Blogging has an interesting way of bringing people with common beliefs together. I met Alece through blogging about a year ago and have really been captivated by the work that she and her husband are doing in Africa. So, I asked her to write a little something about what she does. Please read this, it will really touch your heart.

Grit and Glory

by Alece van Rensburg

I often refer to my life as a missionary as an interesting mix of grit and glory.

Mostly, my life is nothing more than everyday, run-of-the-mill grit. My days are filled with the same humdrum routineness that yours are filled with, even though our routines may differ. I spend hours behind my desk, which is incredibly messy right now. Who am I kidding? It’s always messy. There are stacks of things piled high on my desk, just waiting for me to tackle them – books I need to simply put away on my bookshelf, papers that need to be filed, projects I’m up to my eyeballs in.

I go grocery shopping, stand in line at the post office, and try to get to a coffee shop for a hot frothy beverage as often as possible. I typically leave the office in the evenings with a frustrated sigh of What am I going to cook for dinner? (I always say that French toast is my specialty, but I don’t even make that particularly well.)

I love to read, but don’t have as much time to enjoy that as I’d like. I watch TV, and as of Christmas, I even TiVo my favorite shows. I love a good movie, and have a surprisingly extensive collection of DVDs. I don’t really have much of a hobby, unless blogging counts as one.

My life probably sounds more similar to yours than you’d imagine a missionary’s would. Or should.

I’m just like you. My minutes and hours are filled with gritty, unimportant details. Many people think that missionaries are exempt from all that. As though we just hovercraft through life, with our feet barely ever touching down into the reality of the world we live in. Not so. My feet are firmly planted. I walk the same rocky roads you do. I enjoy similar life pleasures (although I do wish there were a Starbucks closer than an ocean away). I live life.

I just do it in Africa.

And that’s where the glory part comes in.

I live on a continent ripe with potential, with hope lying just beneath the surface of people’s hearts. I work among the Basotho, a people notorious for their friendliness, warmth, and welcoming smiles. I look out my kitchen window and my breath is stolen by the view; clouds hug the mountains as though they are saying farewell before a long journey. Zebra and antelope graze on my front lawn, and ostrich peck on my office window while I’m working.

I am privileged to live my gritty life in glorious Africa.

Amid the glory of this beautiful land, death is an ever-present reality. It’s the constant lump in everyone’s throat; it’s the hole in our pants pockets, making it impossible to hold onto anything, or anyone. Africa is dying inside. AIDS is the silent killer ravaging the nation of South Africa, the country I now call home. While most of the world turns a blind eye, we’ve dove headfirst into tackling this seemingly-insurmountable challenge.

I truly believe that the only way to turn the tide of the AIDS pandemic is to teach and equip the next generation to live moral lives and make wise decisions. Our AIDS prevention program is doing just that. We’ve trained indigenous young people—whom we call coaches—to teach public school students about abstinence, leadership, and finding life-purpose through a relationship with God.

Our main strategy for AIDS prevention isn’t teaching abstinence, as important as that is. Our main purpose is leading students to become fully-devoted followers of Jesus. Long-lasting behavioral change, which is absolutely necessary to stop the spread of HIV, can only come from a life-transforming encounter with God. As young people grow as Christ-following leaders, they learn to make wise choices in every area of their lives—including the area of their sexuality.

That way, we’re not just rescuing them from contracting and spreading HIV. We’re launching them into society as strong, Godly leaders who will one day have positions of influence in the community, government, church, and marketplace. Thousands of students have made commitments to follow Christ, save sex until marriage, and be faithful to their spouse. A new day is dawning in Africa.

My life is truly overflowing with the glory of lives transformed by the power of God. Looking into the eyes of a young girl who, for the first time, grasps the fact that she is worth far more than just being some guy’s sex toy – that’s glory. Hearing a schoolboy say he now understands that his life is not a hopeless accident, but he was created by God for a purpose – that’s glory. Seeing hundreds of school kids commit to remain pure until marriage – that’s glory. Watching young people flood the stage to give their lives to Christ – that’s unbelievably magnificent glory.

I enjoy the tension of my paradoxical life. The grit is what makes the glory so glorious. If it were all glory, I wouldn’t recognize it anymore. When souls saved and lives changed become mundane, I’ve missed out on the grit of my life. When answering emails and cooking dinner become overwhelmingly weighty, I’ve missed out on the glory. I need both, and I strive to see Him strewn throughout it all.

I’m off to grab a cup of flavored coffee and to see what’s on my TiVo. Tomorrow I’ve got a world to change!

BIO
Alece and her husband are missionaries in South Africa where they pioneered the ministry of Thrive Africa (www.thriveafrica.org). In all her spare time (ahem!), she reads, writes (she blogs at www.gritandglory.com), and daydreams about hot, frothy beverages from Starbucks.