Six missions teams are taking trips across the globe during Interterm 2009 and will be updating The Chimes Online about their work in various countries.

Here’s a short “pre-trip” summary from Team South Africa, sharing the expectations and hopes from Katherine Burnett, one of the team leaders. Burnett went on an SMU trip through Biola to South Africa in summer 2007 with plans to continue to build relationships with people in the area through this year’s team.

Team South Africa left the U.S. Dec. 31 and will be returning Jan. 20. Eight students, including Burnett, are going to Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa.

The team’s purpose is to “demonstrate the love of God in South Africa through service alongside the local ministries in sharing the hope of Christ to the orphans and people of Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa.” In a country affected by AIDS, apartheid and poverty, the team’s intent is to share Christ as a hope in the midst of calamity. The team’s purpose stems from its theme verse, Philippians 2:14-16, in which Christians are instructed to “shine as lights of the world.”

For the first week, the team will be at an orphanage to create a “Holiday Bible Club” for the children. For the remainder of the trip, team members will be working alongside a Christian non-profit organization (Hlanganani Ngothando Organisation-Zulu) in a rural area, serving men, women, children, prisoners, the sick and elderly, as well as children with mental and physical disabilities.

The members of the team ask for continued prayer as they travel to South Africa with the purpose of spreading God’s glory and providing encouragement to local Christians in the region.

To read about updates from Team South Africa, read the team’s blog here.