Lost in Faith

The flight erupted at the end with lavish seacoast falling into the Indian Ocean.  It was comical, 3 grown men trying to get their faces in one little oval so as to not miss the show.  Thanks again to SAA we were in business class

Mama Gladys met us at the airport.  She was as we expected, a larger than life black women so full of passion that she chased our jet lag away for a awhile.  Her passion for the children springs for a background of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of her relatives.  Her story is not uncommon in South Africa.  Children in the townships are at best neglected and at worst use as sexual toys for the older men in their families.  She has created a network of volunteers in the several townships (a euphemism for a ghetto like neighbor of blacks).  These volunteers have identified children who are in danger because parent(s) are dying or have died of AIDS related illnesses.  She attempts to get them the proper attention, nutrition and medical care and see that they are in school.

The children and the Oceans compound are both inspiring and depressing at the same time.  Story after story of a child mostly girls whose young life has seen more than most of the adults I know.  Their lives are filled with hope as they get an education, the nutritional head start they need, a place where they are loved and an invitation to live out the Good News of Jesus.  It is not only an Ocean of Mercy but of hope and love as well.