Faces of poverty

October 31, 2008
Where I live in the most Southern and Western part ofCape Town, South Africa, there is hardly a place that does not offer you a spectacularly beautiful view. The mountains and ocean compete and complement each other to make this a place worth seeing every time. The stress of living here comes from the daily interpaly between people who are so poor and those who have so much. One does not escape the other. Allow me to share with you some information I just read in the Cape Times newspaper. These facts and direct quotes come from an interview with the Archbishop and EmeritusNjongonkulu Ndungane. He is President of the Cape-Town based African Monitor for poverty and he has recently listened to the voices of the across the Cape. Extreme hunger now affects 50% of the population of South Africa who live below the poverty line. Ndungane heard One young man say: "Hunger fills me with hatred. When I see people with money I want to rob them." One woman said:"Do you know how it is when children cry for food and you know as a mother you cannot provide." He learned thatyoung HIV positive people sell their bodies for food and others deliberately do not take their medicine so they can qualify for child grants. Most distressing for him was the sea change in the population of the poor. In 1998, most of those who came to the poverty hearings were middle-aged and elderly people. Today it is young people and the fact that they came to hearings during the week meant they were not at work or school. "That was frightening to me," the Archbishop said. "I am not an alarmist by nature, but the level of anger, the level of frustration, the level of hopelessness and the feeling of being let down among young people is something that frightened me." When asked if there was any ray of hope the archbishop spoke of the dignity with which people shared their stories. And yet,South Africans are hopeful people, as shown by a recent survey. In the sewing and computer help we give through Evangeline Ministries, we seek to bring hope first and then give the skills that will move the women from extreme poverty so they can provide for themselves and their families.
As I sit and listen to them work, the laughter and conversation lets me know they have hope. And that gives me hope and encouragement to go on.

Early gifts

Thursday October 30, 2008
Early Christmas Gifts
I was so surprised when I saw the first Christmas decorations in the mall close to where I live. Here in Cape Town, it is now beginning to get warm. The sun is up by 5.30 and the constant rain and cold winter has finally said goodbye until next year. So, yes I feel like summer, but it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas here. So, it was time for some early Christmas gifts. After weeks of looking for Xhosa language Bibles, I finally secured some for the class. Today I gave out seven Xhosa and two English Bibles. When this second group of women began their time of study, I told them about the Bibles and they were excited. When the Bibles did not appear, they impatiently asked why. Truthfully I was waiting for them to come to the small Christian bookstore near me. Then on Wednesday, prompted by the Holy Spirit to go to another store, I did and got their last stock of the needed Bibles. Today I gave them out and here they are reading from their new Bibles. What a wonderful present to them from you through Evangeline Ministries. We are now looking at passages on prayer as we seekGod's mercy for safety, jobs, health and protection in their troubled communities. We also pray that there will be no violence with the upcoming 2009 elections. There is a lot of concern here because of an emerging new party made up of former leaders in the African National Congress, the first democratically elected party in the country's history. Please pray with us for peace, and understanding in what is still a very new democracy.

We need to pray

Thursday October 16, 2008

Earlier this week, one of the women from Masiphumelele phoned me with the sad news that a three year old girl was missing. While the police searched to find the toddler, there was fear and tension all around her small home. A police dog led searchers to the child's body on a mattress in the wetlands behind her house. The girl appears to have been molested. The young man who is alleged to have done this terrible deed is one of those 'foreigners' from another country. This mixture of an atrocious act against an innocent child by a foreigner is a combustible mix. Violence against foreigners has been in the headlines all year but Masiphumelele led many other informal settlements in calling for unity and tolerance. This is a difficult time but churches and groups are meeting to pray and work for unity. With this situation in mind, I asked the women in the sewing class to name one thing in Masiphumelele about which we should pray. Among other needs they listed unity, crime, disease, jobs, each of which is desperately needed to make their lives safer and allow their children to grow up in peace. We prayed and asked God to change the situation in Masiphumelele. Since Jesus told us to keep on asking and keep on praying, we agreed to do that for a community we love. You can join us

A special opportunity

Wednesday October 8,2008

This morning I was given a great opportunity to talk about the work of Evangeline Minisries here in CapeTown. I was interviewed on the local Christian Radio Station, CCFM which was started by The Fish Hoek Baptist Church, led by John Thomas. With my background in radio, I noted from my first visit the station located across the street from another arm of the Living Hope Ministries, Living Grace which focuses on the homeless and those who suffer from all kinds of substance abuse. However I never had much of a chance to visit the station because of my own schedule, but also because I belived God gives us opportunities in due time.

Well the due time came and I could talk about our work and also advertise the bags to help the women get more sales. I felt so at home and being at the microphone brought back so many memories of the time I spent at Radio Trinidad so many years ago. I was deeply moved as I answered Lynn Blacls questions and she warmed the studio with a reggae song that I enjoyed. Yes, I wish we had a steelband as well. More people listen to radio than any other medium and I am grateful I had this chance. Daily I am thankful for the work here and for each of you who read this blog, and support me. I would love to hear from you.