Life Compass With Oasis ZA (September 2011).

by Chris Kamalski

Yup! This sums up the wonderful chaos of our week spent facilitating Life Compass with Oasis ZA in Cosmo City (a suburb of Johannesburg)!

The Unfolding Story:

  • 18 Oasis ZA First-Year Change Agents (primarily college-age South African youth from local townships) spending an entire week (September 19th-23rd, 2011) developing a vision of their preferred future in the context of a creative community development organization birthing fresh stories of transformation and change all through Cosmo City, a suburb of Johannesburg an hour south of where we live and work in Pretoria. Oasis ZA have been long-time friends of NieuCommunities South Africa, and have even modeled their rhythm after the missional postures that we walk through as we pursue the way of Jesus as a missional community. Maxie and I were honored to stay at our dear friend Adri-Marie’s house all week long, and deeply enjoyed the energy, questions, and clear-eyed impact that these young South Africans were committed to living with. Driving home exhausted that Friday evening, Maxie remarked, “I’m confident in South Africa’s future because of youth like these. We’re going to be ok!” An apt description of our week spent helping fellow South Africans begin to find their voice, and start writing the stories God is inviting them to tell with their lives.

The hope in empowering South African youth to develop visions for their lives.

My Storyline: The scenes that have already played in the story that is your life. A wonderful way to make sense of the mess that can be our past!

Maxie and I spent 3-4 hours each morning facilitating dialogue, self-discovery, all leading to the development of a preferred future vision.

Sharing our storylines with each other.

Love the sentiment expressed here.

Our Life Compass experience emphasizes the central role that one's personality plays in not only the development of a self, but the vision one is to speak to life. Our personalities are not accidental in the mind of God.

Dialogue is a central part of our training. (Can you see Maxie giving the 2-minute warning?)

A powerful organization creating fresh movements of the Kingdom in Joburg. We consider them dear friends!

A (filtered) sunset from Adri-Marie's backyard. Stunning!