Welcome to When Mourning Turned into Dancing - the online presence for Mark Simone and some of the people of South Africa, who dance in the face of grief when struggle is a way of life.
Mark Simone (on the left) is a pastor, author, and teacher who has visited South Africa over 15 times since 1998. Initially leading youth ministry leadership training events to all people groups and in all parts of that magnificent nation, Mark expanded his work creating cultural exchanges and work camps. Along the way, Mark has also begun collecting the stories of injustice and struggle from the apartheid era and hopes to share these stories with the world.
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There are those in this world who possess a joy that cannot be quenched by poverty, government instituted racism, or the uncertainty of any tomorrow. They live in squalor, yet cannot resist waving to strangers who take the time to smile back - perhaps stopping long enough to talk a bit about the sunshine of a cold, South African winter afternoon.
They are the ones whose mourning spontaneously turns into dancing. |
There are impoverished children who communicate such hope in their open, accepting smiles, that they make those who are more fortunate economically or socially wonder about the source of such joy. They help us remember the power of an honest expression as we feel the poverty of our wealth.
These are the children for whom dancing is spontaneously quick and decisive, eradicating their pain and troubles. |
There are those who work for justice and right living by the help they bring, the decisions they make, the struggles they face - even in the resistance they offered when leaders treated fellow citizens than humans deserve.
There are people who who face injustice with dancing and shed tears of healing with those who also mourn. |