Coming up on halfway through the World Race (whoa), and I’ve found myself at a chic cafe in the downtown area of Bloemfontein, South Africa called Cafe Plenty. I’ve just finished an incredibly fulfilling omelet with a freshly made Americano to accompany the spice the overpowered my pallet from the sauce within the omelet. Needless to say, it was delicious and Cafe Plenty did not let me down. However, Cafe Plenty is not what this blog is about…
Just for a moment I want to talk about the word plenty.
Joel 2:26- you will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed.
In all things, you will praise the name of the Lord, because He has worked wonders for you.
This month, my team and I are working and living at a mental health facility named Eden. In the Hebrew language, the word Eden used in the old testament means pleasure or delight. My team and I have been challenged in ways we’ve never expected or imagined. Some of us have had to bathe the residence, we’ve cleaned their bedrooms, we’ve bandaged their wounds, given them medication, dressed them, assisted them in showers, assisted them in hygienic tasks, I’ve probably washed close to 1,000 dishes this month, served them each meal; breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and have stuck my hand into the great abyss of the giant sink after all the dishes have been cleaned to unplug and unclog the drain of pop (traditional African food) and chicken bones. We work from 9am to sometimes 5pm, with a lunch break.
On the outside looking in you might think, what does a handful of World Racers know about caregiving to mental disabled adults. Well we don’t, but we know love, pleasure, and delight in the Lord. What we can do, that most don’t, is see them. If we truly see them, past their ability, past the confusion in their words, thoughts, or actions. See their hearts, see the smiles on their faces the Lord gave them, see the joy in their eyes when we smile and offer a high five, when we really see, we see Jesus. We see more of Jesus than ever before. We may not ever fully know them, or their stories. Where they’ve come from and what they’ve been through, but we can see them in their present state, celebrate them, pray over them, encourage them, and love them. I don’t believe the Lord calls us to deeply know each person we come into contact with, but He absolutely calls us to see everyone and love everyone.
You might be able to sit down in a cafe, receive plenty, leave satisfied, and feel fulfilled. In a few short hours, that feeling of satisfaction is gone and you want more. I’ll be the first to say I love my boujie, black americano accompanied by a massive omelet, but that satisfaction is fleeting. There hasn’t been anything more fulfilling or satisfying than living in the complete overflow and satisfaction of the pleasure and delight in the Father. The same pleasure and delight He had with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and the same pleasure and delight He has in the community of Eden here in Bloemfontein. He’s never changed.
The people of Eden are rejected and unseen by society. This facility run by Ralph and his wife is an absolute miracle, and we should and are praising and glorifying the Lord for the wonders He is doing here. In this case those wonders are three square meals a day, a bed, clothes, and a pair of shoes for each individual. It’s an honor to be apart of the work that Jesus is doing here.
