Oh Mother Africa, how can I fully justify your beauty in a matter of a blog? How can I express the gratitude of three wonderful months there? We started our journey together a few years ago when we were introduced in Tanzania and by God’s grace were we able to meet again for an extend amount of time this year. Like seeing an old friend you greeted me with open arms. You made me feel right at home. You allowed me to blend in after a couple months in Europe (I stood out quite noticeably), so for that I say thank you giving me the opportunity to integrate with people of color. Oh how I missed the feeling of walking around without notice. How I missed your hustle and bustle, your music, your atmosphere, basically your everything? Your character and charm is like none I have seen before. And your grace…your grace is unmatched. As it has been about a couple months since I left you I wanted you to know the pain and the peace I found during my stay.
I know it was the Lord who protected us every waking moment and every second of night while we were in Fontotje, Swaziland and Hope Rises. I don’t know…the Lord did something amazing that month that cannot be fully explained. It’s hard to even categorize it at all because of the variety and the depth we had with the people we partnered with, the culture, the community, etc. He clearly showed Himself to us in the month of May. It might not have been in the eye-opening, sea-parting way but it was through each day, each conversation, each hello, each wave to people on the street, each church service, each team-time, etc. And, I felt like the Hope Rises team ministered to us more than we did to them -Corine, Matt, Punu, Mcolisi, Bekhi, Revelation, Livi, Joyce, Nyomsa, and others. For our month to be so filled with joy is a God-thing…not a coincidence. But as I look back to Swaziland, it was one of my favorite months on the Race because of how strongly God’s hand was over our teams and the ministry there.
In the middle of spiritual chaos and societal disorder, although the Lord reigned at Hope Rises I can’t help but to think about how Swaziland is lost and a nation of hopelessness. The country is not a stable place by any means. The darkness of ritual and tradition dominate any other way of thought, of life for that matter. So my question to you Mother Africa is why is this nation stuck in a cycle of continuous hopelessness? Where is the heart for children? Fathers, why do you care more about the desires of your own heart than that of your family’s? Swaziland is such a small country will it even survive 50 years from now with its health, political, and economic issues? Will it survive knowing that this nation is run by a king that only looks after the health and welfare of himself and his 14 wives?
Mother Africa your city of Maputo, Mozambique is filled with a darkness that rules the night. How is it that your children have gotten caught up in the misconception of independence and freedom? The boys in Maputo are caught between a life that is glorious in freedom, but devastating in experience. They scrap for food, but they scrap harder for the world to take notice of them. It is false-romance that only leaves them empty-handed. Mozambique, you broke my heart for those boys on the streets. Why do you have so many kids left out in the cold streets with nowhere to go? Don’t you know they need someone to care for them? Someone who will take the time to know they exist? Someone who will make them smile and take them for who they are and not what their actions have made them? The spirit of the streets is romantic, but ruthless. How can you allow such young boys to experience things a child should never experience? They are kids -no more, no less. Despite what they have been through, I see so much hope and joy in their eyes. All they need is for someone to truly care for them. I thank God that He has given Ian and Lauren the compassion for these boys. I pray that God will bring people to Masana (the organization that I visited in Maputo, Mozambique) long-term to care for these hope-thirsty street boys.
South Africa is a nice place, but has its under-privileged communities as well, and there are good people that reach out to the community, like those who are involved at Beam Africa. It’s very clear that God has blessed Beam Africa through their incessant belief and dependence on Him. I know that they are doing good to those they serve. I know because I’ve seen the look in people’s eyes when they’ve come into Beam. I know because of how the kids smile each day when they are given the privilege to be kids. I believe they bring so much hope to those around them. It might be exhausting, it might be hopeless at times, but they are an unspoken blessing to this overlooked and underserved community.
The strand that binds these countries together is the hope that rises in each of them. There is hope because of Hope Rises in Swaziland. There is courage because of Masana in Mozambique. And there is light in South Africa because of Beam Africa. Filled with sorrow and bigotry, lost in cultural norms and traditions these countries need the love of Christ. But God hasn’t forgotten about them. And, I thank God for the opportunity He’s given me to learn and to experience the brokenness of the world and come to the understanding of how much more God is needed in it.
As I write you this there is a quote from the movie Blood Diamond that comes to mind:
“Sometimes I wonder will God ever forgive us for what we’ve done to each other. And I look around and I realize God left this place a long time ago.”
God did forgive you. Jesus died for you. He died for the sins of all people, of nations, and of all time. He never left Africa. The past is cold, and the damage runs deep, but God’s grace is stronger than you think, Mother Africa. Give God the freedom to heal those fatal wounds that mankind cannot heal. Why do you insist that man can fix such timeless hurts? Why do claim that man can undo the past? Thrown down your pride and give it to Him. What are you waiting for? He’s right there ready and willing to take it. Mother Africa the only way you can change is if you allow the love of Christ to break you. Allow it to penetrate into the core of who you are. Mother Africa there is SO MUCH the Lord wants for you. Allow God to do the spiritual surgery you need.
I bid you farewell Mother Africa. I will forever keep you in my heart. And I pray that you will truly come to know the powerful, unfailing, and everlasting love of Christ.
