Sir Sydney

I was told discreetly to "just keep going" as we tried to avoid making conversation with an inebriated man on the street in a coloured community called Eesterust. But I didn't want to keep going – this man was saying something about skin colour and I wanted to hear what he had to say. "I'm human!" he said, and then he turned to me – "What do you think? Am I less human because I'm coloured?"
"No way. If you cut someone on the arm, their blood will come out the same colour, whether they're white, black, or brown."
"SMART!" he replied. "Smart answer, sweetheart! Do you mind if I call you sweetheart?"
"I'd prefer Lindsay," I said.
"Lindsay – well I'm Sydney. SIR Sydney. I was knighted by the Queen herself. I'm British. Do you believe me?"
"Actually, I find that quite hard to believe."
"Why?"
"Well… I just don't meet very many people who've been knighted!"
"Well, I was." Then he clumsily got down on both knees to demonstrate the knighting process. By this point, our group was hooked, and we started chatting about who we were and what we were doing. We talked about different religions and he asked which one we belonged to. We told him that we just loved Jesus and he said, "SMART!"
Somehow we switched to the topic of alcohol, which Sydney had a lot to say about. He told us that he always sits by the liquor store, and he spends everything he gets on alcohol. He explained to us that "if I don't spend my money right away, I lose it." We tried to tell him that spending it on alcohol was the same thing as losing it. Then, one of our team members asked, "Sydney, do you enjoy being drunk?" Immediately tears welled up in his eyes and he raised his voice as he said, "F*** you! Of course I don't enjoy being drunk! I'm held captive by alcohol! I can't help it! What other choice do I have?!" I stood there feeling helpless and hopeless. But then I remembered that my God is mightier than alcohol. He is a healer and a source of strength in the most difficult times. I know this because I've seen the change in the lives of so many of my friends. My teammates and I encouraged Sydney - we told him that drinking IS a choice and that he CAN stop. That God can free him from the bondage that alcohol holds him in. But though God doesn't necessarily make things easy, He makes things possible. We then gathered around Sydney, placed our hands on him, and prayed. We encouraged him to pray as well - "Can I say anything?" he asked, to which we replied, "Of course you can! Say anything you want!" The interesting things about Sydney was that he knew the Bible better than most of us did. He made references to specific verses and stories. Even in the intoxicated state that he was in, he was extremely well spoken and obviously educated. We asked him if he had a Bible and he said that he didn't, but what he really needed was reading glasses because he couldn't read the small print even if he had a Bible. We told him that we'd try our best to help him and that we'd visit him again. As we said goodbye and walked away we said to each other, "this is a promise we absolutely have to keep."
We met Sydney on a Friday. It wasn't possible for us to see him on Saturday but Bertine bought him a Bible and we wrote "To Sir Sydney" in the dedication spot. We prayed for him as a team and brainstormed about how we could help him further. On Sunday, we drove to the spot we'd met him at before(right in front of the liquor store), but he wasn't there. He'd given us his address, so we drove to his house - with no luck. The next day we finished ministry at 5ish and checked for Sydney again - and thank You Jesus, we found him within two minutes. He was more stable and coherent than our previous encounter and we chatted casually for a while. Then we gave him the Bible and showed him how we'd addressed it. His face broke into a huge grin and tears welled up in his eyes. "You remembered!" he exclaimed. We told him that we'd like to get him some reading glasses as well, and he led us to a nearby pharmacy. There were only about four pairs of glasses there and the magnification strength wasn't strong enough in any of them, so we told Sydney we'd try another shop the next day. We made an appointment to meet Sydney the following day at his home.
Gabi's mom generously offered to buy reading glasses for Sydney, so on Tuesday we purchased them, and after our scheduled ministry we drove to Sydney's home. We were greeted at the door by Daphne, his younger sister, who invited us in and offered us "koeldranke"(pop). She seemed embarassed by Sydney's behaviour - "he's always up and down, up and down, up and down," she said. Then Sydney came around the corner and we greeted him warmly. We sat in their living room and chatted for a while before presenting Sydney with the reading glasses. He said, "Let me get my Bible so I can try them out. You can come with me to my pad." As we walked out of the house and into the backyard, he explained that his sister would be mortified if she knew he was showing us where he lived. Sydney's "pad" was a small shed that looked like it'd been hit by a tornado. It was absolutely filthy and messy but we told Sydney, "Oh, it's not that messy! We've seen much worse..." but amidst the strewn clothing, empty bottles and mattresses, we saw the Bible. He took it off the shelf and brought it outside. We all sat down on a step as he put on the glasses, opened the Bible and began to read. It was a very special moment for all of us. We then went back inside and prayed for Sydney and Daphne. As we left, Sydney repeatedly asked, "When will I see you again?" We tried to tell him that it was our last day in Eesterust and we might not see him for a long time - if ever. But we exchanged cell numbers with Daphne and promised to call if we were ever in the area. We drove away, feeling happy, sad, hopeful, and helpless all at the same time. I love missions, and I love short term missions - but if there's one thing I don't like about outreach, it's how we often say hello and goodbye so quickly. We'll probably never know what will become of Sydney - if he'll just keep drinking, or if he'll get help. But what gives me hope and what keeps me going is a verse in 1 Corinthians 3:

I planted the seeds, Apollos watered them, but God made them sprout and grow. What matters isn't those who planted or watered, but God who made the plants grow. The one who plants is just as important as the one who waters.

I hope that the relationship we formed with Sydney will be the seed that others can water and that God can grow to transform Sydney into the man he was designed to be.