There was a big smile on his face. Almost as big as the rip
in his jumper and the holes in his shoes.
‘Excuse me sir… are you Miss Turner’s father?’
I assured him I was.
‘Please say hello to her!’
And with that he was gone and I was back to mixing an
endless supply of concrete.
I’ve been working in the orphanage town of Bulembu,
Swaziland for the last two and a half weeks. Swaziland has one of the highest
rates of HIV and AIDS in the world. A poor African country by any measure, it
would be called ‘developing’ in our ‘PC’ world.
But maybe it’s more developed than we give it credit for?
Life there is simple – and poor. But the joy in that boy’s eyes as he
recognised me as Lois’ father (Lois used to work there) was wonderful. We can
help build, help finance and more, but one thing they don’t need is the joy of
living.
As our team of 20 from KingsGate Church return to the ‘developed world’, there is
much to reflect on. Contrast the openness of the children and their joy of life
with our selfishness and desire to accumulate (I am immersed into a season of
Christmas adverts upon my return). Contrast the love and care shown sacrificially
by the Bulembu staff when compared to the jingoistic, racially motivated
rhetoric of many politicians in the ‘developed’ world. Contrast the smile on
the boy’s face with the anger and language I witnessed last night from the man
in the passport queue.
Is the developed world still developing? I’m not so sure.
The real meaning of Christmas soars above the tinsel and the ads. Let’s be big
hearted, giving, inclusive and welcoming this Christmas.
