Hello!
We just want to say thanks to Ali (Catherine’s friend) for his comment on our last blog – your challenging questions have been part of our devotions all week! I hope this blog will answer them sufficiently :)
What effect is being in South Africa having on your view of the UK?
I think a word that sums up our feeling is simplicity. Life is so much simpler than we in the UK make it. Who needs a tin opener when you’ve got a knife and a tea towel? Who needs a baking tray when you can use a saucepan? Who needs a shower when a dripping tap can provide you with enough water to wash in? In the end it comes down to comfort and what’s easiest for us. I think being here in SA has highlighted the excess on which we base our lives at home.
But, life is about balance. At the end of our road, there is a lady who sells mealies (corn on the cob).; Everyday we drive past and everyday she is there, waiting for people to stop and buy her produce. She never has a day off because days off come with the luxury of having a job. Selling mealies isn’t her career- it’s her life! It’s her only means of survival. She lives without experiencing excess but instead is forced to live in less than simplicity- she can’t afford otherwise. The effect of being here in SA has made me frustrated by excess in the UK and frustrated by the injustice of the deficiency out here. What perfection we could create if only our excess could balance out the ‘lack of’ elsewhere in the world!
What would our feeling be towards God if the vehicle materialised, or if it doesn't?
Well, we believe that this whole experience is strengthening our faith in God. Even the mere act of fasting made us seek God with a new perspective. If the vehicle situation is resolved- God is good. If it isn’t- God is good. We will naturally be disheartened if it doesn’t happen, but we are learning out here that God’s timing is perfect. We believe God has promised a year of abundance for LI, and whether that means the organisation is blessed throughout the year, or if it means they receive a years worth of abundance on the 31st December, I just pray that we can rest in the knowledge that God knows what he’s doing.
What do you think about the Safe House? What does the fact that it's needed say about the world, South Africa and people in general?
Our immediate reaction (of course) is that the world shouldn’t need safe houses! God created this world for us to live in community with others, in peace and happiness. However, the fact that safe houses are needed doesn’t surprise us, because our own free will has led us away from God’s perfection. It’s frustrating that despite the house being a safe place for the children to live, they still rebel against protection. There is now only one girl staying at the house because the others have all run away. We see Pumza struggling to keep it all under control. All the children want is freedom, and all we want to shout is that there is more freedom in the house! At least they can be free of the distractions of Amaoti (and the world! Drugs, alcohol, money problems, sexual activity… I could go on!). Pumza works for LI. She is a mother of two young children, she sees her husband once every two months because he works in Johannesburg, and she’s studying to become a social worker. We are frustrated, so the strain on her must be overwhelming. In all of this I can’t help but feel sorry for God. Just as the Safe House was created to heal the broken children of Amaoti, God welcomes us to be in relationship with him, in order to heal our brokenness. Yet we still reject him! We want the children to see that the Safe House is the best option, just as God wants us to see that he is the best option.
I feel I may have divulged from the question a little, but we just pray that the work that is going into the Safe House will be blessed.
Are you really going to let the lack of Wakaberry be the most life changing aspect of your time in South Africa?
Last week we had the privilege of meeting Sarah, who heads up Transform Trips at Tearfund. It is lovely to catch up with someone whose job it is to look after teams like us. She talked with us of the struggle that is so apparent in South Africa- the gap between rich and poor. As a team, I think this has been a big topic over the past few days. We live in two worlds! On a day to day basis we work within a community that often can’t afford basic needs such as food, sanitation and shelter. Nevertheless, at weekends we spend time 10 minutes down the road in Durban North, where excess is normality. How can that even be justified?
Sarah helped us realise that it is no good beating ourselves up about our weekend freedom. We are not here to live as the people of Amaoti live, but we should remember them in the choices we make in Durban North. In the same way, the justice and equality we know from the developed world can help us see the need of such things in the developing world. So in some ways, yes! We are going to let Wakaberry be (at least one of) the most life changing things about our trip! It is just another part of the developed world – the world where yoghurt in itself isn’t good enough, but where excess (somewhere along the line) possessed someone to freeze it and create what we now know as Froyo. Wakaberry really could change our lives because it reminds us of how essential it is to let both worlds colour each other, and in letting that happen the gap between excess and deficiency can be balanced.
Just a few prayer requests…
· That sponsors will come forward, and money will become available to make LI more effective in their work (and so they can buy a new car!).
· Health within the team (half the team have been to the hospital this week with various infections).
· For our upcoming holiday (we leave on Sunday), that it will be a good rest for the team and that we will come back from the two weeks ready to get stuck in again.
Thanks again for your continued support and prayers.
Lots of love,
Abi and the girls.
xxxxx
