Jonathan and Kelly Missions: Johannesburg, Day 4

Wednesday, January 20

Another early morning brought us to a small, crowded, poor school. We had previously visited this school to make sure that it was still open, as Mayfair had made failed attempts to reach the school by phone. The school’s lack of funding resulted in its phone lines being disconnected, resulting in some difficulty communicating. The children crammed into a room to see and hear us.

Kids at this school were very mature and wanted to be involved in our songs and Biblical quiz game. We were astonished at some of the incredible answers these small children produced! Though seating was limited and rain fell outside, the children did not want to leave this little room and we did not want to leave them and their singing. This is among the schools that Ryan will visit during his stay in Joburg to teach the children Bible verses.

We next visited yet another section of the Joburg prison. Most of these men were on their way out of the prison system, back to freedom. A heavy rain during the previous night made an intimate outdoor worship service difficult, as the men were not allowed to stand in the muddy grass in front of our “stage.” The men seemed at first to stand far off, ignoring our music and stories. We had little direction but that which the Spirit gave us and everything worked out at the end. Paul, a man from Mayfair Baptist, shared his testimony in which he turned his life over to God after going to prison for armed robbery. Some of the men started singing along with us and opened up to our stories. In the end, it turned out that they were very eager to speak with us. Kelly approached a man who was very eager to learn about God. Jonathan was amazed after speaking to a man whose theological articulation rivaled most preachers. God is moving among the men in Joburg prison, creating educated leaders and men thirsting for God.

We then gathered food at Makro (South African equivalent to Costco) to distribute at the Simon Pilo (spelling?) squatter camp. We bought enough sacks of corn meal (a staple in the local diet) and canned fish to make 75 parcels for the families there. We prepared the parcels at the church and loaded them into the van. Upon arrival, we distributed newspapers to the residents and told them we would be distributing food. As the line grew, we quickly realized that we did not have nearly enough food to feed all of the 4000 or so residents in this community. I have never seen such desolation in a city. We spoke to the people about Jesus and sang a few humble songs. We learned later that many of the people here have HIV and they cannot get medicine to deal with the symptoms until they have severe AIDS. This camp serves as a hospice for many of the people who this society would rather forget. This was the lowest moment of our trip: looking in the eyes of hundreds of families and saying, “Sorry, we have food for some, but not for enough for you.” It was very humbling to know the limits of our actions, but we left reassured that, although we did not get food to everyone, the few who did get food were profoundly touched.

Pastor Willie and some of the mission house residents prepared a braai, South African barbeque, for us back home that night. It was odd to eat so lavishly on home-cooked meal that night after seeing the stark poverty of the squatter camps. There was a fierce soccer game of keep-away on the lawn while the rest of us enjoyed the sunset and the warmth of the grill in the carport. We watched bats zipping around the trees above us until it got too dark to see bats.