It's late and I should've been in bed long ago. But there are these names running through my head and I can't stop thinking about them... I don't want to stop thinking about them. Maybe this is why Jesus taught us to consider others better than ourselves- because in thinking about others we find motivation and strength to carry on. I want these names to stay at the front of my mind; better their names than my own.

Michael, Gabriel and Luyanda. The three boys with me in the picture. That was at HBC and since then they have been at church every Sunday and I often see them at Kenneth Gardens. Michael and Gabriel are twins and Luyanda is their best friend who rounds out the Three Musketeers. I laugh whenever they walk into church and as I go to shake their hands they duck under my arm to grab me for a hug. The three of them aren't perfect, but there is a spiritual sensitivity in them that I find surprising. They are excited to be in church and bring some of the younger boys with them. They will put their heart into singing songs and not act like they are too cool to have fun doing it. They will be leaders in the future, I have no doubt about that. I just pray that their hearts remain humble before God and that they become His instruments.

Blessing. Yeah, that's his name. I met him Wednesday afternoon. I was paying for my coffee at a little shop not far from the school. He was standing near the counter and saw the "DuBois Christian School" T Shirt I was wearing. He asked me a question about it and we began chatting, I'm not even sure about what. I wasn't really looking to keep the conversation going, but as we headed out of the shop he asked where I was going. I told him my vehicle was parked at the apartments a few blocks away, and he happened to be heading that way to see a friend so we carried on talking. Blessing is about my age I would guess. He's around 6'4" and looks like an American rapper. I asked him what he does and low and behold, he really is a rapper- he said he did music and was also working as a DJ/MC. I guess I'm guility of stereotyping people who rap and dress like gangsters because I wasn't expecting him to have much interest in spiritual things... I was wrong. We walked to the apartments and somewhere along the way started talking about the purpose of life. He started sharing with me his background and beliefs. He grew up going to church and through high school was a practicing Christian. He was heavily involved in church and youth group and studied the Bible regularly. I was surprised and even more so when I realized just how much he knew. We kept talking and he was quoting the Nicean Creed, Martin Luther, and Josephus. He also told me about what turned him away from that faith. He said there were two things. Number one, he said the more involved he got in the church the more he became aware of the hypocrisy of the men he looked up to as leaders, and that began to taint his view of Christianity (a sobering thought). Then he said he came to a point where he could no longer accept that a loving God would send people to hell and let them burn. So he began to explore and philosphize and what he has developed is a belief system that amounts to universalism and idolatry. By the time we got to the apartments we were just getting started and stood there and talked for nearly an hour even after his friend came and joined us. It was a fascinating conversation for me and while I was able to share a lot of the Truth with him, I'm skeptical that he is real receptive to it at this point. Still, Isaiah 55 says God's Word always accomplishes the purposes that He sends it forth for, and I have no doubt that this was a divine appointment. We finally said goodbye and he took my phone number and said he'd like to talk again sometime. Maybe God has some more appointments arranged for us to talk again. The funny thing is that later that night I was talking to one of the young guys from our church and I told him about the conversation I'd had. When I told him the guy's name was Blessing he knew right away who I was talking about. Turns out Blessing is pretty famous around Durban. He is a local kid who grew up right here and made is pretty big. Now he travels all over South Africa as an singer and DJ, but still comes back often to visit friends in the area. With talent like that no wonder Satan was working hard to blind him to the Truth. But maybe God still has plans for Blessing. Only time will tell.

Siphamandla. I was at school on Friday and all day I was working with small groups of kids trying to teach them how to work with fractions. These kids are so far behind academically that at times it can be discouraging. By the end of the day I was feeling drained and somewhat less than motivated. I was beginning to ask myself why I was even there and if it was worth it. There was one little boy in the last group of the day who just couldn't focus on math while we worked. He would start working on a problem and then just drop his head and quit. His name was Siphamandla and as the kids left the room I called him back and asked what was wrong. Of course he said everything was fine at first, but after we talked for a few minutes he sat down and told me that his grandpa passed away this week. I found out that his parents are both gone and that he's been living with his grandparents so losing his grandpa was like losing his dad all over again. He sat there with tears running down his face and dripping onto the math paper that seemed, in that moment, to be entirely insignificant. My heart breaks for Siphamandla. I can't change his world. I can't bring his dad or his grandpa back to him. All I can do is speak his name in my prayers. God hears that name, knows that name and loves that name.

Yes, these names, and many others, are in my mind; but more importantly, their names are in the mind and the heart of God. I long to know what He has in store for them, and simply pray that in some small way, I might have a part in that plan.