A Way Late Post

So I know it has been a long time since I've last posted and I wish I could say that there was a good excuse for it, but the truth is that I have just been caught up in reading a couple of books the past few nights. This post then is long overdue, so let me jump into what I have been up to the past couple of weeks.

Last Monday, the four of us Duke students arrived at the early morning worship at the seminary and were then told after the service that we had the rest of the day and Tuesday off to celebrate July 4th. We then decided to call Edgar, another one of the Duke students who was placed in Durban, and asked if we could come visit him. Edgar said yes and amazingly found accommodations for all four of us to stay. When we arrived we picked up Edgar, and went to the waterfront to have dinner. The city felt like a smaller American city much like a Jacksonville or Daytona. When then ate and celebrated the 4th while looking out at the Indian Ocean.

Later that night we went back to the living arrangements that Edgar made for us; John and Joan went to stay at the house of Edgar's supervisor Anna, who was a former Duke divinity intern who came back to serve in South Africa. Jamison and I stayed with Edgar where he was staying at a place called Boys Town. Boys Town is an organization that houses boys either from troubled households, or from impoverished households, and raises them as a family, teaching them both academically and socially. It was such a great experience to be there, and the three Dukies and about 6 boys had a very good time playing laughing and playing Uno together.

The next day we went to a famous Market downtown and took a tour. They showed us around to all the areas including an herbal market, in which we got to help grind the herbs into the fine powder. We also went to the meat market where they serve some interesting food, including cow head which they chop and cook right there in the market. Apparently in Zulu culture cow head is a delicacy which in the past was only eaten by men because it shows power because it's still a very patriarchal where men are supposed to be the head of the household (i.e. eating a cow's head) I did try the cow head and was surprised that although it was a little gamy  like venison it actually had a very good flavor. After the day we returned back to Pietermaritzburg.

The very next night we had the honor to go to dinner with the Reverend Peter Storey. Rev. Storey is a former professor at Duke and is our liaison between Duke and South Africa, but is so much more than that. Rev. Storey is the former bishop of the Methodist church in South Africa, yet still this is not what makes him so remarkable. Rev. Storey, was one of the leading religious figures in the fight against the Apartheid regime, so much so that he and Desmond Tutu are good friends. He was even the chaplain to Nelson Mandela while Mandela was in prison. At dinner he told us some about his struggles, and how he had been arrested many times fighting for the cause. It was a very inspiring meal.

The rest of the time we have spend participating in what the seminary calls intensives, which are short but intense sessions that are geared to help the seminarians engage in practical discussions in ministry. The great thing about them is that they are not for a grade, therefore the seminarians can't really wrestle with ideas and delve into discussion without the fear of being graded. Last week we sat in on lectures by Peter Storey himself, since he helped form Seth Mokitimi Seminary. He spoke about some many powerful issues, but in particular he gave a lecture on prayer that blew my mind. There isn't enough room to talk about details but if you are interested ask me about it when I get back. This week we were in classes with John Van de Laar who is a South African liturgist. He gave amazing lectures about the intimacy of worship and how the packaging of worship (i.e. contemporary vs traditional) is the least important aspect of preparing worship. Once again there is not enough room here to talk about it or explain what he meant by this, but ask me and I'd love to tell you.

So that is what I have done the past two weeks. What the last couple of weeks hold for me I'm not sure, some more intensives probably, but other adventure I'm sure as well. Until then, God Bless.
 

Collar ID

There was an interesting phenomenon that happened while were out in Bulwer, one that I can only describe as Collar ID. As I mentioned the three of us ministers had to wear shirt and collar in order to be recognized in the Zulu community, and recognized we were. In fact we were treated like royalty. Everywhere we went while we were in our collars we were given the seat of honor, served food, and sometimes even given a gift of money. Even Mrs. Violet Mosiea, the lady who offered her house for Jamison and me to stay at, treated us like kings. We had three course meals for breakfast and supper, and even when we offered to help in the kitchen or cleaning dishes, she refused to let us help. It was very hard at first to accept this hospitality, not to mention that we got fed so much that at times we avoided the house so we wouldn't have to eat. After all, we didn't do anything that warranted this generosity.

After a while I learned to accept the generosity as an honor, not one that I deserved, but one that I was fortunate to take part of. It also added to the situation that we were white, and foreigners. At every event we were the only white people, and at most events we were the only white people who had ever attended. Their generosity then became a sign of both recognizing that we are ministers, and thanking us for taking the time to even be there, since so many white South Africans do not take time to associate with them. The only thing that we could do is accept the hospitality as our way of saying thank you for letting us be a part of your community.

Now before you start judging the white South Africans for their lack of participation in these worship groups, think about how few white Americans go and worship in African America or Hispanic, or Asian communities. The experience has really made not judge the sawdust in the eyes of the white South Africans, but rather realized the log in my own eye. How can we call ourselves a community of believers if we don't worship together? I know that the American context is different, and that there are many factors to go into the division, but it at least makes you think that if we are all children of God, then why are we not worshiping together in our father's house? God Bless

The Hills of Bulwer

So I promised at the beginning of the week that my blog would consist of three posts about my experience in Bulwer, however this week has been more exciting than I had anticipated. So now I'm just getting around to talking about what we did on our off days in Bulwer.

Our first off day that we had was the Monday after our first service. For this day we decided that we would go and explore the Sani Pass which is a route that leads through the Drakensburg mountain into Lesotho. Lesotho is a country that is completely surrounded by South Africa much like how the Vatican is surrounded by Italy. We got about 7 miles away from Lesotho and were told that we would need a 4x4 in order to drive into Lesotho because the roads were so bad. So instead of going to Lesotho we went hiking near up to the summit of one of the foothills, which is still probably as high as some of the Blue Ridge Mountains, but don't hold me to that because I'm bad at judging distance. We had a beautiful view at the top, after a tough, very steep climb.

Our next day off we went to the Marutswa Forest, which is a natural forest in Bulwer. We hiked through the forest which was very beautiful. The following day off, we went to a hotel that claimed to be haunted, and had even had the discovery channel come out and do a show on it. Our trip wasn't to see the hotel however, but rather to see the history behind it. After another hour and a half hike we arrived at a site of some Bushmen paintings, located in a rocky overpass. The paintings were painting by some of the original tribal people of South Africa and were painted somewhere between 1,500 to 6,000 years ago. It was very exciting to see. Finally on our last day off, we took another hike behind the hotel which ended up being a 4 hour hike which at some points I'm not sure we were still on the trail. All of these trips were great experiences, because we really got to take in the beautiful landscape of South Africa. I'm on such a roll that I think I might go ahead and type my final post on Bulwer now. God Bless.

Circuit Riding

Hey all, I am back down from the mountains and had a wonderful time. Hopefully there are some who are still following the blog. Because so much happened during the past two weeks, I am going to break the content into three different posts that I will be posting sometime this week. They will discuss our adventures during our leisure time, a culture observation, and this post I will discuss all of the work that we did.

Our first experience on the circuit started when we followed Pastor Victor Mkize to two Zulu worship services. As I mentioned in another post, the circuit system here is similar to what it was like in early America, and Pastor is responsible for 35 societies (churches) within an area that is about the distance from Richmond to Charlottesville or from Durham to Greensboro. The first day we drove out to the furthest society which was only miles from Lesotho. We entered in a small building that was filled with about twenty people, most of whom were dressed in red and white uniforms signaling they were part of a Methodist group similar to being part of United Methodist Women or United Methodist Men. The service was about 2 hours long, full of singing and dancing, Pastor preaching, and communion; which makes Pastor's visit so important because they only receive communion when he visits their society, which is only four times a year. After the service the whole congregation walked to the house of a elderly lady who could not make the service, and we sang and gave communion to her. After that we went to another society about 20 miles away and did it all over again.

During the weeks we did visitations with the Pastor which was really special to see. We would set off on adventures that took us and hour and a half away from any paved roads, through gravel roads, dirt roads, and no roads at all, just so we could visit one elderly person who could not attended church and give them communion. For a society like ours who likes to manage our time and focus on cost ratios, this really teaches the lesson that every child of God is important and deserves our attention, especially those who are often neglected. The joy that Pastor took in these visitations was infectious and it was impossible not to see the love of God through him.

We also did visitations of families who lost loved ones and even attended one of the funeral services. The service was full of singing and testimonies, similar to services in the states, but it lasted longer. There were also some girls that game dressed in white traditional African beads and did a dance celebrating the deceased girl's virginity. She was only 19 and died of what sounds like an aneurysm. After the service the body was carried to the back yard and buried. The tradition was to wait until the grave was completely filled before you leave. All ministers (including us) were asked to drop dirt into the grave and say "ashes to ashes, dust to dust"

One of our visitations led us to a place in the middle of a small village that took care of villagers with disabilities, mostly the mental variety. They taught them how to make certain crafts and then would sell the crafts to help sustain the facility. They were extremely excited to see us, and it was very touching how much our visit brightened their day.

The following Sunday Jamison and I were given the opportunity to preach in two separate Zulu societies. It was difficult to write a sermon with a culture and language barrier, so I had to keep it simple. I spoke a sentence at a time, and a translator would say it in Zulu. Even with all the struggles, it went very well and the people seemed to appreciate the message.

Last Tuesday we visited the local hospital, which was also an hour away from any paved roads. It was our intention to go and pray with the patients which we did, but God had a special purpose for us that day. John and his wife Joan, who are both in the field of medicine, started a conversation with the doctor of the hospital. He told them that he had just lost both a mother and baby on the operating table that morning and that he was so distressed that he turned in his resignation. We talked with him and prayed with him, and he showed us around the hospital, and by the end of the day you could tell some healing had taken place. It taught me a valuable lesson that when visiting hospitals, doctors and nurses need prayers just as much as the patients do.

Finally this weekend we attended a youth retreat close to Pietermaritzburg. There was a lot of singing and passionate preaching, and even though we didn't know what was going on most of the time it was still powerful. There was also a time when all the youth took a knee and the pastors present (including us) went and laid hands on individuals and prayed for them. It was a pretty touching moment. After that we had to say goodbye to Pastor Mkize and head home. It was kind of sad, he's a good man and a true disciple.

That is all of the work that we did these past two weeks, I know it was a lot to read but there is so much that needed to be said. This is only part of our experience in the mountains, and in the next few days I will address some other issues and events that took place. Until then, God Bless.

June 16, 1976

Senzeni na? Sono sethu, ubumyama?Sono sethu yinyaniso?Sibulawayo, Mayibuye i Africa

(What have we done? Our sin is that we are black? Our sin is the truth, They are killing us, Let Africa return)

 

This is the touching hymn that we sang at a chapel service dedicated to the events of June 16, 1976. In the mid 70's the Apartheid government passed the Bantu education act which required the schools in the townships to be taught 50/50 in English and Afrikaans. This was seen as a form of oppression because the natives were no longer allowed to learn in their native tongue and were forced to learn in the language of their oppressors. On June 16, 1976, around 20,000 students in Soweto, a large township outside of Johannesburg, took to the streets in what was supposed to be a peaceful protest. The protests were met by strong government force and around 175 students were killed. The scene has been immortalized by a picture of a young boy named Hector. who had been shot, being carried by a young adult with Hector's sister running beside. Hector was one of those who died in the conflict.

June 16, has become a national holiday and the seminary held a service and lectures in remembrance of the event. In these lectures the seminary students were urged to speak out against current corruption in the government so that it would not take this type of event to happen again to change to system. I thought it was a pretty good message, but after talking to many of the seminarians, they seemed to have a different view. Many said that what he was saying was morally correct, but practically impossible. They told stories of the government giving jobs to those who were speaking out against them, or providing their family with some of the things the desperately need in exchange for their silence. They also said that they would bribe higher up officials in the church to place these ministers in affluent churches, so that when they spoke out against injustices, they appeared as if they were hypocrites. Others even said they wouldn't put it past the government to set up car "accidents" in order to silence critics. It is a very sad state of fear that these seminarians are still in. It is hard to tell how much is truth and how much is carryover from the fear they faced in the apartheid regime. If I had to guess I would say that there is some truth to what they are saying. Prayers are definitely needed for the future ministers of South Africa, while the apartheid may have ended, the struggle is far from over.

 

 On a side note, we are traveling to our new placement up in the foothills of the Drakensburg mountains, with a high likelihood of having no internet. That being the case this may be the last post for over two weeks. Come back to read after that though, because I am sure that I will have a lot of wonderful things to talk about. God Bless. 

 

 

Last Days of Walk in the Light

I will be writing two posts in a relatively short time, this one will be talking about my last days at Walk in the Light, and the other one that will follow later will be talking about a historical event in South Africa. As I mentioned, Monday and Tuesday were our last days at Walk in the Light. On Monday we sorted donated clothes and then packed them according to gender and size in small plastic bags. We then loaded them into multiple cars, hopped on top of the Range Rover (that's right, on top of it) and drove around Haniville delivering clothes to the township. It was moving to see how much this meant to the people. One woman came walking past us with no shoes and a pack that maybe had two shirts and two pants in it, and was so thankful and happy for what she received. It is amazing that the clothes that we discard and would not wear anymore, are cherished and appreciated in this township. It really puts it into perspective.

Later that afternoon we went to the house of one of the workers at Walk in the Light, Neils. He and his wife Helen work with equestrian therapy, using horses as a well to overcome trauma such as addiction, divorce, or even rape. They told us how working with horses helps to show us a lot about ourselves. For many people who are struggling, learning how to work with horses shows that they have some control in their own lives. Helen allowed us to see how horses can teach us about ourselves. She had us get into a coral with a horse and had us try to get the horse to move and stop. Some of us tried a calm method others tried more aggressive methods, but none had much success. She then taught us how being confident and assertive is different from aggressive and was still kind and let us try again. It was amazing how we all changed and were able to control the horse. It really did teach us a lot about ourselves.

Finally on our last day at Walk in the Light we were cleaning up an Old playground and making room for new additions. This included us pulling large polls out of the ground. That was a lot more difficult than it sounds and became a good team building exercise. It took all of us working together to get the poles out of the ground. One in particular was extremely stubborn and took John shoveling around it while both Jamison and I pull with all of our strength. Like I said it was good team building.

We did many things Wednesday, much of which I will talk about in my next blog, but one thing we did was talk about our upcoming assignment in Bulwer. During this conversation we found out that we would not be accepted in the rural Zulu culture as ministers unless we had on black shirts and collars, like priests do in the States. We then had to take a trip downtown to buy these shirts, which weren't cheap by the way. It was funny to watch us try to put these collars on because it was a lot more difficult than it looked. After we figured it out we looked so funny and out of place; we didn't really no how to pull the look off. We looked more like criminals in priests disguise then real priests. It was funny. Hopefully we can wear it with more authority later.

That is what happened so far this week. Pretty exciting. Look for another blog a little later talking about another aspect of life. Until then, God bless.

Howick and the Indian Church

I'm back as promised to tell you about the weekend that I have had. Saturday morning we went up to Howick which is near Mpophemeni, the place we worked the first week. There in Howick is a fairly large waterfall. While the fall is not very wide it is still quite impressive. Picture any movie or show depicting a fall on a stranded island such as on Lost and you'll begin to picture it. Below the fall there is a small pond which makes the scenery even more beautiful.

All around Howick are stores selling many different handmade items so we drove around to many of them to observe as well as to buy some souvenirs. There is a lot of interesting types of art, but the ones that are most common in South Africa is art made of wires and art made of beads. Some of the most interesting pieces were bowls made out of different color telephone wire. One shop that we stopped at was a leather store, and while John was trying on a leather coat, I tried on a hat just to be funny. When I looked in the mirror I realized that the hat actually looks really good on me; the others said I must buy because it looks so good, and after seeing how cheap is was for such a high quality hat I indeed bought the hat. I am now the owner of a hat that is a mix between a Indiana Jones hat and a Australian Outback hat. Don't judge before you see it, and anyways it keeps the sun off my face and neck.

Midday the group stopped at a local microbrewery and got a sample of their four main beers. Hey, us divinity students need a break every once and a while too. After leaving the brewery we went for lunch at a very nice restaurant called the Bierhassl. While the cuisine was not South African, but rather Austrian, it was still new to me. I got something called a jagerschnitzel which is pretty much country fried steak but pork instead of steak.

We ended the night with another braii (cookout) with some of the seminarians at the flats such as John and a guy named Arno. The braii was in preparation for a big rugby game, which we went up to Arno's flat to watch. It was a very interesting game which I picked up quickly, and ended with time running out as one player was tackled just short of the goal line in what would have been a winning score. What made it even more exciting was that one of the teams was John's favorite team and the other team was Arno's favorite team so throughout the game they were shouting at each other and at home in Afrikaans. It felt like being back in America watching football with buddies, minus the Afrikaans.

Today we went to an Methodist church in town that was entirely Indian. The sanctuary was like a fellowship hall with plastic chairs directed toward a small cross on the back wall and a small pulpit for the preacher. The songs were displayed on overhead projectors like the one's we used to have in school. Other than the economic differences than the church we had previously been attending, the service was no different than any other that I have attended. I found this to be a beautiful thing. There were hymns, liturgy, a excellent Pentecost sermon, and communion. I came into the worship service expecting to experience a different culture, but found out that they worship the same way I do. To me this really emphasized that we are all brothers in sisters in Christ no matter where in the world we are, or what ethnicity, we are all one in the body of Christ. It was a great experience.

Tomorrow and Tuesday we head back to Walk in the Light but we will be back on Tuesday night so that we can attend lectures held at the seminary on Wednesday. Hopefully that means that there won't be so much time in between this post and the next. Until then though, God Bless.

Walk in the Light II

 I apologize for the length between posts, but I was once again at Walk in the Light where internet availability is scarce. So I would love to talk about all of the heartwarming or emotional experiences that I had this week while at work, but unfortunately most of our work centered around preparing for a large group of college students who were coming to stay at Walk in the Light. To make room for them, an old house had to be restored so that the pastor and the youth pastor who were staying at Walk in the Light could move in and the college students would take their old rooms. This required more painting for us, pulling up carpet, washing walls, and moving a lot of furniture. While it was at times frustrating to do work at the agency rather than out in the community it did teach me a lot about how much work goes into running an agency. While places like Walk in the Light are known for the great work that they do out in the community, there is a lot of work behind the scenes at the agency itself that must be done to keep the agency functioning.

We did have one very interesting experience during the week. We took some people downtown to get money from their government pensions. As we arrived the the streets where lined with vendors trying to sell whatever they  could to the people who just received their money to live off of. Sadly, there was a lot of alcohol and tobacco being sold, which just is painful to think about someone spending what little money they had for electricity, food, and clothes on alcohol and cigarettes. As we entered the compound it was impossible not to notice the 15 to 20 armed guards outside and inside the building, garnishing automatic shotguns, assault rifles, and Uzis. Inside what looked like a church or school gymnasium, people stood in line while government officials handed out their apportionment of money. I was a sight to see, but a place that I was glad to quickly get out of.

Other than this experience and the preparation for the college group, there is not much work related to talk. For leisure, I am reading The Picture of Dorian Gray, which is very well written, and while I'm staying at Bruce's house, Jamison and I have watched many episodes of CHiPs. On Thursday, as a group we took Bruce and his family out to a place called The Crafty Duck. It's a very interesting place because its like a small zoo with a restaurant in the middle. They had snakes, crocodiles, alpacas, parrots and a lot of other interesting animals. The food was delicious and I tried what was essentially Sheppard's Pie, except instead of beef it had wild boar in it. I know I talk about food a lot but, that is because it is an interesting part of the culture that I believe deserves to be written about as well.

Luckily I managed to get this post done; there have been rolling blackouts in the area and we have lost power intermittently. Tomorrow the group is going to a waterfall in the area and then their is some sort of arts trail nearby. It should be fun, look out for another post hopefully Sunday about it. It's been raining all week, I hope we have a somewhat nice day tomorrow to enjoy the falls. Until next time, God Bless.  

Walk in the Light

Ok, so it's been almost a week since my last post, I apologize for that, but it is because this week were not at the flats in Pietermaritzburg. I also apologize that since it has been so long between that this post may be extremely long. Hopefully it will read quickly for all of you.

This week we began our placement at a place called Walk in the Light, located in a township called Haniville, which is not far from Edendale which we visited last week. Walk in the light was started by a man named Bruce who felt that the Lord was calling him to do more than just sit in church, especially after all the horrors of townships that he saw while he was serving in the military. Bruce was a software engineer who made a lot of money on software that helped farmers' sell their crops. After feeling his call he sold the rights to his software and with the money that he earned he started up Walk in the Light. Walk in the Light does a lot of the things that Masimbubane and Ethembeni do such as home vists, youth programs, gardens, and transportation to clinics and hospitals. What really excites me is the potential that Walk in the Light has to grow. Bruce is a very organized and well planned guy yet at the same time he allows room for the spirit to work. For example he says that Walk in the Light now functions strictly off of donations and that week to week he has no idea where the money will come from, yet he still plans for big things, and usually it still works out.

One pleasant surprise about Walk in the Light is that there are three college students from Azuza Pacific University in California named Ali, Alysa (sp?) and Kim who are spending a semester at Walk in the Light. It is really nice to have people who understand Jamison and my sense of humor because the locals don't really understand sarcasm, and those who know me know that sarcasm oozes out of my pores, and Jamison may be even more sarcastic than I am.

Our first experience at Walk in the Light was that we were going to go watch a Zulu funeral. After picking up the family from the township and driving to the other side of town (after many hassles), we arrived at the funeral home, which was a small building in the back of a junk yard. It's odd to have dead bodies surrounded by dead cars. The problem was that when we arrived the body was not there and neither was the coffin. After Niels (one of the Walk in the life staff) talked to the workers at the funeral two men left in a truck and came back an hour later with a coffin in the back; however the body was not in the coffin. This family had already been given the run around by the morgue and had not been able to bury their mother for two months already and now their mother's body was lost. The saddest part was that the family acted as if they were used to this type of injustice. Niels was irate, yelling at the funeral home staff, "If this was my mother I would be devastated, and you don't even care." This is even more meaningful now after Bruce told us that Niels was a huge racist before getting involved with Walk in the Light, and now he was defending these people that he really didn't even know. At the end of the day the body was never found, and the family was taken back home unable to bury their loved one. At the beginning of the day I was excited to see a Zulu funeral, but looking back I think that this was a more valuable lesson, because I got to see firsthand the injustice that is still present in this country.

The rest of our activities for the week were normal mission/pastoral activities. For two of the days Jamison, Joan, John, Kim and I painted a house at Walk in the Light that was going to house the pastor and a member of the staff. The five of us also walked around the township of Haniville with Pendi and made house visits, much like we did at Ethembeni, but the visits were a little shorter and there was no scripture read, though we did pray for each person. Let me tell you about Pendi; Pendi is a lady that Bruce hired from the township to help run Walk in the Light. Over time she has gained more and more responsibility, and now besides Bruce is the major leader of the organization. She is quite a character; she is so friendly yet so sassy at the same time. The other responsibilities that Jamison and I had during the week was to organize and lead bible studies for both elementary school ages kids, and young adults. Both programs went really well, and I think that Jamison and I make a very good team because I am so methodical and he is very free flowing.

On Friday, Bruce took us to a piece of land that he bought for Walk in the Light. We drove up a hill and stopped at the edge, and witnessed a breath taking view. There bellow us was Pietermaritzburg sandwiched between rolling hills, and directly below us was the whole township of Haniville.  Bruce talked about his dream for a Community Center to be built at the spot and he showed us the blueprint for the building. The building would have a care center in order to nurse critical patients back to health, a craft and coffee shop to bring jobs and money into the community, a chapel for worship, and classrooms for educational programs. He also talked about his dream to put a large cross in the middle with lights so that at night all of Haniville and all of Pietermaritzburg could see it. It instantly made me of the cross at Junaluska, and this cross has the potential to be even more powerful of a sight than the one there. Bruce said that this idea for the center came to him after looking at a constellation called the Southern Cross and the Bible verse Matthew 5:14-16, "¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. After talking with members of the community he found out what they wanted and needed and had the plans drawn up. 

Next to the site where this center will be built, are fields of Rose Geraniums. Rose Geranium is the plant used as the base for most perfumes, so Bruce harvests these plants and has them distilled into the oils and sells the oils to companies around the country. He has even purchased his oven vat for distilling so that the whole process can be done by Walk in the Light. The great thing about this enterprise is that he hires people from Haniville to work the fields and the money made from the work goes to pay for the ministries at Walk in the Light. Essentially he is creating jobs and putting money into the community simultaneously.

Finally for the weekend we returned to our flats with the seminary. Today, Jamison, John, Joan, David (an Anglican priest from the UK who I believe I have talked about before), and I walked to an event in the park called "Arts in the Park". There artists from all over South Africa came to display and sell their artwork. It was a great experience, the art was so beautiful and some were very unique. We then walked around downtown Pietermaritzburg. There was a smaller park downtown that had local vendors selling some very interesting handmade pieces. We then went to an art museum in town, and though the gallery was closed the coffee shop was open; however between the coffee shop and the entrance were the galleries and there was nobody to stop us from going in so we looked at the gallery anyways (Shhh, don't tell anyone). The collection of art was very impressive, at least to me, and the more knowledgeable members of our group seemed to agree. The day was a very pleasant day and wonderful day of experiencing a different type of culture in the area.

Next week we return to work at Walk in the Light, so depending on internet availability it may once again be a long time between posts. I can't believe it has been two weeks here already. What an experience.God Bless.       

Ethembeni

Hello all. Let me first start off by saying if you have any questions about anything I say or want to know about something I haven't addressed then leave a comment and I will try to address it in the next post.

So today we returned to Mpophomene, but we began work with a different agency today called Ethembeni. Ethembeni is a baptist organization that focuses on relief efforts for HIV/AIDs patients. While some of the programs are similar to that of Masibumbane, Ethembeni is more focused on relief while Masibumbane is more focused on self empowerment. For example Ethembeni has four beds in their office where they nurse sick patients back to healh or transport them to the hospital if they have more serious needs.

Today the four Dukies broke into separate groups which consisted of a Ethembeni employee, a pastor, and a Dukie (one of the leaders of the organization enjoyed calling us that). I was with a lady named Tutu, and I never did catch the name of the pastor. We walked around the township visiting clients of Ethembeni; and when I say we walked I mean we walked for miles. When we visited the Ethembeni employee would ask about what problems they were facing. Then the pastor would read a Bible verse to them. Finally I was designated to pray for there concerns. It was very interesting how responsive the people were to my prayers, even though no one interpreted my prayer to them, they really seemed to appreciated the prayers and trust that what I said was a spirit filled petition to God. It was very interesting to see how a prayer could touch someone even though they had no idea what the prayer said. Events like this in the trip so far have really given me a better appreciation for Pentecostalism and the work of the spirit.

One of the most heartbreaking visits today centered around a mother, her son, and her sister. The mother had 3 kids and no income to support her family. One of her kids is mentally disabled in some way and it was tough to be around him. He was malnourished, I think he had TB (don't worry I can't get it) and he just stood there like a zombie. His motor skills were fine but he would just stare blankly as if he had no idea about what was going on around him. This kid could not go to a special education school because it was to far away, and the government would not give the family a disability grant. The family did get a grant for each child which was 260 rand a month per child. In dollars that's close to forty dollars a month, so for three children that is about 120 dollars a month. 120 a month for a family of 4 plus her sister, how can someone live on that? Sad thing is that is more money than a lot of people in the township had. The sister that I was talking about was struggling with alcohol and started bawling when she admitted in front of us all. It was such a sad sight, and praying words of encouragement was very difficult.

We then continued to other houses but the pastor left for other duties leaving me as the de facto pastor. In one house Tutu asked me to speak the word of God, meaning scripture, but the only Bible we had was in Zulu. I was to speak about healing and immediately I thought of the story of the women who touched Jesus' cloak and was healed because of her faith. Unfortunately, like a good Methodist, I didn't know the exact location of the story so I told Tutu to look for it in Mark 6 (it was Mark 5) but she could not find it so I panicked and blurted out the first passage I could think of which was the beginning of Romans 5 which says,

^"1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we^[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we^[b] boast in the hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only so, but we^[c] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
 ⁶ You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
 ⁹ Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! ¹⁰ For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! ¹¹ Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation."

In hindsight I think this passage probably worked very well. Tutu emphasized how our pain is part of our growth and that we always have hope in God; very fitting because Ethembeni means hope. Today has been both one of the most fulfilling days while I've been here but also one of the most painful days after seeing so much pain and suffering. As Jamison and I were ironically talking about before this trip this morning, you can't really have true joy without having pain and suffering to put it in perspective. I saw pain and suffering today, but I also saw joy in some of those who truly felt the presence of God with them. I have realized that joy is not the escape from pain, but comfort and contentment in the midst of all of your pain. God Bless  

New Friends and Comrades

This Saturday was our first free day during our time here. We got to sleep in, which now sleeping in consists of waking up at 9:30. We didn't have much planned for the day except for a men's group that John G (John G is our friend from South Africa, John D is the Duke student) invited us to. We didn't really know much about this men's group except for that it was at 4 o'clock. When 4 o'clock came around Jamison, John G and I arrived at this men's group which was a primarily Indian men's group. This was very interesting because the Indian culture is one that we had not yet been exposed to here in South Africa, even though South Africa has the second highest percentage of Indians in the world outside of India.

During the service John G gave his testimony which was very inspirational. He told us about his wife Carmen and how she had throat cancer and the doctors said that all the drugs and treatment would make her unable to have kids. He told the story about one of her checkups where they do a whole body check and the doctor jumped up and said "there are two heartbeats" meaning that she was pregnant with twins. About 8 months into the pregnancy something happened and one of the twins broke their sac and started to drown and poison themselves on the fluids in the womb. the had to do and emergency surgery and one of the kids was born healthy and the other one they were told wasn't going to make it through the night. He said he never lost faith and now both of their sons are healthy 8 year olds.

After the service a couple of the younger members of the group probably in their early thirties invited us back to their place to watch the Manchester United/Barcelona game which is as big here as the Super Bowl. We went with John and some of them named Uben and Denver to the downtown area of the Indian community. During the Apartheid the were all displaced into their own community outside of the main city, but this community is nowhere near as poor as the townships we have visited, in fact some of the houses in the area are very nice. After buying a boatload of food in some of the local markets we went back to their house to Braai, which is in essence having a bbq. The food was so amazing, and they let us try it as each item came off the grill. First there was steak, followed by mutton chops (no not the sideburns), then there was spicy mutton sausage, and finally something called voors sausage. We had tried a lot of each of these items and then they took us inside to "chow." Apparently the amount we ate outside was just starters and now it was time to pig out. It was so amazing, the spices were unlike anything at home. You can tell by how much I am writing about the food, how good it really was. We then sat an watched the game and just laughed and joked with each other. They were so friendly and so hospitable that I really felt as if I were at home with some of my friends chilling watching a game. I hope that we keep in touch with them and have more get togethers.

Today, was a big day for the city of Pietermaritzburg; it was the Comrades Marathon. The Comrades was started after World War II as a way to pay tribute to those who died in the war. Each year since then the race has alternated between running from Durban to Pietermariztburg and vice versa, and this year it ended here in Pietermaritzburg. The run is 52 miles long, That's like running from Richmond to Fredericksburg, or from Durham to Greensboro. It was a huge celebration here with live music and vendors, and tons of people lining the streets cheering on the exhausted racers as the inched closer to the finish line. People from all over the world raced in the Marathon, and apparently it is one of the largest Marathons in the world. It was definitely a sight to see, and a great way to spend a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

Tomorrow and Tuesday we head back to Mpophomene, but we won't be working with Masimbubane anymore. Then on Wednesday we begin at a place called Walk in the Light where I have no idea what we will be doing or where it is. The adventure continues. God Bless.

Masibumbane

Wow, three posts in two days. Don't expect this pace to continue though, there are going to be times in my trip where it might be weeks between posts. So yesterday I talked about what Masibumbane did, but now I will tell you about my experience own experience there. When we arrived on Wednesday we were introduced to Mdudsi the project manager of Masibumbane, and Rob, the man who started it all. Rob is a very nice guy, but is sometimes difficult to understand because he has a severe stutter because many years ago he was bitten by a snake whose neurotoxin caused his stutter. After they explained what the organization does, we got to sit in on the counseling sessions. I sat with Khanyi, and in between sessions we talked about our families and I even got to show her a picture of Lyric. In the sessions, Khanyi asked the clients what they have done since the previous meeting, found out what they needed, and wrote goals for them to accomplish before the next meeting.

One thing that we did over the three days of work was check client's garden to see how they are coming along. We  would give a grade on the garden depending on how many new plots were created, how neat their compost pile was, how much they were able to produce for themselves, the variety they were able to produce, and the amount they were able sell. After tallying the grade, we gave suggestions on how to improve the garden. Today Jamison and myself even had the chance to work in the garden.

Everyday one of the women who worked there name Busi made us authentic South Africa meals. These consisted of chicken curry, a type of collard greens, beans, butternut squash, mashed potatoes with maize, and homemade bread; it was delicious. It was even more special because Busi lives in the township and does not have much to live off of, but she gave what she had to feed us. Hospitality is very important in South Africa, something America could learn a lot from.

We also took a tour of Impophemene while we were there and learned a lot about the area. During the apartheid there was a lot of fighting in the town due a political divide surrounding labor strikes. During one of the riots a police car that was trying to separate the rioters and ran over a 5 year old girl and killed her. This event was a rallying moment for both groups and a wall was built to commemorate the girl and all who died during the riots. The wall was donated at the time by Jacob Zuma, who is now the president of South Africa.

We will return Monday and Tuesday to Impophomene, but we will be working with a different agency. So now on to the story of our random road trip. On Wednesday, Deanna and Edgar were going to be taken to their placements in Durban and Pinetown, and we thought this would take place while we were at Impophemene, but when we returned to the flats, they were just about to leave. Jamison had the great idea to join them so we could see Durban. Durban in a very large city, not necessarily in terms of skyscrapers, but as we approached Durban all you could see were rolling hills of lights in the darkness of the night; it was quite a site to see. After dropping Edgar and Deanna off, Korabo, our fearless driver, drove us ocean front in Durban so that we could see the Indian Ocean. It was so dark it was hard to see, but we could see the white caps of the waves crashing into the shore. It was a very exciting trip.

Wow, I think I am finally caught up with where I am now. Korabo, Jamison, John and I are about to go into the city to grab something to eat. It already been a week, and it has only been a week. That's amazing because it has gone so fast and I feel like I have done so much already. I can't wait to see what else this trip entails. God Bless.

So Much to Say so Little Time Part II

Ok so after technical difficulties I have been able to post my previous post. I now will try to type as quickly as can and as much as I can because I have tea time in 15 minutes with John and Jamison (isn't South Africa great!). Wednesday we started our first day of work up in the township of Mpopomeni. So I realized that not everyone understands may know the history behind townships so I will briefly explain them. During the Apartheid, blacks worked in the cities but were not allowed to live in the cities, in fact after nightfall they weren't even allowed to be in the cities. Townships are communities that are on the outskirts of the city where the blacks would stay. Each township is different, but overall most are very poor, with the better houses being the size of a storage shed with a tin roof on top. After the apartheid ended blacks were allowed to move into the city legally, but financially many were still unable to leave the townships.

Mpopomeni is a township in the mountains outside of Pietermaritzburg, that has an unemployment rate of over 80 percent and a HIV rate of over 50 percent. We are working with Masibumbane to help out the community. The thing about HIV and AIDS that is different here than in the states is that it is almost too late to worry about prevention. When over half of the population of the township has HIV trying to prevent the spread will end up in the destruction of a village because it would require over 50 percent of the community not to have sex and  therefore not reproduce.

Masibumbane is a Methodist center that works with HIV/AIDs patients in order to help them empower themselves. It is not a clinic, and is not a free charity, it is an organization that helps people help themselves. They do this through meeting with the people of the commmunity and helping them apply for government grants, help them receive medical help, help them learn how to manage a budget, help them find jobs, and help them grow gardens for self sustaining. The goal of the program is that after four months the people who come will be able to take care of themselves.

Ok, it's tea time, I wish I could have written more but at least you now know about the organization that I am working with at the moment. I will soon follow up with more details on my personal experiences as well as tell you about spontaneous road trip we went on (How is that for a teaser?) God bless.

So much to say so little time Part I

So I am finding that it is hard to keep up with this blog because of the hectic schedule, but because I have experienced so much I must write it now before I forget something important. Tuesday we went to a place in the mountains called Edendale and met with Vuyo, the equivalent of the district superintendent for the area. Then one of his friends Earnest took us around the surrounding areas of Edendale to show us some of the "societies" in the area. A society is pretty much a local church in the townships where people worship, most of the times they are buildings no bigger than a rail car. The area of Edendale has 44 societies, and only two preachers. It was very exciting to hear how the church worked in the rural areas because it is so similar to how the church worked in early America. The preachers  have a circuit where they visit each society about 6 times a year so that they can do communion and baptisms. In the time between a local preacher who is not ordained fills in as the leader of worship.

When we got to the top of the mountain we met one of the preachers in the circuit and saw his house. Right behind his house was a "crash" (day care) that the Methodist Church ran. There were about 30 kids there from preschool to second grade. They were a first afraid to see us, especially Jamison the giant and me the ginger. After a while though the started waving to us, and then one of the teachers got them to sing a song for us, in Zulu because the kids have not yet learned English, which is a whole other story that I will talk about sometime later. After singing one brave girl did come up to me and hold my hand, it was adorable.

We then left the top of the mountain to go to the site of the former seminary for the area called Federal Theological Seminary (FETSEM). The seminary was placed in the midst of a township surrounded by small houses, some only made of rocks, sticks, and mud. The seminary lies in ruins now, because in the early 90's right before the end of the Apartheid, political reasons as well as increased violence in the area caused the seminary to be deserted. Now the buildings stands in ruins, and people use parts of the building for their own housing.

Later that night we went back to the seminary for a community worship service that the seminary does every Tuesday night. This was quite an amazing experience. Songs were accompanied by drums and whistles and were sung in multiple languages  including English, Zulu, Afrikaans, and Xhosa. People were moving and dancing, and it was quite a remarkable sight. What was most amazing, is that the whole group sang in four part harmonies without the use of any music, and most likely without ever looking at a piece of music in their entire life. Prayers were held in other languages as well, I'm not sure what all of them where but I was told one of them was in Xhosa. Although I could not understand the prayers I could feel them; the speakers often prayed themselves to tears. The sermon was in English and was actually given by someone who was born in Texas. As we ended, just as we did at Wesley on Sunday, everyone held hands during the benediction and held each other's hand high, but was made this even more exciting was that everyone said the benediction in their own native tongue. It was as if I was there with Peter at Pentecost.

There is so much more to say and so many great experiences I have already have, but I have to run to a Bible study now. I hope to post the rest later. God Bless.

New Experiences

So I must start by saying that I have never blogged before, nor have I ever had such a desire. My trip to South Africa has presented me with many new experiences, including the chance to blog about my trip. I had planned on just using facebook to communicate with those who told me they are interested, however for some reason facebook is blocked here at the seminary so now I must resort to other mediums. I apologize for the cheezy name of the blog, but it's the best I could come up with, but that enough with the formalities, now on to my trip.

I arrived in Johannesburg airport early Saturday morning after a long flight with very little sleep. After passing customs very quickly I was told that all passengers must pick up their checked bag and recheck it. So I waited for my bag and it never came so I filed a missing bag report. I then got on the smallest plane I have ever been on in my life and headed for Pietermaritzburg. The plane was a propeller plane that fit no more than 30 people, however the advantage was that it flew at a lower altitude allowing for us to see the terrain of South Africa as we flew. We arrived at the airport which consisted of one runway which after landing the plane had to make a uturn and come back to the terminal. The terminal itself was not much bigger than a walgreens store. To my surprise as the luggage was unloaded, there sat my beautiful blue bag with the bandanna my mom tied around it; I was so relieved.

We were then taken to the "flats" (apartments) that we are staying at which is a residential community for the seminary students about a mile from the seminary. The accommodations were much nicer than I was expecting, with 4 us the Duke students (technically 3 Duke students and 1 wife) with John and Joan (the married couple), Jamison, and I living in one apartment but having separate rooms, and even a kitchen. The others students Deanna and Edgar share another apartment but will be leaving for the Durban area on Wednesday. After putting our stuff down we went out to dinner with our supervisors Doug and Cheri. There I tried my first new thing, Ginger beer, which is not actually beer but more in the same vain as Root Beer. It was very good, it like Ginger Ale with a kick. We then we back to the flats where Jamison, Deanna and I went to the apartment of one of the seminarians John and his wife Carmen. They are the most friendly couple in the world and they offered us Rooibos tea which was delicious. Also milk in tea is amazing, get with it America. We were still very jet lagged and crashed early that night.

The next morning Doug and Cheri took us to Wesley Methodist Church for service. The service was very similar to a blended service in America and it felt very natural. The pastor Delme, who is also a professor at the seminary, was excellent. At the end of the service I really enjoyed a moment where the whole congregation held hands while saying a prayer and then sang raising each others hands in the air. It was a very simple but powerful symbolic expression. After church we were served tea (once again tea+milk=yum) and talked to some of the members of the congregation.

After the service, John and Carmen brought us to the mall with their kids Nathan and Matthew so that we could buy disposable cell phones to call back to the states. The mall was actually very nice. For people in the Richmond area it was almost the size of Virgina Center Commons and for those in Durham it was almost the size of Northgate. We got our cell phone set up and now I can occasionally call my beautiful girlfriend, and family. After dinner, Edgar and I joined a couple young boys living at the flats named Luko and Kawe in kicking around a soccer ball. I am really rusty, but it was a lot of fun and the boys seemed to enjoy it.

That leads to today, Monday in which we woke up bright and early 6:30, (hey stop laughing that is really early for me) and went to the seminary for the first time. The seminary is very small but beautiful. Besides the chapel, which stands behind two of the largest doors I have ever seen, and the classrooms and library, most of the seminary is open air. It is nice to actually see the sky at school (hint hint Duke). We took a tour around the seminary, ate with some of the seminarians, and talked to the Sox, the dean of students, and Ross the president of the seminary. We then joined in on one of the classes, which was taught by Delme, the pastor from the day before. It was a Church history class, and though it was very interesting it brought back memories of my church history class that I would have rather forgotten (my seminary friends know what I mean).We returned to the flats and on the way home were serenaded by the seminarians in the van singing praise songs in their native tongue; I'm not sure if it was Zulu or not but it was beautiful. When we returned   to the flats we each joined a small group of seminarians who meet every Monday in what they call cell group which is pretty much a covenant group to keep them spiritually fed. It was very interesting to hear that many of the things that they struggle with are the same things that seminarians struggle with in the states.

That has been my experience so far, which has been amazing. We don't actually start work until Wednesday, and we still don't really know what we are going to be doing, but that's one thing that I'll have to get used to over here. It's not as structured or organized as it is in America, which I'm sure is very liberating, but as an American it can be frustrating. All I know is that on Wednesday we will be in one of the townships nearby. I don't know often I will be able to update this blog but I will do it as often as I can. Also I am lazy and tired so I am not going to edit this before posting so if there are typos or if I say something stupid please forgive me. God Bless.