Jason in Knysna

We met Jason while traveling through South Africa in 2009. He lives in a small coastal town called Knysna. We met him upon parking the car. i was drawn to him immediately because he was so young -- he was out on the streets trying to earn a living by watching people's cars that are parked in town. In South Africa it's become a way to work by standing by the cars in the spirit of 'protecting' the car from any crime, and before you leave it's a courtesy to offer something. This boy was only 13 years old; by looking at the holes in his shoes we sensed he wasn't able to attend school (because even public schools require fees which some families cannot afford). One's heart stretches in these moments, feeling such a longing to change the world many hearts at a time and establish justice everywhere. We talked with him and felt his heart -- he was most polite and full of beauty. We offered him the food from our car before walking away, and instantly Dash and I were thinking the same thought: let's buy him dinner. We returned with a hot meal and his gratitude was immense. Dash was concerned for this boy's safety (thinking someone might take his bag) so he watched and waited for a little while; Dash saw the boy (Jason) find a place that was obviously hiding himself from others on the street. When we came back from our dinner he was busy with another car so we didn't get to say goodbye again. For the next few days our family continued to talk about this soul. We loved him, and he taught us a lot -- the children were able to think about how difficult it would be if they needed to do what he was doing; they also saw how beautiful his character was, how polite, respectful and sincere he was...all those spiritual qualities and powers which made him beautiful.

We had to drive past this town on our way back to Cape Town, and as soon as we reached his area of work, we saw him nearby helping another driver; we felt so excited! Dash parked the car and ran back a block, waiting until Jason was finished. When he turned around, he noticed me standing there and smiled, came over and hugged me. He hugged me for a long time -- it felt like we were family. We started talking about how he was doing. I asked about his family and he answered that they love him -- that comforted my heart. We walked back to my car and he hugged the whole family. He asked for nothing but Dash gave him some money. It was not easy to say goodbye or drive away from him. He kept saying 'God bless you' to Dash as they waved goodbye to each other. It was such a soul to soul connection. Our family will now keep him in our prayers, and continue to pray for all the children of the world whose lives are indescribably difficult.