joburg.

My heart goes out to Joburg aka Little America. Being a city girl, Joburg was a home away from home. I fell in love with that city; there I left behind so many sweet moments and new friends. The 18 hour flight to get there was not as bad as I expected. Although wearing rain boots to have more luggage space seemed like a wise idea, after an hour or so I quickly regretted that decision. Anyways, I watched six movies, had less than two hours of sleep, and ate five meals. It was all worth it once I stepped off that plane and realized that I was finally here! At orientation I met 11 of the sweetest, most solid followers of Christ that I have ever met who challenged and encouraged me. We all became quick friends after playing hours upon hours of Presidents and Signs, eating breakfast, lunch and dinner together, attending back to back educational lectures, being roomies with the girls and neighbors to the boys,late night girl talks,making fun of each other, competing in every way possible, jammin’ out, wet willies, and the list goes on forever.

We also had the opportunity to visit a township in Joburg called Diepsloot; it was a somewhat scary experience. If you can imagine two trucks filled with white people strolling through an overflowing and hectic African township where the white Africans do not even step into…there were a lot of intimidating stares. But once we got out into the streets and began greeting the people those intimidating stares transformed into the biggest, warmest and sweetest smiles. In Africa it’s seriously all about relationships. Greetings are something to be meticulously intentional about. When you do greet, be ready to hang out for a little while. And when you think it’s time to go because there is a long silence and you can’t think of any other questions, do not fret. Awkward silences are nonexistent in Africa. It’s great! Diepsloot was filled with people from all over Africa who came to Joburg looking for jobs. If the situation in America is considered to be rough, please take a second and try to fathom their lives… now be thankful for yours. We met this man that came from a neighboring country looking for work and we asked if we could pray for him, so he invited us into his home. It was a tiny tin shack (way smaller than an average sized American bedroom) it had enough room to fit his bed and a shelf. No living room. No kitchen. No bathroom. Not too bad? He shared this “house” (or bed and shelf) with three other men looking for work.

Seeing the living conditions of these men and visiting another squatter camp in Snake Park was really hard. I had to continually remind myself that my God is a faithful provider. I couldn’t help but think it is so unfair that I was born in America and because of that I get to have way too much, and because others were born in Africa, or other less fortunate parts of the world, they have NOTHING. And yes, I am aware that there are Americans that are living in circumstances that are somewhat similar; although, most weren’t born into it. And if they were then there is a way out and there are opportunities ahead of them. Full of hope, I trust that there are better things for the continent of Africa to anticipate.

The secrets to reach an Africa everyone hopes for:
“Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, as it is written, ‘He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little.’” 2 Corinthians 8: 13-15
“…the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” 2 Corinthians 1: 3-5