We awoke this morning to beautiful sunshine, no wind, and much warmer temperatures. We were thrilled!! Everyone was much more relaxed , knowing more of what to expect from our day. The best part of the morning , HOT showers!! WoooHoooooo!!!! This was the first day some of the team members had the joy of having hot water for their showers. Finally, the hot water issue seemed to be resolved.
I have no reports yet from the other teams, so I'll share about our time today at Living Grace, located at Muizenberg. We entered the shelter this morning just as Peter was preparing to begin the morning devotion for the homeless that had stopped by the shelter. After a brief opening devotional story, the men and women were able to pick out their favorite worship songs and hymns to sing. I realized that every song we sang dealt with second chances, over coming difficult times, or just being loved for who you are.
The first song we sang was "Amazing Grace" . Peter stopped us at the second verse and commented he always read this first, due to the importance of the message of the words.
"Through many dangers toils and snares , I have already come.
Twas grace that brought me safe thus far and grace will lead me home".
As we sang the final verse, I thought about how the previous verse so aptly fit the lives of the homeless we were sitting with. I thought about the dangers and fears they face each day, especially at night when they are sleeping on the streets. We have been told , that sadly, they are safer on the street than in some of the night shelters. A lady lead in a devotional about God is all about relationship and that our relationship with Him is what makes the difference in our lives each day. The main thought from the opening and closing statements was that if today was not a GREAT Tuesday, it was because we chose for it not to be great.
Two other things stood out to me as well this afternoon. As we were working on the renovations of the kitchen, the staff would stop by to look in on our progress. They would get all giddy and laugh as they looked and would comment on how great things looked. Ironically these comments were made as we were just beginning to put cabinets and pantries together. We told them we had not done anything yet, and they would laugh and say "Oh but it will be friendly when you are finished" (You must say that with a South African accent, which sounds very much like a British accent). That makes you remember just why you are working on these projects and just how much people appreciate acts of love and kindness.
The other thing that really struck me was the cold hard facts of what the homeless face. Many of these men and women stop by looking for day work. Most are there for food and shelter for the days. They are allowed to leave their belongings in a locker. I looked at a few of these and noticed how little was there. All the possessions of these individuals were in a tiny locker and yet we constantly complain about not having enough closet or storage space. Then as we were wrapping up work for the day, a gentleman came in looking for food. There was no more soup left, although he spotted a pot of something close to the stove. I looked a little closer at the scene and overheard the lady holding the pot say that was food for the dog. It was scraps and everything left over from the day. The guy indicated he didn't care and would eat it anyway. She said no she could not, that it might harm him. She did however find him some bread, so he would have something to eat.
How many times do we complain about our food? We talk about the bad taste or the fact it is not prepared just right. Here was a man willing to eat what was basically dog food, he only wanted food....no matter what it was , tasted , or smelled like.
The humbling fact is that many of us are just one paycheck, or lenghty sickness away from being in the same state as this guy. Did anyone else think of the scripture ".....for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink......" This was a true example of when Jesus said, "whatever you do for the least of these, you do for me".
