Cape Town, South Africa. The beauty is astounding! Everywhere we look there are mountains and oceans; that’s right, oceans, two of them to be exact. God’s creation here is evident and beautiful. But, as we all know, all that glitters is not gold. Cape Town is full of unexpected poverty, violence and substance abuse. This beautiful city is well known for its violence.
Day one in Cape Town. We arrived to our hostel for the month, a motel style cabin set up, and are told to walk up the hill behind our ‘home.’ As we walk up this small hill they call Mt. Sinai, we see the vast beauty of the Indian Ocean! We look to the left there are mountains, we look to the right and the sun is setting over the mountains.
God, you love us so well!
Staying on the compound with us this night were some of the guys from one of the most well known gangs in Cape Town, the Mongrels (from Hanover Park). They were hanging out by the fire pit when I decided to go meet these Mongrels. At this point I didn’t know they were a gang. We had played soccer with them after dinner, so we knew they were with a program called Cease Fire (an organization started in Chicago to get the guns and violence off the streets), but we didn’t know who they were. The youngest was 14! Fourteen and so sweet, missing out on part of his adolescence because he is now forced to be, think, and act like an adult. The oldest with us that night was 25.
The next morning I read in Titus 3:
Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient,
to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone. At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and
pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us,
not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.
He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our
Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become
heirs having the hope of eternal life.
How good is our God! I had many great conversations with these guys that night. At one point they even sang “One and Only” by Adele; it was quite a sight! These guys who on a day to day basis are on guard and defense were singing a sappy love song to us! These guys really just want love. When they don’t get love, they look for it in other areas, when they get it they defend it as if it were their last meal with three days left in the week. At this point in the month I knew very little about gangs, but its not hard to see the longing and searching in someone’s eyes if you look close enough. It just so happens that the longing and searching in these boy’s eyes was for love and acceptance.
These boys were beautiful.
That night set a precedence for my month. I had this great longing to know more; about Hanover Park, about drugs, about gangs, about life on the streets. God showed me all this and so much more!
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