There was a big smile on his face. Almost as big as the rip
in his jumper and the holes in his shoes.
‘Excuse me sir… are you Miss Turner’s father?’
I assured him I was.
‘Please say hello to her!’
And with that he was gone and I was back to mixing an endless supply of concrete.
I’ve been working in the orphanage town of Bulembu, Swaziland for the last two and a half weeks. Swaziland has one of the highest rates of HIV and AIDS in the world. A poor African country by any measure, it would be called ‘developing’ in our ‘PC’ world.
But maybe it’s more developed than we give it credit for? Life there is simple – and poor. But the joy in that boy’s eyes as he recognised me as Lois’ father (Lois used to work there) was wonderful. We can help build, help finance and more, but one thing they don’t need is the joy of living.
As our team of 20 from KingsGate Church return to the ‘developed world’, there is much to reflect on. Contrast the openness of the children and their joy of life with our selfishness and desire to accumulate (I am immersed into a season of Christmas adverts upon my return). Contrast the love and care shown sacrificially by the Bulembu staff when compared to the jingoistic, racially motivated rhetoric of many politicians in the ‘developed’ world. Contrast the smile on the boy’s face with the anger and language I witnessed last night from the man in the passport queue.
Is the developed world still developing? I’m not so sure. The real meaning of Christmas soars above the tinsel and the ads. Let’s be big hearted, giving, inclusive and welcoming this Christmas.
‘Excuse me sir… are you Miss Turner’s father?’
I assured him I was.
‘Please say hello to her!’
And with that he was gone and I was back to mixing an endless supply of concrete.
I’ve been working in the orphanage town of Bulembu, Swaziland for the last two and a half weeks. Swaziland has one of the highest rates of HIV and AIDS in the world. A poor African country by any measure, it would be called ‘developing’ in our ‘PC’ world.
But maybe it’s more developed than we give it credit for? Life there is simple – and poor. But the joy in that boy’s eyes as he recognised me as Lois’ father (Lois used to work there) was wonderful. We can help build, help finance and more, but one thing they don’t need is the joy of living.
As our team of 20 from KingsGate Church return to the ‘developed world’, there is much to reflect on. Contrast the openness of the children and their joy of life with our selfishness and desire to accumulate (I am immersed into a season of Christmas adverts upon my return). Contrast the love and care shown sacrificially by the Bulembu staff when compared to the jingoistic, racially motivated rhetoric of many politicians in the ‘developed’ world. Contrast the smile on the boy’s face with the anger and language I witnessed last night from the man in the passport queue.
Is the developed world still developing? I’m not so sure. The real meaning of Christmas soars above the tinsel and the ads. Let’s be big hearted, giving, inclusive and welcoming this Christmas.
1 comment:
Great post, Ralph. Three times you used the word joy, which really matters. Here in the developed western world society seems to have given up on joy and now has only the pursuit of pleasure which is a far lesser thing. Then we think that possessions will bring pleasure, which isn't even true. You seem to have found people who are materially poor but spiritually rich. I want to develop that way.
Have a joyful Christmas.
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