An Unexpected Journey:
Johannesburg, South Africa
ROUGHLY THREE DAYS HAVE PASSED since I boarded Delta flight D200 direct from Atlanta to Johannesburg, South Africa, and this World Race is already turning out to be quite different than I expected. After 15 hours, we touched down on the tarmac in a country and continent I never expected to visit.
If one were to ask me a year ago what I would be doing in 12 months, traveling the world to help those in need and sharing the Gospel would have not been one of them. Yet, God continues to carve out in each of us a path, that when we are obedient to Him, we find ourselves inexorably and undeniably in His will: and what a blessing that is.
My Squad (B Squad) was unable to find housing once we landed. We chose to sleep in the airport; part of that “flexibility” thing we learned in training. I took a shower in an airport sink, and got all of 3 hours sleep before waking up a little after midnight. A squad mate and I spent the night exploring a new world: unknown, serene, and desolate — the Johannesburg airport.
The sun rose early Saturday morning, and as my team and I stood on the viewing deck, we watched a golden sun rise to break the darkness, illuminating a place most of us had only dreamed of visiting. Reality would soon break this beauty.
One of my squad mates was unable to make the flight, which meant I, along with my squad leader, Andrew, had to stay behind to wait for him to catch the next available flight. That meant saying goodbye to the team I had spent the last several weeks building relationships with, while I eagerly awaited jumping into service. Everyone boarded a bus to Cape Town, and he and I were alone – separated from the plan that we had only hours before.
We took a taxi through the city, and noticed a clear divide between those with and those without. Passing through streets, broken and worn, walked tattered clothes and lost faces. Along each paved road was a path, well traveled from those who could not afford to drive. It was like standing between two worlds, both of which I knew nothing about. As we entered the more affluent area, the houses were modern, with pristinely manicured lawns, and luxury cars in the their driveways. Yet, each home was surrounded by walls and gates, razor wire and electric fences: a stark reminder that there was darkness behind a seemingly beautiful façade.
As we wait for our friend to arrive, I seek to look with spiritual eyes at the brokenness that surrounds such a beautiful city. I pray to break through the hurt, the confusion, and pain – and have the opportunity to share a hope that is beyond measure.
This is my prayer: to live each day as it was both my first and last, with my team or alone, to walk in tandem with my Father, as I seek to love as He loved: unconditionally, unabashedly, unfettered, and undeserved – because that is how He loves me.
