Unfortunately, our time in Pretoria and Pop Up was short because of our late arrival, but our final week (the last week of September) was such a good one.
On Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, we drove to nearby Soshanguve, a very poor area with lots of dirt roads and houses made out of concrete and scrap metal. We spent those days at three different orphan daycares, which provide an environment for orphans to hang out after school and get fed.
I had a lot of fun playing with the kids at each place, and spent most of my time giving rides on my back and shoulders. (One girl even farted on my neck.) I also played soccer and was shown up by elementary school aged children who extremely coordinated and playing barefoot on the gravelly African dirt. Most children have tribal names, but few have English names. So I was shocked to meet a boy named Isaac. He had never met another Isaac before so we had an instant connection.
Playing with one of the orphan boys
(Photo by Russell Fagan)
In Soshanguve there is a massive cemetery that has filled up within the past year. Most of the graves are only covered in dirt and whatever belongings the person had during their short time on earth. It’s sad to meet so many children who live in abject poverty and have lost their parents to AIDS, but there is so much hope in the after school programs. There are so many selfless people, filled with Christ’s love, that live to shine it on those without much to live for.
All three centers are part of Acts 2 Change and are surprisingly cheap to run. But still, finances are needed and lots of prayers as well. (If you are reading this and feel compelled, please pray for Soshanguve and the three centers.)
On Wednesday, we visited Cornerstone College, a Christian high school where we were invited to perform an assembly in front of a thousand students. We worshipped, someone in our group spoke, and we did cardboard testimonies, a two-sided piece of cardboard that explains where you were before Christ and after. (Mine said: “God used to be my friend, some of the time. Now He’s my best friend.” More to come on this later.)
That night we went to Passion, a giant Christian concert that started in the US. There were about 50,000 people gathered on a cricket field, and we sat within a hundred feet of the stage. Chris Tomlin and Christy Nockels played music and Louie Giglio spoke. It was very refreshing and encouraging, especially to have a message from an American brought to us on the other side of the world. (The internet here is way too slow, but I'm sure you could find videos of the event if you search for "Passion Pretoria".)
The guys, waiting for Passion to start
(Photo by Abby Twarek)
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We’re officially done with our ministry at Pop Up, but I realized I haven’t explained a whole lot about where we were.
Pop Up is next to a neighborhood, a train station, a slum, and a correctional facility. The building itself was the original train station in Salvokop, which used to be a rough area. But we felt safe because the Pop Up campus is surrounded by an intense electric fence. (Last week we watched its current fry a gigantic bug that looked like the combination of a butterfly and a grasshopper.)
The 27 of us slept in a meeting room with our sleeping bags, but we constantly had to move in and out when it got used. We also had to camp outside sometimes, which was fun aside from the funky smell of neighbors burning their garbage. I don’t think many Africans know about camping because some people were really surprised when they watched us set up our tents. I had a few people laugh and had to prove that I could actually fit inside of mine.
At the end of the month, the rest of our squad met up with us at Pop Up and it was great to spend time with them again after their adventures in Zimbabwe and Zambia. Now, we’ve all separated again and are at new locations in South Africa, but two other teams stayed at Pop Up this month.
Overall, we had a great few weeks there and established great connections. The first month of my World Race was definitely a good one!
