Gone Overseas and It's Brought Me To My Knees

Gone Overseas and It’s Brought Me To My Knees

Gone overseas and it’s brought me to my knees,
Seen so  much hurting it’s really unnerving

Children living in shacks, poor mothers without any cash.
Drunk dads who mistreat and beat.
When parent’s drink the innocence of children shrink.
From one touch they grow up knowing too much

I know there is more to life because  Jesus paid the price.
He was the ultimate sacrifice.

She was walking alone and it wasn’t her choice, nobody could hear her voice.
Now she feels defiled and is about to have a child

He’s been around town and women think he’s a clown
Now he had HIV and feels he will never be free

The world had pain but it’s not in vain.
We nailed him to the cross to pay our cost.
A world that doesn’t care is not fair but regardless of what has been done,
His love will reach above.

All alone she gives birth feeling no self worth.
How can she care or her daughter when there is no father?
Without thinking twice she leaves her child alone with the mice.
Another unwanted kid who had to live and learn to forgive.


Disrespected and alone with no love shown, her wishes don’t matter when her husband's forcing  kisses
He shows her his power in the night hour
She hides her fright knowing what is going to happen tonight.


Jesus knows about pain because he was beaten to shame.
Rejected and alone he bled and hurt because of our dirt.
His blood cleanses away our mud.
He brings hope to help us cope.
He cares when nobody else dares
In our pain his love can be gained.

There is nothing to hid when we stand by his side.
His hands were pierced with nails, his love will never fail.
Grace covers our face regardless of how we’ve been a disgrace.

I fall on my knees saying please, show me how to love the way you’ve loved me.

I’ve gone overseas only to be brought to my knees.

Ashlee

Nobody Likes Inequality

 These past few days things have been getting better. There is another group here from Arkansas, and they have been really fun to hang around with. It's been so nice having company that understands! I would say that my time in South Africa goes up and down, but most days are looking up. SA is a really awesome country but it also faces many problems. Sometime I feel like I’ve gone back in time. Many of the issues that we have fought to change in America are still strong here today. Racism  still runs rampant here, the Apartheid only ended 21 years ago.  I was surprised to find out how recent this was, as racism laws in the Unites States ended way before I was born. Many of the white South Africans still view themselves as superior to the black Africans and don't always treat them with respect,( nobody at Refilwe of course).  It’s still very uncommon for whites and blacks to do things together, it’s an unspoken stigma. I remember on my first night here I was with Leah and Piet and the car tire went flat. We pulled over to fix it, when a lady came by and asked if Leah and I were okay because we were with a 'black boy'. Imagine her surprise when leah said "he's my husband!"

Another Issue here that I’ve noticed is the lack of respect for women. Although I do believe now that women have all the same rights as men,  they are still sometimes viewed as second class citizens, especially among the black South Africans, and especially in Johanneburg where sexual violence is ranked the highest in the world. Some of the men feel entitled. Even if it’s not to that extreme many of the African men still feel  they deserve to be treated a certain way, with no regard for how the women feels about it.

Despite the problems this country has. The people here are friendly and always ready to welcome you and accept you in. They have such a strong since of community and family.  People in America just pass by without even noticing the people around them. It's still sometimes a culture shock being in a place with massive poverty, when people in America deal with having too much, the more stuff they get the less happy they become. Every place has it's problems and issues and no country is perfect. Sometimes I do get upset with the way things are here and my heart does break for the people. It's really easy to complain about this or that when I've grown up with so much, never having to go without. Being here is about coming outside myself and really seeing what it's like for the people that live here. Even though it's not easy, I wouldn't have it any other way, this really is the best experience I could ever ask for.   

Mason

I have 4 more months left in SA, can I just come home now please? A part of me is entirely sick of this place. I’m tired of seeing suffering at every corner, fed up with women being regarded as second class and not being respected, sick of being stuck at Refilwe without my own car, and upset with the fact that I can’t even walk outside the gates alone. Something upsetting even took place this past week and I can feel it weighing me down. I do love SA, i'm just not feeling it at the moment.  A part of me just wants to run away, give up, and be done here, but I know that I can’t do that. I  must persevere even when things are difficult, but it's just so dang hard sometimes. Everything inside me is telling me to flee to the highest mountain, but I know that I can’t, and I won't. I can’t just give up when things are tough or when the enemy tries to stop me from fulfilling my purpose here. No matter how much I might want to; I can’t. Instead of giving up, I have to press on harder than before and not let any circumstance, no matter how angry it makes me, or how bad it might be, stop me from doing what I need to while I’m here.  Ugh. 

I remember a story I read on the news about a dog named Mason. Mason is  from Alabama and he got carried away in a horrible twister that destroyed his family’s house The family thought the dog had died, they looked everywhere for him with no success and he had been missing for 2 weeks.  Then, one day, they went back to their ruined house and saw their puppy dog waiting for them by the door. The dog’s two front legs were broken. Mason had crawled his way back to his family. Thinking of this story has really inspired me through this rough patch. Despite Mason’s unfair circumstances he didn’t give up. He fought through the pain of his broken legs, the freezing cold temperatures. and the exhaustion in order to achieve his purpose, which was finding his family. I’m sure he wondered ' Is this really worth it? Laying here to die would be so much easier!'  Maybe he thought his efforts were pointless, but still he pressed on. In the end it was worth it for Mason. Exhausted and famished he found his way to his family’s doorstep. I’m sure when he saw their smiling faces, all the work he put into getting home was worth it. He is now back with his family and when he recovers he will be stronger than ever. I think Mason can teach us a few things about perseverance and never giving up.. I know he has taught me.