Sorry about the break in posting if you're following, I haven't had much internet access till recently.
I kinda had a nice little spiel all worked out and pre-written to be copied and pasted here but it's not what I want to put down. So I'll give you bullet points on it then move on.
We're past half way done in outreach phase. The theme that God has given us that we have been operating under is justice. (For great justice, lol.) We're working with a long term mindset even if some of us will go home in a month. We are looking for houses in Ocean View to buy and turn into safe houses for abused women and children. Abuse is pandemic here and there are precious few safe houses in all of the greater Cape Town metro area. God has a good plan for OV. We are working with high schoolers, druggies, drunks, homeless, gangsters and killers. All my favorites.
This has been some of the hardest 5 weeks of my life. I feel reminded of what someone said a couple of months ago in class: don't ask for a miracle when God is asking for a commitment. I'm learning to be committed to where I am, what I'm doing and the people around me on a whole new level. Some of the stuff that happens here in OV is overwhelming. It will take nothing short of God breaking in and bringing change supernaturally in some ways and things. You look at all the injustice and addiction and dependence and abuse and poverty and lies and bad mindsets and religiousness and corruption and just want to give up.
In a way we should. In a way we must.
We must stop trying to do things ourselves. We let God do it. We partner with him, if you will. That's the only way anything will last, is if we hear a vision from Him and do it with Him.
It's about where your hope is. I'm being shown that too. If we think that different relief programs or organizations or (influential) people will solve our problems then we're in trouble. Yes God uses those things, yes those things are good but frankly if God's not going to use it or bless it and use a different approach then it's pointless. In light of that we must do what God is doing. We trust what God has in store. We trust God. We partner with him. I think trust (in God) is a choice accompanied with an action. James 2:20, faith without action is useless. To give an example. There are 220 churches in Ocean View. Two hundred and twenty for a community of 30,000 people. OV is not a big place, there's practically a church on every corner. But for that demographic there's a ridiculous amount of crime, violence and addiction. Odd. The thing is none of these 220 churches are working in the community. There's no one going out to hang out with the drunks. No First Church of the Drunks overcoming and discovering God together. There's no one out in the big, trashed out field hanging out with the drugs and arms dealers. On Sunday mornings a 3 hour church service is had about how God is great and we trust Him and so on and so forth but nothing is changing in a positive way outside. From my understanding all the churches just bicker with each other over doctrine that, in the long run doesn't matter that much in the grand scheme. If we believe in God and put our faith in Him there must be trust in God and for that there must be love for God, I believe. Because we love God and have faith in Him then we have hope (in some amount) in Him. We cannot be touched by the love of God and not catch His vision for other people. So we have hope in Him for those other people. Reminds me about that verse about faith, hope and love. 1 Corinthians 13:13 and as cross reference, 1 Thessalonians 1:3.
If we love God why do we hide that? If we know God loves other people why do we hide that? Living for Christ means we should be ready to live with a bad reputation for God. Imagine that. First Church of the Drunks. First Church of the Prostitutes. Let it be.
