Well, despite the fact that Michelle has done such a great job at describing all of our adventures so far I thought it would be good for me to take advantage of the reliable internet here in Durban to add a few things from my side.
Our friend Jason Price has started working at the “Norwegian Settlers Church” which is in Port Shepstone, about an hour and a half south of Durban. Despite having a sweet name for a church, they are impacting their community and those around them in such an beautiful way I think its worth me sharing a few things that we saw there. I knew they had an Aids Hospice that is internationally renowned as a model for caring for people with HIV/Aids. What I didn’t know is that the Hospice with 60 beds is on the church property! These middle class people don’t consider their church space too holy to allow sick and dying people to find rest and love there. Although people do die on the premesis, many others, through care and proper treatment, get better enough to return home and continue with their lives. We spoke to the director of the center who told us a story of a young lady who died in her arms early on while she was working there. When someone from the state hospital came later on they could see that she was very heart broken from this death. The hospital worker said to her “You’ll get used to it” and she told us “Two and a half years have passed and I haven’t gotten used to it.”
This church of about 600 people is also home to community centre (which is where Jason works, running a gym, coaching basketball and distributing donated stuff to the needy in the community), a rugby academy (which is associated with the professional team here), and a strong internship program which introduces young guys to all of these things. I was so humbled thinking about the standard that this church was setting for the people in their own congregation and any follower of Christ who comes into contact with them.
A couple weekends ago I got the chance to speak at a camp for a Student Christian Association in Johannesburg. It was great to be able to interact with high school students in this country and just to find out what kind of things they are dealing with. There were about 25 guys and girls at the camp and as I got talking to them I found that about half of them didn’t claim to be Christian at all. I found their honesty to be really refreshing. I think at youth camps in the States it would be taboo to openly say “I’m not a Christian” or “I’m just checking this out.” I left there with a renewed passion to encourage and equip the young people that we are working with at J-Life so that they will be able to speak life into the youth of Africa.
We’ve also been able to relax here in Durban and spend some good time with my folks and old friends. We went to a Sharks rugby game, a local concert and, of course, spent some time on the beautiful Natal beaches. I wish you were here to see it…
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