By Rubin E. Grant
Austen and Kelsey Keim spent Easter in Cape Town, South Africa.
But they were not on a vacation getaway for their third wedding anniversary, which will be April 22, or trying to escape the global coronavirus pandemic that’s sweeping Alabama and the United States.
Austin, a former Mountain Brook High School basketball player and youth pastor at Brookwood Baptist Church, and Kelsey, who’s from Trussville, have been in Cape Town since July 31 serving as missionaries.
The Over The Mountain Journal reached out to them to see how things were going after nine months.
What led you to Cape Town?
Austin: God opened the door for Kelsey and I to move to Cape Town in the summer of 2017. We had been married for two months and were on a yearly mission trip with the Brookwood Baptist Church youth ministry. At the end of that trip, we were approached by the founders of the nonprofit we serve with, Living Hope, to come join them in South Africa full time. They had a dream to start a program for at-risk children ages 9-11 and were looking for a “mom” and “dad” to come alongside and serve these children.
We were intrigued but didn’t take it too seriously at the time. We were comfortable with where we were in Birmingham. I was the youth minister at Brookwood Baptist Church and Kelsey was a registered nurse at Children’s of Alabama. We both really loved our jobs, our home and our life we had made there.
We continued to serve in our jobs but always had Living Hope in our mind and in many of our personal conversations. We returned to Cape Town in 2018 to serve with Living Hope again. On that trip, we were contemplating the idea of moving here, but were still not convinced that it was the right move or the right time. God continued to push us in that direction, but we weren’t sure how to listen.
When we returned to Birmingham, we were challenged on a Sunday morning at Brookwood to engage in 40 days of prayer: to simply ask God for an answer. We knew immediately what we needed to ask God about. We did just that. We decided to be obedient in this time of prayer and ask for clarity. To our surprise, we had our answer in the first two weeks.
All of the thoughts we had previously that had pointed us to an answer of “no” had just melted away. All that was left was an overwhelming feeling of peace. We asked for clarity and He said YES.
We were both so certain that it felt as though we would blatantly be disobeying this call from God if we decided to stay where we were in our comforts of Birmingham. We sought wisdom and council from family members and mentors, asking them to finish the 40 days of prayer with us.
We were consistently reaffirmed that God wanted us to begin the journey to Cape Town. In November of 2018 we officially said “yes” to the call. This included telling all of our friends and family, quitting our jobs, selling our house and our cars, raising support from our churches and communities, and beginning the transition to Cape Town. All God asked was for obedience, and He brought the joy and peace that came with such a big transition.
What exactly does your ministry entail?
Austin: Our role here is to help establish an after-school program for at-risk boys aged 9-11. We have defined at-risk as boys who are using drugs and/or are on the verge of being kicked out of school. They are given a ride to and from Living Hope Monday through Friday after school from about 2 p.m. until 7 p.m. All the boys are dealing with very difficult circumstances at home and in school.
The program is designed to help the boys by helping with school work, teaching them life skills, helping with specific interventions to deal with childhood trauma, showing them opportunities outside of their community, and mostly by teaching them the hope that the gospel offers in the cross.
Our team feels passionately that, in order to have a lasting impact on the boys’ lives, we have to initiate change in the homes. For this reason, there is also a parenting/family side of the program so that the parents can be equipped to support their child.
We have a wonderful team that we work with. Kelsey and I take on the role of “mom and dad,” being there each day with the boys to make their snack, teach lessons, play games and other group work activity. We have a group of professionals on our team, including a social worker, occupational therapist and psychologist. We also have volunteers who come in to help the boys prepare meals, teach farming, read stories, exercise, etc.
Our goal is to invest in 10 boys at a time for a 15-week period, and then to stay connected to the boys who’ve graduated from our program. On March 16, we graduated our first group of six boys. They were our pilot program, and we learned so much from our experience with them. Not seeing them every day has been difficult, and we miss them very much. Our plan was to start with a new group of boys in April, but obviously that was unable to take place due to the dynamic circumstances with COVID-19.
What have been some of the challenges and triumphs? What has been rewarding about it?
Austin: It felt as though every day with the boys presented a new and different challenge. The group of boys we brought in first were all connected in one way or another, and they brought their “baggage” from school or home. Oftentimes they would get in fights with each other or friends at school, and then they would bring that conflict into Living Hope. Finding how to discipline appropriately to make our program a safe place was difficult. We learned that structure is key, and we can show love to the boys by making this important.
When we look back on our time with our first group of boys, there were amazing triumphs that shined over the challenges. I’ll share two brief testimonies: First, we had one of our boys accept Jesus into his life as Savior. As a team we made sure to support him with prayer and were overwhelmed by the way God worked in his life. Second, one of our boys was so impacted by our time daily that he would try to recreate our program at home. He would go home, where he lives with 10-plus relatives, would gather his young siblings and cousins, and he would teach them the Bible story/lessons that he learned that day. He and his dad also made a garden outside their flat just like the one he had developed at Living Hope. It meant so much to hear the testimonies from their families that seeds had been planted and the boys were bringing lessons about Jesus into their homes.
What’s it like living in Cape Town?
Austin: Living here has been amazing, truly. Overall, Cape Town is considered one of the most economically diverse cities in the world. The city and its surroundings have a lot of first world resources, but right around the corner are communities with immense poverty and suffocating gangsterism. There are still clear images of South Africa’s history. The country is still healing from the negative effects of the Apartheid. This was only lifted in 1994.
We have been blessed with a wonderful flat in a safe area. We have a nice garden in the back with a view of the ocean. Talk about some beautiful sunsets! The location where we live has access to wonderful resources and great health professionals who have already had to help us with my prescription glasses, stitches, cat bite, X-rays and MRIs. We have had a few injuries and illnesses so far.
We are fortunate to attend a church that makes us feel at home, and one we hope to become more involved in as we continue to get settled. We have developed some excellent relationships with people here that have helped us in so many ways. Over the past few months, we have felt more and more like this is our home, and it has brought so much excitement. Now that we are in lockdown in this flat, we are feeling more and more blessed by where we live.
How long do you think you will continue your work?
Austin: We have loved our time here and have not put a time frame on how long we will be here. We are currently committed to a 3-year time period because that is the length of the volunteer visa we are trying to obtain. We are leaving our return to the US open-ended and trying to continue following God’s calling for us. COVID-19 could have a major effect on our timing, but God has brought us here, and we are trusting in His truth.
Do you miss home and how much?
Austin: Honestly, we haven’t been homesick yet, which is a major blessing. Of course, we miss our family and friends back home. There is a 7-hour time difference, so it is hard finding the right time to communicate. We have had siblings, and many close friends have babies since we have moved, so missing big events like that is tough, but truly God just blankets the sadness with peace. The food here is amazing, but we miss good Mexican food and Chick-fil-A. We also miss the accessibility to resources that you get at places such as Amazon, Target, Walmart, and Home Depot.
We really just miss being with our family in person, for holidays, dinners, game nights or just to run a quick errand with someone. We know this is just a season though, and we look forward to embracing all the little moments we maybe took for granted before we moved.
