Posted June 29, 2016 by
Tags: The Liberal Arts Spiritual Life My Wheaton
Beauty, Brokenness, and Hope in Cape Town
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” -- Psalm 119:105
As an intercultural studies student at Wheaton College Graduate School, my Wheaton education has taught me the importance of being prepared, getting myself outside of my comfort zone, and stretching myself. What I love about the intercultural studies program is that it gives me practical tools to use while doing cross-cultural ministry.
This May, I was able to apply these skills while traveling to Cape Town, South Africa to take part in a short-term internship with a team of Angelos Biblical Institute missionaries from Fresno, California. Excited and eager to begin our journey partnering with local churches and day camps, we were warmly greeted by 20 of our brothers and sisters in Christ upon our arrival. Experiencing such a warm welcome from people who rarely knew us and had only heard about us immediately enhanced my expectations for our trip.
In Cape Town we taught at several conferences held by local churches. We also led workshops about church ministries, volunteered at educational centers, planned for future conferences, and much more. Every day we would pack up in small cars and head to churches in South African townships where many people publicly admitted their fear of violence and corruption within their communities and ran away from us.
Khayelitsha, Gugulethu, and Samaro are townships where there is much poverty, crime, and brokenness. But when we entered the churches of these townships the people had so much faith and hope--hope in the promises of God. They praised and worship God even in extreme conditions. The pastors in the churches of the townships occupied small spaces and had no instruments or any of the things we sometimes think we “need” for church. Instead, they had Bibles and each other, and did not let their situation stop them from worshiping God.
This showed me the beauty of Cape Town displayed in brokenness.
The beauty of Cape Town was displayed through the people and their generous hospitality. All of the churches and day-care centers we partnered with gave us a clear and sincere picture of what it means to have a “servant mentality.”
While I experienced an abundance of cultural differences in Cape Town, one thing that remained the same across all cultures represented was the brokenness we all share as sinners. The Bible says in Romans 3:23, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” During my time in South Africa I saw the brokenness that exists in another country, but I was also able to see the hope that exists through faith in Jesus Christ. Being in Cape Town was not just about nurturing future Christian leaders. Instead, going to South Africa was about experiencing the love of God in a way that we never have before through beauty, brokenness, and hope.
Latreece Michel M.A. ’17 is a participant in Wheaton’s Intercultural Studies Graduate School program and recipient of the William Hiram Bentley Award for Ministry to the African-American Community. To learn more about Intercultural Studies program, visit their website.
Photo Captions (from top): Pastor Roman gave his all for kids who did not have much by building them a school with his retirement savings called the Lukahya Education Center; Latreece served women who desire to learn, grow, and be encouraged in the word of God at a women's workshop in Khayelitsha; The A.B.I. team's first day of service in Cape Town. Below: Surprise! Latreece's boyfriend proposed at the airport when she returned home. She said yes!