“If
anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” Our American society is a vacuum of individualism. It tells us we are defined by what we
do. Our “worth” is calculated and told
to us daily. My activist project has
provided a fresh perspective on how those often viewed as the “bottom” of
society are defined by so much more than the stereotypes that surround them.
So
far in street talking Friday nights into early Saturday morning with Rene, I have
learned that the vast majority of those living on the streets are drug addicts. For most, this confirms the stereotype of
those who are homeless – they are drug addicts and therefore it is their own
fault for their current condition. But
this story is limited in scope and so far from the truth. Their “worth” does not end at “drug addict”.
Last
night I watched a couple, not too much older than myself (perhaps 5 maybe 10
years older tops), emotionally tell us about how much they miss their
children. They have 2 kids who are
living with her mother. The father (in
the couple) described how much he wants to be able to provide for his family
and live together as a family but it’s so tough getting out of where they
are. He said they are trying but they can’t
get off the drugs. They asked for us to
pray for them, and afterwards the mother was crying.
Last
week I met a man named DK who had lived on the streets for over 10 years. He said he had tried everything to get off
the streets, but every time he got a little bit further, something brought him
down. He was in jail from the age of 15
and when he came out, he had no relatives left who would take him in, so he
came to the streets. I prayed with him,
and that man later tracked us down to come and thank Rene for the work he is
doing here. He was excited to tell me
that he just started working a job at a fast-food type restaurant outside of
the city in a suburb and had been attending Hillsong Church.
We
also spoke with a lady last night who Rene knows and who Rene’s wife counsels at
times. She was so excited to see Rene
and tell him about how she left her abusive relationship and now is dating a
man who works a real office job and is a Christian. She is a prostitute working in a club on Long
Street, but she excitedly told us about her and her boyfriend’s plan to leave
South Africa and go to a better life.
After speaking with her and praying for her, Rene told me how this same
woman had at once told her how hard it is to leave her current job because she
can make 3000 rand in a weekend, and there is no other job she could work where
she would earn nearly as much.
Another
woman Rene had met through his prison ministries who now lives on the streets
(it’s sad how many of the people Rene counsels in prisons who we then see
living on the streets or vice versa) came from an abusive home. She left that and now is living on the
streets, but has nowhere to go back to or no one to help her.
Apart
from just the stories I have heard and the conversations I have had, I have
also seen the compassion and gratitude of many of the people. In the past two weeks, Rene and I have
received Cokes, sports drinks, a DVD, and Rene also had a man who gave him a
giraffe he carved. We also were invited
to a fire a few people had made when it was a wet and cold evening. The problem many of these people face is so
far beyond money. Money circulates on
the streets, but these people are broken/discouraged and come from such hard
backgrounds. But who are we to judge
their “brokenness”? Whether they take
drugs to try to cover up their brokenness or people towards the “top” of
society go to a bar to drink a few beers to forget about something many of us
are dealing with some form of “brokenness”.
So our role by being with them on Friday nights and Saturday mornings is
not to judge or condemn but to love and build up.
So
when someone asks me who are the people who live on the streets of Cape Town? I will tell them they are so much more than
the prostitutes, drug addicts, gangsters, and drug dealers “society” defines
them as. These people love, they show compassion,
and they show gratitude. Sure some also
steal, they commit crimes, they hustle, some have killed, many have been in
jail, etc. but who are we to judge them when we haven’t lived a day in their
shoes and seen how hard their life living on the streets is? They have dreams, they have visions. However far off their dreams or visions may be
from where they currently are, our role is not to criticize or discourage. Let us show them love, let us see them for
their beauty, and let us give them the hope that they can achieve what they put
their mind to – when so much around them is telling them otherwise.
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