I fell in love with Cape Town and South Africa back in 2012 and am loving being back here. However, having worked in a poor township last time I was here, I expected to come back and do the same thing, because I thought those are the people that really need Hope. Those are the kids that need be shown the love of Jesus. So when my team was told we would be working at a school in Simonstown, a place that is definitely not a township, I was disappointed. I was frustrated. We got to the school on the first day and I was hesitant. We had 2 days before the kids came back from holiday, so we took that time to pray and plan and ask what the Lord wanted us to do here.
When the kids returned, we were in orientation with the new high schoolers for 3 days straight. During the orientation, the counselor came up and started talking about how important it is to trust each other and share your burdens with your friends. She then proceeded to put the kids into small groups and then put one of us with each group. Our assignment was to share about a hard time in our life. So just when I think I have nothing to bring to these kids, the Lord has other plans. The past two years of my life have been learning how to lean on a community as I walk through a difficult time.
The next week we began helping in the PE classes, and the way they do PE is they relate each activity or exercise to a Bible verse. So we split up into different stations and mine just so happened to be learning how to work as a team using Ecclesiastes 4:9-12:
Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their labor:
If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
and has no one to help them up.
Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
Once again, the thing I have been learning and walking through. So Simonstown isn’t a poor township, but the kids and teenagers here still need to be invested in. They still need to be shown Jesus. They still need people to tell them they are worthy and that they can have a bright future. We have about 1 week left with these kids and I pray that we leave a lasting impact on them.
Please continue to pray for me, my team, and the people we will come in contact with. There is about 2 months left before the next financial deadline and I am about $700 away from meeting it, so also please consider supporting me to keep me on this journey.
