"When you visit Africa, be careful... it's a very dangerous place: you will lose your soul to it forever." (Leigh Roos)
South Africa is an amazing place. Every day I see and experience new things - some things that surprise me and some things that I'd expected. I see babies wrapped in towels around their mother or sisters' backs - I see six year old children on the street asking for money or food, and I see them digging through the trash bins when they don't receive any. I see Suzanne, the homeless woman who sleeps on our porch, and I struggle with how much and what I should do to help her - and then I find myself comparing that with what Jesus would do to help her. I see the extreme contrast between the wealthy white population on our side of town and the poor black and coloured population on the other side - the side known as "the community." I see the joy in the faces of the adorable smelly little kids that wave and say hello to us as we walk through the community streets. I see the extreme need for love and attention when the little boy I'm holding refuses to be put down. I see the huge impact that the Jeffreys Bay YWAM base has on the town when people stop me in the street or in the 7-11 and say, "Are you with YWAM? Welcome to Jeffreys Bay." Or when we walk down the street in the community and the kids run to meet us - just to hold our hands or sit on our shoulders. I see the huge longing for something more when those we pray for are moved to tears.
I'm seeing a lot of things I've never seen before. I'm seeing things that are breaking my heart, that are filling me with joy, that make me angry, that make me wonder. I keep thinking about what our leader Karl said about what we're seeing. He said, "Is the greater injustice when people don't know about the problems in our world, or is it when people see them and choose not to do anything about them?"
More to come.
Love you all - thank you for reading.
LC
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