The Other Africa

By now you’ve probably enjoyed the treasures God left behind in Africa.  You’ve seen the lions, the cheetah, the seashore, the sunsets.  But there’s another Africa, hidden from the tourist magazines and the Western media.  It is the other Africa that will bring me back.  It is the Africa of enormous poverty, extreme racial prejudice, violence and danger to all life.  There are about 3.5 million Caucasians in South Africa.  There are an estimated 70 million Blacks.  No one knows for sure because of the huge volume of refugees flooding across the northern border escaping from the regimes of slaughter and tribal genocide.  Unemployment among this vast majority is probably near 90%.  The South African government provides “free” electricity and water for people living in the “informal settlements” (a PC name for slums).  Of course, it isn’t free.  5% of the population of South Africa, mostly White, pays all the taxes.  By any stretch, this is unsustainable.

Some other information never makes the news.  Since the end of apartheid, the murder rate has been about 23,000 people per year.  More than 60,000 White farmers have been murdered.  Violent crime such as rape and assault makes South Africa one of the most dangerous countries in the world.  There are large “informal settlement” areas where police do not go.  Disease, AIDS and other issues plague the country.  What is most disturbing is the apparent lack of comprehension and the blatant gross corruption of the current government.  Afrikaners live with the daily reality of Rhodesia.  The tension is very real.  Many have left the country for good.

These pictures will show you why I must return.  In my humble opinion, there is little time left before an almost inevitable racial uprising.  The prospects do not seem good for many followers of YHWH.  Most of the Black culture continue with tribal ancestor worship and idolatry, if they have any form of religion at all.  Perhaps the reason I was received with such enthusiasm is simply this:  life is South Africa is extremely fragile.  These people know what it means to be persecuted in ways comfortable Americans cannot imagine.  These people know that without the reality of a God who cares, there is very little hope for South Africa.  What the media portrays is far from the real picture.

Now you know why I need your help to go back.

 

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Joburglaura

Skip – South Africa has a way of getting to you. We lived in Johannesburg for 5 years and I would go back in a heartbeat. We were fortunate enough that my husband’s company provided us with a bodyguard – because it was the “murder capital” of the world. I met Rory Steyn who had been Nelson Mandela’s chief bodyguard. (He wrote a book “One step behind Mandela”) Rory is a Christian and we were able to get him to speak for Stonecroft Ministries (Christian Womens Clubs.)

My husband taught classes in both Alexandra and Diepsloot (black townships) on “Working God’s Way.” He taught them how to make a resume, do a job interview, etc. He taught classes on starting their own business. Their most basic need is to get a job – so they can feed their extended family.

It was a wonderful chapter in our lives – and one that changed our whole family. It is easy to be blind to what is happening in the rest of the world.

Richard Heers

Thanks you! Thank you! Thank you, Skip! What a powerful portrayal of a country, like so many others in the world, that GOD loves so much that He gave His only begotten Son. May GOD bring real deliverance-transformational revival that impacts every fabric of the life and culture of this land.

Cheryl Neuamnn

Skip, what exactly will you and your team bring to S. Africa to change the situation?

jakes

Skip, I read the above from you and agree that you have to return. Yest to get the word to people but also get a better perspective of my country. It makes me unhappy to se a man of God painting such a negitive picture and in many way a false picture of our country. Yes there are poor areas ans Townships. The people that live there call it townships, it is other people that want to call it slums. Our people have pride and goodwill, we love God our father and are 90% christian nation. You will make a muck bigger contrabution by reporting on the kind spirit of our people in Africa, the smile and the generosity. And yes we do realise that there is a lot of work to be done. But don’t tell the world what we are not as you have a single world view. Africa. Is a fantastic place, many people come here to change africa and its people, many leave having been changed by Africa’s people.

Glory

Go, Skip, Go! This video is from one of my favorite music artists, Sara Groves. She wrote this song after a visit to Rwanda. She was touched, as well. Reminded me of what you wrote above.

http://youtu.be/JPy2l4FYabU

Glory