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.