Moving Sticks and Building Blocks

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

            I sat on this couch for many hours today, reading about South African history, news, laws, politics, and Non-Profit Codes. Many have described South African government as ‘corrupt’. Growing up, I don’t recall learning much about South Africa. I doubt that anyone else growing up in American schools did either. In actuality, we are unaware. Since South Africa is a developing nation, values and ideas are changing quickly. Governments don’t appear overnight, and neither do houses or buildings. Brick, mortar, brick, mortar, and repeat.  The government gets away with many fraudulent and wicked actions. The citizens that elect these persons into office are uneducated about the motives of the ones they are electing. Recently, taxpayers funded 215 million rand ($21 millions USD) worth of renovations to President Jacob Zumo's property including a swimming pool, which was passed off as a reservoir for firefighters in the event of a house fire. Meanwhile, rapists are getting their cases cancelled by paying a bribe, school teachers are beating students and the majority of the population is living in shacks constructed of scrap metal and rocks. Since the fall of apartheid, South African citizens are learning to function as a whole society, instead of individually as unequal parts. The scars of apartheid run deep. I am finding South Africa's history and current news to be intriguingly repulsive.
 My heart was tied to this place before I even stepped foot on the plane. I feel even stronger for this Nation after learning more about it. It's similar to the feeling we have after sharing our personal past with another. You feel connected. The boring documents that writers hate writing and readers hate reading are actually enjoyable for me to read. My mind is running constantly with ideas to break the poverty cycle and implement sustainability within the townships. It’s thrilling to come up with an idea in my mind, and then discover that somebody else has already thought of it. This serves as confirmation that my ideas aren’t completely outrageous. Change takes time and we need to be patient. I would love to sweep my hand over each township and the poverty and hunger would magically disappear. Since that idea actually is completely outrageous, we need to be patient, consistent, persistent and determined to keep combating these injustices. And now, it’s midnight and I’m sitting here pondering the functionality of this society as a whole.            

            We are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus. He poured unconditional love on people one by one. That’s what I’m learning right now. Even though the Lord has placed great plans, ideas and passions on my heart, I need to be patient and allow Him to work through me. His plans are much greater than my own. His timing is perfect. I’m so thankful that my Father in heaven has it all together, because I lose things, forget things, spill everything, and I’m only human. We just need to be available and obedient.

            Let me end this post by telling you about a new friend of mine. I was walking on the street today, which had lots of sticks. I wasn’t exactly looking where I was stepping, until I saw one of the sticks move.  About to put my foot down, I paused and…. There sat a grayish-black snake. I was awl, “Aye, I kno y’all don play round, so I’ma take the high road and you gon take the low, aiight?” The snake just like curled up and chilled. I stepped over it and kept going. Nice little fellow. I told him to stay away in the nighttime though, cause if I stepped on a ‘moving stick’ and it was dark out, y’all ain’t even wanna kno what gon happen. I need to sleep now.

Farewell to you!

xoxo