A Trip to the Eastern Cape

June 26, 2008
Since almost all of the people with whom I work come from the Eastern Cape,I wanted to see for myself what it was like and why so many people leave there to come to the Western Cape. After 18 hours on the Greyhound bus, (the seats were comfortable) I arrived in King Williams Town and was greeted by some friends I met last year. I spent a weekend there and enjoyed the fellowship of my friends and their church. Yes, there are significant differences. For one thing, I was now looking at the calm waters of the Indian Ocean rather than the unpredictable Atlantic to which I have grown accustomed. For the most part however, the places from which the women and men Evangeline Ministries serve come from poor, rural areas where they eke out a living from the land or as subsistence farmers with goats, cows and sheep. On Sunday morning, I walked down a dirt road to the small church where I worshipped among people with so little. It seemed to me that all the effort and planning and money is in the Western Cape with little left for their Eastern cousins. And yet, the Eastern Cape has it attractions. It is a place of gentle beauty where the hills do not dominate the sky the way it does in the West. There is a sense of peace as you stand and look at the farms. Goods are less expensive, although they too are seeing a rise in food prices, and there is so much less crime. Yes, you can still leave your doors unlocked, at least in the home where I stayed. One image stands out for me. That Sunday morning I watched as my host pastor carefully shined his shoes. As we travelled down the muddy road, up the hill to the church, I stepped carefully to avoid getting too much mud on my shoes, all the while thinking about the lesson I learned from that pastor. Even for a poor church, in the middle of a muddy field, it was important to be our best because Jesus was there. This is what I continue to learn, wherever I am, Jesus is there and I must give my best.