Thoughts from South Africa...

We sometimes forget the blessing that it is for us to live in the country that we live in. The freedoms we have in the US, the rights we have, the protections we have. It is easy to block out what is happening across the rest of the world, either by choice or by lack of reported information, and live with a narrow worldview of what we see here in the US. When you go to another country, you can't help but be hit by the reality of what life is really like outside of our borders.

In the last week or so of my stay in Africa, there were two topics that arose that caused some serious thought for me:

1) There are estimates that anywhere from 20,000-100,000 people will be trafficked into South Africa for the World Cup next year. There is no saying who these people will be: man or woman, young or old. Many of them will have been tricked into their trade, having been told a lie about a job in another country or a chance to play soccer only to find that there is no opportunity and their survival depends on doing what they are told. Others will have been sold into the trade by their families for just the money to buy bread. On top of this, the nation of South Africa is considering legalizing prostitution. This will nicely benefit the country financially as the government will be able to tax the prostitution that occurs, but it will also encourage the human trafficking that is going to occur and make it harder for the police to make raids where there is human trafficking occurring.

It is hard to imagine that this is all even possible. There are so many men, women, boys, and girls all over the world who are modern day slaves, both in physical labor and in sexual trades. They have been taken advantage of because of their poverty, tricked or sold in the hopes of money, food, and something more. It is bad enough that this is happening behind the scenes, but for it to so openly happen at an international event like the World Cup is absolutely ridiculous and appalling. It makes me wonder what our world is coming to and what is next, it makes me seriously consider my support for the World Cup events next year, and it makes me pray.

2) Apartheid may be gone, but the separation of people in South Africa is not. I vaguely remember hearing about Nelson Mandela and the end of apartheid when I was younger so I realize that the road to recovery has not been as long in South Africa as it has been in the US. I am also not going to be so naive as to say that we have fixed everything in the US: that there is no longer racism and that there is no separation of the races. However, I was shocked when my friend explained to me the set up of the town of 150,000 that she lives in in South Africa. She explained to me that there is the white area, the colored settlement, and the black settlement. There is a small colored settlement kind of in the middle of the white area, but that wasn't what it was meant for, it just became that. There is still a pretty full separation of the races, with everyone living in the same areas as before apartheid ended.

I had just assumed that since apartheid was over, the people would have mixed more and it would have looked more like the suburbs I grew up in. I never realized how hard it is to break off some of the lies that have been engrained in the minds of the people over generations. After talking with some of the people I know from South Africa, I found out that it is just this emerging generation that is really fully comfortable with the end of apartheid, not seeing the color of the skin but the character of the person. It is a long road to the end of racism, with many nations traveling down it at different levels. I was surprised when I heard of the state of the racial separation in South Africa, but it also gives me a sense of hope as I realize that we have come a long way in the United States and we are on the right path.

We have to be careful not to limit our worldview to what we see in our own country without opening our eyes to the big world that there is out there. There are things happening all over the world that make us think and pray; they involve the lives of people and they break our hearts. There is also hope out there, helping us see what can be as well as the steps our own nation has taken forward. There is so much love, heartache, hope, and hurting in the world that we can share in if we just open our eyes to see what is there.

The Past Couple of Weeks...A Blur

So I got to sleep in today, which was nice and made even nicer by the fact that I am currenlty in Worcester on the Western Cape in South Africa and the sun doesn't pop it's head over the mountains until almost 8:00am. What a lovely change from the 6am of Swaziland! Remarkably, it is now 5:45pm and the sun is still shining bright!!! I was beginning to forget that the sun could stay out past 5pm. What an amazing thing!

These past weeks have been a blur. It seems like everything has just gone in full speed now that I have no time left, so I just wanted to give you a bit of the highlights:

July 10-12 - Kruger National Park
The biggest game park in South Africa, and the most densely populated with animals in all of Africa, or so I am told. Chris, Allie, Alexis, and I embarked on an adventure to see the Big 5 (lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, and water buffalo) but in the end we only saw 3 of them (no visuals of cats sadly enough). We did enjoy the thrill of our lives flashing before our eyes during encounters with an elephant, baboon, hornbill, and hippo. Pictures will come when I can upload unlimited amounts!

July 17-18 - Last Youth Overnight at Potter's Wheel
It was our last youth overnight while I am here, and it was a sad to say goodbye. I was able to share during the message time and just encouraged the youth to analyze their relationship with God to see if they had one or they were living off their parents' faith, and if they have one to follow Him. After the message, we gave the kids some time to sit quietly and pray. It was really a great time as we, as leaders, were able to pray with some of the kids and they even prayed for each other! What a wonderful way to end our time together!

July 21 - Christmas in July at Hawane
Before I left, I wanted to make sure I had one last fun time with everybody at Hawane so I planned a Christmas in July movie night. The kids had the next day off of school, so it was a perfect night to get together and watch a fun movie. Between Sunday and Monday nights and all day Tuesday, I managed to bake over 550 cookies and three trays of peppermint bark...a Christmas sugar feast!!! Everyone got an array of sweets, some hot chocolate, and we settled in at Hawane CLC to watch my favorite Christmas movie ever: Elf! It was great to hear the kids and adults laugh and just enjoy one last night with my family here in Swaziland, all 90 or so people!!!!

So, that brings us to today and me in Worcester. Tomorrow we are off to Cape Town, a rugby game, Table mountain, the ocean, and Hillsong Cape Town. Should be a blast!!!

And it begins...

So I started crying at church Sunday night. I tried not to, but the tears just started rolling out. You see, Sunday morning I realized just how short my time here is...I actually only have one more Sunday at church (because of some weekend sight-seeing trips). That made you think of all the people you are going to miss when you leave, and there are a lot of people to miss here, which of course made me sad. I was okay though, I kept myself composed Sunday morning. Then Sunday night I was at Potter's Wheel in Mbabane and at the end of the service, the team that was ministering began singing a song about how we are brothers and sisters and we stand together...that broke me. I couldn't sing. All I could do was sit there as tears poured out over my cheeks and pray for the people that I was leaving, that we would stand together, and that they would move forward in God.

It is going to be hard to leave.

Sweet Soccer Goodness…and Jesus too!

Ahhh!!!! That is a sigh of sweet relief and rest. The past couple of weeks have been a bit of a blur at times here as we have been preparing for a big soccer tournament and outreach at Hawane CLC. I have a pretty strong background in event management, so organizing an outreach day shouldn’t be too overwhelming of a task…until you add in the twist of being in Africa!!! I know what to expect at events in the US, but what do you expect in Africa? In the end, other than a bit of a late start, there was nothing to worry about!

Last Saturday was a beautiful day here in Swaziland for reasons greater than the weather! There were too many people to count on the Hawane CLC property…kids mobbing the jumping castle, teenagers kicking the soccer ball around getting ready for their game, mom’s sitting around talking. The only measure we have of how many people came to the event was that we handed out 700 hot dogs. Yes, 700!! It was such a beautiful sight to behold: men, women, and children of the community all gathered together laughing, cheering, and having fun. I don’t care what anyone says, but one of the most beautiful things in the world is a smile and there were lots of those on Saturday.

Of course, the best part of the day happened just before lunch as a team from Northern Ireland ministered to the people in song and dance, sharing the Good News at the end. They gave an opportunity for people to come forward if they wanted to commit their lives to following Jesus Christ, and the angels rejoiced as over 100 people stood up and walked forward!! It was an overwhelming response of children and teenagers. What an extra blessing, though, to see adults come forward. It is not common for an adult to come forward to an altar call here in Swaziland, it takes great humility to break the cultural norm and step out, and we had multiple adults ranging in age from their 20’s to 65!!

Thank you for your prayers for this community, please continue to pray for God to break through the hearts and mindsets of the people. Pray for the people that came forward on Saturday, for those at Hawane CLC, and for those that attend other churches in the area, that they will be disciple in the ways of the Lord and walk in His light!