Many of you don't know that I went to school in Bloemfontein. It wasn't the best time in my life and I never really look at my years there with much positivity. I made some special friends and certainly made a few achievements, but as far as leaving a good impression, Bloem left me lacking. I think there are a few people who think of me from those days as quite a lost cause.
My great granny and grandmother both were married in the "Twee Toring Kerk" in times when Great Granny's church was half empty because an Englishman was marrying an Afrikaaner, and my granny in the height of Apartheid.
Now, 21 years later, I returned to Bloem to advocate for the homeless, in our city and in our nation. Our little organisation was part of a meaningful conference where some pioneering actions were taken on a national level. It was incredible to see how on track our project is, in so many ways, with what is happening elsewhere in the country. But also important to realise how much we could learn from game-changing innovations for the homeless community elsewhere in the country. Life Changer is on the team that will be involved in shaping a specially created census in 2021 which will be designed for homeless citizens so that they are also counted and factored into our country's citizenship.
We ate our meals in this 'Twee Toring Kerk' which is now known as the Towers of Hope. There is a bench there with my Great Granny's family name on it. It now serves the homeless community in the Bloemfontein CBD. We walked the streets I used to frequent as a scholar and university student and now, I was there to meet and chat to the homeless community. The agenda, the conversation, the heart, all changed so much.
God certainly works all things for the good of those who love Him. This trip, which was inconvenient and far away and at the wrong time of year, has blessed me and Thami and Life Changer on so many levels. The blessing will spill over onto the community we serve.
I was incredibly proud of this moment in our brief history as a project and extremely humbled by how God can bring us full circle and in the end, all for His Glory.
What a privilege to be part of this!
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