Day 4 at Cape Town 2010

His name is Anton Nkunde and his life’s story is probably a typical script for many African men these days. He was born in the slums of Kinshasa, Zaire, not far from where I used to live during my MAF days in Africa. At the age of eight his dad took him off to Zambia in search of a better life, only to abandon him shortly thereafter to the care of an uncle in a very dysfunctional home. Eventually he made his way to Mozambique to find work for himself, changing his name from Antoine to Antonio. Two years later he jumped at the chance to come to South Africa, and changed his name again to Anton.  First wandering around the city of Durban, he finally settled in Cape Town. There, he met a girl, got married and soon they were parents of a baby girl who they named Helen. Difficult as it is to believe, his wife left both him and their baby, dumping all responsibility of raising the child on his shoulders. Desperate for work, he finally landed a job as a security guard at the Cape Manor Hotel—which is where I met him. Even though it only pays $300 per month AND demands twelve hour shifts AND means getting up at 4:00 AM every morning to take his daughter to a babysitter before walking two hours to work AND walking another two hours home at night picking up his daughter at 8:00 PM after which he makes her dinner… he’s grateful to be employed.

Today is Day Four of the Cape Town 2010 Lausanne Conference. It’s a free day to give all the delegates a chance to catch their breath from the fire hose of mission information they’ve received so far and to let them enjoy this beautiful region of South Africa. I could have joined a number of friends for a boat trip to Robbins Island, the site of Nelson Mandela’s prison, or tagged along on an inland wine-tasting excursion to the Stellenbosch home of the well-known South African vineyards, or grabbed a bus for a roundtrip to Boulder Beach, famous for its penguins, or tried the cable car for a breathtaking ride up Table Mountain. All of them would have been fun—and worthwhile. But instead, I spent my day browsing through every pawn shop I could find all over Cape Town in an attempt to buy a bicycle. I figured if a guy like Anton was serious about being a dad for his baby daughter, then helping him have an extra hour or two with her each day would be worth it. He certainly has not had any great father role models in his own life and if he’s ready to break that dysfunctional cycle, he can use all the help he can get.

As I headed out this morning, I asked God to help me find a bike for under 600 Rand (about $100). In every shop, I found bikes. But they were all high-end models running in the range of 2,000 to 3,000 Rand ($300 - $450). Finally I arrived at the last shop I knew of. Right there, by the front door was a solid mountain bike with a sales tag on it. Guess how much? 599 Rand! Talk about divine confirmation! A few more bucks spent at a bike shop to straighten the wheel and tighten the brakes and I had a very decent ten speed ready to go.

I chose the beach road as the route to ride the bike myself back to the hotel. Cruising along the breakwater I passed dozens of African men and women finishing their shifts and heading home. I couldn’t help but wonder how many other “Antons” there were among them—struggling dads or moms with good intentions but who desperately needed a little “leg up” of encouragement to help them break cycles of abuse or despair or addiction. Perhaps this entire Cape Town 2010 Congress will be a global call for God’s people to do just that.

The look on Anton’s face when I presented him with his very own bike was worth this entire day of hanging around town instead of participating in the more exotic adventures of my colleagues. In shocked amazement he said, “This is the best thing that has happened to me in the past six years. I wish my daughter were old enough right now to know what you have done for us.”  I told him it was my pleasure and encouraged him to never give up his commitment to be the best dad for little Helen he could be.

Not a bad way to spend a free day after all!