Adventures in Missions does everything they can to prepare us for this journey. They have done a great job telling us about safety, and health, and how to conduct yourselves. They have given us tools for spiritual growth and even prepped us for weird sleeping situations and what to do if things go wrong. But Training camp and launch training couldn’t prepare me for what happened last week while we were volunteering.
It couldn’t prepare me to get into a car and drive to the bad part of town that I quickly realized was about two blocks from the good part.
It couldn’t prepare me to see the boys that I had worked with at the Hope Center the week before sleeping in trees and on the side of the road wearing the exact same dirty clothes.
It couldn’t prepare me to listen as one of the workers at I Care negotiated with older boys to let the younger one come get food and a shower just for one day.
It couldn’t prepare me to watch as one of the boys was nearly dragged from the car because they were fighting over his glue.
It couldn’t prepare me to see them leave at the price of only two Rand (17 cents)
It couldn’t prepare me to watch as the boys walked into the Hope Center knowing that very same night they would be back on the streets by their own choice.
It couldn’t prepare me to see 16 year olds that looked 8 from drugs and disease.
But it also couldn’t prepare me to see the rehab center these boys could go to when they decided they wanted help.
It couldn’t prepare me to see how God brought these boys from sickness and addiction to hope and wanting a new life.
It couldn’t prepare me for the love and devotion that the volunteers put into every single boy.
It couldn’t prepare me to look at these boys who were once skinny and dirty to healthy looking boys that said God was helping them change their lives.
Training camp and launch training prepare you for many things but nothing could have prepared me for what I saw here this month. I am grateful to God that he has called people here to intervene and be his hands and feet. Please join me in praying for ministries like I Care that have been doing God’s work here for years that they will be able to continue for years to come and that God would give them wisdom to meet whatever challenges come their way.
