South Africa-Day 7 (Cape Town Townships and Ministries)

(March 31, 2014)

Today was a difficult and inspiring day.  We began by meeting the Bishop of Cape Town and Ralph, another Methodist minister, at one of the two Methodist homes for displaced children in the district.  They were our hosts for the day.  Our first stop after this was to the township of Kyaleitsha.  It is a  very poor area with shacks for homes.  For miles that is all one sees, shack after shack after shack.   There is no running water or sewage.  Toilets consist of large plastic containers that are carried to the road when full.  In the winter months, when the rains come, many of the shacks are completely flooded over.  The area is so congested that when there are emergencies, the paramedics are unable to find the person.  It is an existence that I have never known and to be honest is beyond my comprehension even now after seeing it.  I am glad that I did see it, though, if for no other reason than to wake me up to the reality that I have far more in my life than many others in the world do.   

Right in the middle of this poverty, there is great hope though.  We visited the Intyatymbo Child care center.  This is a center literally run out of one of the shacks in Kyaleitsha.  It started with a woman (a Methodist layperson) named Nomawatu who was living next door to a few children who were left at home and she was afraid that they would be raped.  So, she decided to start offering something for them to do during the day.  Now the school has about 90 children from the area.  I was touched by the joy of the children.  They smiled and laughed and sang beautiful songs for us.  They all wanted to touch our hands and give the thumbs up sign.  They also all want to give hugs and I was humbled when I went to leave and they wanted to kiss the palm of my hands.  I understand more clearly now what Jesus meant when he said “the Kingdom of God belongs to children like these…”  It was one of the most moving experiences of my life.  

We also visited several other ministries that were meaningful today.  We visited the Wesley Methodist mission that housed a program called Saamwork where a couple of women from the church teach other women in the community to make arts and crafts and sell them at local fairs and markets.  In an area where unemployment is so high, it is a way to empower people.  Anyone can be a part of this ministry, regardless of age, race, gender, or religious affiliation.  Today there were women who were Muslim at the church making crafts.  

We also visited New Life Home, a ministry for destitute and pregnant women, the second children’s home in the Cape Town area, and a program called Zanokhanyo, a ministry out of one of the Methodist Churches to help people prepare for employment.  It teaches them interview skills, computer basics, and ethics and works with local businesses to find places of employment for them.  Again in an area where unemployment is very high, this is so important.

What I saw today was interesting and moving.   I saw a few lay people in the Methodist  Church that felt passionately about serving an oppressed and forgotten people in real and meaningful ways, all in the name of Jesus.  They have given their lives to making the world a little bit better for others.  Though their names will never be in the newspaper or on television, they have changed the world in profound ways.  They inspire me to give my life in the same way.  I am different because of what I have see and experienced today.  

God’s Peace,

Brett