by Cammy Brantzeg
"Sometimes you don't have to preach to people. You just have to show them love."
Our group was at Drakenstein prison. The prison chaplain Archie made this statement as we were getting ready to leave. I pulled out one of the many folded pieces of paper in my pocket to quickly write what he said down. I think this statement perfectly sums up our mission trip.
We met with 18-24 (or 26) year old young men that were in prison. At the beginning of our visit, we talked/prayed in front of a group of 30-50 young men sitting on benches in a cement room. One of the young men stood up as a spokesperson for the group. He was very well spoken and thanked us for our visit. He said something like they don't have anything to give us but they could sing for us. I wish I had a picture or recording to share with you but the song was beautiful. I had tears running down my face as they sang. I didn't wipe them away because I wanted them to see how much their song moved me. These trips are full of moments like this. It feels like we are receiving much more than we give.
I don't always know what I am doing on these mission trips. The beauty of that is that it allows me to lean on God and God always shows up. I feel God calling me to love people on these trips. I am not going to solve the daily challenges they face but I can tell them God loves them. I can tell them that I am there because God has called me to be there. Showing someone love seems so small but I am amazed that over time those small amounts of love add up.
What does love look like in this situation is a good place to start when I don't know what to do. Our group gave them a cross and a card with a Bible verse on it which I included the wording below.
27 The man answered, “‘You must
love the LORD your God with all your heart,
all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’
And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Luke 10:27 (NLT)
Uthando uThixo. Uthando Abanye.
Love God. Love Others.
Liefde God. Liefde Ander.
We prayed for them. We talked to them. We sat with them and listen to their story. We gave them hugs as we left. Nothing we did will change these guys daily life. They are still in prison. They still have challenges ahead but hopefully our visit was a break from their daily routine. I hope they felt God's love though us. I hope that we were a light in their life for that moment in time that they might seek the light and love that comes from God after we leave.
Our mission trip t-shirt had "Love God Love Others" on the back of it. It was our theme for the trip and our group did an amazing job loving the people we came into contact with.
Below are some pictures that will show you what love looked like on our trip.. I can't post pictures of kids faces on the internet so you will mostly see adults in these pictures but I think you will get the idea.
Love looks like connecting groups of adults with disabilities in the US with a similar group in South Africa. Karyn Ross helps lead a group in the US similar to Ma's for Wellington's Avodah group in SA. Karyn took gifts to the Avodah group from the US group. The wrapped package in the picture was a handmade gift from the Avodah group to Karyn's US group. The love these two groups have for each other is so beautiful.
Love looks like Hopewell Christin Preschool in the US sending down cards to encourage the SA preschool teachers. One of the teachers showed me the red bracelet that Michele (HCP preschool director) sent as a gift and how it matched her red scarf. The teacher was also wearing one of the HCP t-shirts that we took down this summer for them. I think they said they wear the HCP t-shirts on Friday at the preschool.
Love looks like Hopewell Christian Preschool collecting Colors of the World crayons, band aids and antibiotic ointment for the Ma's for Wellington programs for preschool age children in South Africa. Everyone in SA loves these crayons and band aids!
Love looks like two churches (The Garden Church and New Life UMC) collecting purses and toiletries for us to take to South Africa with us.
Love looks Paulette's church St. Daniels UMC collecting toiletries and packing make up bags for us to take on this trip. So many people collected items and packed them for us to take on this trip.
Love looks like hosting a gathering of the Mosaic mothers. We had some snacks for them as they arrived and Lisa Cameron led them in an exercise to create a vision board showing what loving themselves looked like.
The mothers were taken to a room to select a purse and pick out a makeup bag filled with toiletries for themselves. The blessing of giving each of these ladies a purse and make up bag is hard to describe. Some of the ladies were dancing as they selected their purses. So much joy!
Love looks like hosting a carnival for the Mosaic after school program. I worked with Yolande and Dipuo to come up with a plan. Eileen Kahl is gifted in this area and stepped up and helped figure out minute to win it games for the kids to play. Eileen also does face painting. Most of our team had our faces painted before the kids arrived. I took a picture of Tony, Seth and myself before the carnival started.
The carnival started out with a plan and then just turned into a time for the kids to do whatever they wanted and have fun. We had popcorn and ice cream sundaes, a craft station, nail painting station and a water slide in addition to the minute to win it games.
The picture below is Yolande and Dipuo who run the Mosaic After School Program and the programs to support the Mosaic mothers. They are amazing ladies who deserve some recognition for all they do.
Love looks like building two modest brick houses. This photo was taken on our last day in South Africa with the local builders. In 2016, we started wearing name tags on the worksite so we would know their names and it has made a BIG difference. I am sure they think we are crazy but I am pretty sure they loved it that we wanted to take a picture with them. They are a part of our SA story. Our lives only overlapped for a week but hopefully they saw the love that we had for them as we worked alongside them.
Love looks like Ma's for Wellington's Tannie Mammas praying over me before we left. I stopped by their event on Monday morning to say a quick good-bye. I handed out angel ornaments, lotion and lip balm to them during the week to thank them for all they do for their community. These ladies are amazing and they surround me with their love and prayers as I lead groups to SA. They wanted to take a group photo with me before I left. I am in the back left of the center in the photo. :-)
These ladies prayed for me before I left to return to the US. The Ma's leaders know that leading these trips is not always easy for me but they surround me with their love and prayers. This is what love looks like.
Love looks like a group of friends and strangers all being called to go on a mission trip to South Africa. People with the courage to step out in faith and trust God's plan. People who were willing to be vulnerable. Go into unexpected situations. Pray for strangers. Hug prisoners. Lay bricks. Talk to each other about what they were seeing and feeling. Step up and use their gifts. Love unconditionally.
At an information meeting in August, someone asked us what the goal of the mission trip was. I think they were expecting us to say it was building a house or something else tangible.
I think for me it is to build relationships that will change who I am.
I don't know when those moments will happen. I wasn't expecting a song in prison to bring me to tears. I wasn't expecting a minute to win it game with pencils to connect me to the kids playing it. I wasn't expecting the selection of a purse and make up bag to be so meaningful. I wasn't expecting a conversation about the reason for Christmas to bond me to the teens I was talking to and to my own son Seth. It is all unexpected but it happens on every trip I take to SA.
The time spent with each mission trip team member and all the conversations in our big group and smaller groups all change me. We are each on our own journey. Through this trip our lives are changed forever and we are linked together though our shared experiences. I loved everyone on our mission trip team and I am forever changed by their insights, life experiences and love.
"Sometimes you don't have to preach to people. You just have to show them love."
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