One of the kids took this picture of us. L to R: me, Jele, Smanga, and Reed.

One of the funny things about going on a “missions trip” is that you go hundreds or thousands of miles to work alongside folks for whom the mission is not a short trip but a lifestyle. And that’s funny because the “missions trip” is a Big Deal to you, and everyone you know makes a Big Deal about the fact that you are going, and just when you start to feel important, you realize that these folks are doing the work day in and day out, and that no one is making a Big Deal about them.  

So, even though they will probably never read this, I want to recognize these two gentlemen: Jele and Smanga, two young men who are working for iThemba Lethu and mentoring dozens and dozens of kids in their school program. These guys have dreams and plans of their own and yet they’ve chosen to spend time with these kids, mentoring them and hanging out with them and teaching them the kinds of things you don’t learn in a classroom. School pretty much sucks for these kids–they told us stories of the teachers beating them, somtimes with pipes–and their home life is usually worse. These two men are the only ones telling some of those boys that they have a hope and destiny beyond the slums.

So guys, if you’re reading this: I can’t tell you how much I admire what you do.