The smell of life...
by Alicia
More South African English:
let=rent (only used in reference to flats (apartments))
hire=rent (used in reference to cars, or anything else you could rent)
hectic= crazy (as in, 'I've had a hectic day' or 'The life of a youth pastor is hectic' or 'Life in the ghetto is hectic') Everybody uses this term all the time. Pronounced without the "h" (eck-tick)
shame= 'That's too bad' This is also used en masse. Ex: Ben and Alicia:"Our luggage hasn't come yet." South African: "Shame! How long has it been missing?"
biscuit= cookie
porridge= cereal
sub-economic area= lower socio-economic area= American ghetto x's 5
Yesterday was a hectic (see definition) day for us. We started off the morning at Calvary Sanctuary for church (the church that is hosting us) and then to on the the parishonerts houses for lunch. It seems that everybody has large family dinners after church on Sundays. They all go to the same church as well. Usually they will spend the afternoon reading the paper and napping. We were a little bit too busy to do that though. :) (See my next blog to hear about the end of the day)
After lunch we went to the Chrysalis Academy (fitting name, I think). This is a drug & alcohol rehab institution where teens voluntarily enroll themselves for three-month programs. They try to maintain all girls or all boys for each session (surprisingly there are many more girls at risk, so usually they will have all girls one session and then half/half the next). It's run kind of like a boot camp with a very strict schedule. Girls will start the program with an Outward Bound trip, including two days and nights of total solitude. Then during the day they will take classes in Computers, Electrical, Hairdressing, Firefighting or Business. They will receive a certification, but will still most likely will not be able to compete with students graduating from University. Once they are done most of the graduates will return back to the very same squatter camp or sub-economic area they came from.
One of the men in the congregation at Calvary Sacntuary runs a ministry there. He does a church service every Sunday morning, comes during visitation hours on Sunday afternoons (so that girls who do not have visitors will have someone to hang out with)/ He brings several volunteers from the church with him during this time. On Wednesdays he leads a Bible Study and then on Fridays he does "Youth," which is South African for 'club' or 'youth group.'
Ben and I were able to go with him during visitation hours. The girls (about 100 or so of them) started our time together with singing. They had beautiful voices and it was the kind of singing that gives you goosebumps and make you cry. One song was particularly touching, but also haunting in a way I haven't figured out yet- the words were "Never, ever, never, never, never, never give up." It brought tears to my eyes and chills ran up and down my spine. Maybe it's b/c these girls are trying so hard to succeed, but they will be facing such a long uphill battle. They have so much more to contend with than just addiction recovery.
Ben and I spent time talking with three girls especially- Lorbi, Wendi and Fesco. Lorbi was by far the most vocal. We asked them what we should know about the squatter camps, why kids are dropping out of school, how we can encourage them to finish, how we can help the squatter camps. Lorbi was very open. In the course of conversation she said that she didn't really believe in God. She said it like she was asking rather than affirming. 'There were so many times' she said, 'I asked for God to help. And He didn't. Why would he let these things happen to me and my family?' This girl grew up in the squatter camps- looks and acts far older than her years and I can see in her eyes that she's seen more and been through more than I will hopefully ever have to. Yet she is not hardened.
Ben shared with her about his conversion experience at Dachau Concentration Camp in Germany- 'If there is this much evil in the world there has to be a God. There's no way I can do this on my own.'
How do you give hope to a girl who has been so beaten, yet desperately seeks to know if there is something worth hoping for. When she has struggled so hard to make good choices, yet she'll be thrown right back into the same squatter camp she cam from. How do you tell her she'll find a job when she's minimally educated and lives amongst another several hundred thousand people who are seeking work as well? Airport City, one of the nearby squatter camps, lines both sides of one of the National Highways. It reaches about a mile out on both sides, and follows the highway easily for over 5 miles. Keep in mind that whole families live in small, one room shacks that are built practically on top of one another. That's a lot of people. That's where Lorbi is from.
This girl is desperately crying out for guidance and hope- a sense of purpose and comfort that she will find some happiness in life. I don't know if I can give it to her.
If the church continues to come to the squatter camps, drop off food and say a few words about Jesus, then turn around and leave- how will that help this girl?
Perhaps, if the church started day cares to stimulate young children and keep them safe (it's normal for 3 year olds to be raped and murdered here)... If the church could start schools across the street from camps to help people receive job training... If the church could help form a job placement network- even open businesses financed by the church- to help people get jobs with the training they've received... Now that smells of hope to me. "For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life." (2 Cor. 2:16-17)
I was praying a few weeks before we came to South Africa and God made clear to me what it means to be the body of Christ. So often I've read verses about the body in the context of merely how we are each gifted. The Holy Spirit revealed to me that there is much more meaning in this- we are the very body of Christ. I looked into Jesus' eyes and saw how badly he wanted to hug the poor, cry with the suffering and aid the hurt and seek justice for the marginalized. His eyes pleaded with me "please do what I no longer can." He left His Spirit, complete with His power, so that we could be His very body. I ask myself- and you- would Jesus merely give them food and leave- or would he seek justice for these people, healing the economic and social barriers that create death among them?
More South African English:
let=rent (only used in reference to flats (apartments))
hire=rent (used in reference to cars, or anything else you could rent)
hectic= crazy (as in, 'I've had a hectic day' or 'The life of a youth pastor is hectic' or 'Life in the ghetto is hectic') Everybody uses this term all the time. Pronounced without the "h" (eck-tick)
shame= 'That's too bad' This is also used en masse. Ex: Ben and Alicia:"Our luggage hasn't come yet." South African: "Shame! How long has it been missing?"
biscuit= cookie
porridge= cereal
sub-economic area= lower socio-economic area= American ghetto x's 5
Yesterday was a hectic (see definition) day for us. We started off the morning at Calvary Sanctuary for church (the church that is hosting us) and then to on the the parishonerts houses for lunch. It seems that everybody has large family dinners after church on Sundays. They all go to the same church as well. Usually they will spend the afternoon reading the paper and napping. We were a little bit too busy to do that though. :) (See my next blog to hear about the end of the day)
After lunch we went to the Chrysalis Academy (fitting name, I think). This is a drug & alcohol rehab institution where teens voluntarily enroll themselves for three-month programs. They try to maintain all girls or all boys for each session (surprisingly there are many more girls at risk, so usually they will have all girls one session and then half/half the next). It's run kind of like a boot camp with a very strict schedule. Girls will start the program with an Outward Bound trip, including two days and nights of total solitude. Then during the day they will take classes in Computers, Electrical, Hairdressing, Firefighting or Business. They will receive a certification, but will still most likely will not be able to compete with students graduating from University. Once they are done most of the graduates will return back to the very same squatter camp or sub-economic area they came from.
One of the men in the congregation at Calvary Sacntuary runs a ministry there. He does a church service every Sunday morning, comes during visitation hours on Sunday afternoons (so that girls who do not have visitors will have someone to hang out with)/ He brings several volunteers from the church with him during this time. On Wednesdays he leads a Bible Study and then on Fridays he does "Youth," which is South African for 'club' or 'youth group.'
Ben and I were able to go with him during visitation hours. The girls (about 100 or so of them) started our time together with singing. They had beautiful voices and it was the kind of singing that gives you goosebumps and make you cry. One song was particularly touching, but also haunting in a way I haven't figured out yet- the words were "Never, ever, never, never, never, never give up." It brought tears to my eyes and chills ran up and down my spine. Maybe it's b/c these girls are trying so hard to succeed, but they will be facing such a long uphill battle. They have so much more to contend with than just addiction recovery.
Ben and I spent time talking with three girls especially- Lorbi, Wendi and Fesco. Lorbi was by far the most vocal. We asked them what we should know about the squatter camps, why kids are dropping out of school, how we can encourage them to finish, how we can help the squatter camps. Lorbi was very open. In the course of conversation she said that she didn't really believe in God. She said it like she was asking rather than affirming. 'There were so many times' she said, 'I asked for God to help. And He didn't. Why would he let these things happen to me and my family?' This girl grew up in the squatter camps- looks and acts far older than her years and I can see in her eyes that she's seen more and been through more than I will hopefully ever have to. Yet she is not hardened.
Ben shared with her about his conversion experience at Dachau Concentration Camp in Germany- 'If there is this much evil in the world there has to be a God. There's no way I can do this on my own.'
How do you give hope to a girl who has been so beaten, yet desperately seeks to know if there is something worth hoping for. When she has struggled so hard to make good choices, yet she'll be thrown right back into the same squatter camp she cam from. How do you tell her she'll find a job when she's minimally educated and lives amongst another several hundred thousand people who are seeking work as well? Airport City, one of the nearby squatter camps, lines both sides of one of the National Highways. It reaches about a mile out on both sides, and follows the highway easily for over 5 miles. Keep in mind that whole families live in small, one room shacks that are built practically on top of one another. That's a lot of people. That's where Lorbi is from.
This girl is desperately crying out for guidance and hope- a sense of purpose and comfort that she will find some happiness in life. I don't know if I can give it to her.
If the church continues to come to the squatter camps, drop off food and say a few words about Jesus, then turn around and leave- how will that help this girl?
Perhaps, if the church started day cares to stimulate young children and keep them safe (it's normal for 3 year olds to be raped and murdered here)... If the church could start schools across the street from camps to help people receive job training... If the church could help form a job placement network- even open businesses financed by the church- to help people get jobs with the training they've received... Now that smells of hope to me. "For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life." (2 Cor. 2:16-17)
I was praying a few weeks before we came to South Africa and God made clear to me what it means to be the body of Christ. So often I've read verses about the body in the context of merely how we are each gifted. The Holy Spirit revealed to me that there is much more meaning in this- we are the very body of Christ. I looked into Jesus' eyes and saw how badly he wanted to hug the poor, cry with the suffering and aid the hurt and seek justice for the marginalized. His eyes pleaded with me "please do what I no longer can." He left His Spirit, complete with His power, so that we could be His very body. I ask myself- and you- would Jesus merely give them food and leave- or would he seek justice for these people, healing the economic and social barriers that create death among them?
posted by The Mongoose Chronicle at 3:34 AM
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