a story of robust faith...

This morning I listened to Auntie Pienah,from Riverlea, sharing her story. She's originally from Buysdorp and came to Johannesburg in 1949. She emphasised the fact that she is a Buysdorper, in murg en been. She came to Joburg to work. This she also emphasised.

She shared her struggle to find work, eventually in a factory and she shared her ongoing struggles with racism. Yet, she found support with a friend and she remained part of the church. It was fascinating to note that she indicated she never was the talkative type in the church, nor was she the activist type. She considered herself a quiet member...yet she remained faithful and her faith sustained the kind of challenges she faced in the real world.

Her story is articulating a kind of faith that is taking place on the road, in the migration towards the spaces where we are able to sustain life. It's a robust faith in the midst of or better, against a vicious social system. It was a patient, prayerfilled journey, but its one where she are conscious of the fact that God was faithfull to her and that God answered her prayers. I was

Another thing I was thinking of is the fact that perhaps her struggle against colonialism and a brutal system is perhaps not the material that make the newspapers as perhaps she never participated in a march or never threw a stone. She was never in the prison, but she is the embodiment of a struggle tradition, but more so a faith that inspires. She inspires me, she teach me critical lessons of faith that sustains. This is a faith that lives in the stories of people like Auntie Pienah. Its not in the headlines, nor in the glossy books. Yet its a robust living faith, if only we are willing to listen.