Cape Town: A First Look

Each of us on the NET Cape Town Team has a very unique story in how we came to this pilot mission. Whether it was a thirst for adventure, a passion for our faith, doors being opened, or the gentle voice of God speaking into our hearts, we heard the call in one or many of these ways. Regardless of how we all got here, it is undeniable that God’s hand has been present through it all.

This year NET launched a mission team to Cape Town, South Africa. This has been a historic moment in this mission of NET and we are excited about the feedback we have received and the levels of interest in Mission 2020.

In February, the team arrived in Cape Town, South Africa. Fr. Charles, the man responsible for bringing NET to Cape Town, picked us up from the airport and drove us to our new home in Langa where we would be staying with him for the duration of our mission. Excited, sleep deprived, jet lagged, and squished between our luggage in our new car (a red beast of a vehicle we affectionately named “The Dragon”) we craned our necks to see the city around us. Our first impression of the city was the Township we would be living in. Langa: a concoction of formal and informal housing. Some two to four-room houses, a few sections of government supplied apartment complexes, and hundreds of shacks built upon one another; our new beautiful home.

We have been welcomed by the community with warmth and excitement. Every church gathering is filled with glorious music accompanied with a little dancing as it’s near impossible to keep still with the call and response songs ringing out. We are greeted with friendly smiles and waves as we drive by the people coming home, and when passing on foot a cheerful “molueni”. This is usually followed with a shared laugh as we respond and try to make light conversation in their beautiful language of Xhosa with our untrained tongues. There always seems to be young lads in fields behind our house to play soccer with, or little girls in the courtyard out front delighted to paint our nails or braid our hair.

But this is only our little corner of the city. There are other Townships. Some very much like ours, and others experiencing very serious difficulties; and still their other areas swimming with abundance. The disparity of wealth in this country is more shocking than we had anticipated. One moment you pass by a Ferrari going up to see the sunset from a mountain lookout, and the next you meet a man working hard to protect the parked cars just to make R5 (the equivalent of $0.50 ) to provide for his family. No matter where we go and who we meet we are always greeted kindly and welcomed.

This is truly one of the most beautiful cities we have ever been to. The ocean and mountains meet reflecting God’s glory.

“I never thought I’d do a hike at sunrise until coming here. It is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever experienced: starting the hike looking at the stars. Getting to the lookout point and resting as the sun rises from behind the mountains in the horizon slowly pouring light onto the city below.” – Haley, Cape Town team member

This is a special place with incredibly special souls. We are grateful to be here for this mission.

Cape Town Pilot Team