Well I’m back! What a gift it was to be greeted by Angie
& the kids at the airport with “Welcome Home” signs. As anticipated, being away from the family
proved to be the most trying part of my trip to South Africa, but this only
made our reunion that much sweeter.
Thank you for all your prayers & support for Angie
& the kids while I was gone.
Numerous people filled in the empty gap of my presence while I was away.
One of my biggest fears was that in my absence Angie would discover that I
really don’t do much around the house. I
must say, it was a sense of relief to hear that there were some chaotic moments
for her.
There are so many experiences that I had that I would like
to share with you & I find it hard to briefly summarize. The first week was summer camp in
Stellenbosch, about an hour outside of Cape Town. We did 2-three day summer
camp rounds. Over 100 kids from many
different townships were bused in, to spend a few days with us. These kids were from the poorest
neighborhoods, infested with gang violence, drugs & often lacking the basic
necessities. One kid that especially
stood out to me was Neipha. He came wearing only a t-shirt & shorts. No
shoes, jacket or sleeping bag.
The first round I was the cabin counselor for 9 boys
(ages 8-14 yrs. old Carlo, Damien, Earl, Griffin, Henro, Jaden, Marlo, Reyno,
& Neipha.) These kids, who could
never afford & would not normally be given the opportunity to experience a
retreat like this, had been anticipating all year for CSA to come back to their
township and take them to camp.
As we walked back to our tents the first night, I think
it was obvious to all of us who the new guy was. I must admit that night felt very lonely as
there was much talking, yelling & laughing all in Afrikaans. All I could do was smile. Most of them speak English & could
understand my instructions, but I, on the other hand, had a hard time understanding
their Afrikaans-accented English. The
only thing that enabled me to be their counselor was the fact that they were
very respectful & grateful to be there.
I soon realized that all they needed from me was to get them water, Band-Aids,
or piggy-back rides.
My second round of campers were equally rewarding. This
time I got to co-counsel with Jermaine.
This was a real treat. Jermaine,
who is 21, was also from the townships.
He came to know Jesus through the ministry of CSA as a camper
himself. He is a bold witness for the
faith. The kids really respected him &
his story. We all clung to his every
word as we could see the spirit of God working in him. Many kids received Jesus into their lives
because of his testimony.
One night I grabbed a guitar & began playing some old
riffs. Jermaine, who is a talented
singer, began to improvise. It’s hard to
explain, but was like two cultures colliding in harmony. We definitely needed some work & I wish
we could have had more times like that together. Jermaine was sincere, passionate &
humble. I will miss Jermaine.
On the second half of our ministry, we stayed in a hostel
in Strandfontein, Cape Town. From here
we did several day rallies. We simply
drove into the center of a town, paid someone to let us run an extension cord
from their house, set up mikes & speakers, & began with songs, dance &
the game ‘Simon Says’. Someone would
share their testimony, or some other teaching (all in Afrikaans). This would
generally be followed by specific separate teachings for the boys &
girls. Then we would hand out lunch &
clothes. Again my role in this was primarily to hold kids on my shoulders…which
I was happy to do. I had a nickname
almost everywhere I went. Sheamus….who
is a WWE wrestler who I apparently resemble.
I would catch kids staring in awe.
Many thought I was the real thing!
Finally I visited Robin Island – the equivalent to
Alcatraz except that the cells had been filled with Civil Rights activists who
opposed the political apartheid. The
tour guides where all former prisoners who shared first-hand their personal
horrors. Here we saw the cell that
Nelson Mandela, who was referred to as “father Mandela” by our tour guide,
lived in for 26 years. Mandela inspired
the political reform that broke the apartheid in 1994.
What was ironic about this experience was the statement
our tour guide kept making. “We are all now one in south Africa”. This was, in a sense, the theme of the tour &
I wouldn’t argue that there has been great progress made in South Africa, but
my overall experience was that this country is clearly divided. In the center of Cape Town is the gaudiest
mall I had ever seen, & next to it was a mega church, with stadium seating,
& state-of-the-art music & lighting.
But drive 10-15 minutes in any direction & you are in the projects
of Manenberg, or an unsanitary pig farm where kids walk half naked among
heaping piles of trash. These people are
pushed to the outskirts of society, & largely ignored. Blacks are clearly still second-class
citizens. This nation is ripped apart &
still suffers, physically, emotionally, & spiritually from the apartheid. Although South Africa needs to progress
further in political, economic, & educational reforms, what became obvious
to me was that they suffer from the more fundamental problem that ALL human
beings suffer from. It could be called
moral poverty, selfish ambition, vain conceit, etc.
What I love about CSA is that they really do love people
in their outreach. Giving them lunch,
if only for a day, encouraging people with a handshake or a hug, but more
fundamental is that the Gospel is preached, & individual lives are
transformed. What South Africans need, &
all people need, is spiritual reformation through Jesus Christ. God changes the hearts of individuals. The Americans went to share Christ’s love &
did a great job, but the core of the ministry was the South African team. Each had their own personal testimony of
God’s salvation in their own lives. Mind
you, they still live in their townships, yet they are so rich. Their freedom was not in moving from
second-class citizens to first-class; their freedom was that they are now
citizens of the kingdom of God. They had joy not because of lack of pain;
rather they saw their pain as purposeful in relating & reaching out to
their fellow South Africans. Their
testimonies were moving & reached many people. I believe the fields are ripe for the gospel
in these townships, for in their physical poverty, they have relied on God &
His providence which has made it easy to rely on God’s grace for their
spiritual poverty.
Thank you all for making this experience possible for
me. I feel so privileged to have been able
to go. I feel that the CSA ministry is
powerful & you have indirectly touched many lives for the extension of
God’s kingdom through your generosity.
Rich
No comments:
Post a Comment