By Sarah Jones
EQUIP Project Manager for Africa and Latin America
 <<Back to Winter 2008 E-Newsletter
On our recent visit to South Africa, our host took us by the Soweto cemetery. It was like nothing I had ever seen. There was row upon row of fresh graves stretching for hundreds of yards. As we peered through the gate, we saw backhoes digging new troughs for graves in order to keep up with the need.
There used to be funerals only on Saturdays, but now in order to accommodate all of the grieving families, there are funerals almost every day. The burials begin at each end of the trough, and they gradually work towards the middle in order to keep the grieving families separate as long as possible. The Soweto cemetery is a sobering visual of the impact of AIDS. South Africa has the largest AIDS populations in the world, with about 27% of South Africans having HIV or AIDS. In the midst of this dark tragedy, we saw a ray of light shining a message of hope.
Wendy and Wilcox joined Million Leaders Mandate in Johannesburg/Soweto at the invitation of Kathy Schaaf, the wife of MLM Coordinator for Southern Africa who works in Lawley with AIDS patients.
Wendy and Wilcox both live in Lawley, an informal settlement of 25,000 people outside of Johannesburg with homes made of sheets of tin with limited access to electricity and water. We had the privilege of visiting them in Lawley.
They shared that as black South Africans growing up under the Apartheid, they were taught that they would never be leaders. They said MLM changed their thinking that they could be leaders. Notebook 1 teaches that “being made in God’s image means we were created to lead.” Wendy & Wilcox embraced this truth.
As a result of the equipping and encouragement they received through MLM, they started a church and ministries in Lawley to bring hope to their community. They planted Jehovah Jireh Church about one year ago; now there are more than 50 in the church.
Wilcox said, “MLM gave me the tools I needed to start the ministry in Lawley.”
He shared that he is equipping 10 leaders using the MLM material. Wendy and Wilcox also built a bakery and are beginning a knitting program to create job opportunities for the people in Lawley to begin to rise out of poverty.
Many children in Lawley have parents with AIDS who are not able to adequately care for them. Wendy and Wilcox were burdened for the children of Lawley, so they started two daycares. The daycares provide consistent care, education, and food for the children. One center, Ikwezi Preschool and Crèche, has 60 children registered and the other has 75 children.
After we visited with Wendy and Wilcox, we walked around to see the children. As we paused at the open door of one classroom, one beautiful little girl with her red and yellow school apron covering her clothes stood and proudly counted to 100. Before we could move, the next young girl jumped up to recite her numbers as well.
Wendy and Wilcox are providing these children with the opportunity to receive food for their minds, bodies, and souls.
John Thomas, an influential South African pastor said, “AIDS is the greatest crisis facing the world, but it is also the greatest opportunity for the Church.”
As we talked with Wendy and Wilcox and heard their hearts, I was humbled and so very grateful that MLM was such an integral part of their story, giving them the confidence and skills they needed to bring hope and light to the people of Lawley.
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