Over the past weekend I joined up with two ministries who have been reaching out to an area of a township in Paarl, South Africa that had a devastating fire burn down a lot of the homes.  I use the word home very loosely, because while it is a home to many times 5-9 people, it is simply a shack, made of various materials for walls and roof.  There is a bare floor, maybe a bed, maybe a small table with some dishes, and a few buckets for dish washing, laundry, and water.  Rarely is there electricity, few shacks have tvs and radios...

We broke into groups of four and interviewed those who had been affected by the fire, asking them about needs, wants, how many they support, where they want to be in 5 years, and more.  There is definitely a community feel during the day when we were there, but the stories about night are saddening.  Alcohol. Rape. Incest. Molestation. Starvation.

The children still smile, still play, still laugh.  This is their life, it is what they know.  How badly I wish I could grab them all, bathe them, dress them, feed them, love them. The maze of rocky pathways lead to endless shacks, extending as far as the eye can see.  It was amazing to be in the heart of the township, to see the "behind the scenes."  It was powerful.  The people are beautiful and thier spirits touch you so quickly because they have been through who knows what and they are sharing it with you...