Lost in Atlantis

On the weekend I was asked to go and talk at a church community in a town called Atlantis. It's a small town of about 70 000 people, established under the old Apartheid regime and was basically some idiots idea to shunt the Cape Coloured community to one side, hoping they wouldn't interfere with the idiots nice little 'white existence'. They did this by moving many of the manufacturing plants out of Cape Town and thus forcing the settlement of the workforce in the area. They mainly do textile, but this whole industry is under some pressure at the moment in South Africa, due to the cheap imports from the Asian community - so not what an already impoverished people need.

I asked my friend and business colleague Fred to join me as I believe in team, and where possible, never doing anything alone. A good friend of mine helped start this church about 5 years ago and has since transitioned into a group of house churches. They still connect together on a weekly basis, and as a result, I think they have struggled to lose the usual "Sunday Service feel" - but hey, we will let God do what He wants to do.

On our way out of Atlantis, we were again faced with the reality of how many people are still living in poverty - I wish I had a camera with me to take the picture. On the one side of the road there was a beautiful lush green field, framed by some lovely trees and on the other side, just 20 meters away, an informal settlement. Little 'houses' made from wooden packing pallettes and sheet metal, built straight onto the beach sand. And you know what Jesus says about building a house on the sand!

It was quite something.