As I drove towards the Kruger Mpumalanga International airport, I almost doubted it was an airport. With impalas grazing, and rustic architecture, it definitely gave a different feel to the leaving of a lovely four days in Nelspruit. Getting to the gate I even had to reassure myself that this was indeed the one and only gate in the airport.
The flight was uneventful and after a couple of flights and cups of coffee in airports, I finally arrived in Port Elizabeth. I was met by my dear friend who I hadn't seen in 17 years, accompanied by two of her children who were barefoot as seems to be the norm here.
It has been an amazing long-weekend here. Hours of chatting and catching up and drinking tea and coffee, while at the same time getting a little glimpse of what their life is like. They run an incredible ministry called Penuel which is basically a children's home or haven for children coming out of very bad situations in Port Elizabeth. Children who are going to be adopted where possible. Seeing the way they run, meeting the children, seeing the level of professionality, while at the same time bringing Jesus' love in such a good way, was inspiring. And hearing how they are very well connected with professionals who give medical, psychological and other services to their project, and hearing about the good lines of communication with social services, left me thinking this is a project that should be multiplied many times over. Many times I was deeply moved by hearing snippets of the journeys of the children, and the journey of my friends. It's definitely not the easy life they have chosen, and getting to love these children and care for them is and has not been easy. When choosing to live a life where the broken become family means a life of heart-break, and at the same time incredibly joy and privilege.
It was such a blessing to get to hear not only the sunshine stories, but also the challenges, and see that this is ministry which is for the long haul. And as I got to chat and play with some of the children and see them dance and worship in church with such freedom, I was reminded again, that also here they are just children at the end of the day. Children who have had a rough start to their lives, but who now are probably in one of the safest and most loving places they could be.
On Sunday afternoon I went with my friend and two other ladies to the township (which is the poor area) to join in a small church service there. Driving in on the stoney dirt road, with simple houses with tin roofs, I was again reminded of Brazil. And it made me think of all the amazing families I got to visit in their humble homes, and how I was received so well. As we entered the small church building there was such a lovely atmosphere of love there. There were only about 10-15 people and a bunch of children. As one of our team got up to preach one of the women started siging "we will magnify His name" with a powerful and deep gospel voice, at which the rest of the congregation chimed in. It was a taste of heaven. After the service we got to chat and pray with some of them, and they shared about challenges and struggles, and yet with such a sense of God's peace and trust in Him. It challenged the way I walk when I have challenges, and made me desire to tap into more peace when things are stormy.
Driving away I felt so privileged to again have gotten to not only see a different reality, but participate; and for a little while play a tiny part in building up a community that is very very broken.
Later that evening we were chatting to one of the ladies who had gone with us. She had connected with a teenage girl from that same community afterwards, and it was heart-breaking to hear how this young girl who had grown up connected to the church and work there, is no selling her body to many men. She is only 13. And she is one of many. An impossible situation that seems so very hopeless.
But God.
Even if there was no solution to her situation that afternoon, God is greater and it is so encouraging to know that this woman and others are not just seeing the need and feeling pity, but are looking for ways to actually be part of the solution. And when we come before God and partner with Him for these issues that break His heart even more than ours, things change and miracles can happen. God is a God who can not just make a bad situation better, but He takes lives who are destroyed and restore and make them whole.
And so again I find that this issue or challenge or injustice (I don't know what to call it because it's the people that burden my heart) yet again crosses my path. And I don't really know what to do with it. Even in Nelspruit which was the holiday part of the trip, I found that my host was involved in discipling women wanting out of prostitution, and the woman selling organic soaps would donate to the ministry reaching these same women. I think the conclusion is that this evil is everywhere. And that no matter where you go in the world, there are women who are so broken they are willing to sell their bodies, and men who are willing to buy them. And I know that the strong reminder of this makes me start to ask even more what this looks like for me in Norway in this season of my life. What am I to do with this heart?
My time in Africa has come to an end. Writing this I am drinking a double latte at "Mug and Bean" at the airport in Johannesburg, overlooking the runway. This morning before me having to leave, we went to a game park and I got to again come up close to the amazing variety of animals God has placed in this nation. And then we drove out to the beach and I got to walk on the incredible sand dunes and see the breath taking view of the seemingly untouched coast line. I even dipped my toes in the sea, which was a tad cold.
It's been an amazing adventure and journey. I know that it has changed me on so many levels, and that it has given me much needed perspective on life and the world and people. I know it's going to take a while to "land" when I get home. And yet I do hope that I don't go back to being the same person I was before this journey. I hope this journey can mark the beginning of the walking ahead into something new in life. Even if my day-to-day doesn't change, I hope the way I walk that day-to-day changes for the better. And that getting a glimpse of God's love for people I've met her, can help me love the people I relate to better.