January was full of love, chaos, new adventures, and so many stories. We spent our first month with 29 boys ranging in ages 6-23. Every single one of them was placed at Khayalethu because their home situation was not suitable for a child. There are two different programs at Khayalethu depending on age. The boys that are 6-18 stay in a home and they boys that are 18-23 stay in their own home as well while practicing life skills such as cooking for themselves, doing their own laundry, getting their licenses, obtaining jobs, and going to college.
Our days there were somewhat repetitive due to their structured lives and the disciplines in practice but our conversations and our hearts for the boys grew deeper every day. We lived in the home with the boys on the upper level of the house. The girls on our team shared a bedroom and the boys on our team shared a room as well. We shared one bathroom however, the shower didn’t work so we opted for what the Khayalethu boys used…community showers! The boys woke up every morning around 5:30 a.m so we got a lively wake up call. They all attend different schools throughout the Port Elizabeth area depending on where there is vacancy. Their driver, Ceswae spends the first 2 hours of his day dropping the boys off in the morning. Our days generally started around 9 a.m. While the boys were at school my team would help around the house in whatever ways they needed it. I personally helped make their meals quite often. Antru was their cooks name and she had just started there the week we arrived. She had so many stories and really made an impact on me. Other teammates worked in the special needs school on the property or worked filing in the office or sorting documents. We organized rooms, mowed their grass with weed whippers, and completed any other random task they asked. We would do that until around 3 when they boys got home and that is when the party really got started. We ate lunch with the boys and then depending on the day would help them get ready for soccer, karate, church, or with their homework. It was a very challenging time of the year to come into the ministry because in South Africa everyone goes on holiday during the month of December. As a result, all of the boys had been submerged back into their unhealthy home settings and likely partook in their old habits so they tend to be a little more rebellious during re-entry into Khayalethu. We had lots of dance parties, worship, game time, and prayer with the boys.
Their home had lots of room within the property but was gated in as a way to negate the boys from sneaking out. One of my favorite things to do with the boys was to work out with them. I will never forget one day that I was trying to run around the building and one of the boys, Mario (my favorite, shhh. Don’t tell) was running laps with me barefoot around the property. I had only wanted to lap the property three times and was ready to quit and then this determined little boy kept wanting to do more and race me. It was so special because even though I might not always have the right things to say or be able to speak into his life the way I’d like to in just three short weeks I was still able to build a relationship with him and the smile that boy gave me while we sweat and competed together was something I’ll never forget.
Another memory that I will cherish forever was actually our first night there. We were having milius and beans for dinner, a traditional South African meal. Well I am a huge Siracha fan and knew it would pair quite nicely with our dinner so I brought it out. Well these boys are curious about EVERYTHING they’ve never seen…which is a lot when you bring seven Americans into an orphanage in Africa. So they of course wanted to try it. Well the boys pretty much eat blan food all the time and never anything spicy. I tried to warn them about the heat but as soon as one went for it, they all jumped in. Within five minutes all of them were panting and sweating from this foreign spice they’d just encountered. It will forever be one of the funniest things I’ve ever witnessed and I am so glad that I didn’t decide to leave my Siracha behind…because I almost did.
My final memory I’d like to share is the opportunity my team and I got to speak into a young boy’s life named Greg (name changed). He comes from a background in the hood full of gang violence and drugs. At the age of 14 he told us that he had been smoking pot since before he was 10 and he could never see himself not doing it. My team and I were able to share with him about our own experiences and the strongholds that we have overcome thanks to Jesus and our relationship with him. When we first got to Khayalethu Greg was sneaking out regularly and pretty much disregarded the rules they had established. There was plenty of warning being given to him and grace was extended on multiple occasions but it I was obvious he was hanging on by a thread before being kicked out. After a week or so of being there and after that conversation about respecting the rules and how life would go back to being if he got kicked out things really seemed to turn around. We prayed with him and he even came to church after insisting he wasn’t going to. It was a very special transformation to witness and my prayer is that he continues to respect his elders and seek the Lord in a radical and relationship driven manner.
Overall, our first month was stretching and at times it felt as if we were not making any impact because we could not necessarily see the results of our time spent with the boys but the Lord has given me a peace that He used us this month. On this journey of the World Race I might not be able to see every person make that decision to give their life to Christ or go to church but what I can do is show them the Jesus that I know and be a living testament to the love and compassion that a life lived with Him looks like. I could not be more excited going into a month two. Thank you so much for all your prayers and I love you all.
