I’m lying on a blow-up mattress in the living room of our
contact’s home for the month. The sliding glass door is open, and the beachside
breeze is causing the sheer curtain to float up and gracefully fall down. Our
contact’s daughter has set up a projector for my teammate and I to watch Batman Begins up on their living-room
wall. With my Mac propped on my lap, I am trying to think of words to describe
the beautiful family and ministry we are working with this month. We are living
in Cape Town, South Africa, in a district called “Elsies River” with the Haynes
family. Paw and Maw Haynes (as everyone calls them) head up The Jeremiah
Project, and are the Patriarch and Matriarch of this household and this
community. They run a project that not only feeds the children of this
neighborhood physically, it also fuels their hope in a greater life and gives
them love for the soul. You honestly could not write more vibrant characters in
a book if you tried than these two lovely people. Paw is a short, caramel
colored man with a large belly to match his booming, strong voice. His baldhead
caps his glasses-rimmed eyes, which are set above his gray, wiry mustache. He
is most recognizable by how he calls for us in the house:
“Jess-I-CAAAAAAAA!!!!!”
He starts low and ends the final vowel in a bold, throaty tone
that shakes the walls of the house. It’s become a staple during our stay here,
and is quite the comedic relief in any situation. His tone doesn’t match his
jolly, humorous character, and he is the strong presence in the community that
fills the void of the fatherless homes here.
And then there’s Maw, sweet, simple, caring Maw. She is
about 5’3, dainty, charming, and full of love for the children of this
neighborhood. She runs a little ice cream and snack stand out of her kitchen,
so that the kids won’t have to walk to the bad part of town. She cooks
breakfast, lunch, and dinner for us, and I currently see her eyes wrinkle as
she smiles at me through the kitchen window. She is the epitome of motherly
love and I have loved serving her this month in her home.
In the community, we’ve been running bible school programs
in the mornings and tutoring/hangout sessions in the afternoon, along with some
sports camps here and there. Because of their commitment here, we’ve been able
to come alongside them this month and see the fruits of their labors. The
children here come from broken homes. They are orphaned, or living with
drug-addicted parents, and some mothers caught up in the world of prostitution.
But because of The Jeremiah Project, these children have a safe place to go.
The have a home with Maw and Paw. They have “spiritual parents” who feed them,
clothe them, and love them when their earthly parents don’t. The kids know how
to love each other, and they have created a community here amongst the chaos
where they can rely on one another
This is the home the Lord has created for me this month;
true community. Seeing fathers for the
fatherless, food provided for the hungry, and an abundance of love for the
unlovable is what I’m witnessing this month. I’m loving every minute of it. It’s
going to be a hard month to leave.
