DKEA visits Cape Town

The summer of 2026 will go down in the record books and for 7 members of the diocesan family in KEA it will also be remembered for a mission trip to Cape Town.  The team went to Cape Town with the support of Crosslinks an Anglican missions agency.  When it was confirmed who was coming the team gathered in Longford in April for a day of orientation with Crosslinks.  This was a valuable time to get to know each other, understand what mission is, to start getting familiar with the culture we would be walking into and to pray with one another and for the missions trip.

At last the time came in July for the team to head to Cape Town.  After landing the team made their way to a beautiful coastal town called Muizenberg south of Cape Town.  Muizenberg is a popular surfing spot and in recent years has been rejuvenated with umpteen number of coffee shops and places to eat, not to mention the many surf shops.  Added into this it is also the location for a theological college and this is where our team were based for their stay during their time.  After settling ourselves into our surroundings we had an early night because the next day was Sunday when the mission trip would start in earnest.

 

When Sunday morning arrived we headed for a very different environment than what the scenic surrounds of Muizenberg had to offer.  During our time in Cape Town our main aim was to support the work of Crosslinks Misson partners Alun and Debbie Burt. Alun is the rector of St Thomas Church in a part of Cape Town known as the Cape flats.  The Cape flats and the townships owe their existence to the cruel and oppressive regime of Apartheid. Apartheid has ended but the evidence of it is still visible in places like Heideveld where St Thomas is situated.   Heideveld is a coloured township and is an area with enormous social needs and challenges. A large number of people are unemployed, the attraction for young people to be in a gang is strong and drugs are very prevalent.   So many will just pass by a place like Heideveld yet it is a place where the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ offers the only real hope for change and renewal.   As the team arrived into this hard setting, walking into the church it didn’t feel that way.  The people in St Thomas offered such a warm welcome and were delighted to have the Irish with them.  We were introduced to the congregation by the rector and assisted in different aspects of the service.  The theme for that Sunday was on mission and opportunity for everyone gathered there to be reminded that God is a God of mission and calls his people to join him.

After the service the team spent it chatting to the church family.  When most of the congregation had left we had a light lunch, cleared the chairs and began to look ahead to Monday.  Being the winter school holidays one of the main aspects of the week for the team was to help run a 4 holiday club in St Thomas.  It was a real joy to be doing this with St Thomas’ own group of leaders who were young, passionate, energetic and full of zeal for the Lord.  They embraced us all into their hearts from the word go.   St Thomas is privileged to not only have Alun as their rector but they also have a full time children’s worker on staff in Katleho.  Katleho designed the teaching material and program for the week and we came in alongside to support by organising the crafts for the week and being on board to help with small group teaching and anything else that needed to be done in the week.  It was so wonderful to see Katleho at work and how he so passionately mentored the young leaders under his care.  In true African fashion we were surprised by an announcement after our training that all of us will be going to for a walk in Heideveld with leaflets to invite children to the club.  The team split up with local leaders and for a couple hours took in the surrounding area.  This gave the ream a real sense of where the children were coming from for holiday club the next day.  The theme for the week was the ‘Great I am’ where we taught the children who Jesus is through his seven I am statements in John’s gospel.  This was accompanied with lively and energetic singing by the children, games, snack time, memory verses. In tandum a local Presbyterian church had their own team who were running the same holiday club.  The holiday club averaged about 60 children each day.  Since returning to Ireland Katleho has updated us that one of the aims of his ministry was to disciple children in small groups and their regular weekday Kids Club is now following that pattern set at the Holiday Club. It is encouraging to know that we played a small part in enabling Katlego to bring this about in his ongoing work there with families and children.  One of the striking aspects of the holiday club was seeing children from a Muslim background joining in for the week.  The week of holiday club was capped off with two special events:  first a team gathering took place where Katlego organised a lunch to thank all the leaders who volunteered of their time and in his unique style inspired and encouraging the young leaders in the faith.  The second was a holiday Club service on our final Sunday in St Thomas.  Parents of children who attended the week were invited along to the service where they got to hear their children sing up front and recite the memory verse they learned all week and to take home the key message of the week that Jesus is our Good Shepherd.

Another highlight of the mission week was the ladies breakfast the team organised at St Thomas on the Saturday before we left.  We had expected about 40 woman to attend but in the end 60 came to a packed out church hall.  One of the men in the church who loves to serve through cooking and catering brought in a cooked breakfast with not much fuss and the men in our team with others served the ladies. The ladies on the team dispersed themselves among the ladies who gathered around tables for conversation and a couple of set activities lead by Alun’s wife Debbie.  It was amazing to see the interaction everyone was having and laughter bouncing off the tables.  At one point the woman started singing old Christian choruses without music accompaniment in perfect harmony.   The morning continued with a Bible message from one of the team members who opened up the story of Lydia in Acts, followed by another team member sharing her testimony.  Both were very well received and had a real impact on some of the woman there.

One cannot go to South Africa without being struck by the stark contrast between rich and poor, between those who seem to have everything and those who have nothing.   A ministry that helped us see this was the U Turn.   U Turn is a homeless ministry that we had the privilege to visit on two afternoons.    U Turn started in a dynamic way.  A woman living in one of Cape Town’s leafy suburbs started engaging with homeless individuals who were mining her refuse bins.  To cut a long story short one turned into many.  Soon the neighbours started to complain and it became clear to her another approach was needed.  She talked to her minister at church for use of the church hall. Very soon homeless a Friday soup kitchen was set up which included a short service of worship.  The ministry grew and grew from there.  Today U Turn is making a massive effort to meet the need of homelessness in Cape Town. The team got to visit their service centres where clients arrive to have a meal, or a shower or to buy clothes.  All of this is organised by a voucher system designed by U Turn as a  way for homeless people to connect with services and  interact with trained personnel.   Those who come have the real opportunity to come out of homelessness as the staff support and guide them.   The person who showed us around U Turn was homeless himself and came through the U Turn system.  We also visited one of the many charity shops where the staff are previous clients but now back into mainstream employment.   We were truly blessed to spend that time with staff and even interact with some clients on our visits to the service centres.  The work they do is beyond amazing and a real challenge to how we view the poor and vulnerable in society.

Another setting where the stark contrast was evident was in a visit to a township in Stellenbosch. Stellenbosch is known for it’s lush vineyards, outstanding wines and prestigious university.  However not far from this is an informal settlement known as Kayamandi.  It was so stunningly beautiful overlooking the Stellenbosch mountains yet at the same time desperately sad with people living in basic corrugated tin shacks.  We were brought to the township by a regional bishop who saw the need to plant a gospel committed church.  We met Bishop Peter in Stellenbosch town for a debrief and then he told us to follow him.  We are glad he had that plan because there was no way we would have found our way to the church.  The road started out ok but the higher we ascended the worse it became.    We made it to the top and were met with children running beside the cars to welcome us.  Christ Church Kaymandi is only 6 months old but already there 12-18 adults attending. They meet in a shack on the side of a hill.  On Fridays there is a ministry to teens and on Saturdays to children.  We were privileged to spend a Saturday with Bishiop Peter and lead the kids program with the help of his regular leaders. The children all spoke Xhosa and so we needed everything translated on the day.  It was a wonderful time with the Bishop who demonstrated such warmth and humility and to meet his team of volunteers assisting in the church plant.  Bishop Peter is in the process of looking for a new building a bit lower down the hill to make access easier so we can pray that they acquire a new property as the church continues to grow.

The team had plenty to take in over their 10 days in Cape Town and have come home to Ireland with greater understanding of South Africa, the opportunities for gospel ministry there and the challengers of working in a context with such great needs. Yet at the same time all would agree that they were deeply encouraged by how the Lord is at work.  The joy of the Lord is alive in people, Christian community and sense of family oozes out especially at St Thomas and the energy and zeal of the young people was hard not to be impressed by.  We thank God for the opportunity he gave each member on the team, his provision for the trip and for the partnerships we pray will develop from being part of DKEA Mission to Cape Town.

 

Canon Christiaan Snell