This month our team is spending our mornings prayer walking. In my past experience, prayer walking is usually something that is used to fill space, when there’s no other ministry to do. It’s been a cop-out. You just walk around and pray for a while, maybe run into one or two people who you muster up the courage to ask if you can pray for, and then call it a day. But our experience this month has not been like that. At all.
Every morning that we’ve hit the streets, the Lord has connected us with several people whom we are able to invest in.
We’ve had the opportunity to talk with 16 and 17 year old Tevin and Abraham, a diver and a shop owner, about their family, future, dreams, position in life, and influence on this community.
We talked to twin brothers about their cars that they fix up and race, the spiritual differences between them and their friends, and the ways they could honor God with what they do.
We’ve listened to many Rastafarians talk about how “the system” is unfair and killing them, because they can’t find jobs here. And we’ve seen and heard several different heart postures from them. (One was named Jonathan, and he flat out claimed to be God, and said he could see the world through “the windows of our eyes…..that was a little odd”)
The list of people we’ve encountered and built relationships with goes on and on. These are all normal conversations that you could have with anyone in any community. But the community here in Ocean View, South Africa (a suburb of Cape Town) is different. Every time we have a conversation with someone here, and begin to build a relationship, it is SO evident that the Lord is at work here, and that he is needed desperately by the community. The unemployment rate is through the roof. The ammount of people living in a small flat together is crazy. Every single individual we talk to tells of the immense drug problem this community has – and it’s true. I’m pretty sure it will be a miracle if I make it through this month without getting a contact high. (just kidding Mom!…..but seriously).
Back in the states, I never really experienced the “inner city” culture – but the guys on my team tell me I’m experiencing it now. South Africa really is a first world country, in terms of development. But the brokenness in family, community and relationships is overwhelming. And it’s showing up in a very real way here in Ocean View.
So I praise God for the opportunity to prayer walk each morning. To speak life and truth into the men and women we run into. To partner with the Holy Spirit in the work He’s already doing here, and be used by Him to help continue that work.
You can see the effects of this in the lives of the kids that we get to hang out with every afternoon. I’ll write about our afternoon ministry seperately – it’s been equally eye-opening and awesome.
