Yesterday was helping hands day here in South Africa. The Church had asked each unit to go into the community and chose a service project. Since we are not assigned to a ward or branch we always head for one of our favorite branches,this time it was Alexandra. We worked with them last year on helping hands day. That was the beginning of our association with the handicapped day care center. Elder Webb and I continue to provide service to them when we have time. It works out to be about once a month now, but earlier we were able to join them more often.
We went to an orphanage in Alexandra. There are no members of our church in this particular part of Alex. Our job was to clean and paint the place so the authorities would continue to allow the children who live there to stay. There are six boy and four girls who live there full time. During the week there will be as many as 200 children who come for breakfast. They leave for school with a lunch that is provided after school the children return for late afternoon supervision and dinner. It is heart breaking to see the conditions of these places, but the alternatives are streets and possibly darker elements. The people who work in the orphanage, like the handicapped day care, do not get paid. They care and feed these children without governmental assistance and there really does not seem to be any order or restriction in setting up a house for abandoned children Food is donated, much of it from the supplies supermarket's toss out as too old. They do have one corporate sponsor who helps them.
The three orphanages we have worked in are all set up the same way. This home is the most desperate of the three to which we have been. There is a shed and a brick room, one is the kitchen and the girls bedroom, the second is the store room and the boys bedroom. In both rooms large holes in the walls can be found where rats frequently visit, especially during the winter months. There are no beds. Blankets and mats were piled on the things stored in the boys shed. The boys just grabbed them and set up their sleeping area in the space left on the floor when the night calls for sleep.
I sat and talked with these boys, ranging in age from 5 to 12, and enjoyed a wonderful visit. They were darling each one. There is not much for them to do at the orphanage, there are no toys no yard equipment to occupy their time. They taught me a dance they do, slapping legs and stamping feet which they deliver with pride and enthusiasm. It is the coal miners dance. They really are quite remarkable; not a notion of complaint in their speech. They talked of how they take care for each other, because they are family. Family from different mothers.
Lunch was served while I visited with them. They took their sandwich in quiet gratitude and held them while we talked. One took the two pieces of bread apart to investigate it's contents. There we saw about 1 tsp of peanut butter and the same of jam. There was so little on the bread I thought it a mistake, but each sandwich was prepared the same way. They waited patiently while water was heated and a weak tea of herbs and milk was prepared. Then they ate.
I found myself wondering how I could take all five of them home. I reasoned that if we took all five they would have each other and would prosper in an environment of safety and prosperity. Then I paused to observe how very happy they seemed right where they are, in spite of the poor living conditions and food that comes in unpredictable waves. Who is to say what is the best for them. Their faces are bright with hope and they are surrounded by good people who are trying to bring a change to Alexandra. These children were polite, articulate and so charming. They are the hope of Alexandra's future, if they survive.
This is the same neighborhood in which Nelson Mandela lived his younger days. His vision has not yet taken hold here. The schools are suffering from lack of government support. This year they did not even have books from which to teach their lessons. In spite of these set backs my new friends told me of the things they were learning in school. Most had a favorite subject of Natural Science. Living in South Africa one can hardly be surprise that learning about nature, the land and the animals would be a favorite subject. They are working in vegetable gardens on the school grounds.
One of the volunteers at the orphanage told me he insists that the children go to church. He doesn't care where they go just so they have instruction in religion; "so they know God". He said they live in a lawless neighborhood; that religion brings order and boundaries that are so important in children's lives and in society as well; if it would be civil. Without law there is ciaos, there is no safety. He said "that is where we have been, we want to move forward". He went on to say the rule of God's law is the only way to bring peace and motivation to a society that has been without either. He spoke of Aids which has ruined so many lives, murder, rap, drugs and fatherless homes and he equated them with the lack of moral discipline, which he said starts with respect for God's law. Take it away and you leave children unarmed to fight the darkness which is everywhere ready to devour them. He said that is why he is strict with the children and why he wants them to attend church. He said they must have boundaries to survive life here. Any church is better than no church. He is the father figure in their lives. It is very obvious he loves them and they respect him.
He grew up in Alex, on the streets and knows what it can do to people. He said the one thing they can do is chose to be better. He said we have our agency, it is gift from God. He went on to say some people blame others for their lot in life, for pain caused to themselves, to parents or grand parents. They blame their life's situation on the the decisions others made years ago. They refuse to take responsibility for their own actions and decisions. They hurt because of their hate. They chose drugs, they leave their families for sex, they inflict pain on themselves and those who love them and then blame someone else. He said he knows God will expect us to report to him on how we used the agency he has given us. Did we improve things for the better; did we encourage others for good? What did we do with our time? How did we serve our family, or others in need? He said one thing he know for sure is that we must forgive. We must if we are to move forward out of the darkness that holds us hostage. He said he knows this to be true because he has seen it first hand.
We of course know his words are true. We see it over and over as we read the Book of Mormon. Elder Webb and I continue to marvel at God's tenderness in teaching us about this beautiful world, it's people and His love for all of us in the gift of His Son. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is a force for good in South Africa.
Nkose and the boys are not the only ones who have touched my life. There are many stories just as compelling, just as dear to my heart. My eyes are open a little wider as to how very blessed we are to live in the United States. To have the Gospel in our lives, to know Christ. But, these people may soon over take us in their devotion to the Lord and his purposes. There are many new pioneers of the church in South Africa. Many have only their faith. They are humble, their prayers are so beautiful they cannot be written.
Our mission to the Area Office here in Johannesburg has afforded us lessons we would not have learned any where else. We have stretched and grown closer together, as we have struggled to know how to complete some of the assignments we have been given. Our prayers have always been answered. We have experienced for ourselves and seen in the lives of others the miracles that come from working humbly and in faith to serve God by serving His Children.
We know the programs of the church are inspired and that the Senior Missionaries are an important part of the Lord's plan to move His gospel forward. We are grateful to have been a very small part of that plan and encourage all who are able to go serve a mission. We are all enlisted.
"When we are in the service of our fellow men we are only in the service of our God."King Benjamin
Love, Elder and Sister Webb
