Life indeed does matter

Life Matters is one of the many organisations who work with children in our South African Schools. I have recently been privileged to join them with one of their schools in our local area. The setting is a primary school in a part of Cape Town. People who live here are just like you and just like me. But their lives are quite different. Turning off the main road I take the most direct route. Remnants of the days of Apartheid are evident in the response of the residence to this white woman driving up this street. Everyone notices.

Life continues as normal it is just a very different normal from the one I am used to. 

For one, the church and school windows are all covered with thick, heavy grates. The entrance to the school via the foyer, is locked with a security gate. Access is limited although it is very busy. 

The school has few plants and little or now green, lush grass. 

The homes that surround the school are neat and tidy . A little shop operating from one and a crèche from another.  

residence take care of the little they have.

The school itself is nice enough. It is need but it gets by.

The classrooms are small and the children and many. The classes are full of busy, chattering children. 

And so it begins. The journey of stepping out one comfort zone and becoming comfortable in another. The reminder that I live amongst the privileged and to be thankful. We have so much. More than we need. We all know this but stepping out and stepping up to the call to love has reminded me practically of this reality. 

Lets take books for example. The children in the programme can borrow a book to take home. Many homes have no books. In our home we have more books than I care to count. 

I gathered some from the many and shared them with LM the next week. What happened then just blew my mind. 

These two little boys I am getting to share time with, threw themselves upon these books and in sheer delight began to glean. 

"What does this say?" and "this" and "Here"

More and more... like a sponge just soaking up the water. 

They drank and drank and drank.

I leave that little school each week, thankful for the time I spent with these children. I leave heavy hearted and yet full. I leave with prayers spilling out. 

The need is great.

The harvest is plenty.

The workers are few.

Lord have mercy!!