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.
