The day wasn't starting off well. We were due to pick up 20 children in a nearby township for Sunday School and the car wouldn't start. This wasn't the first time it had happened. We've been plagued by mechanical failures in cars throughout our entire missionary trip, most notably a pick-up we were driving that began emanating smoke from the engine and abruptly shut down while setting off its security system with horn blazing a little after midnight on New Year's Eve in downtown Durban (it turns out an improper fuse had been installed in it that ended up requiring the entire car to be rewired).
In missionary work, many times we're working with a less-than-shoe-string budget, so not only are the missionary vehicles we drive late model cars, but they generally have very high miles and probably don't receive the upkeep they need due to tight budgeting.
Lucas and Llewellyn quickly came over to try and jumpstart it, but after about six tries of turning the ignition the car suddenly started (we later found out the battery needed replaced and was simply old).
Rushing to pick up the 20 children who were waiting in Esselen Park, I wasn't in the cheeriest mood, but once we got to the township and loaded up the children, they started singing in the car, as they always do. The stress of mechanical failures started to become a distant memory after hearing their melodic voices and being around their vibrant activity.
Thankfully, Megan and I had tried to leave the house early, so we got to Sunday morning meeting in Kempton Park on time. Lucas was teaching a class on Law vs. Grace that started off very good and got even better as the class went on. It's probably the best explanation of the in-depth subject I've ever heard and he was using analogies and stories to turn a complicated theological concept into an easy-to-understand issue that we could all wrap our brains around. The rest of Sunday morning memorial went beautifully and it was great spending time with everyone at our meeting.
That afternoon, we helped two families move that would provide life-changing experiences for them and also for us in being a small part of it. Each one of the experiences is an uplifting story in its own right.
The first family we helped was Andrew and Otilia Nyathi. Andrew works with us at the BEC and he and Otilia lived in a tiny one-room flat without any bathroom, running water, or kitchen. On top of that, neighbors constantly played loud music next door that distracted Andrew from doing about the only two things it was possible to do in his flat: read his bible and sleep.
Andrew and Otilia are becoming the on-site caretakers of the new Christadelphian community center/creche/ecclesial hall in Tembisa, since it's necessary to have a family living on the premises so squatters don't immediately move in and take over. This new home not only provides the Nyathi's with a yard, but also a kitchen and bathroom with bathtub plus much more room to stretch out in than the one tiny room they were living in. Andrew was like a new man at the BEC the next week; it really helped lift his spirits for them to finally have a proper place to live that's also much quieter.
The second family we helped move was even more touching. The Mokokane family in our church is made up of Andrew, the father, and his 3 children Telo, Tumi, and Carabo. Andrew is a smart, dependable man, but due to high unemployment in South Africa, he's been without work for a long time. He constantly sends out CV's and applies for jobs, but work is very hard to come by. He and his 3 children have been living in a tiny room the size of a coat closet without running water, let alone a kitchen, for several years. The living conditions were deplorable, yet you would never know it from being around Andrew and his family at church. They're happy, dedicated people.
A Christadelphian in England had heard of their living conditions and raised the money to sponsor Andrew's family in a larger flat for two years to provide Andrew more time to find work. We had the joy of being able to do the leg work in helping the family move into their new apartment.
One of the first things Megan and I realized about helping impoverished families in South Africa move is that it doesn't take a long time like back home, because they don't possess many belongings. Two carloads and we were done with each family, so moving two families in one day wasn't even taxing. It was emotionally "moving", though.
Seeing the deplorable conditions the Mokokane's were living in (and thankfully moving out of) and then seeing the proper 5-room flat with bathroom, shower, bathtub, kitchen and even overlooking a park next door for the children to play in was emotionally uplifiting.
Even what starts out as a bad day here in South Africa can quickly become life-changing and bring experiences I'll never forget my entire life.
As we had finished moving them in, Lucas reminded the family that this wasn't anything we were doing and they weren't to thank us, but it was God doing this in their lives and they should be thankful to him.
With tears welling up in my eyes, Andrew and his little daughter Carabo began to sing this Zulu song of thanksgiving to God for the positive change in their lives and to express their joy:
(a shortened clip is available on YouTube, my apologies for the shakiness of the camera)
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