M A Y 2 0 1 0

“For I cannot help but speak of what I have seen and heard!”

Acts 4:20 Beautiful Unity

Pray, Pray, Pray

~ Students to be excited about the
camp, and for God to provide
financially for them to attend.
~Students lives to be truly

The story that must be told! impacted at the camp, and that it
would serve as a way to equip
Another month has come and gone. There is so much to tell you students as they leave for their
about! The month began with the talk I gave at Westville (thank you holiday.
for your prayers). It seemed to go very well. I spoke on Mark 1:40-45, ~Students to be impacted through
and how this untouched, ashamed, social outcast is healed from his Smart Choices.
encounter with Jesus getting personal and touching him, despite his ~Children at the Ukukhanya camp
leprosy. His experience with Christ is the most significant event of his to know the extravagant love of
life, and significantly alters everything. The man realizes this and the Father.
despite being told not to tell anyone, he cannot help but express what ~Safe travel and strength for Katie
he has experienced. We are the lepers, disgusting, shameful, broken, as she flies home for her sister’s
and Christ came to offer us true life-change: holiness, cleanliness, and wedding.
purity. Until I view my experience with Christ as the most significant ~Wisdom in how to spend these
event of my life I will not express it freely. My expression will be next few months while we are off
driven by my experience. By the fact that I see that life is at stake and campus.
this is a life-changing story (not a history story), a story that must be ~Wisdom in where I am being
told. called next year.

Upcoming Events!
UKZN Camp Smart Choices Ukukhanya Camp
June 4-6 June 7-8 June 14-19
We are hosting a CrossRoads is Put on for children in
camp to bring the having another 2 the townships to
students together day training on teach them basic life
from both AIDS prevention skills as well as some
basic foundations of
campuses and talk and life skills their faith.
about the power of orientation for high
God in their lives. schoolers.
 A MINISTRY UPDATE FROM ALYSSA MONDA MAY 2010

Contact Me:
Skype call: 027 076 537 2373
Email: Alyssa.monda@uscm.org
For more info go to my blog: alyssamonda.blogspot.com
Give by going to: give.ccci.org
Address: 84 Plumbago Terrace – Foxglove
7 Flamethorn Drive Westville 3629
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Overwhelmingly Inadequate
As I was learning about the life changing implications of the
gospel, I was finding that my ministry began to come more from
an overflow of what I was experiencing, rather than my own
drive to get things done. It was a nice change to find joy and be
refreshed in what I was seeing happen on campus.
However, just I as I began to feel competent in my ministry I was
quickly reminded how little I know. This month I had to deal with
some tough issues in the lives of students I am working with. I
have never felt more inadequate than in these times. Luckily the
Lord was quick to provide help through a woman named Lucie
who works with another ministry on campus. She was a great
resource for me as I began to deal with serious issues arising from
the culture I have been called into.
One of the girls I meet with began asking me questions on ancestor worship and
whether or not she should take part in sacrificial ceremonies her family was performing over the
Holidays. These rituals were to please the ancestors and bring good favor, as well as cleanse her from
health issues she has been having. As she poured out her heart to me, I began to just weep feeling so
broken and inadequate with nothing to offer her as advice for this difficult situation. We read through
many passages of scripture together, but whether they were helpful I am not sure. What was helpful
though, was Lucie meeting with her and I. Lucie was able to connect with her experiences and share
with her what she has seen and the supernatural things these sacrificial ceremonies can bring about. She
was able to firmly tell her you have to worship your Lord, and respect
your family but not if it means placing them above God. It was
something I did not have the guts to say, but exactly what
needed to be heard. My disciple has decided to take a firm
stance and worship God placing no idols above him. Pray for
her, as things in her family may become tougher in these
upcoming weeks.
Surprising Unity
Lucie works with a campus church called His People. I met her
as we began to unite the different Christian ministries on
campus. One Thursday, this month we had all of the movements
tell their students to meet us in the quad to go out and pray for
exams and do an outreach. Around 200 students showed up, and
we circled up pared off and went out. I grabbed a random girl
from the circle and asked her to be my partner. She seemed
confused, but I thought nothing of it. I explained we were doing
a survey so she brought me to her friends and we began to go
through it. We started talking about church and whether they
felt like they knew God personally and they said they did not
and began to ask me questions about my relationship with
Christ.
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 A MINISTRY UPDATE FROM ALYSSA MONDA MAY 2010

walk. The students split into 5 groups; one going to

This is only one of many similar stories from the
the temple to pray against idolatry, another circling
day. This was not our only brush with unity this
the campus to pray for unity, the third praying for
month, but only the beginning.
purity at the residence halls, the fourth at all of the
Psalm 133 says, “Behold, how good and pleasant
faculties praying for every student to be reached,
it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the
and the last at exam venues for the students
precious oil on the head running down on the
upcoming exams. We returned to the quad to finish
beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on
up the day by praying for all of the nations
the collar of his robes! It is like the dew of
represented by the students, and then close with
Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion!
worship. Around 400 students showed up to the
For there the Lord has commanded the blessing,
day and we had to force them to leave. It was truly
life forevermore.”
beautiful and pleasant as we all dwelt in unity on
This past weekend we participated in the Global
that campus. The students at the Westville campus
Day of Prayer, as all of the Christian movements
have decided that they have been forced apart by
on Westville’s campus took part in a 3-hour
little things long enough and it is time to come
worship/prayer service. We started the morning
together and take a stand as a united front to reach
off with worship, and then moved into a time of
their campus and community and I believe God is
repentance; both personally and together for the
going to bless them in that.
campus. After that Anele led us in how to write
John 17: 22-23 says, “The glory that you have
our own psalms of thanksgiving to the Lord. We
given to me, I have given to them, that they may be
took 20 minutes writing our psalms, and then
one even as we are one, I in them and you in me,
spent a few minutes praying or singing them
that they may become perfectly one, so that the
aloud. Once we were down writing, we spent time
world may know that you sent me and loved them
praying for each Christian movement on campus,
even as you have loved me.” Our unity impacts the
where a student from a different movement would
way the world sees us.
come up and pray. Then we embarked on a prayer

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A MINISTRY UPDATE FROM ALYSSA MONDA
Lions, Elephants, and Rhinos…. Oh My!
Aside from those larger events we have also
spent some time working at a local AIDS life
care center, Ukukhaya. We took a group of
students there on a Saturday and did work
painting, replacing windows, doing plumbing,
etc; as well as playing with the children. We
went back another day to plan for an upcoming
camp and while there I was able to play soccer
with some local boys in the township. They
didn’t really speak English, and they were most
likely making fun of how poorly I was playing
but I still had a lot of fun!
We were also able to finally meet someone very
important to our teammate Dan. This month
Dan’s girlfriend, now fiancé was able to fly out
to visit. She has stayed for two weeks and Dan
proposed the second she got off the plane! They
are perfect for each other and it was quite an
honor to be a part of this major event in their
lives. While Anna was here we took a trip out
to a game park a few hours north of
CHECK OUT MY BLOG!
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MAY 2010
here. It was my first time going out and we
spent 2 days doing 12-hour game rides. We
searched the horizons looking for the animals
and saw everything except hippos and leopards.
Seeing the lions was definitely my favorite part.
Not only was It amazing to see all of these
animals, but also a great time to just have fun
with my teammates and reflect on who God is
and where he is bringing me. I was able to see
how easily I can worship creation and have my
heart pound at the site of a lion, but how rarely
I stand in awe, falling on my face and trembling
before the creator of that lion and the rest of the
universe. I was able to see an elephant try to rip
down a tree and envy the power coming from
his trunk, yet the bible says the voice of the
Lord, breaks down the cedars of Lebanon. How
big and powerful is this God who desires a
personal relationship with us all. It blows my
mind to think about this concept, and humbles
me at how small I am and how much I still
have to learn.