Mukhali
It is amazing how God uses people to truly impact your life. I certainly experienced this many times throughout this past busy ministry season. He was so gracious enough to call me, in all of my junk, in my brokenness, to move to South Africa for this season, and share his love with a dying, hurting generation of people just like you and me. As a broken vessel, God is using me to reach people for Jesus! And every day, he does the same with each and every one of us; whether it means helping a stranger carry some groceries, cleaning up the house without being asked, or flashing a simple smile to someone who just happened to be having a bad day. This is no coincidence. THIS IS THE WAY GOD WORKS! Is that not amazing or what? He chooses ordinary people to do ordinary things that bring extraordinary joy to His heart!
This winter (yeah, I know, its summer over in the States, but winter here), during one of the church team visits, we got to work in a small community here called Thabo Mbeki, or more commonly referred to as Lion Park. This community holds a special place in my heart because when I first came to South Africa back in 2008, we worked in this squatter camp during C-gap! (another good ol’ Teen Mania term for you!) I remember the first time setting foot on this soil like it was yesterday. As our departed from our bus, I looked out to the scenic view before my eyes that completely wrecked my heart. For the first time, Africa became real to me. It was no longer just a place I had longed to visit. It was no longer just another continent. It was no longer just a place the world viewed as incapable of handling themselves. It was no longer just the central focal area of those late-night Feed the Children broadcasts. This Was REALLY Africa! Tears flooded my eyes as I gazed upon what seemed like a MILLION shacks [small homes made of scrap pieces of wood, corrugated metal, cardboard; whatever was available] squashed together on a mere 40 acres of land. That image has forever been ingrained in my mind and I am convinced it always will be.
Anticipation began to rise as our team pulled up to that very same spot I had once been a few years back. As I got out of the vehicle, an array of emotions flooded my heart. I was home! Everything seemed slightly different, yet entirely the same. The community had grown a significant amount since ’08, but it did not change the fact that this was the place I once knew. Memories of testimonies and stories began to race through my mind. I was not quite sure what this time around had in store for me, and us all, but I knew it would be great! The team had a great time adjusting to the new environment as loads of kids came racing to the church building where all the “malungus” were. Smiles dashed across their faces, soccer balls went flying, stickers began sticking, and well, you catch my drift. They were having a blast!
Moments later, I began organizing the translators and getting teams together so we could go out and saturate this very community. One lady in particular, by the name of Fortunate, just seemed to capture my heart. At first, she was rather shy and reserved at first, but eager to get things rolling with us. She was one of our translators. Throughout the day, I tried to pull in some conversation here and there to find out more about her. She is a single mother, a strong Christ follower, and a proud mother of a sweet young boy.
The next day was Saturday! Most of our translators brought along there children and sure enough, so did Fortunate. The moment I laid eyes on her little boy, I was in love! It was as if God just multiplied the size of my heart and this boy just filled all that empty space. He too, was very quite and shy at first. I asked him his name, but he seemed reluctant. “Mukhali,” his mom said as I transitioned back to our conversation, “Mukhali is his name.” I repeated his name several times, told him mine, and repeated his again several times over in my head, just so I wouldn’t forget it. Oh, he is just so cute!
That whole entire day, Mukhali was by my side. We played soccer together in between houses we were ministering at, we laughed, he held my hand; we just had a lot of fun. By the end of the day, it was time for us to go and my heart sunk. As the team boarded the bus, I heard death-defying screams coming from this little guy. He was sad to see us go. Tears welted up in his eyes and so did mine. I had to fight what was about to flow like the Red Sea. Fortunate asked if I wanted to take him back to America with me…my answer was YES! So they calmly walked off as Mukhali was kicking and screaming. I was hoping the next day did not hold the same event as this one did.
All in all, over the course of the next few days, I got to just spend a lot of fun time with this little boy that totally captivated my heart. God taught me a lot about what it means to really love other people. He hardly had to do anything and my heart just ran haywire. I will never, ever forget Mukhali, or Fortunate, or Thabo Mbeki!
peace.love.africa.
-Katie
