we are in Mafikeng, South Africa and have been traveling around in this city for about the last week and a half. it's been great, because we've had the opportunity to go way out into the african bush and visit a few different village schools. these are places where the kids have probably never seen a white person in their lives. i say this not because they told me, but because i tried to shake their hands and they all would run away and hide behind each other. but eventually they warm up to us and realize that we're not lethal or poisonous, and we have a great time with them. it is definitely eye-opening to travel around in these villages and see what the kids face each day. the more i think about it, though, the more my perspective changes. sometimes we look at what they have and say, man, i feel bad for them because they don't have anything. but i say that through my american materialistic perspective. i think many people who live in villages like this are receiving love and friendship and acceptance, and they can live even happier lives than us. seems like we get depressed a lot and feel lonely, even with all the stuff we have. so maybe i should say, man, i feel bad for us because we have so much and we miss out on the simple but transcendent things of life. that doesnt take away from the fact the many of the kids are suffering, though, from hunger and sexual abuse and loneliness. i just dont think that material things are the answer. and when we go into the schools, we really dont have those material things to offer anyways. i so wish that we could give every kid a warm meal and a cold drink, but we can't. i could never imagine how many kids are in this town we're in, much less the world. i'm amazed at the sheer number of kids we get to be with and love on each day. it's insane! and sometimes i feel so helpless. but i see that the kids are hungry not just for food, but for truth, for love, for hope. i can see it in their little eyes when they look at me. and so like peter in Acts, when he told the guy he had no money but he could give him something much better, we're believing that we're doing that everyday. that's not to say that we shouldn't feed our brothers and care for widows and orphans and the poor in general. i just know that we all get hungry again in our physical bodies. every person that jesus raised from the dead died again. our life is short here, like a mist. and though things seem hopeless in our world, this guy named jesus came and said that he had water that would cause us never to thirst again, and he mentioned something about having a food that we dont know about.
continue to pray that we would speak life and truth into these precious little lives through our words, smiles, hugs, high fives, and testimonies and that the Holy Spirit would guide the kids into all truth.
when we were at victoria falls in zambia, there was a moment that i will never forget until i see the true glory of God. we were approaching a bridge in front of the falls when we realized that we werent crossing this bridge without getting soaked. so we tried to run across, but it didnt matter. we got drenched. finally, we accepted it and for the next few minutes, we danced and ran and jumped and screamed and enjoyed being in the presence of this might waterfall. the power of the waterfall literally took my breath away! when i would look at the waterfall, all i could see was bright light, the sun shining through the water that was pelting us. all i could imagine was that i was looking at the face of God. it was too beautiful for me to look at very long. i imagined that God's glory was drenching me and all i could do was laugh and dance and worship and shout. at that point nothing else mattered. not my problems, not the world's problems. all i could do was enjoy the Lord. that's going to be a lot of fun someday.
i wish i could write more, but my time is up. thanks so much for the prayers, emails, encouraging words, and love. i think about my friends and family everyday and you are all in my prayers.
kyle