Baie dankie for all of your support over the past few months. Your prayers and encouragement have had great impact. Please allow me a moment to share what God has done over the past few months through your investment in me in South Africa.
I spent the majority of my time in South Africa working with an organization called Cynergy. Cynergy’s mission is to help people discover and develop their God-given potential so that they can fulfill their God-given destiny through effective literacy, leadership and life skills programs. The program consists mainly of two parts: the Reading Understanding with program and the Legends program. The Reading with Understanding program is especially designed to accommodate learners whose first language and in most cases even second langua
ge is not English. In other words, it is created for countries like South Africa, rich in diversity. Legends are academically strong learners that are trained on the Reading with Understanding program so that they may mentor and assist other learners that find it difficult to cope with life and academics. In return, these leaders are developed in leadership and basic life skills to get them ready to be effective in a highly competitive national and international environment. The Legends program works on the ‘pay-it-forward’ principle. Legends are not only encouraged to get ready for leadership tomorrow but to practice leadership today by assisting their peers to become life ready.
My role in the program was multi-faceted. In a typical week, I would teach several grade four classes, hold classes after school for learners who needed additional help, train Legends on the week’s lesson and oversee the Legends as they rolled out the program in the grade eight and nine classes, as well as helping with weekly paperwork. My duties also included planning and presenting Legend workshop (a workshop is a college course given to the Legends as a reward for rolling out the program) as well as helping with fundraisers.
Working with Cynergy was a life changing experience. Nikki and Reagan, the founders of Cynergy, have been incredible teachers in my life. They have empowered me to do things I never imagined I was capable of. They’ve shown me the importance of vision and planning. They’ve shown me the power that love and believing in someone contain. They’ve taught me to pray continuously, trusting God in all circumstances. They’ve shown me what it means to be a servant, surrendering all to God. They’ve taught me to find hope in seemingly hopeless situations. They’ve taught me the importance of family and community. They’ve shown me how to handle conflict. Time and time again they showed me unconditional love.
Reagan and Nikki have challenged me to commit and surrender my life fully to Christ. They’ve taught me to listen for God’s leading that I may discover His plan for my life. The first lesson in the Reading with Understanding program was a vision lesson. In it, we challenged the learners to envision their lives in 2020- what they would look like, who their family would include, what they would own, and most importantly, how they would impact their world. This challenged me to examine my own life. After much prayer, I have determined the mission of my life: to love on and speak truth into the lives of those who are overcome with lies that they are worthless and incapable. Throughout my time in Africa, God opened my eyes to hundreds of ways in which I can fulfill my vision, including loving
on kids at camp this summer, encouraging friends, completing my degree that I may be able to counsel others, etc. God has also revealed to me how this vision is to include Cynergy. After much prayer and discussion with Reagan, Nikki, and Laura (a dear friend and missionary in South Africa), God has planted Cynergy in the States on our hearts. The mission of Cynergy stateside is the same as that of Cynergy South Africa: to help people discover and develop their God-given potential so that they can fulfill their God-given destiny. We hope to do this through several venues. The first is an internship program through Cornerstone University. In this program, we hope to send thirty interns each year to South Africa to assist with the Cynergy program there. Our hope is that the interns will not only empower learners but also to be empowered themselves.
Our hope is that their eyes will be opened to the possibilities before them and that they too surrender their lives to the plans that God has for them. We also hope to create a literacy program to help students discover not only that they are capable of reading but also of fulfilling their dreams. We also hope to develop a Legends program that encourages students to look beyond themselves to the good of their community and world. Please pray as we move forward in these things. Pray that God will lead and guide us for His name sake. Pray that we will be attentive to His voice. And pray that He will open doors that no man can shut.
My time in South Africa not only grew me spiritually, but also culturally. Though most of my time was in the schools, I also was able to explore the country a bit. I had the opportunity to attend a Chiefs v. Pirates soccer game, the two local rivals in South Africa, attend an Indian Primer League (IPL) cricket match, as well as attend an FIFIA Confederations Cup soccer game. I was also able to see quite a bit of the country of South Africa, including Durban and Cape Town. I also had an opportunity to walk through the Apartheid museum while hearing eye witness reports of Apartheid from Reagan and Nikki. I was also able to experience a South African crèche, a mix between a day care and preschool, and experience township life through a beautiful woman named Paulina as well as through my learners.
Once again, thank you for supporting me in my ministry in South Africa. Because of you, thousands of children have been loved on. Because of you, hundreds of fourth graders who had never spoken or heard the English language now have the confidence to write full paragraphs. Because of you, dozens of high schoolers now understand that they have the power to change not only their lives but the lives of their loved ones, their community, their country, and their world. And because of you, the life of one West Michigan girl has been changed forever. Thank you.
For more information on my time in South Africa or Cynergy, email me at sharon_e_stevens@cornerstone.edu
May God bless you in all that you do,
Sharon Stevens
