Mother’s Street Filled with Happiness and Inspiration

Port Elizabeth in southern South Africa is known as a resort with its mild climate and beautiful beaches. The Church of God members planned an environmental cleanup to create a Mother’s Street that would shine as a true tourist attraction in Port Elizabeth.

During the preparation for the cleanup, a few church members returned to their hometown after university exams. As the number of participants decreased, it was uncertain whether we would be able to carry out the cleanup properly. In the morning of that day, we went to the appointed place, worried. But from a distance we could see the members who came early to the square, waiting for the cleanup to begin. Although only thirteen members gathered, the orange vests we put on seemed to illuminate the square. I also wore a big smile on my face that had been full of worry at first.

Soon, even the invitees gathered and we started our cleanup. The area that we were expected to clean was Govan Mbeki Ave., the heart of Port Elizabeth. It’s a busy street with many shops, and so we met lots of acquaintances while cleaning.

One of the university students, who was constantly studying the Bible in Zion, joined the activity that day and was asked by a friend of his through the window what he was doing. Then, he introduced the Church of God and our street cleanup. Probably because he was majoring in social welfare, he looked very excited from a few days ago. He liked it so much and said, “Today, I’ve experienced the environmental cleanup campaign for the first time in my life.”

Around the time when we were about to finish cleaning the area, we met a person whom we lost contact with after he studied God’s word a couple of times. He complimented us on our spending Sunday doing such a nice work instead of resting at home, and made an appointment with us to study God’s word again, saying he wanted to learn more about our church. A citizen passing by approached us and said, “I’d just thrown my trash on the ground, but I felt guilty when I saw you cleaning up the street. So I picked it up and brought it back here.” He put it in our garbage bag.

We all gave thanks to God for showing us that our good deeds were moving people.

There are few volunteer organizations and activities in Port Elizabeth. On top of that, the streets are often littered with garbage because the wind is strong. The people, who had been familiar with dirty streets, were moved to see our cleanup and asked us what organization we belonged to. They wanted to join us. Among them, there were those who had misunderstood our church and given our members a hard time.

That was our first time we cleaned up the street, and it rained suddenly and the trash that we had collected was blown away by strong winds. However, we did our best till the end and finished the cleanup successfully.

That day, not only we but many other people in the street were happy and moved by the volunteer service. We felt great at the thought that there was a true Mother’s Street in Port Elizabeth.