leaves or fighting away titsi flies and Uncle Scar (Lion King....). The past few days have been good, basically consisted of taking pictures at Living Grace (an another branch of Living Hope...see link on far right of blog) in the morning and then going to the kid's camp at Red Hill. That place is so interesting. I've been spinning a bunch of kids around and fending them off of my back/head/neck/shoulders/legs/torso although they always have a way of attaching themselves to me. There's a very close similarity between the St. John kids and the kids here.I hear that next week I'll be spending my mornings at refugee camps because tension is still happening between some of the different groups here. It's quite the historical event down here in South Africa and great timing that I happen to be there while it's going on.
Lots of footage has been taken of Red Hill. I haven't gotten to actually walk around as much as I did the first day when I only had my photo camera but I hope to get some shots of some of the "houses" in the area to use in one of the videos. There are two people in particular that have been leading the camps here for a long time after the children's school and they are really incredible. It's amazing that every afternoon...they are there. Playing with kids. Dealing with fights and arguments. Teaching kids. Keeping them out of bad areas. They must have the patience of Job because I feel like if it was only me for months and months at a time that I absolutely could not do it. Don't get me wrong, they're great kids, but some are a handful. Especially a boy named Keaps(sp?)
Keaps is a heavier set boy living in Red Hill. For the past few days, Keaps has come in late and tried to force his way on some of the other children. This meaning, if Keaps picks on someone such as taking a ball away from someone....he's fine. But then as soon as another child fights back against him or treats him wrong, Keaps is bawling. This works in the opposite way also: when I played soccer the past two days with the kids he reminds me every couple of minutes that "he's on my side!" I'm learning that Keaps is an extremely emotionally needy kid, much like the same way I can find myself being emotionally needy to God. Even as I type it sounds familiar to be obliviously angry or ignoring Christ. So, I live on, tugging on the shirttail of God. Selfish. Another valuable lesson to learn here in South Africa is an amazing lesson of self-humility and not just outward humility. I believe on some occasions that it is easy to act or appear humble. The hardest part is training your mind and your thoughts to become humble in nature. I've also found that if you want to be humbled, walk around the city of Muizenberg with this man (below) and listen to his story.
The stuck-up fall flat on their faces, but down-to-earth people stand firm. The integrity of the honest keeps them on track; the deviousness of crooks brings them to ruin. A thick bankroll is no help when life falls apart, but a principled life can stand up to the worst. Proverbs 11:2-4 The Message
1 comment:
Yay! A new post!
I think that if kids are under a certain age, then all they see when they see you is a big sign that reads, "Hang on me - it's cool."
Yes, humility is easy to fake - but only for a short while! Good insights. :) I really like the scripture at the end.
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