Thursday, April 28, 2011

What makes an orphan?

What is an orphan? Well the answer to that can vary, and sometimes the specifics have to be talked about. During my time in South Africa I have come to see things a little bit differently than before and would like to share.

Single Orphan: A child who has lost one parent
Double Orphan: a Child who has lost both parents

In some cultures, especially those we came across in South Africa, the orphans will be taken in by family members, often aunts or uncles, or move around between different aunt’s and uncle’s houses.

Or they may be a
Child headed household: a home where no parents are present, due to death or living in the city in order to have work and make money.

Or a child in a household where there parents don’t care for them at all.

What do orphans need? Well the Ministry of Ten Thousand Homes believes that God’s heart is to build homes and not just houses. Building relationships, creating a place of safety, demonstrating family and providing for needs is how they share the person of God with the people in the local communities.

So, by partnering with them, our team was also able to show these orphans what love can look like: someone to kick around a soccer-ball with, a person to cuddle with, a hug, an encourager, someone who will come back when they say that they will, a person who builds a house, or all of the above.

We even got a chance to share with the boys and girls about who they are. In these communities almost everyone has heard of Jesus and many are christians. So we shared about how when God is our Father that we are princes and princesses of the most High King. How much do young boys dream of being the knight prince in shining armor, and the girls of being the beautiful princess, and they long for that because it’s a small piece of their identity. A piece of identity that has gone missing, so we got a chance to instill it back into them.

We met them as orphans, and said fair well to royalty.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Switzerland yet again

How bitter sweet it is to be in Switzerland once again. A strange sentiment to begin a blog post I know so I’ll take a few steps back and mention the finale of my time in South Africa.

The final location that we travelled to was in the North East of the country near the town of White River. A ministry to build homes and not just houses. This location is the greatest importance to me, a place full of friendship, a place that I have been before. Last year our team got to help with the construction projects in the area. This year, I got to enjoy the fruits of relationship. I had the opportunity to pick up where I left off last year and wow, I tell you what WOW!

It was a blessing to hang out with the guys from the local church. To chat, and laugh, to dance and sing. I even got to learn from them a few phrases in saswati. Definitely a place that I would love to return to. Relationships, the key to impacting people, and truly, I tell you I was impacted.

In a place where the people have next to nothing by a ‘western’ standard, here is a group of young men who give their days to volunteering as construction workers to build a house for a family of orphaned boys, or to cook for children who don’t always have enough food. And on top of that, have a heart to take what they do have and give to those who have even less in neighboring nations like Mozambique.

When one leaves a place like that and returns to a nation of wealth like Switzerland, and you’re in for a little bit of that bitter sweet flavor I mentioned earlier. It’s not a reverse culture shock for me, not this time. I knew where I was going, and what awaited me there.

No, for me it’s different. It’s coming back to a place that I know and love, and yet do not have the same desire to be here that I used to. I have changed, I have grown, and now I am at a place where I don’t fit here any longer. I simply feel unsettled, as if things don’t fit.

But that’s okay, a new direction is a new adventure.