Youth Column: A Single Goal

Wednesday August 14 2019

Ellie Moran reports on how a group of young Christians from Glasgow will help transform lives in South Africa.

WHEN my colleague, Karen Wallace, approached me with potential for a trip to South Africa I leapt at the chance.

A few days and two team members later that possibility became a reality. Many of you may have heard or read about the trip that was undertaken by a large group of young people from Glasgow Presbytery last year as part of the ‘Year of Young People’. Next summer I will be joining members of CoSY (Church of Scotland Youth) Glasgow as we embark on our own adventure. We will be travelling to a township near Johannesburg to build a house for a family in need. Amongst other things we will be building, from scratch, a house, running a children’s club for anywhere up to 200 local children and attending a Sunday morning service in a Zulu church.

CoSY Glasgow is a place where young adults, aged 17 and up, can meet and share in faith and fellowship. As well as worshiping together as a group, we have invited various guest speakers to lead us in a series of Bible Studies around the Gospels; we have visited different projects in Glasgow and taken part in the ecumenical Blessing of the Crib in George Square at Christmas. To date, our trip to South Africa will be our biggest venture, and you can follow our journey on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/cosyglasgowSA2020/

You may wonder how four people intend to build an entire house in one week. The quick answer - we won’t. We will be joining other groups from across the UK, all coming together for the same purpose. Perhaps that it is what’s so incredible about this trip. So many people from different walks of life all coming together, united by a single goal. As a CoSY group we have another goal of our own. To show, share and spread God’s love with the people we meet. We know his work is being done all over the world, so to have the opportunity to go and see it and be a part of it, that is something that we will take away with us and carry in our hearts.

I can’t begin to express how excited I am to go to South Africa. Six years ago, I travelled to Kenya to volunteer at an orphanage in West Nairobi. I went alone, trusting in God that it was the right thing to do. Unsurprisingly, He did not let me down. I had an experience like no other. The children in the home, the people who worked there, the locals, the other volunteers, everyone I met made an impact on my trip and my life. I know with certainty that this trip will be the same.

For Catriona, Connor, Karen and myself, the journey has already begun. A long road of fundraising lies ahead of us. The money we raise over the next year will go towards flights, accommodation, food and, most importantly, the building materials for the house. If you would like to know more about the trip, or for ways you can donate, please contact the leader of our trip, Karen Wallace at youth@presbyteryofglasgow.org.uk

You can also follow this link to the Urban Saints website to view the organisation we will be working with https://www.urbansaints.org/rebuildsouthafrica

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” 1 Peter 4:10

If you are under 30 and involved in the Church of Scotland, and would be interested in writing for this column, please email us on magazine@lifeandwork.org

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