Category: MiJournal

It’s safe to say that the Banks To Bush trip has been one of the best trips I’ve ever been on. My role on this trip was to take photos and document each day of the trip alongside Nicola. We followed the cyclists the entire day and captured everything. This looked like Nicola and I hanging out of the car windows getting the right shots of the cyclists and us driving out in front of them, me taking photos as they were moving towards us and then Nicola telling me to run and jump into the car and us needing to drive off before they reached the car. Oom Leroux was our media car driver and he, Nicola and I enjoyed many interesting conversations as we were traveling through the different towns and farms. Nicola Oom Leroux shared interesting facts about the farms and townships and it’s safe to say they increased my general knowledge on those things. Watching the cyclists completing this challenge was very entertaining and I am going to use that as my excuse on why we snack so much in the car too. It was really awesome to witness how all of the cyclists were so determined to finish this challenge and how they overcame all the challenges they were faced with. Each day they cycled they seemed to get stronger and stronger even though the routes were becoming harder each day. Capturing these moments was a privilege to be able to do. 

When we got back to camp after the ride each day, Nicola and I would sit down and sort through all the photos we took that day and pick the ones we would like to edit. We would then edit all the photos that we took that day in order to distribute the content to the social media team for them to post so everyone could follow our journey each day. The first 2 days of doing this was a bit uncomfortable because normally when I take photos I would have the time to edit the photos over a few days but this trip required for me to shoot the entire day and finish editing everything on the same day. I had to learn very quickly how to be efficient in sorting through my photos and editing them quickly. The first night I finished working at 9pm, the second night 8pm and the third night 7pm and the night after that 6pm. The length of the rides definitely contributed to these times but the editing really became enjoyable once I found a flow with it. The social media team would then sit with Nicola and I and pick the photos they wanted for each account. Their reactions and the reactions of everyone when they saw the photos was really awesome for me to see. I enjoyed the fact that they were enjoying the photos. 

This trip really emphasized how passionate I am about photography. I found that even though I was working the entire day , it didn’t even feel like work to me. On the contrary I felt fulfilled in what I was doing due to my passion for it. Even on the last day of the trip I just wanted to continue taking photos and I even went home that night and finished editing the photos I took that day even though it wasn’t needed. I found that I wanted to continue doing what I was doing on the trip in my next week because I enjoyed it so much. I really hope that I get to shoot more things like this in the future again and even take photos for B2Bs next event. 

How my view on money has changed since this weekend? 

A big mindset change I had this weekend is that money is a natural tool that the Lord is blessing us with, that we have an opportunity to do eternal works with. You can choose to use your money for yourself and to increase yourself (which will come to nothing) Or i can use the finances im blessed with to increase the Kingdom of God and to do eternal works while living on this earth. Everything else that I do with my money will have no eternal value to me, but if operate the way God wants me to operate, which is Him blessing me so that He can bless others through me, then my reward will be in heaven and I will live a great life since it is more blessed to give than to receive. 

Another big point for me is in 1 Timothy 6:8 which says “And having food and clothing, with these, we shall be content.” This weekend gave me a deeper revelation that it isn’t money that going to help me or make me happy or solve my problems but it is God and God alone that will fulfill all that I need. The world system teaches us to think that our happiness in life and the solution to all of our problems will be found when we get money. This isn’t true, this is a lie of satan that causes us to chase money and not God. But praise the Lord that I have a living relationship with the living God. El Shaddai,  which means the God that is more than enough. So He is more than enough for me in all circumstances and I will be content when I have little and when I have much because He’s the one who satisfies and fills my every want and need, not money. 

A big moment for me this weekend was during “Foot In The Message” when the spirit was moving, the Lord spoke to me. He said to me-

“I’m not playing church, this is not a joke 

I said in my prophetic word that you need to go to the maximum because Jesus is coming soon, do you believe my word? My prophecy? Don’t care so much about your life, be eternally minded.” 

He then led me to Mark 13:32-37 which says “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Take heed, watch, and pray; for you do not know when the time is. It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning— lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!”

God is not playing around at this time, we are truly in the end times. What we are seeing in the church with the manifestations of the Holy Spirit and Prophecies are not just for show and aren’t just some demonstrations and words that won’t come pass. Jesus is coming back and the church has to rise and do what He is calling us to do on this earth at this time. He will do what He wants in His church at this time, whether we are going to be a part of that is our choice. 

We went to break free rehab for 2 days to help them build a bigger church and to build another dorm for people to stay in. I was on the painting team which was quite a big part of the project because they couldn’t start building the structures unless the wood they were using was painted and varnished since the majority of the building was to be made out of wood. We would bring out the wood planks and lay them out on these beams and we all sat with our tubs and paint brushes painting and varnishing all this wood, there was a lot haha. It was really cool for me to see how well we all work together as a team and how we always do these things with joy. It was awesome for me that we could bring that joyful loving presence into their space. I can imagine that it ministered to and touched them. 

Being on the painting team was so much fun though we got the dirtiest out of everyone there for sure. We got to sit and chat for hours while we painted, we got to have many holy conversations and just got to catch up and have fun together. It was awesome to see the project all come together and to be able to help them like this. Praise God that He also made it possible for us to sow seed into their lives and for everything that He has for us in the future. I would really like to be able to go and minister the love of God by helping out the communities around us more, it was really wonderful. It was many hours working in the sun but to be able to make that shift of doing our work unto the Lord always makes the work we’re doing such a joy.  

1. I am busy learning to play the ukelele 
2. I was born with black hair but it turned blonde very quickly 
3. I’m a creative person I really enjoy art in many forms. Eg: Photography, drawing, painting, and baking. I also really enjoy, singing, dancing and playing instruments even if I’m not good at them, it’s just things I enjoy. 
4. I have two older brothers and my mom named us Michael, Matthew, and Madison so that she could call us her M&M’s like the chocolate
5. I was born on my mom’s 35th birthday so we now share a birthday which is the 20th of October  
6. I needed braces when I was younger to get rid of a few scew teeth and a bad overbite. We were in the process of me getting them and one day my dad prayed for them and commanded them to straighten out. My teeth were straight within 2 weeks without any dental help and have been straight ever since. 

My experience. 

This prayer and fasting weekend was the first time I fasted for spiritual reasons. It was a really awesome experience, how denying your flesh made me more focused on what was going on spiritually. Pastor Sharron said that some people think that you have to fast for a very long time to actually receive the answers or breakthroughs in your fast. But she said that this isn’t the case and that you don’t even have to fast for long for you to receive the outcome of your fast sometimes. In my experience God spoke to me just before I went to sleep on the first day (Friday) and provided me with the answers I was looking for. It was a really awesome experience to have to hear from God in a specific situation like that. He provided me with three points on what was causing the issue and how to get rid of it. 

Skills I’ve learned this year at MiXchange. 

Since coming to MiXchange there are quite a few skills I’ve learned. 

-How to build and design a website (obviously because you’re reading this on my website right now)

-How to journal about my encounters and journey with God.

-How to optimize the use of your laptop regarding storing things properly.

-How to condition properly and all manner of things regarding improving my health. We have learnt about healthy diets and how to fuel your body correctly in endurance training

-How to work together despite differences and how to overcome challenges together. 

-I have also learned how to time manage and prioritize better since coming here. 

-How to ride a mountain bike. 

-How to use a go pro.

-How to use google docs,  google sheets. 

-How to edit and create on Canva.

-How to edit on Lightroom

-How to edit and take photos/videos. We have also learned how to edit videos to make a vlog for example. 

-I’m learning how to play the ukelele 

-We also do voice training where we are learning how to sing better by controlling and training our vocals. 

-I learned how to shoot a gun at the farm and the correct way of aiming etc…

My Journey of exercise this year. 

Before coming to MiXchange I was never really fit. I did sports in school and worked out here and there but I was never really committed to exercise. I would always try to stay consistent but it was very hard to do by myself personally so I never got anywhere with it. When I joined I quickly realized these people really enjoyed cycling farrr distances and doing things like races and triathlons. At the time this seemed crazy to me. The first time they got me on a bike was in Clarence the second week of being here and I cycled about 4km before feeling like I was going to pass out haha. But from there every time I cycled with them I’d go a little bit further each time. As we started conditioning every morning I started to add running and swimming into the mix too. In the beginning, I won’t lie it felt very rough to get started with all of these things but as we stayed consistent in it, I slowly started to see improvement. I signed up for a triathlon (which I’d never thought I’d do in my life) and I completed it in 02:07:03! That was a 600m swim, a 20km cycle, and a 5km run all in one go which was such a cool achievement for me! Leading up to the triathlon we did a dam swim as a group on the coldest day of the year at the time, which was such a fun part of our training!

We also had a cycling trip this year where you could cycle for 3 days straight with a total of around 150km over 3 days in Dullstroom. I think I did 35km on the first day and 15km on the second day and that was it for me. But now after training some more I completed my first 40km cycling race which I finished at 02:16:05. We also did a running race where I ran 5km which I finished in 35min.

My conditioning keeps going from glory to glory. And I truly praise God for the way He has increased me in this area. Conditioning has made me feel stronger mentally, and physically and it adds to my spiritual walk. It is awesome to feel strong in your body like this! As Pastor John has taught us if you sow energy in your conditioning you will reap energy in your life. I also wouldn’t have been able to get where I am today without the collective greatness of my blood-bought family. Having to stay accountable for showing up every morning to conditioning and having their encouragement played a big role in my growth and getting to where I am now. I praise God for this opportunity He has given us to increase like this it is truly glorious!

My first cycling race.

Alzu Tour De Farm is a cycling event where you cycle your chosen distance on the farms. Elrika and I decided we were going to start training together for the 40km cycle at Alzu and ride it together. 

I was a bit nervous on how it was going to go but overall it was an awesome experience. The first 10km of the ride were quite rough my heart rate stayed at about 200 for that bit and it was just the beginning. it was quite funny Elrika eventually said “Madison just go I can’t keep up with this” so we were both really feeling it haha. But after that, the route got a bit easier and our legs were warmed up so we started to enjoy it a lot more. I really enjoyed the water points, they  was music playing, people giving us water, juice, bar ones, energy bars, fruit snacks etc… The ride felt like a roller coaster of emotions though some parts were fun and easy, other parts we were in pain and our muscles were hurting, other parts we were riding in sand and against the wind which made it quite difficult. 

But at the end of it, it felt amaizng to have done my first race and it was aweosme to  do it with Elrika. As we were approaching the finish line there were rhinos and buffola on the other side of the fence which was quite cool! Elrika and I completed the race in 02:16:05! including breaks! i think we surpised everyone and oursleves! 

Next year were definelty aiming to to the 70km!

God told me the name of the first person I would bring into the Kingdom!

We were on our way to Diepsloot and I was riding on the back of Oom Empies bike. As we were driving there I was just praying in the Spirit preparing myself for what was going to happen on the outreach and paving the way. As I was praying in the Spirit it came to a point where the Holy Spirit just kept saying “Lisa, Lisa, Lisa, Lisa” through me. I stopped and asked the Lord, “Lord, is this someone I’m going to meet today?” He really drew my attention to it. I didn’t get an answer but I felt as if I would just wait and see, so I continued to pray in the Spirit a bit. When we got there I was in charge of selling and getting the salvation packs to everyone. For a second satan tried to come and tell me that I was missing out because everyone was already walking up and ministering to people. But I said no Satan, I’m going to be faithful in this because it was the task given to me by authority. As I finished Tarryn and Rolene were also about to go so I asked if I could come with them. As we walked up we bumped into a guy who was already saved so we just prayed for him and his wife. Then as we started to walk up further on that road I turned around and Rolene was speaking to a young girl. We continued to walk and soon after Rolene called us over to come to talk to this girl with her. When I turned around Roelne introduced us to her and told us that her name was Lisa. I immediately knew this as the person that the Holy Spirit had told me about. I introduced myself to her. I could feel the Holy Spirit on me, I started to shake a bit and I was overflowing with joy. I was so excited I just said to her “Lisa, do you know that the Lord sent me here today for you, He told me your name on the way here!” She was so ready to receive the Lord! I asked her if she had ever asked Jesus to come and live in her heart and she said no, so I asked her if I could read her some scripture. She said yes. I read her the scriptures on the card and then I asked her if she would like to receive Jesus into her heart today. She said yes! She said the prayer and as she was doing it tears were just running down her face. She allowed us to give her a big hug and we told her a bit more about the Lord and how much He loves her. We also prayed for her sister. I gave her a cross and told her to put it somewhere she would see it every day and that every time she saw it she must remember how much God loves her. This was such a huge encounter not only for Lisa and for the Lord but for me too! I praise the Lord for the way He used me! It was absolutely glorious! I was just reminded about how God truly does know us all by name and He wants every single one of His children to come into His kingdom and be in an intimate relationship with Him. He loves every single one of us and he won’t go without us. I praise the Lord for the mighty works He did on that day and I know that this is just the beginning of many many more! Lisa was the first person the Lord used me to bring into His Kingdom and He told me her name! The Lord is just awesome!