Please Forgive Me Oprah?

You know that old Louis Armstrong song…
“Won't you come home, Bill Bailey, won't you come home?
I've moaned the whole night long
I'll do the cookin', honey, I'll pay the rent
I know I done you wrong

Will someone sing this to Oprah for me to the same tune? “Won’t you forgive me, Oprah? Won’t you please? I’ve waited the whole year long! Won't you have tea with me? I know I done you wrong"

Putting things in Perspective:

I wrote about Oprah’s opening of a school in South Africa in my blog last year. At the time I didn’t think I’d said anything bad, really. But it certainly has stuck in my craw throughout the year. I’ve had many a discussion with folks about Oprah, the school and I’ve heard everyone’s personal opinion of Oprah.

I accused Oprah of “drive-by outreach”. Please, Oprah, will you accept my sincere apology? You helped, you cared and who am I to judge you on that? Reading that you’d marched into South Africa, set up plans for building a school and technically waved your $$$ wand and made it happen just hurt me. I realize now there are several reasons I felt this way which have helped me to see the error of my ways; thoughts, words and actions.

Seven years ago my family moved to South Africa from Atlanta, Georgia. We’d been in full-time ministry ten years prior and literally I’d longed to serve God and His people in Africa all my life. When we arrived in Cape Town we were at amazed at the massive conglomerate of folks from around the world who'd given their lives to helping others here. A few South Africans asked why we “needed” to go to South Africa to serve God? There are so many others already helping- what more did we have to offer than those already sweating it out? Certainly we didn't want to seem arrogant as we surely knew we possessed no real corner on the market as far as ministry was concerned. So we spent a great deal of time praying; talking over with God our heart and His for our being in Cape Town. There are many organizations in the townships to help, big and small. ‘What did we have to offer?’

Initially when we visited Cape Town on our ‘spy out the land’ tour, we visited some of the ministries already established. We then set out to find what the work was that God had for us. It was in the very last days of our visit that we spied out a sign: District Six Museum. Following the signs we found a quaint, little church located in the parking lot of a large university. That seemed odd. Firstly, why build a church in the parking lot of a university? Wait, it wasn't really a church but a museum! Walking across the threshold our eyes beheld a hand drawn map on the floor. The map was of a former community called District Six. Inside the quaint, little church were remnants of a vibrant community. From street signs to pictures, hand-sewn, quilted reminders marking the spots on the map where families had once lived their lives. We sensed their loss, their sadness and the longing of God’s heart to rebuild family in community. It was at this moment God revealed His plan/vision for us. Later that next year when we moved our family to Cape Town, several South Africans would say: “they’ll never be able to rebuild District Six.” Had Nehemiah been met with the same when rebuilding Jerusalem? Those words hurt at first, but then we realized it was truth! We couldn’t rebuild, recapture all that had been District Six. You can build the houses, streets, schools, shops, etc. You could bring as many of the people back as you could find- but it wouldn’t recreate what was. That vibe, that feel, that sense of community was destroyed in the Group Areas Act. And still...God said ‘what the enemy meant for evil, I will use for good.’ So…. there is hope in rebuilding, like He said to Habakkuk: “Look and watch and be utterly amazed. For I am about to do something you wouldn’t believe, even if told.”

Some have pinned hopes on that literally being about District Six alone. Some have put their own dreams into what that will look like… and even have been disappointed that they haven’t seen it with their own eyes… yet. But we believe that God is doing something so amazingly different, it can’t be seen with the naked eye… it’s experienced when we come together as in Psalm 133: How good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity….There’s the place God can command His blessing, even life forevermore!

What does all this have to do with Oprah? It has to do with all of us really- in that coming together place. Looking back in the Old Testament we learn about a time when they were all together in one place and decided to build a way back to heaven. Their only problem was they left God out of their equation.

I didn’t like the comment the one little girl made when meeting Oprah at the opening of the school. “How did you make your first million?” It wasn’t fair to attribute that to Oprah. The media prints what they want, don’t they? What they think we want to read versus what is really from the heart. What’s Oprah’s heart on that?

Celebrities don’t have to respond to media. They don’t even have to care, do they? Nor do we have to care about anything if we don’t want to do it. And here’s where I see Oprah makes a difference.

I first heard about Oprah when she came to Atlanta to interview the folks in that county where it was discovered blacks were not allowed to live, work or attend school. ‘That’s a pretty cheeky thing to do for a black woman!’ I remember thinking when I read her intentions to interview the people of the county on their views. That was a launching moment in Oprah’s calling. Some might say she took a huge risk, perhaps banking on it being the breakthrough moment in her career. Look what she’s done with her life! Who can say the same? Are we taking the risks? Are we going to the front lines of our lives and becoming who we were meant to be? And are we using it for good in the lives of others?

I have at times wished I had Oprah’s money to do all that she does. Putting things in perspective: My Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills. Nothing is impossible for those who believe. Oprah’s place is not where I belong. I’m called to be right here in South Africa, to be able to move around Africa according to God’s will and in His timing. I think he actually uses the fact that I’m short on cash a lot to get me to pray and seek Him before just giving it away. Don’t get me wrong, I love this about Oprah: she understands the power of extravagant giving! And she’s a wonderful example of sharing your gift with others. We can learn great things from this… and God will use these for good in our lives and the lives of countless others. Who knows, perhaps He will use Oprah and me together! I’d love to see her bus in the streets of Kigali and Kampala and Kinshasa, making African women’s dreams come true! I want to remind us all that God is alive and very present with us in our hopes, dreams and prayers. He will not forsake us or forget about us! He knows the plans He has for us! Plans to prosper us, to give us a future and a hope so that we can see and do like Oprah did. Thank you, Oprah! Thank you for not staying in the hurt that was meant to paralyze you into never becoming who you were meant to be! Thank you for believing beyond your wildest dreams for the future; for taking the risks and for having such a huge heart for others! I’ll be praying for your school and for all those involved in the mentoring and training of those precious young women. I’ll be praying for you, too, that you personally will get to know those girls and their families. Have tea with them, spend time with them, let them have access to your true heart. Let them know about the color purple. Help them to know the voice of God in their own hearts. That’s my prayer for you and them.





Susan Hill
Rebuilding Family in Community
Blood N Fire, RSA
Cape Town, South Africa