At the beginning of the week, instead of attending clinic at our normal sites, we had the opportunity to go into one of the local high schools and educate the kids on HIV, STD's, and sex education. We had the kids split up into classrooms of all boys and all girls to allow for a more open environment for questions and discussion. My time with the girls at the school was what really impacted me that day. After we finished our teaching we gave the girls an opportunity to write down any questions they still had. As I collected their torn pieces of paper with their scribbled down questions I couldn't help but feel my eyes start to water with what I read. Beyond the fact that most of these 13-16 year old girls weren't even certain how it was they could become pregnant or even what the true definition of sex actual was, many of the questions we received asked things like: what should I do if a man had raped me, will I be sick for life if the man has raped me, if I have been raped does that mean I have HIV? Looking into the precious faces of each of these young girls I felt myself tense up with an overwhelming sense anger, but I quickly had to hold back any of the emotion I wanted to feel at that moment so we could give these girls the answers that they needed. It was so apparent in their questions the reality and ugly truth of what actually happens around them each day...
Later this same week I was blessed to work at one of our service sites, Riv Life, where we partner with a social worker and have the opportunity to go into the community, providing medical care and education to the people in their homes. I worked with a beautiful woman, named Nomvula. Nomvula lives in the township that we went to that day, called Mediba. Before going from home to home we stopped at her house to provide care to some of the women who work in her ministry. Nomvula not only works with Riv Life, giving up her time to provide care and counseling to her community, but she also runs a soup kitchen to feed (as she says) "anyone who wants to eat good soup", and holds a daycare in her home during the week as well. She does all of this out of the goodness of her own heart and for the service of her community. As I was asking her questions about her daycare she explained the reason she has the kids stay with her is because of the high incidence of rape. I was really taken back with what she said and had to ask her to repeat her response again to make sure I had heard her correctly. "Yebo, yes" she went on saying, "the parents will leave their kids alone when they go to work, they go running around the streets and they are not safe from rape. So that is why I have the daycare." I turned my head back toward her house as we were walking down the road and saw the children at the door of her home; children, 3, 4, 5 years old at the very most. "Those children Nomvula? Those children that small, that young?" Without any hesitation she answered, "Oh yes." I think everything within me went numb for the next few moments as I continued to walk and ponder how easily Nomvula spoke about such a horrific reality. It was truly only another part of the lifestyle for her. I found myself searching for what to do next, I need to fix this, help somehow, I have to. My heart just continued to break in the realization of this world that we live in. A world so broken and hurting, and even more so clearly evident it is truly not where we belong. But all I could do is pray. Prayers of desperate cries asking God to reign in this place, to send his protection over his children. How we would rather shut it out, plug our ears, and close our eyes, rather than face the actuality of what occurs right in front of us. I can think of nothing more to do now than ask God to help us, our world, and the hurting, devastating realities that happen all too often each day. Oh how we need to seek God and ask for his help, his guidance, and his mercy to reign today, today and always.
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| Corissa and I at Mpophomeni High |
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| Nomvula |
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| Iyanda, my sweet girl |
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| Mediba |
Praying specifically for:
- the teenagers of Mpophomeni
high school
- the children and community of
Mediba
"But you, O Lord, do not be far off!
O you my help, come quickly to my aid!
For he has not despised or abhorred
the affliction of the afflicted,
and he has not hidden his face from him,
but has heard, when he cried to him."
Psalm 22:19, 24 (ESV)
