Ministry

South Africa has elements of both the First and Third Worlds. Despite its clean water and relatively good infrastructure, there is much to be done here. Living Hope has a long arm into the communities of Cape Town. They run a HIV/AIDS health care facility that provides drug treatment and counseling to infected individuals of all backgrounds. They have just expanded Living Way, a work program in which local women make and sell handbags to earn a living. They also run children’s programs in many of the townships that play games with the kids, teach biblical concepts and feed them, which is often the only meal some children have. All of these programs, especially the children’s, are vastly understaffed and underfunded. The Life Skills Educators that run the programs are completely overworked, run programs in shipping containers, and have no resources. Living Grace is another branch of Living Hope’s ministry that has just become independent. Although it feels like the people we encounter there are very similar to the homeless in North America, and that the causes of homelessness are similar, the issues here seem to run deeper and more generational. It is likely that at least 40% of the men who come through Living Grace have HIV. I feel very much like I did when I was working at GSC- that you get to know each person individually and it is easy to get comfortable, but that you must still be vigilant. I was reminded of this when one of the guys, while helping to peel potatoes, cut himself and tried to cover it up. I personally was very challenged there, as I will talk about in some later writings, but there were great rewards too. We did devotions twice a day, which always began with some singing followed by a message by someone. One of the most things we did that I really saw the fruit of was during devotions. We did different songs, added some actions to spice it up, and when Rob arrived, he played guitar. Todd especially brought a lot of joy to this time. One amazing opportunity we had together was to mentor a couple, Kevin and Natasha. The way this couple came to us was nothing short of a miracle, with God really moving especially through Todd. I’ve never quite seen anything like it. Kevin and Natasha have a very interesting history, but the point is that at this moment in their lives, they are really truly seeking God. After a few conversations with them, Todd felt led to give them his Bible, right before the weekend. On Monday when they returned, they were already on the fourth book! (I’ve only read that far since January!). We had the privilege of spending time each day with them, answering questions and encouraging them. It was amazing to see them on fire for God and at such a pivotal time in their lives. We really became close to them and miss them a lot. I suppose that if we did nothing else here, made no other difference, perhaps that would be enough. Would just the lives of Kevin and Natasha changing be enough to justify the expense, time and distance of this trip? Is one life enough reason to go across the world? I think one life for each of us, where ever we are, would be enough reason. That is why we are teachers, or parents, or say hi to someone we don’t know. Each of those lives could be our lives, or our children’s lives or our best friend’s. I don’t think God sent me across the globe just to hand out coffee or bread, although that is certainly a part of showing His love. Maybe He just sent me for Natasha.