August 20
ENTABINI
We spent the day with the Entabini Community Church where we met Pastor Albert Chetty and his family last Sunday. These Saints provide a hot and nutritious meal to the children who live in the settlements their church every Wednesday. We had viewed several of the illegal settlements on Sunday during our first visit to the Entabini Church. These children come from very poor families and have so little. The houses are made of mud, pieces of wood and bricks which they find in the neighborhood. Most of these children’s parents are unemployed and live on next to nothing. At the Entabini community, they are provided with a hot meal and with clothing. Pastor Chetty felt that this was the best meal they were going to receive all week. He told me it costs about 100 Rand or about $15.00 to feel the children each Wednesday.
I was grateful for the opportunity that Darlene, Timothy and I had to interact with the children and serve together with the women of the church. We arrived at the church facility right around 11:00 am being dropped off by Ron on what was unquestionably the coldest day we have experienced since we arrived. We were immediately offered hot tea and a fried pastry of some kind by the women working in the kitchen. I took a few photos of the 5 women preparing the meal. They worked hard cutting vegetables, meat and preparing spices for the stew they were cooking. These women (a mix of Indian and Zulu Christians) spent from 10-11 am in intercessory prayer and then worked from 11-1 preparing the meal for the children. They usually prepared for about 100 people. Darlene and Tim worked in the kitchen helping to cut vegetables.
Soon after we arrived, Mrs. Chetty (Jaya) asked me if I would talk with a man named Precort who had been assigned by the courts to work for the church every other Wednesday. It just so happened that this was his first Wednesday. Precort and I sat down and had a long visit. He was a man of about 39 years of age who had just recently been released from Prison in Durban. He described the prison to me this way: He shared a room with 62 other men. The room was about 24 by 50. The men were awakened around 4:00 am and soon went for breakfast. They had to climb a ramp which went up six floors to the top of the Prison where food was served. After breakfast, they returned to their room until around 2:00 pm when they received their final meal of the day. There was a TV in the room but each man had to pay 95 Rand (about $14.00) per month to one of the inmates in order to watch it. Precort said there was a lot of violence in the prison. In his cell, there were blacks, Indians, Whites, Afrikaners and Chinese. He told me that there was a library in the Prison but he was never allowed to go there. Precort was a Hindu who was raised in a Hindu family. He has several sisters and an older brother who died about three years ago in an automobile accident. He explained his faith to me by describing how his parents sacrificed a goat to the gods for his release from Prison. Precort told me of his innocence of the crime he was charged with but never actually told me the crime. I got the impression that it was some kind of domestic violence. He has been assigned to Entabini for three years to work every other Wednesday. Pastor Chetty was very pleased that I had a chance to visit with him. I tried to explain the gospel to Precort as best I could while learning about his world view and his Hinduism at the same time. It was an enjoyable conversation. He allowed me to pray for him which I did asking God to help his 7 year old son who is mentally ill, his two daughters (ages 12 and 14) and his parents who are still living. He shared a few jokes and tricks with Timothy and I before he left about 1:00 pm.
Soon after that, the children began to come in. The first few children were all girls of different ages. Pastor Chetty said their mother had died of HIV several months ago and they were all caring for themselves. The oldest child (about 16) had a baby of her own that was a newborn (only 1-2 months old) that she was nursing. Because it had just rained and was very cold, some of the children who were expected did not come. They had to come thru the mud of the forest (they were living in shacks in the forest) and would not make the trip because of the rain and mud. Soon lots of boys and girls came. These kids were mostly around 7-10 years of age. They were quite cold and so was I. Mrs. Chetty has been teaching the children several songs and they practiced the songs before we ate. It was clear that teaching songs was one of the ways that the gospel is being explained.
Soon Pastor Chetty (Albert) arrived and he asked to speak with me privately. He wanted to know what I might do if I had a facility like the one God has provided for him. I shared that I would try to create a living space for International volunteers and local volunteers to work with me as I carried out the vision God had given me. I talked a little about my own experience with what we call interns and shared how discipling these men and women was very important. I encouraged Albert that he had something to impart to these young people that they needed to receive. He seemed encouraged. He intends to convert the house behind the church into an orphanage for children with AIDS. He hopes to do this in the next year or so. I was surprised to see so many of these little children without parents, many of these kids living with HIV themselves.
Darlene came in while Pastor Chetty and I were visiting and asked if I could tell a story to the children. I thought I’d tell “The Boy and His Boat” story and told it to Pastor Chetty. He recognized the story and gave me a few clues to tell it in a way the children would better remember it. I went out to the children and told the story making faces to expand its impact. The children really connected with me and they all seemed to participate with me in the story. Later, Pastor Chetty asked them to explain the story back to him and it was obvious they were listening very carefully because they explained many of the details of the story very clearly.
Soon the meal was served. Darlene assisted the women of Entabini with the food while Timothy passed out bread. I continued to take photos and the children were SO EXCITED to have their picture taken and MORE EXCITED to be able to see their picture right after I took it on the digital camera. Soon after lunch, the children were provided with clothing by the Pastor's wife and her helpers. I saw how important this clothing was to the children. I could see their smiles. The children had come in very ‘under-dressed’ for the cold weather. It was obvious that clothing was valued and appreciated. Soon, the children left to go to their homes and after some clean up and a time of special prayer, we left for a visit and tea with Pastor and Mrs. Chetty and their sons at the Pastor's house. What a great gift it was to be invited to be a participant in this amazing and special ministry. Thank you Lord!
