Ocean View, South Africa
15 October 2014
My day starts at 5:15 AM. In darkness of the small room I share with my teammate Kyle, I change into athletic shorts and throw on a sweatshirt. Quietly Nikki, Kyle and I step over the somnolent remainder of our team and head out the door.
It’s spring time in South Africa. Chilly morning air blowing in from the Atlantic freezes our breath. We walk briskly one block over, one block down, and across a grassy field to a dirt lot beside a street where the minibus taxis park and wait to fill up with the early morning ocean view residents who are going to work.
We hop in the van, pay the 7 Rand fare, and settle into our seats, glad to be out of the wind. A few minutes later, the van is full and leaves for Fishhoek. By 6:00 AM we’ve made it to Fishhoek, a leisurely beach town looking out on False Bay. We thank the driver and walk past surf shops, tourists, commuters, and retirees, to a gym.
Luclille, the receptionist smiles and says hello. Sinclair, personal trainer, shakes our hand. I watch rugby while warming up on the bike. Later Kyle or Ashlee, a local, spots me on the bench press. Gym conversations are usually short and interrupted, but the little interactions here are important. I spend time talking with Sinclair and Lucille. Positivity goes a long way.
By 7:30 AM it’s time to wrap up and head home for team devotional. By now the sun is up. As I walk back to the taxi-vans with Kyle and Nikki, I turn my head to feel the sun while breathing the cool morning air.
I love the morning workouts. At 8 AM Ocean View is hopping with children going to school, the employed queued up to catch the next taxi-van, and dogs barking at the bustle.
The team is awake, cooking breakfast, reading, showering, and generally getting ready for the day. It’s my turn to lead morning devotional. I turn to Psalm 16. We read it aloud three times. Today the verses 9-11 strike me right to the heart.
“9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption.
11 You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
I ask Jan Carlo and Kristen to pray for these verses over the children of Ocean View. Give them glad hearts, whole beings that rejoice, and a place for their flesh to dwell secure. Let not them see corruption or get lost in the swirling vortex of abandonment that plagues their generation. Rather, Jesus, lead them, let them into your presence, and place them at your right hand.
I cried and cried. Who will take care of them when we leave? How will they learn what it takes?
I pray for more teams and volunteers willing to come after us and with God’s help finish the work God is doing here. Who will come here next? Who is God raising up and equipping?
Between 10 AM and 11:30 AM we walk with Jocelyn and visit with families we’ve become acquainted with in our time here. Jocelyn, Bradley (ex pro-soccer player) run Kingdom Sports, serving in Ocean View and 80+ churches in the West Cape area.
At noon we eat lunch, sit down for feedback, and get ready for Bible Study.
Around 3:30 PM we begin bible study with the boys and girls we’ve been getting to know over the past ten days. Nine of them were baptized in the ocean last week. Now we’re leading them through a bible study: “So you’ve accepted Jesus into your life, now what?” Day 1: Prayer. Today: Walking with the Spirit.
I read Galatians 5: 16-24 and talk about what it means. How do we put to death the desires of the flesh and walk by the spirit?
We wrestle the kids out the door at 7:30 PM and start cooking dinner (french toast and bacon). Kyle, JC, Amanda and Kristen run out to do errands (doctor visit and lost passport retrieval).
At 7:30 PM we all head to basketball at the local Community Center. Weekly basketball is organized by a YWAM staff member here in Cape Town. I’m hurt (back injury), and so of course I get put in charge of taking pictures. I shuffle around the court, back slightly bent, taking pictures on Nikki’s phone. At 9:00 PM we head home for dinner.
At last! My favorite time of day is here: reading time. Currently loving Ted Dekker’s novel “The Circle”.
10:30 PM – Bedtime. It’s been a full day. My dreams have been troubled lately so my teammates pray against spiritual attacks. Finally, I brush teeth, lay down, and fall asleep exhausted.
