There are stories all around us. Stories waiting to be discovered, waiting to be told, and waiting to be written.
Today, the Go Interns hit the streets of Cape Town and transformed themselves from individuals to a collective live art piece. Dressed in white shirts with a black blindfold covering their eyes, the interns stood in a still line becoming a "scene" that sparked curiosity to those who passed by. Through this eye-catching display, the interns were able to speak to people about having vision for their lives. They passed out "Vision Cards" to the individuals that approached them, and asked them the question "What is your vision?" "If you had all the money in the world- and knew you could not fail, what would you do?" These questions uncovered stories, stories that were hidden, stories that were waiting to be pushed along. One of the individuals that Jon Adams, an apprentice, encountered was a local business man in Cape Town, who had been working on a project, but along the way had lost motivation and vision for the project. As the business man left his house this morning, he considered tossing the project to the sea and told God that he needed a "sign" if he ought to continue on the project. As this man talked with the Go Team, light filled his eyes, as he remembered why he first started working on this project. Vision had been restored. Throughout the Vision Challenge, many of the interns had conversations similar to the one between Jon and the businessman. These conversations revealed stories that were waiting to be pushed along and written. Individuals who passed the live art exhibit woke up that morning, and for some it may have seemed like just another ordinary day, however, for those who stopped to talk with the interns, their lives will be forever changed. "We interrupted their day, but we may have interrupted their life.", stated Kelly Drury. Today marks a day that the locals of Cape Town were encouraged, inspired, and refreshed. Many of the locals left the live art exhibit with a feeling of hope that their story was going to be beautiful, and perhaps even a masterpiece.
The interns continued discovering the stories of Cape Town's locals as they visited a squatter camp on the outskirts of Cape Town. The squatter camp is an area that is home to 15,000 familes, 80% of these families are affected by HIV. A majority of the families migrated from Zimbabwe and Malawi in hopes to provide their families with a better life. However, these families live in the some of the worst living conditions that one could imagine. Their small houses are merely four walls covered by a roof. Unfortunately, the children who live in the squatter camps have been deprived of a normal childhood. In order to aid this problem, a group of individuals created "Homes of Hope", an organization that provides after school care to children belonging to the squatter camp. The organization provides the children tutoring and classes to further their education in English, as well as a safe environment to play in. The interns spent the afternoon loving on the children, singing American pop songs, playing on the jungle gym, giving piggy back rides, snapping photos, and even making beats on the jimbae and having a dance party. The children and the team's face were filled with light and smiles as the afternoon pasted by. This afternoon will be ingrained in the the hearts of not only the children, but also the Go team. It was a day, where joy was brought into these children's world.
The story of the mystery continues, tomorrow.
“God prepared my heart”, Kelly said. “I’ve always wanted to bless people with money to do traveling ministry, but I thought it would be years from now. God answered my heart’s desire and Hilary’s as well.”
