Other World

Written by Mike Verkaik

This past week I quickly stopped into the administration office at Holland Christian. As I was walking out, I ran into the former principal whose granddaughter had gone on Oceans Kingdom Encounter the previous summer.

She stopped me and asked, “Did you read Bella’s writing in this year’s Scripta booklet? She won first place.”

Reading her writing carried me back onto the paths of Jim-Se-Bos, where I once again caught a glimpse of our Father’s heart in Bella — still captivated by her Kingdom Encounter almost a year later.

Other World

      Bella Hernandez

Walking through Jim-Se-Bos, and informal town in South Africa.

Mud soaked the ground everywhere we walked; it was

like walking through a sea of feces and dirt.

Flies swarming every house and every person.

Looking around at the metal shacks that housed

families of 6.

Feeling the hand of a child in mine.

How could their lives be like this?

I looked down; the little girl staring at me in the eyes.

With a smile on her face. How?

She has so little, but she has so much joy. She didn’t

see the troubles and the dangers she was living in.

She was excited to show me her home, to show me

where she slept and ate. I was trying to

understand how someone could survive living there.

She didn’t know any better; she didn’t care about her

circumstances.

When she looked at me again, I could see it. The Lord

gave her joy, and that’s all she needed.

After reading her published piece, I asked Bella what compelled her to write her story. She responded, “Because of how impactful this experience was for me and my faith. God really opened my eyes in these moments in Jim-Se-Bos and throughout the whole trip. He showed up to me through people and how they lived. This was one of the most impoverished places I have ever been. Right when we arrived I knew in my heart this was gonna be a difficult time and a difficult experience to be in. But God opened my heart and my eyes to enjoy the time with these people. He was able to show me when we don’t worry about the worldly things or the physical things around us, we can see him show up even more through his creation.  It also helped me see how in the States we care so much about our things and our plans. But the people in Jim-Se-Bos live everyday as a blessing and a gift. They give everything they have everyday and they take joy even in the hardest moments. This was super inspiring to me and it encouraged me to be grateful for everything I have and to put my full effort everyday to be joyful and to love like the Lord.”