Graves of the Forgotten

Last Thursday I was at Makaphutu. That's the children's village (or orphanage) that I stayed at when I came to South Africa in November. As I walked into the house we stayed in I experienced that wonderful nostalgia that you get when you're encountering something tangible that represents good memories. Kind of like when you smell a shampoo that your mother used to use on you when she gave you a bath and you quickly remember the warmth, protection and love you felt when you were little. Unfortunately there was also a not so pleasant memory I experienced on that visit as well. You see, about a quarter of a mile away on a hill (and in line of sight of Makaphutu) sits a house. In the front yard of this house is a grave site. To the naked eye it's just a bunch of mounds of dirt used to cover the dead. The story behind it is far worse. The reality is within each grave lies multiple bodies (10, 20, 30?) of those who represent the forgotten. Human beings who died alone, left this life unclaimed, and then were carelessly dumped in a hole so as to be "properly" disposed of. No individual burial site to indicate that a unique human being rested there. No grave marker to show this person had their own identity. No one to mourn them or the life experiences they did not live long enough to enjoy. During this visit to Makaphutu there was a delivery of bodies which included children. I can't help but weep at the fact that these who are supposed to be outside playing carelessly, enjoying the deepest of belly laughs that only kids can experience, and daydreaming the impossible were at that moment being dumped in a grave with not a single parent to stand there and grieve over their loss. It's just not fair. What's even more unfair is the diseases that caused their deaths were likely treatable but the financial resources just weren't there to give them what they needed. There's nothing so inexcusable as the end of life that could've been very easily prevented. It's hard for me to convey with words just how heartbreaking this is to me. I hope you can at least get a picture of the tragedy this grave site represents and allow yourself to weep as well.

Bonus

Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.


Hebrews 13:3

What were you doing?

At 6am this morning (well, 6am if you live in Indiana) while you were sleeping, the people you see in this picture were standing in a long line in the sun, hoping that what awaited at the other end would lead to a job. Not a career that would bring about passion, excitement to get up in the morning and the means to fulfill at least some of the other passions we have in life. Simply a job that would provide them a means for living for 5 weeks and maybe a bit beyond. World Changers has spent the past several days assisting a staffing agency with filling a recent mass number of job openings. Today we were at the agency helping to get people registered in order to make the process easier for the staffing agency that will actually place them. This involved standing in the sun for hours handing out forms and educating those who didn't know on what World Changers is all about. At the beginning of our time there, when I was realizing just what a hot day it was going to be I started complaining a bit in my head. "This is going to be a long day in the hot sun. I'm going to be so burned." Then I got a nice little reminder from God. All these people were going to have to suffer in the sun so they could get a job. Why did I think I was above suffering with them? After all, when Isaiah 58 calls me to "loose the chains of injustice...set the oppressed free...and to satisfy the needs of the oppressed", it doesn't add the caveat "And ye shall work for the unjustly treated and oppressed but only to the extent that you would like to suffer. Thou shalt feel free to quit the work when ye are getting a bit too uncomfortable". That made a huge difference in my attitude for the day. God, help it to stick.

Joy comes in the morning...

I wish I could put into words the loveliness and peace of this morning. Last night it rained. It was the first big rain since I arrived. Nothing unremarkable, just your typical downpour and then a steady rainfall. Yet as I sat outside this morning, it felt as if something was different compared to other mornings. Somehow things look greener. There was a soft breeze and a nice stillness broken only by the sounds of the birds. Even those sounds seem to have a calm about them. Everything seems refreshed. It's as if all creation senses the change, and with the refreshment a restful calm has settled on everything. It brings such calm to my own spirit this morning. With the ache I felt deep in my spirit yesterday as I struggled with something, it's almost as if God sent His own refreshing rain to wash away the build-up of sadness, false thoughts and insecurities so I could once again get to the surface where His presence and deep love can be seen and felt again. The only possible outcome of this can be peace and rest. Thank You God.

All in how you see things.

This is Fortune. He works at World Changers and will be facilitating life skills courses in the townships. I had a great conversation with him ast night about where he's come from and where he's going. He told me that he used to be heavily into gambling (by playing pool) and at some point began seeing that the life he was living was quite fruitless and without purpose. Then he attended a World Changers life skills course and later the leadership course and his suspicions were confirmed. He realized that God had more of a purpose for him than gambling to make a living. Now Fortune wants to be able to help others see they have a purpose as well. In particular he hopes to work with people with diabilities. As he talked about this vision of his, he said something that struck me. He said, "There is more than just physical disability. Everyone has some kind of a disability. There's something wrong inside all of us." I decided to find an official definition for the word disability. There were multiple definitions I chose 2. The first says this: state of being disabled; deprivation or want of ability; absence of competent physical, intellectual, or moral power, means, fitness, and the like. Another definition states: A disadvantage or deficiency...that interferes with or prevents normal achievement in a particular area. What I liked about this definition is that it mentioned "moral power". I couldn't agree more with Fortune that each one of us has some sort of diability within ourselves that interferes with or prevents normal achievement in a particular area of our lives. That could mean a person is unable to achieve all their goals at their job because of absence of mental or physical competency, or that they're unable to achieve peace in their lives because of a disadvantage of a bad life experience such as abuse. I also strongly believe that the only One who is able to turn our diability into ability is God. Over the past few years I've seen God take my own diability of depression (and some of the bad decisions that played a role in it) and turn it into the ability to encouarge others as they walk through depression. It's taught me how beautiful God is as a redeemer. Fortune views his life in this way as well. I love it. I know God is going to use him to be a great encouragement to many!

P.S.Yes, I know the picture is sideways but what would seem like an easy thing to fix really wasn't because Africa is messing with my computer a bit. So, just pretend like you're cocking your head as if you're confused and you'll be able to see it better:)

Ever wonder where "the middle of nowhere" or "the end of the road" are? Well, I found out tonight. They're both in South Africa!

The Ugly Side

Being in an unfamiliar situation where you're forced out of your comfort zone can sure bring some ugly things out of a person. I have only one day under my belt and already I've seen something gross coming out. I hesitated to even blog about this but as my blog site is named "Bare Naked Truth" I didn't want to be a hypocrite or picky on what things I allowed myself to be "naked" about. So here goes. I'm seeing that I'm a very territorial person. (Right now my co-worker who used to be my desk neighbor is laughing as she reads this. She's seen some lovely, subconscious actions that show this trait in me.) Here's the situation that brought it out. I'd only been at WCA for about an hour and already someone was asking to borrow my camera. My first reaction "I don't know them. What if they're careless and break it?" I fought this instinct and let them borrow it, my insides curling as I watched them carry it away, out of my line of protective sight. Not long after I ended up where my camera had been taken. As I saw others using it and taking pictures the 4 year old inside of me screamed "That's mine!". Luckily the Holy Spirit is inside of me and was bringing conviction to these thoughts and I kept my thoughts to myself. This little lesson has made it abundantly clear that there's some grip loosening that needs to happen in the area of what I own. In reality, it's all God's anyway and I'm just borrowing it for a while. Who am I to not share what God has blessed me with? This issue of being territorial along with materialism is one that those of us in the USA (or any first world country) struggle heavily with. I'm seeing more and more what an oppressive thing this is. I'm grateful for this opportunity God is giving me to learn to loosen my grip on the things of this world that are temporary.

Arriving

Things I love about travelling:
1)Empty seats next to you on the plane to stretch out and sleep.
2)Tylenol PM
3)Enough movies to watch to last you 3 plane trips from D.C. to Jo-burg
4)Meeting new people.
5)Weather that's more amazing and beautiful than where you left (let's just say sunny, no clouds in the skies and 70s for temps...sorry Indy people)

Things I fear:
1)Not being able to communicate clearly enough to those you need help from.
2)Beating your luggage to your destination.

Yep, I'm currently living off of the things in my carry-on which is not a lot. Luckily I'm in an area where I can buy anything I need but I hate the thought of having to buy things I know I already own. It's things like this that teach me how to handle the inconveniences of life. There's a good chance there will be a lot of those in the coming days and weeks so I guess it's good to learn early on how to handle them. I'm hoping for a new handle on this by the time I return to Indy.

Tomorrow I will be at World Changers, which is where I'll be staying over the next 5 months. I look forward to getting acquainted with my surroundings and the people I'll be sharing life with. Stay tuned for more updates...