Malibongwe

Day Four

Friday June 29th, 2018

Romans 10:13-15: (For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!")

Our first full day in South Africa started off well. My jet-lagged brain only let me sleep 3 or 4 hours last night, but I'm hoping that my body will soon adjust to the major time change. Sleeping in a building without insulation took some getting used to as well. The building we were housed in was a cinderblock building with grates on all outer walls to help with the circulation of air during the hot and dry summer months. However, we quickly discovered that while it was summer when we left Nebraska, it was winter in Africa. That meant very cold nights which led to us to cocoon ourselves under heavy blankets at night.

As I broke free from my cocoon, I walked over to a large window that dominated our room's right wall. I drew back the curtains and was greeted with a different view of Johannesburg than I had seen the previous night. At a glance Johannesburg is a beautiful city to behold, nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains, and as the sun comes up the city comes alive. With motorists beginning their morning commute to work. I can't wait to get into the city and meet the different inhabitants that populate this city; see how they live, how they interact with each other, and how they live life.

The morning started with a delicious breakfast consisting of Rooibos tea, plantains, rusks, and muesli. As we were finishing breakfast Ruth walked into the camp with her friend, Simbayi (Simba). Simbayi was at first a very quiet guy. He told us that he is originally from Zimbabwe and is currently attending and is a resident at Monash University in Johannesburg. Ruth then informed us that he would be driving everyone except Mike and Jon to Antioch church to help out with the church's holiday bible club. On the ride to Antioch, Simbayi told us of his longing to return to his home one day and sharing the gospel with others there. He had said that,

"In Zimbabwe, people there that claim to be Christian read the word of God just to read it, they go to church just to check off the box of goals that is religiosity, and that their hearts aren't close to God while their lips profess otherwise."

I feel like what he experiences is much like we struggle with in America, which shows that we are no different from other Christians and struggle with the same things because we are all fallen humans. I have a great respect for Simbayi and pray that God would bless him and that he would use him greatly in whichever ministry God calls him to.

As we drove deeper into the city with Simbayi, we saw Johannesburg in a different way than on our drive from the airport. Many residents walking on the sidewalk to work or loading up into public taxi vans to go farther into or out of Johannesburg for work. While we drove through some of us chatted with Simbayi, but I kept silent and let my thoughts drift that is until we drove by an unestablished settlement. In my 30 years I have seen many instances and differences in poverty, the most notable was when I was in Manitou Springs, Colorado.

In my time in Colorado, I saw many people in poverty, but there it almost seemed a chosen version of poverty. Here it's a poverty that is almost unmanageable. Men dragging carts and pallets filled with scrap metal to trade in for Rand just to eat another day. Long narrow dirt streets with makeshift houses on either side, most of them looked like the shell of the home was made from plywood, then the corrugated tin pieces were fastened to the plywood as a roof, I'm guessing to keep heat in on cold nights. Men, women, and children stood behind concrete barricades that separated them from the street. Some were at different makeshift stalls selling their wares, like fruit, clothing, blankets, and other items. Some were perusing the stalls and others just hanging about and watching traffic pass by. I'm beginning to see the effects of a 26% unemployment rate.