My time in Cape Town wasnt a time filled with extreme
living or crazy circumstances but it was filled with life.
This month my team served at an informal settlement called
Phumlani (which means hope).
Phumlani is a place that most people avoid. It is stricken with poverty and unemployment. The families who live here have to
fight hard to survive. But each afternoon
the community center comes alive.
Kids of all ages flood through the gates to play soccer, swing on the
jungle gym, and get some much-craved attention.
It would be easy for me to look back on this month and miss
its significance. On the surface I
played with children each day. I
tried my best to provide a little structure and discipline in their lives. And we planted a garden to help supply
the nutrition center with fresh vegetables.
But the significance of the month doesnt lie in these
things. It lies in showing up each
day. In learning the kids
names. In pushing the swing for
the millionth time or twirling in circles until I was ready to throw up.
The significance lies in sharing life with the kids.
The first day we met with our contact, Malcolm, he shared
with us his vision for the ministry.
So much of it hinged on 1 Thessalonians 2:8,
So, being affectionately
desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but
also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.
Our ministry this month was to get to know these kids, to
learn their stories and love them all the more for the details of their lives. In return we got to share parts of our
lives with them and live out the gospel in the way we treated them and treated
each other.
By entering into a place so many people simply refuse to go,
we got to bring the stories of Jesus to life. To play with or hold children who are in such need of love
and a glimpse of a different life than the one that is played out in front of
them each day. To love the
children society is trying to write off and tell them how special they are and give
them the freedom to dream big dreams.
This month may not have held many extreme moments, but its
significance will stay with me for a long time. The importance of pouring out my life, of investing in
others, of sharing myself right along with the gospel, is a lesson that I know
I will keep learning each day of the Race.
And every time Im reminded of it, I will remember the kids
of Phumlani who were open enough to share life with a group of strangers for a
few hours each afternoon until we were no longer strangers.
Until I shared my life too.
Until they were so dear to my heart.
