Success is... Growth

Muizenburg: a place where much has happened in a short time. It is a place of growth and challenges; but also of refreshment and renewal. I arrived here for the second time this year in September at the start of a new journey- a journey that would strengthen the things that had begun to grow in me since April; and a journey that would allow me to venture into new challenges. Since arriving here I have seen change in the lives of the people around me and have learnt the incredible value of spending my time meaningfully. The journey I am on is two-fold- as part of the leadership of the September DTS (Discipleship Training School) at YWAM Muizenburg as well as becoming very actively involved with Justice ACTs South Africa (an anti Human-Trafficking organisation). My days have been full and diverse- from engaging with students from around the world to weekly meetings with the prostitutes in the local township. I have been very exposed to and have developed a good understanding of the incredible diversity that exists in this world; and more specifically within my own beautifully complex nation. I see people coming from the most stable of backgrounds in search of meaning; and people from some of the most destructive environments imaginable filled with poverty, violence, abuse, drugs and hopelessness find a truth and hope that they have never known existed.

The DTS has caused me to step out in areas of leadership and take responsibility in a way that I have never needed to before. The students we lead are so teachable and hungry for growth that it makes my job easy. Being able to pass on the answers to questions that I have had throughout my life to people that are so hungry for truth is one of the greatest gifts I get to experience. Our school consists of 32 students from 15 different nations each with their own journey to walk. The diverse backgrounds that the students come from create a place where each can come and learn from the other, gaining deeper understanding and a broader worldview in terms of culture, perception, strengths and values. It has been so awesome to meet each of them just where t

hey are; to walk with them as well as to learn from them.

Justice Acts is an Anti-Trafficking NGO that I’ve been investing as much of my time in as possible. It is run by a wonderful mix of Germans and Americans and has very exciting things on its horizons. I have had a part in running both a late-night prostitution outreach as well as a Tuesday support group/bible study with the prostitutes that we have built relationship with. The Tuesday meetings have created a span of various emotive experiences- from wonderful satisfaction with the progress of the ladies we work with to utter frustration of spending many afternoons with nothing but empty chairs. We have heard their stories, offered them friendship and advice, done what we can to demonstrate to them the unrelenting love of God and are helping to pave a road for them out of prostitution and brokenness into a future of hope, healing and change. They have incredible stories and have walked a long road; but I’m assured to know that every experience they have had can be redeemed for their good. Along with the Tuesday and Thursday outreaches, we do Trafficking awareness and prevention training with any audience we can get. From township youth-groups to American seminary students- we are engaging as many people with the terrible reality of trafficking as we possibly can. It is a privilege to do something that I see to have so much value and to see the reproducible and life-bringing effects that spending my time meaningfully has had.

As the year reaches its end, I am looking back in incredible gratitude for the places this year has taken me to and the experiences it has given me. It is a life of such value, and one that I see myself engaging with very much in the future. Social Justice is my passion (as I suspect it has always been- whether I knew it or not); and the more time I spend exploring what my role may look like, the more assured I become that there is very little else I could be doing that better suits my idea of success- to play a significant role in causing real, meaningful, and positive change in the world around me.

Acts of Justice In a World of Abuse

I would like to tell you about my recent journey with a rather extraordinary organisation which has a heart for justice and the restoration of people’s humanity. Justice Acts International is an organisation which targets all forms of human trafficking and is currently stepping in to the lives of the prostitutes around Muizenburg to give them hope of freedom and a better life. Working with them has been an amazing experience where I was taken out of my comfort zone and encouraged to do things I would not normally do. It was challenging, but seeing the impact that these things have made has been more rewarding then I ever could have anticipated.

For the last 12 weeks we have been going on weekly outreaches down the M5 in Muizenburg which is known for the many prostitutes that use it as their place to find clients. We wanted to connect with these girls and begin forming relationships with them where they would trust us and take the helping hand that Justice Acts was offering. On Thursday nights we walked up and down the M5 talking to every one of the girls we encountered. At first there was no success. The girls would see the group of us walking towards them and, assuming we were a gang, would run away. After a few attempts we joined up with a man which ended up being exactly what we needed. He used to be a pimp for some of the girls in the area and had in the last few years come to Christ, given up that lifestyle and joined YWAM. He turned out to be a wonderful asset because now we had someone who when we saw any of the girls afar off, could call them by name and introduce us to them. They trusted us so much more easily and were willing to listen to what we had to say.

After connecting with the girls on our Thursday night M5 walk, Justice Acts hosted a counselling and bible study time on Tuesday mornings in the girls’ community. The Tuesday mornings stared to gain momentum to the point where most of the prostitutes in the area were attending.  They told us their stories and we were saddened by the reoccurring presence of rejection, abuse, and drug addiction in their lives. Each of these girls had quite the road still to walk, but there is an undeniable hunger in each of them for healing and a better life. After a few weeks of the Tuesday morning meeting, a very interesting thing happened. The girls were often dropped off at these meetings by their pimps for their protection. After seeing what Justice Acts was doing for the girls, they asked if Justice Acts could not start something similar for them! So now not only has Justice Acts been plugged in to the lives of the prostitutes, but have been welcomed into the lives of the pimps as well. It has been incredible to see that even the people we see to be in such bondage have a desire for their lives to change. They know they are missing something, and it has been such a privilege to help show them what that something is. 

I'd Rather Be a Victim

So I heard this story once told by a pastor of how his house was broken into and everything was stolen. I expected him to say something along the lines of “God must convict this man and bring him to justice”, but instead, He said that all he did was thank God that he was the man who was stolen and not the man who stole. This story has taken me on a very long journey in discovering what it could have been about this story that affected me so much. Now, I can safely say with no exception that I would always rather be the victim of a crime then the person who committed it. When I am stolen from or am hurt by someone, the damage and pain that they cause is limited to the time it takes me to forgive them. When you are the victim, moving past the incident is completely in your control and it takes nothing more than a choice to rid yourself of any unforgiveness and move on. However for the person who hurt you or stole from you, it is not that simple. For you see, the simple saying goes that “hurting people hurt people”.

This means that there is a reason why the person did what they did. If they stole from you, then they have a self seeking character which not only led them to steal from you, but will lead them to steal from many others in the future. This means that this bad character trait of theirs will stay with them throughout their lives, hurting many of the people who are close to them leaving them bitter and isolated, unless they deal with this trait and overcome it. This means that being a person who lies, cheats and steals is far worse than being lied to, cheated or stolen from. But as a victim, I have a responsibility. That responsibility is to realise that this person is hurt and will ultimately destroy their own lives unless they deal with this problem. This realisation helps us as victims to forgive them, to wish them well and to hope that God convicts them so that they can one day walk in freedom and victory. Remember that if someone has a character trait that results them treating people badly such as dishonesty or infidelity and you are hurt as a result of this trait, that if you simply forgive them and walk away you gain a lesson learnt. That person has not gained anything in what they have done, because having a detestable character is in itself enough punishment for the grievances that character causes- and is the root of many other problems and hurts that person may encounter or may have encounter in the past.

Thus to respond correctly to any type of hurt will be to respond in love and understanding- understanding that there is a very real cause for this person’s character flaw- and understanding that this flaw may cause and may already be causing great levels of unhappiness in the person’s life- even if they themselves do not recognise it. Forgiveness is extremely important to release us from the hurt people have caused in us. The longer time I take to forgive, the more hatred and resentment grow within me. As a victim, when you forgive someone for hurting you in any way, you are immediately “sealing” the hurt they caused you so that it cannot do any further damage. If you do not forgive, you are allowing the flaw in that person’s character that lead to them hurting you to break down your character too. It will grow bitterness, hate and resentment inside you and lead you not only to live a less happy life but to have a weaker character.

The only point when we can say we have truly forgiven someone for something is when we can genuinely wish them the best for their lives and not hope that somehow something will happen to them that will get you some type of retribution.