Seen in the Serving
How Vacation Bible School in South Africa Became About More Than the Children
The Weight Behind Hosting a Mission Team
Hosting a mission team is beautiful.
It is also incredibly draining.
Especially for missionaries already living full-time in the weight of ministry.
This July, a team of ten people will travel to South Africa to partner alongside missionaries and local churches to host Vacation Bible School for children living in township communities.
This will be the second year of VBS.
And in many ways, that sentence alone feels miraculous.
Because before last year, many of the pastors, churches, and children involved had never even experienced Vacation Bible School before.
For many Americans, VBS carries nostalgic memories — brightly colored decorations, energetic songs, crafts, snacks, games, and Bible stories packed into a week of summer excitement.
But in South Africa, this looks different.
July is winter there.
Cold. Damp. Windy.
And many of the children arriving each day come from homes where food insecurity is a very real reality. So unlike many American VBS programs that simply provide snacks, this VBS feeds children breakfast and lunch.
Not as an “extra.”
As a necessity.
The Gospel is shared through songs, lessons, games, laughter, prayer, and relationship. But it is also shared through warm meals, full stomachs, hugs, consistency, and the simple reminder that these children are seen and deeply loved by God.
More Than a Mission Trip
This year, the hope is to expand the number of children who can attend.
More children.
More meals.
More opportunities for connection.
More moments to plant seeds of hope in young hearts.
And while expanding the ministry is exciting, it also means expanding the workload for the missionaries serving on the ground.
That reality has been weighing heavily on my heart lately.
Because one of the things I have learned through ministry is this: sometimes the people pouring into everyone else quietly become exhausted themselves.
Missionaries often spend years making everyone around them feel seen while their own needs go unnoticed.
They welcome teams.
Teach culture.
Translate experiences.
Absorb stress.
Carry responsibility.
Continue serving.
And then when the teams leave, they remain.
They remain in the ministry.
Remain in the spiritual battles.
Remain in the practical daily challenges.
Remain in the weariness.
Caring for the Missionaries Too
So this year, our prayer is that the mission team would not only bless the children and churches of South Africa — but that we would intentionally bless the missionary family serving there too.
Not as a project.
As people we love.
As fellow laborers in the Kingdom.
As a family who has poured themselves out repeatedly for others.
We want them to feel seen.
That word keeps surfacing throughout this Summer of Celebration series because I believe it reflects the heart of God so deeply.
To be seen matters.
And missionaries need that too.
So alongside ministry opportunities, we are intentionally building margin into the trip schedule to serve the missionary family directly.
Not glamorous service projects.
Simple acts of care.
Preparing land for a garden they hope to plant.
Possibly painting rooms.
Cleaning.
Landscaping.
Doing the practical household tasks that often get neglected when life and ministry become overwhelming.
And perhaps one of the most meaningful possibilities involves something incredibly ordinary:
A stove.
Currently, the family only has an electric stove. In South Africa, rolling blackouts and power outages are common. Entire communities can lose electricity unexpectedly for hours at a time. When that happens, cooking becomes impossible.
Something as simple as a gas stove could provide reliability, stability, and practical care for a family faithfully serving others every single day.
And maybe that sounds small.
But I am learning more and more that the Kingdom of God is often built through small things done with great love.
A meal.
A repaired room.
A planted garden.
A warm breakfast for a child.
A stove that works when the power does not.
These things matter.
Because ministry is not only preaching sermons or leading programs.
Sometimes ministry looks like helping weary people breathe again.
The Beauty and Burden of Missions
One of the beautiful tensions of short-term missions is that the experience is both life-giving and exhausting at the same time.
The team will undoubtedly return changed. They will experience the beauty of South Africa — the mountains, oceans, people, worship, resilience, and joy. They will also witness the brutality that poverty, addiction, violence, and injustice leave behind.
They will laugh with children.
Pray with pastors.
Hear stories.
Worship across cultures.
And likely leave pieces of their hearts there.
But my hope is that somewhere in the middle of all of it, the missionary family experiences something equally important:
Rest.
Encouragement.
Practical help.
Friendship.
The reminder that they are not alone in what God has called them to do.
Because perhaps one of the greatest gifts we can give missionaries is not admiration.
It is partnership.
Real partnership that says:
“We see your sacrifice.”
“We see your exhaustion.”
“We see your faithfulness.”
“And while you spend your lives serving others, we want to serve you too.”
How You Can Partner With This Year’s VBS
This July, ten ordinary people will travel to South Africa carrying lessons, supplies, work gloves, prayers, and willing hearts.
We will feed children.
We will worship alongside township churches.
We will laugh, play games, sing songs, and teach the Gospel through Vacation Bible School.
And we will intentionally care for the missionary family that has spent years pouring themselves out for others.
One of the things I have learned about ministry in South Africa is that very little happens spontaneously. There is no quick Amazon order arriving two days later. Every meal, supply, transportation plan, craft item, and practical need must be prepared thoughtfully ahead of time.
The planning matters because the people matter.
And while the needs can feel large, the beautiful thing about the Kingdom of God is how quickly small acts of generosity multiply when placed in God’s hands.
Here are a few practical ways people can partner with this year’s VBS and missionary care projects:
$20 provides fresh fruit for breakfast for one day of VBS.
$25 helps transport orphanage children so they do not have to walk several miles in winter weather.
$50 helps provide craft and lesson supplies for the children.
$65 provides lunch for the children for one full day of VBS.
$100 helps prepare and plant a garden for the missionary family.
$150 helps purchase winter supplies, blankets, and practical ministry items.
$400 would provide a gas stove so meals can still be prepared during South Africa’s frequent power outages.
$700 would help provide transportation for township children attending VBS throughout the week.
Most importantly, we ask for prayer.
Prayer for the children who will attend.
Prayer for the pastors and churches serving faithfully year-round.
Prayer for the missionary family carrying both the joy and weight of ministry.
Prayer that every child who walks through the doors would encounter the love of Jesus in a tangible way.
If you would like to partner financially, every gift — large or small — truly matters.
Not because we are building something impressive.
But because we believe God still moves powerfully through ordinary people willing to say yes.
And this summer, somewhere in the middle of winter in South Africa, children will be fed, missionaries will be encouraged, gardens will be planted, prayers will be prayed, and the Gospel will once again be shared with young hearts who desperately need hope.
What a privilege it is to be part of that story.