Thanksgiving

Hello Family and Friends!
Happy Belated Thanksgiving! Spending holidays away from home in another
country is always an interesting experience, especially when it's a singularly
American holiday such as Thanksgiving. Although I explained our Thanksgiving
rituals to several curious South Africans yesterday, the closest I got to a
turkey was seeing one in a movie we watched yesterday evening ("The
Mission," with Robert DeNiro and Jeremy Irons--good, but not a cheerful
ending!).

In many ways, though, I don't feel that I missed out on Thanksgiving at
all. I am grateful for so many things--a safe and comfortable, if noisy, house
to live in; a bed with borrowed sheets; and food cooked fresh every night,
though it is by students and usually lacking in vegetables. I am thankful that
when I needed it most, I miraculously found a container of laundry detergent
left in my cupboard, and I am grateful that I have been able to stretch about 9
ounces of shampoo until now. (Yes, I do take showers). Most of all, as a
newcomer in this country, I am incredibly thankful for all the people who've
taken the time to get to know me, who've learned my name, even though we're
barely acquaintances, who give me hugs when they greet me, and who have welcomed
me into Petra House and invited me along to socials, dances, and movie parties.
And I am especially thankful to the Kriels, who have welcomed me into their
family and home as well as to the amazing work they are doing at Viva. It really
means more than I'm sure they could imagine. I feel like I belong here, yet if
it weren't for all these people, this wonderful experience could easily have
been miserable.

Yet there are even greater reasons to be thankful this Thanksgiving. While
in Swaziland I heard someone say that they came to Africa because God is said to
be in Africa. This is true, just as it is also true that God is in America, in
Europe, in Asia, South America, and everywhere else on the globe, but I think
that many of Africa's situations--poverty, abuse, HIV/AIDS--allow Him to shine
even clearer.

Since I arrived, I feel like I have been taught one recurring lesson, which
is that to Jesus Christ, nothing you've done matters, and therefore, it
shouldn't matter to the Church either. It's true--absolutely nothing in your
sinful past or currently life keeps you from His love, and therefore, nothing
you have done or are doing should keep me, and us, theChurch, from loving
you. AIDS? No problem. Sex before marriage? It happens, unfortunately. Have you
been, in the recent past, (or are even currently) aprostitute? That happens
as well--if to look at a woman with lust in your heartis to commit adultry,
we have all sinned as much as you. The list goes on and on. Several of the women
I have met and gotten to know in Mamelodi while working at Viva have been
prostitutes in the past; they are beautiful people, and Jesus loves them. Read
Luke 7:38-50, Mark 2:13-17, and, possibly the most beautiful, John 8:3-11, to
see how Jesus dealt with sinners! Leon Kriel, cofounder of Viva, ran a
motorcycle gang--like, a real gang--and dealt drugs for several years before
devoting his life to Jesus Christ, and God used those experiences to prepare him
for evangelism to people like bikers and prostitutes who are generally not
sought out by or even accepted at churches.

If the Church thinks it is more righteous than anyone else, it is deathly
wrong; it is by grace we have been saved. At Hatfield Church (which
provides the Student Houses where I am staying) we sing a beautiful song called
"Come Away with Me." Some of the lyrics are "It's never too late; it's not too
late, it's not too late for you," and that's absolutely true. To quote Paul,
"Should we sin so that grace may increase? By no means!" (Romans 6:1), and to
quote him again: "But I am convinced that neither life nor death, neither angels
nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers... nor anything
else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is
in Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 8:37-39). Mark 7 says "Do not judge, or you
will be judged... Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye
and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?" How much you need to repent
of your sins to believe and be saved I don't know, and thankfully, that's not my
call. But loving everyone, regardless of all circumstances, is certainly our
business and duty. To do otherwise--to decide who is and is not worthy of
Christ's love--as the Church is hypocrite legalism, and I believe it is the
devil's favorite weapon.

This is certainly news to be thankful for during this Thanksgiving holiday
and during all seasons. It not only saves us from destruction, but it frees us
to love others to a greater extent than would ever have been possible on our
own. Jesus lives, and He loves! As his body, we must do the same. Jesus loves
every sinful person, and will use each of them to bring in His kingdom, if we
let Him.
Have a great weekend enjoying that leftover food, you all, and a special
thanks to all of you for your thoughts and prayers! Love, Johanna