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Talhado
Children’s Haven is now closed for the holiday. In the past when they have stayed open through November and parts of
December they would get way too many out of town children and things just got
out of hand, so they are forced to close down until January. However, our ministry has not stopped in St. Francis
Bay. My ministry team and I got together and prayed about what to do about
our ministry and wondering what the next chapter would look like. We decided that God wanted us to stay in St.
Francis, since no missionaries ever go there, and minister to the families in
the township and go meet the mothers and grandmothers of the children we have
been interacting with for the past month and a half.
So
far this ministry has been interesting. I cannot say it was what I expected, but when are God’s plans ever the
same as mine? Our team has met a lot of
unexpected obstacles out in the town doing house visits. We have built several great relationships
with some people, and then have been deterred by others who are highly
oppressed and even demon possessed. We
did not realize the reality of the spiritual battle going on in this township
until we got out into it and began listening with our Father’s ears and looking
with his eyes. We were shocked at a lot
of the people we met who were always drunk and just sitting around doing
nothing but talking with friends. Then
we walk to a different part of the township and find women who work and are
happily married to a man who also works and provides for the family they have
built together. It is very bizarre that
there is such a drastic dichotomy within one town of people.
The
colored people occupy one part of the township and the blacks live in the
“slums” of the township. The colored speak
Afrikaans and tend to be more educated, speaking a bit more English than the
blacks. The blacks speak Xhosa and it is
harder for us to communicate with them since they do not speak much English at
all. Both groups of people seem to know
who Jesus is and what God is all about, but they have no relationship with him
and they have just lost all hope in the promises that he makes. Most of them wake up in the morning and see
where they live and the reality that they cannot afford food for themselves and
their children, so the little money they do have they spend it on alcohol so
that they won’t have to face their problems and they can just be drunk all day
avoiding their problems. The men in the
community are a huge influence on this too, since they sit in the house
drinking not working, leaving the women to worry about everything and when they
can’t figure out any solutions they just join in the drunkenness. Everywhere I look in this township, all I see
is bondage. There is so much bondage
that I never know where to begin or what to do. I know that I cannot do anything and that God has a plan for this
township and these people and that he will fulfill that plan with my ministry
team and others that he will bring to them. It is so hard to talk to these people and try to explain to them the
hope that Jesus Christ has to offer, knowing that they are more worried about
getting money for their children to be able to attend school. If it’s not one problem, than it is
another.
A
couple families we have met, out of several, seem to have their act together
and are able to provide decently for the needs of themselves and their
children. It is a real encouragement to
spend time with them and hear how Jesus has been a blessing in their lives,
knowing that it wouldn’t be possible without him. When we go to a broken family, it is amazing
how open they are about their drinking problem and wanting us to pray for them
to stop drinking. The only thing that
doesn’t seem to register with them is that God won’t magically just take their
desire to drink away from them; but that it is a process and journey they must
enter into with their Father and lean on him for strength when the urges
come.
We
are lead by the Spirit everywhere we go in the township. Some days it seems more dangerous than
others, but we are always confident in the promise that God will protect
us. We absolutely love this community
and would not choose to do ministry anywhere else. We now feel part of it since we can walk down
the streets and always have someone we have met motion us to come inside and
meet some of their friends they are visiting for the day. We just meet more and more people every week
and God presents us with so many opportunities to bathe this community in
prayer for the hours we are there.
“Above all, love each other
deeply, because love covers multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has
received to serve others faithfully administering God’s grace in its various
forms. If anyone speaks, he should it as
one speaking the very words of God. If
anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all
things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 4:8-11)
This scripture has been something I
have come back to several times on this trip to help me remember what I am
doing here in Africa and how I should be doing
it. God keeps reminding me that the most
important thing we could do to further his kingdom is to LOVE. I cannot tell you how much “love” is
mentioned in the bible and how important it is to becoming Christ like.
“If I give up all I possess to the
poor, and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing… And
now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:3&13)
The commandment is so clear and
short, but in reality it is so hard to love others and put them before
ourselves. When you are faced with the
situation where God is calling on you to act out of love and kindness just
remember this: “This is love: not
that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning
sacrifice for our sins.” (1 John 4:10) Now that is TRUE LOVE :0)
