From Roger Oakland
November 12, 2011
Roger in Durban on first night with a youth group at local church
The Bible states that there will always be the poor as long as there are people on planet earth. Sometimes we become so consumed with the troubles we encounter in our daily lives we forget about the needs of others. From what I understand about the heart of Jesus, we need to have a reality check about what we are doing as servants of the Lord – are we helping the poor by being His hand extended.
Perhaps, this is why I have been sent to Africa at this time. Maybe I needed a shocking reminder. For the past year or so I have been compelled to warn Christians who are building their kingdoms to remind themselves of what they are doing as Jesus will soon be returning. Few have listened. Besides I have lost most of the friends I once had because they are more concerned about their legacies here on planet earth than they are about standing up for the truth.
While I am accustomed to seeing poor people in poor places all over the world, yesterday I saw things and heard about situations that caused me to ponder why these things have to be so.Our day yesterday here in Durban was spent visiting an area where human beings are destined to live out their lives without any of the basic necessities that we are accustomed to having – food, clothing and shelter. David and Krista Meisner are here in Durban basically volunteering their time to serve the poor black community that have more needs than you could possibly imagine.
Let me tell you about one of the families I visited yesterday. Nine people lived in a shack about the size of a dog house in America. The only source of income for the whole household was the pension from a grandmother (about one hundred dollars a month). Two girls in their early 20’s sat on bed eating porridge for their daily meal as there were no chairs in trhe room They were her daughters. They had no income at all. One of the girls suffered from epilepsy. Her sister had been raped. She tested positive for the HIV virus and so did her child. Several other children walked around naked. They were children the grandmother was looking after as they were also grandchildren she had from other sons and daughters who had died from AIDS. Click here to read more update from Roger in South Africa.
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