A Memory: Living Dangerously

   
    It was our last week of ministry before Christmas break. Ministry looked a little different for a lot of us because the organizations that a lot of us worked with had already closed. My friends Gail and Sarah and I decided to spend one of the days of ministry simply going, praying, and seeing what God did. We left that day unsure of what was going to happen but we were ready to be led by the Spirit. We began the day in prayer and started walking. 
    We soon decided to go to the colored beach (the beaches here have an “unspoken” divide between the races… don’t even get me started on that). We walked through the grassy park area and were unsure of what we were going to do. As we were walking some men started talking to us, we decided to take the opportunity and we sat down and began to have a conversation with them. They were drinking and they offered us a swig, we kindly refused, then we began to talk. We talked about everything from mermaids to racism to God. It was a beautiful conversation. We were able to share some truth and just show the guys a little love. After about an hour we left them, thanking God for being able to have a unobtrusive natural conversation that planted some truth in their lives. We thought, if that is all that today was for, it was worth it. We stopped to pray.
    After that we thought we would go visit a friend of mine in the township named Gloria. When we got to her modest little home we were able to sit with her and she shared with us that she had been really scared lately for no reason. Gail read Psalm 91 to her and we prayed with her. When we finished Gloria asked if she could introduce us to some of her friends. She led us all around the township and had us pray for about four households of people, it was crazy! What a sweet opportunity. When we left Gloria after our prayer escapade we didn’t think the day could get any more exciting. We stopped to pray.
    Sarah wanted to stop by Ithemba, her ministry, to see if anyone was there to visit. When we got there it was vacant so we decided to keep walking. We chose the unpaved road next to Ithemba and as we walked we were talking about the Apostles and were wondering if they ever had moments where they didn’t know where to go next. We decided that we would stop and pray and read a bit of Acts, we sat on a curb in front of another ministry and as I was about to pull out my bible we were approached by three men. Immidiately thinking that they were coming to ask us something or talk to us (we had been approached many times that day from friendly people just wanting to say hello or ask for prayer) I stuck out my hand, ready to shake theirs, and said “Hi, what’s your name?” “Give me your f*ing
 phones”. Um…. I realized this was no friendly African saying hello. We were getting robbed. The three men stood in front of us, pulled out jagged pocket knives and demande that we give them our phones. Now, normally you would think that fear would consume a person, but there was an overwhelming sense of peace. We complied with their demands, Gail and I handed over our phones. Before they could ask for anything else Gail asked if they would like anything else and started dumping out the contents of her bag, very generous of her. Sarah matter-of-factly said “I don’t have a phone” and waved her hands in front of her (a signiture Say-Tay move). And I asked them their names for a second time… they were not in the mood to talk. They asked for money but we didn’t have any one us. So with phones in hand the walked away . We sat a little stunned until they walked a bit away from us and then we looked at each other and said, “Maybe we should get out of here.” So we walked away.
    The emotion at the time? Giddy. We were a bit stunned at how quickly everything had happened but there was a great since of peace and joy. We prayed and sang all through the township until we got home. Odd I know. God was just there… among us. It was a miracle that only our phones got stolen. I had been reading about how if you are following Christ you will be persecuted and it made me think about how I had never experienced persecution for my faith. Hard times? Yes. But pursecution? No. But that day, we were living boldly, dangerously… didn’t Jesus say that you are blessed when people persecute you? We where dangerous- not safe- but protected. That, to me, is the true way to live.
     When we got back to our camp we prayed and made sure that we were all okay. We found our leaders Kristina and Amber and told them what had happened, they prayed with us and then Kristina thought it would be a good idea to file a report at the police station. When we went to the station and were being asked about the situation the first question was, “what are you doing in the township?” Basically, what are you doing with (“those” type of people)when I told the officer that we were visiting friends he tolled his eyes and said, “listen sweetheart, this isn’t america and it’s not safe. you shouldn’t be out here.” He made me angrier than getting robbed.
    So that’s the story. It was a bonding experience for Sarah, Gail and I. God led us all day long and I can honestly say that not only was that my favorite day of ministry but also one of my favorite memories thus far.