During the course of the outreach to Cape Town, South Africa, I was struck by several things pertaining to culture, God’s character, and the way that He moves in the lives of people. First of all, I had never had to go with the flow so much in all my life. This was a very big act of surrender on my part, as I am quite fond of schedules. It was even aggravating at times to not even know what we would be doing or when during that day. We didn’t even always know when the very next activity would begin. But God used this to teach me patience and flexibility on a whole new level. I was able to be truly at peace without knowing everything, or even anything, and trust God and our leaders. This was probably one of the biggest cross cultural lessons I learned as I have had many cross cultural experiences before, but this was very different for me. In fact, I doubt I ever would have encountered it to this extent if it hadn’t been for this trip.
Aside from that major cultural adjustment there were other cultural differences between the South Africans and myself as an American from Colorado. One of the most notable was the clash of cultures found in Cape Town. I was shocked to see the vast differences represented everywhere we went. But not only that, they were so intermixed. Never in America would you find tin shacks across the street from apartments which are just across the street from very nice homes. And there were so many different religions! Muslims, Hindus, unreligious, Rastafarians, and those who called themselves Christians but were still wrapped up in gangsterism were some of the different kinds we encountered everywhere we went.
It would also sometimes strike me how vastly different the lives of the children we were working with were to American children. It was easy to forget because they are so full of life and enjoy similar things to most American children, but then they would do or say something that would remind you that their background is entirely different. Almost all of the children we spent time with were most likely abused or neglected, and it showed in how starved for attention and true affection they were. They are overly exposed to violence and sexuality which is displayed in how they play, which can be inappropriate. One time while ministering door to door in a township we came across a group of about a dozen boys ages 6 to 9 who were playing with the cut off pouring ends of bottles. Some had exposed glass edges, others were using broken glass to cut around plastic bottles. Attached to the nozzles were condoms which they were using as launchers. I asked if they knew what those were and they responded “condoms” and all began to laugh. After we got to talk and pray with them I asked our South African guide if they knew what the actual purpose of those were, and he said yes, most definitely. It is hard to imagine a 6 year old boy understanding the purpose of a condom, and using it as a toy while running around barefoot on an dirt road covered in broken glass, but this is their reality. Another wake up call was when the father of a couple of the girls we were working with was stabbed to death. We don’t know if he was wrapped up in a gang or if he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, but it was tragic none the less. However as much as the other children seemed to be sympathetic, it was clear that this was just a part of regular life and didn’t really phase them. This would never happen with the children I know back home.
I would say I adapted pretty well to the culture. DTS really equipped us as far as giving us an understanding of warm culture. It was also very helpful to be able to talk with Etienne to get an idea of what Cape Town specifically is like. We made an effort to be helpful and cleanly, especially in areas like the kitchen. It was also key for us to interact with the ladies of the house or church to honor them. One major component of honor for our team was to respect the churches wishes as far as the gate was concerned. For one thing, they were restrictive as far as allowing children to enter and play with us. And since we are an all girls DTS we couldn’t leave to do street ministry or anything. Also they didn’t want us outside the building after dark for our protection because it was a dangerous neighborhood. Although all the restrictions were logical, it an area we had to continually choose to be humble in order to honor our hosts.
On multiple occasions people have commented on my cross necklace, which has opened the door for me to share a personal testimony. I was able to share about how Jesus gave me this necklace and told me to wear it all the time to remember that I’m valuable and He loves me. Then I can turn the question around and ask if they knew that Jesus loves them and they are worth so much to Him. It was especially impactful on the little girls who would ask me about it. One of them replied, “Yaos, and I love Jesus SO much!!”
During the kid’s holiday club that we ran, which was similar to a vacation bible school, I taught the group lesson that shared the gospel. I had to use simple language to tell the story of Jesus in a semi interactive style so as to keep the children’s attention. It was a very good experience and several of the children gave their hearts to Jesus. Later when we were running a miniature kids program in Ocean View I shared the gospel story again with a smaller group of kids. At that point none of them gave their hearts to Jesus, even as the YWAMers from Kona continued to share about it. It goes to show how it is entirely up to God to move on individual hearts. Some of these kids already knew Jesus, some weren’t ready yet, but at any rate the seed was planted and we know that “God’s Word does not return void.” (Is 55:11) I am also encouraged that there is a local church that is reaching out to these kids and will continue to invest in their lives.
Going into outreach I was determined to have no expectations and to just experience everything as it came. My strategy for jet lag was to not sleep at all on the way there so that I would fall asleep right away at the right time, which mostly worked. I was up for 27 hours straight, but then I was mostly adjusted to the time difference. There was one day a few days later where I fell asleep before dinner and slept through a very loud worship practice but then awoke at 2 am. Other than that, my entry was full of wonder and discovery. Coming back out of outreach mode so far has been mostly needing to find this schedule. First of all the fact that there is a schedule that is actually intended to be followed… but I’m also fighting jet lag at the moment. It will be interesting to attempt to figure out what my “normal life” will look like from now on. Truthfully I will always be on outreach, it will simply be changing what it looks like with each season of life.
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