Ministry in Central

For the past couple of months, our church has been getting
very involved in doing ministry in a part of PE called Central. Central is
known as being rougher and higher crime than most places in PE.

After church on Sunday nights, a team goes out to ministry
on and around Parliament Street.
Parliament Street doesn’t have the best reputation and is filled with homeless,
drunks, and drug lords. The team that ministers walks up and down the street
praying for people and businesses as well as handing out food and blankets. I
have gone to Sunday night street ministry a couple of times and we have really
been able to bless a lot of people. The more that the team goes, the less
people are on the streets. The prayers of God’s people are heard by Him! One
group has seen a guy go from being a drug dealer to a car guard, which isn’t
the greatest job, but at least it is honourable, and he has begun preaching and
ministering to others!

Also, on Sunday afternoons, I have the awesome privilege of
taking young people into Central to spend time with a family that I met randomly
through a friend of a friend. This family is Pastor Prosper and his wife (I
forget her name) and their 13 children! The parents are refugees from the DRC (Congo) and the kids are also refugees from both
the Congo and Zambia. The
kids range from ages 5 to about 21 or 22. This family of 15 lives in a
two-bedroom apartment. There are mattresses everywhere for them to sleep on.
Some kids sleep in closets, and others share a twin mattress. The parents are
the only ones of the 15 that have an actual bed. Because they are refugees, it
is virtually impossible to get employed by anyone, thus, they have no income.
Their rent is R3300 a month (about $450), which is actually pretty expensive
for that area and for being such a run-down place. I have no idea how they pay
their rent or put food on the table. I’m sure that they often don’t make their
rent. When I asked Pastor Prosper where his money comes from, he said “from
God.” The kids all take taxis to school, and if there is no money for the taxi,
the kids cannot go to school that day.

We have had such a good time getting to know this family.
They are so incredible in their faith and they are teaching their children to
grow up in the knowledge that everything comes from their Heavenly Father. So,
on Sunday afternoons, the group of us, generally about 5 or so, take some of
the younger kids out to the park to play on the swings, play cards, and run
around. I feel so full of joy when I am with them. The kids literally wait
around for us on a Sunday afternoon and get so excited when our cars pull up.
Pastor said that this is the highlight of their week every single week. My
friend Philippa and I have begun going during the week as well. We are going
Tuesday and Thursday afternoons to help some of the kids with their homework.
They are very eager to learn, which is great. But unfortunately, they all go to
less than par schools, which means the actually teaching and learning is
minimal.