing tops a hands-on ministry, and I think that practical experience is what sets a missions internship apart from a typical ministry school or gap year experience. Learning about doing the works of Jesus is one thing, but actually DOING the works of Jesus brings a level of maturity and revelation you just can’t beat. |
The Bridgfords in South Africa 