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.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
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
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.
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.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
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.
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.
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