100's and 100's: Part 1 & 2

The first morning here, we had a meeting with Mandy, in which she told us some of the basics of Living Hope as well as what we could expect over the duration of our stay. She started to share that in her role of taking care of our basic needs, one of the things she likes best about her job was seeing each person’s spiritual growth and how God moved in specific ways in each person. She said that people usually attribute it to being in Africa, but really, it is that people finally give God time and space. As she explained it, “When you are here, there are hundreds and hundreds of luxuries that are stripped from you. Not just your physical comforts, but your friends, your family, your support group. And in that space, God can finally find the time and space in which to speak to you. And when you give Him that, whether in Africa or somewhere else, He can use it to communicate with you.” I have had only some luxuries stripped away. I still have hot, clean water, which I am so conscious of actually being a luxury. Now living again with so many people, it is such a luxury to have my own little space, to light a candle in the morning, make coffee in a french press, and have an hour alone with the Lord. Although I feel so aware of these luxuries, I know that hundreds more will be soon stripped away again when I arrive in Mozambique, where there will only be bottled water for drinking, where illness will be more of a reality, and where more of my freedoms may be inhibited. Already, my consciousness of simple luxuries has been heightened, as well as my gratitude for them. I hope these luxuries will be replaced with an increasing consciousness of the need of others as well as for daily gratitude for all of the luxuries I enjoy without having done anything to have earned them.

PART 2:
Yesterday, I had a cockroach on my pants at Living Grace. I will admit that the difference in hygiene here and the fear of disease (Joan whispering to me to ‘Put some bleach in the dish water-it kills the TB’) is often difficult to face. The first week here, I didn’t eat or drink anything while working; I couldn’t stomach it. Then tonight, I came into my room to see literally hundreds of ants covering the crevasses of my walls, trying to escape the last few days of cold. These are annoying, and mildly disgusting, but rather minor. But the last few nights, I have been waking up in the middle of the night. The first night it happened, I woke to a loud rushing noise. I couldn’t figure out what it was. After a few seconds, I realized that it was the wind and rain. In Cape Town, the wind is really fierce, coming off of both oceans and because it is rainy season, we get sideways rain, very nasty stuff. I couldn’t believe that it was the weather that was making such a wild noise. Through the last few days of extreme weather when I have been waking, immediately the people of Living Grace have come into my mind. As I lie there listening, I can’t believe that people are actually out there on the street. I wonder where they can possibly stay to avoid getting soaked, it is so terrible out. I know I could not cope. I have prayed for them, and their communities, for a few short minutes before returning to sleep. It has reminded me of again of the concept of luxuries, what each individual considers a luxury, and how that changes and evolves with circumstances. I now eat the soup that is served each day at LG, although I still bring my own spoon and bowl. When cockroaches appear, I have developed a little song and dance that I do on them to kill them, which makes the staff laugh. Although I have adjusted somewhat to different standards of living, I still feel these are minor, and don’t really involve too much sacrifice of personal comfort. The biggest change is just in my awareness of the contrast between my own level of living and comfort and the level of those that that I spend every day with.