I. Love. South. Africa.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Life.
Greetings from South Africa!!
Before I forget…I want to update everyone on Dear Panama…I want you
all to know that we haven’t just forgotten about it. We didn’t just
leaving Panama having done our part and feeling good about ourselves.
Our hearts are still very much in Panama with those children and with
Matt and Misty and their ministry. We are keeping in touch with them
and supporting them in prayer. They are very busy at the time with
their new job in the government building, but they are still working
on getting the book published and passed out. I will keep you updated
when I know more.
As for my life here…
It is interesting. I have talked about the contrasts here…haven’t I?
It is very peculiar. You walk down the street and see rich white
people and poor black people not so much as exchanging glances…it is
sorta unnerving. I often feel on edge and strange. I get begged for
food or money on a daily basis, something I have learned to turn my
cheek to and ignore. How should I feel about that? I mean, really, I
wish I could give to every hungry kid, every desperate mother, every
ashamed father. But I cannot, it just is not realistic, is it? It
breaks my heart little by little. Because I know God loves each and
every one of them.
So in that way, it is oppressive being here.
Rich, poor.
Black, white.
Smiles, scowls.
Tears, laughter.
Danger, safety.
Every day I see them all, its like a warm and cold wind hitting me in
the face simultaneously, which is an ironic metaphor considering its
windy here all the time anyhow.
So really I love it and I hate it here. I love the warm. I hate the
cold. I hate the warm. I love the cold. It is all so confusing.
Anyhoo. I am done trying to explain myself in a poetic way. It is not happening.
So I will get on with it.
A day in my life besides all that. I wake up, eat breakfast, and go to
class in the living room of the beautiful house we have been blessed
to live in. We start the day of worshipping or praying together...or
both. Then we learn, about photography, and the culture of South
Africa, about God’s heart for the people of the world.
Then we have lunch and the rest of the day is ours for ministry. This
is all pretty general….there is a lot more to my life…but this is the
easiest way to explain it, because frankly I am jumping at the
opportunity for simplicity right now.
Every Monday evening we have a prayer vigil in the local township
Capricorn. This place is about a 10 minute walk away. Oh I feel
another poetic streak coming on…
It is insane. I walk out my door and see huge (by African standards)
houses everywhere, with large gates and fences, guarded by spikes,
barbed wire, electric fencing. I walk by a high school. I walk by a
park. It all looks pretty normal (minus the security). Then I cross a
main road. I see a cemetery. I walk past it, and I see a shopping
center. A McDonalds. A grocery store, some quaint shops. I walk past
those…and there it is. Endless houses stacked on top of each other.
Tin roofs, trash littered in every gutter. Children in filthy and torn
clothes, shivering against the setting sun. Boys with harsh looks, way
too mature for their age. The danger sends shivers up my spine,
and poverty stings my nostrils. I cannot show this of course. I act
normal, confident. I smile at the children as if this lifestyle is
totally normal. This is the Africa I remember.
I don’t judge them, I love them. I don’t assume they are unhappy or
dangerous, I assume the best of them. It is the things that I have
heard that run through my mind. The prejudices that are still left
over from the Apartheid that only ended a mere 15 years ago.
Its the old white woman that stops me on the way to Capricorn to ask
me if I know where I am going, and that its dangerous. She would never
come within 100 meters of a township. EVER. It just isn’t possible for
her. Because of how she has been raised.
It’s the boy who begs me for
bread. He is so hungry, he tells me. I could just get him a hot
chocolate? he asks.
It’s the young concerned mother who tells me to keep my money tucked
away somewhere safe. That this isn’t America.
It is the tiny child who clutches to me and tells me not the walk home
from Capricorn after dark, it is not safe. Just stay here with him
tonight, keep him warm. Oh how I wish I could.
It is when they ask me for something, anything to make their lives a
little better. I feel helpless. But at the very least I can pray.
Our prayer vigils have been amazing. A chance to meet people in
Capricorn, to pray for them. To open up our arms and raise up prayers
to the God that loves us so much that he would send His only Son to
die for us. That He would pour out His love and mercy in this place.
That His love would spread like the air stirred by a butterfly’s wing,
picking up speed and momentum until everyone in Capricorn could feel
and know His love, and from there all of South African would cry out
His Holy Name.
It has been a blessing to pray for Capricorn.
As far as other ministries. A man named Clinton has lived in South
Africa all his life and is from Capricorn. He lives in Muizenberg now
and is actually dating a girl who was on my DTS. She came here for
outreach instead of Panama with a whole group from my DTS, and so she
and Clinton have continued on Bible studies started during the
outreach phase. There are Bible studies every day of the week, and
many people eager in Capricorn to join in. They have great turn out.
There are so many that want to join in that they need more leaders. My
friend Kristin and I are looking into starting our own Bible study or
some other sort of ministry in Capricorn twice a week. Even if it
doesn’t become official many of us love to go into the township during
the week to meet people and hear their stories, ministering to them
when God prompts us. That at the moment makes the entire experience
worth it. Meeting the people that God loves very much.
There are other ministry opportunites at the highschool and in an
orphanage that I may get involved in. My leader Steve is also looking
into other ways to plug in.
We have been learning about empowering people through our photography. I believe it is valid to believe this is possible. People who are marginalized have a lost a sense of being. The DO life, they exist, but they dont live. Thrive. They have lost purpose. People in Capricorn often ask me to take their photo. I have learned that they want it because when they see their photo, it proves they are a person who is real. They exist, and they are living. All I must do is care for them, love them, tell them that God loves them. This is this ministry track is about. Using our photography to empower people. Show them they have real VALUE. More on this later....
I would appreciate prayer that God would show me what ministries to
get involved in for the rest of my stay here in beautiful Cape Town.
That he would show me where He wants to use me, and that I would be
open to it and I would thrive in His plan and His love.
Thank you for your love, support, prayers.
I am thinking of home and missing it often.
And you too.
<3>
Before I forget…I want to update everyone on Dear Panama…I want you
all to know that we haven’t just forgotten about it. We didn’t just
leaving Panama having done our part and feeling good about ourselves.
Our hearts are still very much in Panama with those children and with
Matt and Misty and their ministry. We are keeping in touch with them
and supporting them in prayer. They are very busy at the time with
their new job in the government building, but they are still working
on getting the book published and passed out. I will keep you updated
when I know more.
As for my life here…
It is interesting. I have talked about the contrasts here…haven’t I?
It is very peculiar. You walk down the street and see rich white
people and poor black people not so much as exchanging glances…it is
sorta unnerving. I often feel on edge and strange. I get begged for
food or money on a daily basis, something I have learned to turn my
cheek to and ignore. How should I feel about that? I mean, really, I
wish I could give to every hungry kid, every desperate mother, every
ashamed father. But I cannot, it just is not realistic, is it? It
breaks my heart little by little. Because I know God loves each and
every one of them.
So in that way, it is oppressive being here.
Rich, poor.
Black, white.
Smiles, scowls.
Tears, laughter.
Danger, safety.
Every day I see them all, its like a warm and cold wind hitting me in
the face simultaneously, which is an ironic metaphor considering its
windy here all the time anyhow.
So really I love it and I hate it here. I love the warm. I hate the
cold. I hate the warm. I love the cold. It is all so confusing.
Anyhoo. I am done trying to explain myself in a poetic way. It is not happening.
So I will get on with it.
A day in my life besides all that. I wake up, eat breakfast, and go to
class in the living room of the beautiful house we have been blessed
to live in. We start the day of worshipping or praying together...or
both. Then we learn, about photography, and the culture of South
Africa, about God’s heart for the people of the world.
Then we have lunch and the rest of the day is ours for ministry. This
is all pretty general….there is a lot more to my life…but this is the
easiest way to explain it, because frankly I am jumping at the
opportunity for simplicity right now.
Every Monday evening we have a prayer vigil in the local township
Capricorn. This place is about a 10 minute walk away. Oh I feel
another poetic streak coming on…
It is insane. I walk out my door and see huge (by African standards)
houses everywhere, with large gates and fences, guarded by spikes,
barbed wire, electric fencing. I walk by a high school. I walk by a
park. It all looks pretty normal (minus the security). Then I cross a
main road. I see a cemetery. I walk past it, and I see a shopping
center. A McDonalds. A grocery store, some quaint shops. I walk past
those…and there it is. Endless houses stacked on top of each other.
Tin roofs, trash littered in every gutter. Children in filthy and torn
clothes, shivering against the setting sun. Boys with harsh looks, way
too mature for their age. The danger sends shivers up my spine,
and poverty stings my nostrils. I cannot show this of course. I act
normal, confident. I smile at the children as if this lifestyle is
totally normal. This is the Africa I remember.
I don’t judge them, I love them. I don’t assume they are unhappy or
dangerous, I assume the best of them. It is the things that I have
heard that run through my mind. The prejudices that are still left
over from the Apartheid that only ended a mere 15 years ago.
Its the old white woman that stops me on the way to Capricorn to ask
me if I know where I am going, and that its dangerous. She would never
come within 100 meters of a township. EVER. It just isn’t possible for
her. Because of how she has been raised.
It’s the boy who begs me for
bread. He is so hungry, he tells me. I could just get him a hot
chocolate? he asks.
It’s the young concerned mother who tells me to keep my money tucked
away somewhere safe. That this isn’t America.
It is the tiny child who clutches to me and tells me not the walk home
from Capricorn after dark, it is not safe. Just stay here with him
tonight, keep him warm. Oh how I wish I could.
It is when they ask me for something, anything to make their lives a
little better. I feel helpless. But at the very least I can pray.
Our prayer vigils have been amazing. A chance to meet people in
Capricorn, to pray for them. To open up our arms and raise up prayers
to the God that loves us so much that he would send His only Son to
die for us. That He would pour out His love and mercy in this place.
That His love would spread like the air stirred by a butterfly’s wing,
picking up speed and momentum until everyone in Capricorn could feel
and know His love, and from there all of South African would cry out
His Holy Name.
It has been a blessing to pray for Capricorn.
As far as other ministries. A man named Clinton has lived in South
Africa all his life and is from Capricorn. He lives in Muizenberg now
and is actually dating a girl who was on my DTS. She came here for
outreach instead of Panama with a whole group from my DTS, and so she
and Clinton have continued on Bible studies started during the
outreach phase. There are Bible studies every day of the week, and
many people eager in Capricorn to join in. They have great turn out.
There are so many that want to join in that they need more leaders. My
friend Kristin and I are looking into starting our own Bible study or
some other sort of ministry in Capricorn twice a week. Even if it
doesn’t become official many of us love to go into the township during
the week to meet people and hear their stories, ministering to them
when God prompts us. That at the moment makes the entire experience
worth it. Meeting the people that God loves very much.
There are other ministry opportunites at the highschool and in an
orphanage that I may get involved in. My leader Steve is also looking
into other ways to plug in.
We have been learning about empowering people through our photography. I believe it is valid to believe this is possible. People who are marginalized have a lost a sense of being. The DO life, they exist, but they dont live. Thrive. They have lost purpose. People in Capricorn often ask me to take their photo. I have learned that they want it because when they see their photo, it proves they are a person who is real. They exist, and they are living. All I must do is care for them, love them, tell them that God loves them. This is this ministry track is about. Using our photography to empower people. Show them they have real VALUE. More on this later....
I would appreciate prayer that God would show me what ministries to
get involved in for the rest of my stay here in beautiful Cape Town.
That he would show me where He wants to use me, and that I would be
open to it and I would thrive in His plan and His love.
Thank you for your love, support, prayers.
I am thinking of home and missing it often.
And you too.
<3>
Monday, October 12, 2009
Working on it.
Hey guys! Greetings from South Africa! I am so sorry I am AWFUL about blogging these days (not that i have ever been good at it)
Internet is just stinking expensive and out of my way, and things have been really busy between ministry and school.
Still working on getting involved with more ministry opportunities, and I will update as soon as I can about all of that!
Thank you to everyone who has given to me financially, I am getting closer and closer to having all my funds for the next 3 months!! Praise God!
And of course thank you for continually praying for me as I continue on this spiritual, emotional, and physical journey!
I love and miss you all!!
<3 Cambria
Internet is just stinking expensive and out of my way, and things have been really busy between ministry and school.
Still working on getting involved with more ministry opportunities, and I will update as soon as I can about all of that!
Thank you to everyone who has given to me financially, I am getting closer and closer to having all my funds for the next 3 months!! Praise God!
And of course thank you for continually praying for me as I continue on this spiritual, emotional, and physical journey!
I love and miss you all!!
<3 Cambria
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