Who is feeding who?

I think all of our team will agree that one of our favorite, yet most challenging moments we have each week is during the “feeding-scheme”.  This is a ministry that The Powerhouse set in motion years ago, and we are coming alongside them to help expand their reach.  Every Tuesday, Allan & Annie go to one of the local supermarkets (Pick-n-Pay) and collect breads, vegetables, etc that are cycled out of their shelves that day.  Since the managers and workers are excited for the work we are doing, they have become a great partner. 

         Allan & Annie return to The Powerhouse about the time that Nate, Rebecca, and I are finishing our classes, and the ladies at the church divide up the food into separate boxes for each of the houses they have determined we will visit. All within 1/2 mile of the church, we usually visit between 6-8 homes, ask them what we can pray for, sing/pray with them, and give them a box of food.  We come across all kinds of situations, and the basic physical and spiritual needs overwhelm us.  The kind of overwhelming that reminds us that we cannot fix all of their problems, but we do what we can, and pray hard that God’s hand comes down and touches them where they are.   

         We visited David (pictured above), and the two blind grannies that live in the same house for the 4^th time this past Tuesday.  Each time we make a consecutive visit to a home, it seems that we learn something new…a new twist to their story that helps us see deeper into their suffering.  We discover loneliness, bitterness towards God, need for forgiveness of family/friends, ancestral worship, children/grandchildren on drugs, family members involved in witchcraft (it is alive and real here), diabetes, malnutrition, etc.

         Two Tuesdays ago was particularly hard, when a tenant (who we thought was family at first) behind David and the grannies fell to her knees crying over the burden she has for caring for the three of them.  Annie and a couple of the ladies embraced her and prayed/cried with her. Our friends that were with us from The Powerhouse are working to get in touch with the family to find out why they are not involved.  Allan also interacted with David, attempting to see if they were getting any government assistance, only to find out that he had no ID card or birth certificate…so he essentially does not exist to the South African government and therefore cannot benefit from any government programs.

         In addition, we visited a well-spoken, educated, retired man (Bra Willie…“Brother Will” in English) for the 4^th time who has lost his sight over the past 10 years.  He also broke down crying as we were asking him how we could pray for him.  His words are very clear…he admits bitterness towards God, the need for forgiveness towards two specific people, loneliness, and a feeling of having no value left to anyone.  He recognizes that he needs the Spirit of God to help him overcome these battles, but comes to the end of himself trying to understand how the Spirit works and gives power to “love his enemies”.  “It is so hard to forgive them…I try, and I go to them with that intention, and they trick me and laugh at me…I am a laughing stock because of my blindness”, he says.  The more I know Bra Willie and come to love him (we all love him dearly), the more I see myself in him.  Stubborn with letting go of my pride/sin, full of doubt/disbelief, and confused about how the Spirit of God gives power to us…just humans.  I do not think it is coincidence that our names are the same.