We began our ministry here in Masi just over a week ago. Internet time is short and nobody likes long blogs anyways, so I will hit a few basics and highlights. Masiphumelele is a slum area of Cape Town created as a set aside area for blacks following the end of apartheid. We arrived on Sunday afternoon in time to make it to church. Hearing African women sing the Gospel and clap and praise God is one of those lifetime opportunities that just feels right and you want to sit there and bask in the beauty of their voices. It is a really wonderful experience. Our host is a really fun dude named “Funguy”. Yep, that’s really his birth name. He is awesome and makes our living situation here comfortable and easy.
Our area is not exactly a place where I’s walk around after dark… and I’ve walked in some pretty bad places over the last decade. The people are great and friendly and I love where we live, but it’s certainly a poorer part of town. The majority of houses are little shantys made of whatever wood could be found and sheet metal. Average living space total per family is probably less than your living room. Water is drinkable, which is a plus. And food is comparatively cheap… which helps us stick to budget.
Daily routine looks something like this:
0730: Wake up, breakfast of porridge and instant coffee, maybe a banana if we’re lucky. Sometimes bread.
08-0900: Prayer/quiet time. (Awesome way to wake up and start the day, btw)
09-1200: Playing with the kids at the local daycare/orphanage. There are two groups: 9months to 2yrs and 2-5yrs. The younger kids generally sit on our laps as we read books, play with toys, and braid the girls’ hair. They are a ton of fun and full of love. The older group, on the other hand, is a bit more of a challenge. They are still awesome though. All day long “teacher, teacher, you pick me up. Teacher teacher, do this. Teacher, teacher, _______”. Still love em but 40 something kids under 5yrs old is a handful for sure, especially since I’m the resident pony and jungle gym. Needless to say, I’ll have no problems staying fit here in Africa.
12-1400: Lunch and either nap or Bible time. Lunch is usually wheat bread and peanut butter. Sometimes fruit. And on rare occasions maybe some grilled chicken (There is a place down the street which makes the best BBQ ever. Seriously.)
14-1700: Street ministry. We go out with our host as a guide into remote areas of Masi into the really shanty areas in order to find and speak to people about the Gospel. Not gonna lie, this has been kinda hard for all of us. For most of the team, it’s been hard because not everyone is open to it or they are indifferent. For me, because of the way I am, it has been difficult because I want to help more or in a different way. Most people complain that God doesn’t hear their prayers or doesn’t answer them. They ask for jobs, money, and better living conditions. Completely understandable, but it makes me frustrated because I want to sit down and write them a business plan or get into details about how they are looking for jobs and where and how proactive they are about it. A lot of times I want to give something more tangible, rather than just saying “Sorry your situation sucks. We’ll pray for you and maybe God will listen because we’re the white folks from America”. Really has been a challenge for me to accept that sometimes that’s the best we can do as a team.
17-1900: Play with kids in the park and eat dinner.
19-2100: Team time, debrief, and feedback. Feedback is also hard for me because you’re supposed to talk about your feelings and stuff. I understand it’s a necessary part of living as a team and I’m working on it, but it’s very different and I’m not very good at it yet. “___ I really enjoy being around you but what you did today really hurt my feelings because ____ and I wanted to let you know because I love you and you’re my teammate and _______.” Like I said, it is a good thing, but I’m sure that anyone who knows me can read that and just see my eyes rolling in the back of my head. I need to work on it so I can be a better teammate. Work in progress.
2100 on: Sleep, games, whatever.
Major Successes:
– I love the kids and the people. And I love the little slum area that we are living in. There is nowhere in South Africa that I’d rather be. Seriously.
– We helped people pull items out of their homes when there was a big fire early last week, which burned down 14 homes and a bar. Pretty legit.
– I really am blessed with a wonderful team, great community, and wonderful hosts. I’m excited to continue to learn and grow with this team and see how God will continue to use us together.
– Honestly, tons of blessings. I love this place, this community, the kids, the opportunities, and just being here.
Major Challenges:
– I can’t just disappear and go do stuff by myself whenever I want. Not terrible, but it’s definitely a new boundary for me. – Ministering to people about God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit when I barely comprehend the 3 myself. Upside is that I have a lot of life experience and an easy personality which allows me to bridge that gap well, but there are definitely some struggles with the hard questions.
– I want to do more. Like I said above, it’s hard for me to come in and ask how we can pray for people who just had their house burn down or who are literally living in a driftwood shanty next to a river of filth and garbage and all they want is enough money to get out of there. “Well, I can’t explain how God works, but I know he loves you and has a plan for you…” only goes so far for so long. I want to be able to do more and stay longer and help provide real tangible solutions. I believe in prayer and the power of God, but that doesn’t seem to make anyone’s situation any better. It feels more like “Hi, we’re the white people. We came all the way from America to pray for you because your lives suck. Hope you believe in prayer because that’s all we’ve got.” Yep, definitely a challenge for me.
– Feedback. Again, a difficult one. I guess it’s just hard to go from a culture where I punch my best friends in the shoulder and call them a slew of curse words to let them know I care and then transition into a missionary setting where it’s like “Oh, I sure love your servant heart and you are such a beautiful child of God and I just can’t wait to see all the wonderful things he has in store for you”. I know it’s important and I do love my team. So, I will keep working on this.
Prayer requests:
– Keep our team in your prayers for health, unity, and wisdom in answering the hard questions.
– Keep Masiphumelele in your prayers that God will somehow provide more for these amazing and wonderful people. Jobs, education, and opportunity would be a few of the top most requested prayers.
Running out of time, so I’ll close there for now. Please stay tuned for more. Thank you, and God bless.
