Reality Check - by Kevin

It felt like we hit a wall this week.  Both Rachel and I had a difficult week coming to terms with our new world.  It felt as if the excitement and adrenaline have faded and it has left us tired and vulnerable.
I would like to share some of the areas that we have been trying to adjust to and would welcome your prayers.  The first is safety and security.
This was not really a concern in Ellensburg, we rarely locked our doors.  Here in Worcester, if you are not proactive you will most likely be robbed.  Every house has metal bars on the windows and a metal gate that surrounds the house (razor wire is optional).  

Padlocks are used to secure the points of entry, so now we have quite a collection of them.  We have one for the driveway, one for the garage, one for the front gate, back gate, and the front metal door.  Then 4 bolt/latch locks for the wooden front door.  It feels like it takes 10 minutes to get in or out of the house.  Our neighbor told me this house was robbed last year.  A man took advantage of an open gate, dashed in the house, grabbed a wallet and phone and ran.  I think they call this a "smash and grab".  

        (this is a re-enactment of a "smash and grab" with Timmy playing the part of a guard dog)

Every house has alarm systems and you are given a fob with a panic button, which activates an armed response by the security company.  

Everyone told us we "must" get a dog.  Dogs provide another layer of protection.  Timmy does bark, but I think if he tried to bite someone his dentures would fall out (he is 84, in dog years).

                     (I'm not sure which is older, our dog or the sign.)

Our house is in a good neighborhood, but our street has a steady flow of people going past as it leads to a bridge that crosses the railway lines.  Some of these folks are poor and hungry and are some looking for a soft target.

Most people keep their blinds closed to prevent people from "casing" their valuables.  We like keeping them open to let in the light, but then need to be mindful to conceal computers and anything of value.  

Secondly we are having to face the issue of living intimately with the reality of poverty.  The unemployment rate in South Africa last year was around 25%.  But the burden of poverty is not shared equally.  The unemployment rate for blacks was 40% and only 8% for whites.
On Thursdays we put out our trash bins, and then swarms of people move through the neighborhood looking through your trash for something of value or just something to eat.  It is extremely hard to watch.  One man came up to me and asked for food because he was hungry.  He been looking for work, but found nothing here and was headed back to Cape Town.  I went inside to make him a lunch, came out and there were 3 more people wanting food (good news travels fast).  One of them had a sore tooth, so being a nurse I wanted a look.  He had so many bad teeth it was hard to tell which one was causing the pain.  His gums were red and swollen so I instructed him to go to the hospital today to have the infected tooth removed.  I went back inside for more lunches and a handful of Tylenol (paracetamol).  
The gap between rich and poor is so severe here.  It feels stressful and heart breaking.  We are rich and I have to learn how to live with that.  We have to trust God to know when and how to respond to the question of poverty, and the faces right outside our fence.

Please keep us in your prayers as we start our new jobs tomorrow (Sept 14).  We have learned so much in the past 6 weeks, it feels like our brains are struggling to take on this new task.  We also have mold issues in 3 rooms and we are waiting for the landlord to fix it as promised. 

Thank you for your prayers and support.
The Yangi