My Friend Amos

from Katherine
I met my friend Amos at the beach in our town. He washes cars there. Amos is in his 20’s and car washing is how he supports himself and helps out his mom.  Amos charges R30 or about $3. He has a 20 liter bucket, a rag and dish soap and he gets the water from the public showers. Sometimes he will wash the fishing boats or clean fish. He always has a big smile on his face when he gets that job. Perhaps he makes more money or maybe he gets paid with fish.

I have not seen Amos all winter, so I began to watch for him along the road to his house or near his home because he lives near one of my schools. But no Amos.

Yesterday I was walking with a friend near the beach and a young man came to me and said “I have a message for you from Amos.” I was excited that someone had found me that knew about Amos, so I asked “from Amos? What is the message?” The young man said, “I talked to Amos on the phone and he said ‘If you see my white friend from America, tell her I am working in Durban at the Port and I will see them in December.”

I am thrilled for Amos to have a job at the port. It is a step up for a hard working young man. What pride he and his mom must feel! And I have to laugh at my description according to Amos – ‘my white friend from America.’

What Happens When Your Doll Comes To Life?

from Elliott
As we venture into some of the more remote sections of our ministry area, it is not unusual to find young children that appear afraid of us. Often times, we learn that the child had not been exposed to a white person before. It can be a bit disconcerting at first but understandable given the human minds ability to quickly distinguish differences.

We recently heard a different variation of the situation. A woman told us how her young granddaughter responded to the first white person she saw. She was inconsolable and obviously afraid. When they were finally able to comfort her, she told them that she thought that her doll had come to life and that scared her. It turns out that the little girl, like many of the children in the area, had a doll that was white instead of one that appeared more similar to the people that she had known.

When it comes to human nature things always seem to get complicated.  Some suggest that we should be ‘color blind’ and not even notice differences in skin color or other physical features. I have read theories that say that recognizing differences or unfamiliarity occurs in the primal mind which includes the ‘friend or foe’ or ‘fight or flight’ defensive response.  As with many elements of how we are wired, the original design may be fine in and of itself but it is the misuse or lack of control that becomes problematic.

Perhaps instead of trying not to notice differences, it would honor God more if when we did notice differences we simply marvelled at the Creators expression of an infinite array of possibilities.