Step Inside This House…

In this post I’d like to give you a glimpse of what my new world is like. I have traveled around the world to “wield the gospel in the fight against AIDS”. So have I been doing that?

I’ve met the lady who runs the community clinic which is located across the river and the street from the Agathos village. When interviewing her I considered what a great opportunity I had to talk with this woman who is at the heart of the AIDS crisis- she tests and counsels people who are HIV positive (the Kwazulu-Natal region is considered to be one of the highest HIV infected areas in Sub-Saharan Africa, some say its as high as 60%, but statistics are always uncertain). On this day I asked Priscilla how bad the AIDS problem really is… she told me it was 100%. She had seemed particularly discouraged, and then I understood it was because everyone she had tested for HIV that day proved positive. The AIDS infection rate is high and not declining, yet.
Knowing this, my Zulu pastor friend and I were driving some people home after church late one night. As we drove the rut-ridden dirt roads with the high beams glowing we’d come upon a man talking with a woman on the side of the road. Each time we approached a couple the young woman would attempt to hide behind her companion from the exposing light. My two friends were asking and laughing from within the confines of the van, “why are you hiding?”
Why were they hiding? If they know its wrong, and they do know about AIDS in this area, why are they hiding? Why are they doing it? I think if this question were answered and addressed we would find the cure to the AIDS pandemic.

I recently met one of my favorite people in the world though I only met her for a brief minute- if that long. She is a Zulu woman who may possibly carry the spirit of Mother Teresa. Just outside of our nearest town is a collection of mud huts which is home to a large Zulu woman, many orphaned children, and a respite to men who have to face the fact that an invisible virus will take their lives early.
Every Sunday morning this “Teresa” named “Mbongi” takes her children to a nearby church. Through the week her office is open to counsel the dying with practical truth and grace from the bible. On the floor lays a child about 4 years old who can do nothing but that- lay. Because of a lack of access to a hospital room this child suffered complications in birth and turned out to be a quadriplegic with brain damage-- but the promise of Psalm 68:5&6a proved true through the openness of this beautiful godly woman named Mbongi. She has no income but relies on donations. A friend of mine brings her fresh goat milk each week and I personally am considering whether I can help her to start a sheep herd which would create an income as well as provide fresh meat.

In a neighboring community I met recently a woman who has been given a home of the chief, or “Inkosi” as he is called here. She is a sharp, hard-working, organized woman with a plan, and has consequently been rewarded by the chief with one of his homes for her community service project. It is actually a multi-plex where young women with HIV are taught life skills. Also, they have a program which is dependant on donations where, each Wednesday they feed the communities orphans after school. They have about 48 which come by each week. There are many more in the community but the distribution center is too far for some to walk to. I am meeting with this lady on Monday to discuss helping her get a goat herd started. Goats are very profitable around here and require very little expense to keep them going.

This is very much an Old Testament country. Perhaps I enjoy myself here so much because of my love for the Old Testament. Everywhere I look there are crops, flocks or herds. There are even sacrifices. When preaching in this culture I have to consider which concepts need to be expounded on. The other day while preaching I mentioned Christ was a sacrifice, I paused, and then continued; realizing sacrifice is a concept which the locals know firsthand.
I’ve been studying the Old Testament for the past year and I’m getting new perspectives here on many OT concepts. For instance, the story of David has had deeper understanding as I found out it is typical for 9 year old boys to herd cattle by themselves. My friend was telling me about his experience as a nine year old chasing the cows- he didn’t like it, he had to go day and night, rain and cold, sleeping in caves all by himself. My heroes have always been cowboys… in America I think a lot of us can’t help but read our American cowboy mythology into the story of David as a shepherd boy, but over here I am getting a more realistic perspective on the character of David- how he worshipped God and kept strong work ethic in such a lowly undesirable task.

Feed My Sheep...

Speaking of preaching, my pastor friend and I have recently started a Wed night bible study “across town”. The Bible uses a lot of “shepherd” imagery in the OT, and then in the New Jesus refers to Himself as the “Good Shepherd”. He likewise exhorts Peter to “feed My sheep”. My pastor friend and I are taking this exhortation for ourselves as we are finding a hunger in people to know God more- Jesus says, “If you have seen Me you have seen the Father” (Jn. 14:9). Therefore, we are teaching Jesus on Wednesday evenings and I’ve promised them I would bring them bibles written in Zulu.
The immediate needs that cry for attention are housing, clothing, school fees/uniforms, and food… But the deeper need, the long term need that will bring a cure to AIDS is to know our sinfulness and the redemption found in Christ. To repent from “turning His glory to shame” (Ps. 4:2) and start living for Him. Our bodies were made to live for Him and when we use them for what they were meant to do-- then we’ll see life where there is death.

I thought in this modern day Bibles were as plentiful around the world as they are in the U.S. But I’ve found this to not be the case. Here, a cheaply made bible in the Zulu language is no less than $8.50. My friend and I need a minimum of 20. If you are interested in getting a bible into the hands of a new believer let me know. If you are interested in sponsoring the other endeavors you can do that too. A goat costs about 50 to 100 American dollars and a sheep costs about $45.

This final picture is the view from right outside my door...

I Became A Father!

The buzz word in mission/church work these days seems to be culture. Proper hermeneutics begins with interpreting God's word in the way it was written to the original hearers, then to contextualize it. In other words, how does it apply to the current culture?

Personally here in Africa i am constantly examining the Zulu culture i am living in and asking myself which parts are cultural and good, and which parts are simply made from sinful man. An example would be that during the whole time i've been here i can't remember meeting a dad who lives with his wife and children. I have been in the houses of locals, been to a church, interviewed 8 groups to potentially move to our village and have yet to meet or hear of a dad who still lives with his family. I did talk with a mechanic who told me his dad has 3 wives and "alot" of sons. His wives are scattered about. The mechanic himself has a girlfriend he'd like to marry but confided to me that he lacks the 12 cows which is the standard dowery in his culture. If i remember right it is equivalent to about $60,000.00 dollars for an American. (that is not a direct exchange but figuring standard of living).

To get back on track, what should be concluded when a whole culture hasn't seen a father figure in the family structure?

Nothile (noe-tee-lay) is an eleven year old girl who lives on our village. She has never had a dad and her mother died of AIDS just a few years ago before the Agathos Foundation took her and her brothers, sisters, cousins and aunt into our care. The other day Nothile walked into my room with a colored piece of paper. It was a love letter with flowers colored on it. Written on it were the words, "I love you very much. I am happy for you to be my father. To Richad, from Nothile." To say the least i was very touched. I kissed her on the forehead from across my desk while pondering the significance of what i was experiencing. I told her i am happy for her to be my daughter, that it was a very pretty picture, "do you like to draw?" she said yes, so i pulled out some paper and pens and spent about an hour drawing pictures with her then walked her to dinner. At the same time i was in awe that, here is a girl who has never experienced a father. Moreover, she does not even know what a husband who is faithful to his family looks like- there are none in her community to observe... and yet, here she is desirous of a father in her life and delighting in the substitutes she has received. I say substitute"s" because after dinner i was visiting the Zulu pastor in his room and saw that he had about 5 or 6 such letters hanging on his wall.

I praise God that He is our Father. He is willing to be a Father to anyone who believes in His love. The love that He demonstrated when He became a man, walked the earth in perfection without sinning, then died in our place taking our sins on His shoulders. After that, raising Himself from the dead and returning to heaven where He has prepared our final home for us to live with Him in a wonderful holy family. That is the ultimate end of our faith, in the meantime i have a vision for our village here in South Africa- to name it "the Father's Home", and to teach many children of the fulfilling love of their true Father according to Psalm 68;5:

A Father to the fatherless,
a defender of widows,
is God in His holy habitation.
God sets the solitary in families;

I appreciate all the emails and comments. I'll try to post more soon!