Hello friends. This week has been both very good and very bad. I shall share the good news with you first.
This past week Cape Town has been hosting the Lausanne Congress at Cape Towns International Convention Center. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Lausanne Congress, it is an International event that happens only every 15 years and they have been planning this event since 2004. (Holy planning!) From what I understand Billy Graham was one of the people who started this Congress. It’s purpose is to bring together influential Pastoral Leaders from around the world to discuss what is going on in the world regarding evangelism and Christianity. Their goal of the Congress is to have the “whole church, take the whole gospel, into the whole world.” The excitement in the air regarding this Congress taking place here in Cape Town was really cool. Even at Kuyasa we had a team of folks working many months to design a store for this conference and people in the township were making items to sell in the store. I also believe that the little brochure I discussed awhile back in my “Finding a New Identity” blog ended up in the store as well. How awesome is that!? An event that happens only every 15 years and I was blessed to be a tiny bit involved. Very cool.
Another piece of good news, I found a new church this past week that I am enjoying. I was happy to hear that the entire service was in English and they sang contemporary Christian American songs, (even my boyfriend Chris Tomlin’s songs.) When I walked in I was kindly greeted and the minute I open my mouth and people here an American accent they are very interested and want to hear why I’m here. That is always fun to share - especially in a church environment. The guest speaker for the day was Daniel Willis, one of the Australian delegates from the Lausanne Congress. He explained that their were 4,000 delegates from around the world invited. There are 192 countries represented. There is no way to get a ticket or to even walk the floor. Only the 4,000 personally invited attend. What an honor. I can’t even imagine how those 4,000 felt to be chosen around the world. I had heard about 400 Americans were invited, one of whom was John Piper. Gosh, that would have been so cool to run into one of them this past week.
At Kuyasa we had a big event planned for a huge bus full of delegates that were coming for a township - ministry visit. The Director toured them around through the learning center (where I work), the arts, video, sports, IT lab, Hats & Glasses and all of the other departments. When It came time for lunch, I happened to be in the kitchen and jumped at the chance to serve them food and walk the plates into the dining room area. Of course it was a bit selfish of me because I really wanted to see if I could scan their name tags and see if any of them were Americans I had heard of. I didn’t find any, but I did get to hear a lot of cool accents and felt honored that they were in my presence.
So that was the good news...............
The bad news now...... Two days ago I received an email from one of my close childhood friends (since kindergarten) that her Dad had left this Earth. It was such a horrible feeling to read those words and to feel so helpless, so far away. I wanted to hug her. I knew that Tara’s dad had got into the accident because she had emailed me immediately to ask for my prayers and to keep me updated. Daily I asked her what the status was and there was no change. To read those horrible words that he had passed made me sick to my stomach and so very sad for my friend and her family. I could tell it had affected my own family as well because I received an email from both my mom and step-mom letting me know and I also spoke to my mom and dad on the phone about it. Death suddenly makes you realize how important family is and how life can change in an instant.
I was able to talk to my friend Tara yesterday in the morning before the viewing and it was so very sad. She was holding up surprisingly well and I could tell she was drained and had no tears left at that moment. I didn’t know what to say and there was obviously nothing anyone could do to take away the pain that family is experiencing. I told her how very sorry I was that I couldn’t be there for her. Her words shocked me and impressed me. Her Faith keeps her so strong and at peace with the situation. She knows her Father is in Heaven and he is in a better place now. She knows that her whole family will see him again one day. She said to me “Well, at least now I know how it feels and I can be there to help all of our other friends when this time comes for them.” I was in awe and sat in silence. Here she was dealing with this excruciating pain of losing her Father and she was thinking of me and our friends. It was incredible. You are an amazing woman and you inspire me so much.
Tara and I talked about how we are all getting older and our parents are getting to that age. She said “Everyone will have to deal with this.” and it’s so very true. It made me so sad and my stomach hurt. I was fighting back crying on the phone with her. It obviously made me think of my own family and how important it is to make the most of every day with them, while they are still here on Earth. How many of us think “Oh I will call them tomorrow...” or “I will visit them another weekend.” or... “It’s okay if I don’t see them for the holidays or their birthday’s.”... or better yet, people say “I will serve next year, or I will volunteer my time next month.” What if there isn’t a tomorrow? Too many people don’t live in the moment, making the most of the present day. Our thoughts are too focused on the future and planning ahead and thinking that there will always be a tomorrow. There was no tomorrow for Tara’s dad. There might not be a tomorrow for you or I. We just never know when it’s our time to go Home.
In Max Lucado’s book “Fearless”, in chapter 7 he talks about these two girls at a pool with their dad. The one girl is fearless and trusts her Dad. She has Faith that her dad will catch her as she jumps into his arms. The other daughter is afraid and says “No” and refuses to participate. She sits there watching her sister have fun. Then Max asks the question, “How many of you spend your life on the edge of the pool? Consulting caution. Ignoring Faith. Never taking the plunge. Happy to experience life vicariously through others, preferring to take no risk rather than any risk. For fear of the worst, they never enjoy life at it’s best.”
Think about that for awhile. Enjoy life at it’s best and don’t wait till tomorrow to spend time with your loved ones and tell them how much you love them. There just might not be a tomorrow.
To the Kauffman family I am so very sorry for your loss and I wish I could be there for you today. I will keep all of you in my thoughts and prayers. I ask all of my friends and followers of this blog to please pray for my friend and her family through this tough time. I believe in the power of prayer. Thank you.
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