Facing The Tough Stuff

Over the years we've had to do some tough stuff, stuff that no bible college or mission organisation could prepare us for, and stuff that is (thankfully) so unusual, that there are no training manuals for.

Probably the toughest thing we've ever done was returning a teenage lad to the streets of Mwanza from the orphanage we were working at in Tanzania. We were presented with a fairly simple scenario by the village elders. Either we deal with the lad, and remove him from the village, or they would. Had we left matters to the village mob, the lad would most likely have been killed, so we chose the lesser of two evils, and returned him to the streets. We remained in touch with the shelter that had originally picked him up from the streets, and they did so once again, so we know he landed in a safe place, but it was a horrible thing to have to have done!

Thankfully, we've not had to face such tough choices for a while, but being asked by Joyce to help move Michael to an old age home in the northern suburbs of Cape Town was one of those tough things. Personally, I'm not convinced it's the best place for my dear friend, but aside from private care homes which are financially beyond he & Joyce, there wasn't really any other viable option, especially as Joyce simply cannot care for him, either physically, or financially as she survives on a govt pension equivalent to less than £3.80 per day.

I'm still coming to terms with the fact that I can't just pop in and see my mate, but rather have to plan a bit of a trek across the city to see him. The drive isn't dissimilar to participating in the Whacky Races! I also feel that I can't just visit him without taking Joyce, which adds a whole other level of time and commitment to visiting Michael. And even then, we'll no longer get time to ourselves, but will end up sharing our time with other residents of the home.

I know that's all a bit selfish, but losing another friend seems to be one of the main things we do in a life in overseas mission.

I am incredibly thankful for the happy memories I have of time spent with Michael, and taking him to the Uruguay v France 2010 World Cup match in Cape Town is one of my happiest memories with him.