Last Saturday was one of the most incredible of my life - Most of the group woke up at 4:30 so that we could hit the road and drive 4hrs to within Swaziland. Dana used to work in Swaziland for 4 years and he took us to this wild area where we were going to hike and when we first got there, he walked down a hill (and by "walked" I mean "waded through waist high grass"), pointed at a house and said "That is where I lived for 4 years, so right now we're standing in my backyard." I have never been in such a wild place - a massive expanse of grass and rocks and just complete breath-taking glory of the Lord. It was a lonely kind of place, but I love that feeling. I love being in a place so vast that I am reminded of the magnitude of the Creator, my complete insignificance, and the wonder that in the midst of creating all of this He took the time to create me specifically too. We had an amazing hike that included a cave that we had to hoist one another out of a small hole to get out of, scrambling along giant boulders, hiding in the grass pretending to be Simba learning how to pounce, and singing joy to one another and God. I wish that I had had hours to spend there, but I will treasure those moments for the rest of my life.
___________________________
There was a very high probability that yesterday was going to be the last day that we were able to work at the school because there has been an impending teachers' strike. We have been praying desperately that the strike wouldn't happen or if it did that we would be able to find a place where we could meet with any children who were interested. Yesterday our prayers were fully answered when the principal told us that the strike was not going to include the main educators, but is right now only involving some administrators. Praise God!
Please continue to pray for our last week with these children.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
Stanza Bopape Secondary School
Week 1 of our 3 at Stanza Bopape Secondary School is now done. In a lot of ways, I don't even know where to start or how to convey anything about this week.
Students, grades 0-12, desperate to learn and understand the information, dutifully listening and responding to their teachers' questions.
Students sharing seats because there aren't enough in the classrooms.
Students sharing pencils, textbooks, protractors, calculators, erasers...because they can't all afford them.
376 students in grades 10-12 staying after school to be tutored as they look towards their matric exams (at the end of grade 12) that determines whether or not they have the chance to move on to university.
Classrooms of students who sit at their desks trying to do work when a teacher doesn't come to class or isn't assigned to them because there aren't enough teachers.
Students hungry for attention and just a smile and a hug.
Students who only eat when they are at school and can be a part of the food programme there because they don't have food at home.
Students who are orphaned by AIDs and taking care of their siblings and households.
Students who are already parents themselves.
Students who dream of being doctors, pilots, social workers, nurses, graphic designers, lawyers, accountants...
Students who are so hungry for hope.
It has been a long week. I am so grateful for the two more we have with them. I can't believe that's all. The thought of leaving breaks my heart, especially as that thought comes with the memory of the 8th grade girls who implored me to let them come home with me to America when I leave.
These children deserve a future. And they deserve one on their own terms. They don't deserve a world that has made them think they aren't worth as much as someone else -one girl told me when I asked her what she wanted to be that she wants to be "a white person".
What are we - the world, the people who have the resources and the opportunities and the chances and the time - what are we teaching them about themselves? Because they deserve more.
Students, grades 0-12, desperate to learn and understand the information, dutifully listening and responding to their teachers' questions.
Students sharing seats because there aren't enough in the classrooms.
Students sharing pencils, textbooks, protractors, calculators, erasers...because they can't all afford them.
376 students in grades 10-12 staying after school to be tutored as they look towards their matric exams (at the end of grade 12) that determines whether or not they have the chance to move on to university.
Classrooms of students who sit at their desks trying to do work when a teacher doesn't come to class or isn't assigned to them because there aren't enough teachers.
Students hungry for attention and just a smile and a hug.
Students who only eat when they are at school and can be a part of the food programme there because they don't have food at home.
Students who are orphaned by AIDs and taking care of their siblings and households.
Students who are already parents themselves.
Students who dream of being doctors, pilots, social workers, nurses, graphic designers, lawyers, accountants...
Students who are so hungry for hope.
It has been a long week. I am so grateful for the two more we have with them. I can't believe that's all. The thought of leaving breaks my heart, especially as that thought comes with the memory of the 8th grade girls who implored me to let them come home with me to America when I leave.
These children deserve a future. And they deserve one on their own terms. They don't deserve a world that has made them think they aren't worth as much as someone else -one girl told me when I asked her what she wanted to be that she wants to be "a white person".
What are we - the world, the people who have the resources and the opportunities and the chances and the time - what are we teaching them about themselves? Because they deserve more.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Sawu bona! More! Ashe!
Hello! That's what this title is in Zulu, Afrikans, and SePedi - 3 of the 11 official languages in South Africa :) Dana, our wonderful fearless leader in various aspects of this trip, and his wife Sibongile gave us a talk a few days ago about customs in South Africa and various things of that nature and then taught us how to conduct a basic greeting in those three languages so that we can start to dig more into the culture and have a good jumping off point with people (English is also one of the official languages, but it is nice for people when they hear us trying to embrace their native tongue). It is pretty great - Zulu is my favorite so far - "so far" meaning "from the greetings we've learned because we haven't learned anything else yet" haha. And a typical greeting is not just "hello", but also asking how the person is doing and having it reciprocated. Nothing is done here so much in a rush that you do not first say hello and how are you. I love it :)
The past few days have been a whirlwind of getting to know South Africa. We met the administrators and teachers at the school where we will be working in the township of Mamelodi - our first day of tutoring is tomorrow and I am so excited and nervous and all a-jumbled with feelings about it; I will probably be helping with biology class and tutoring. On Friday night we drove for about 45 minutes out into the middle of nowhere and participated in an African drum circle, witnessed some fire-dancing (and a couple people tried it out - that was a "heck no" from me, haha), and had an awesome dance party to the amusement of our South African contemporaries there. Saturday we drove to Johannesburg, or Jo'burg as it is called here, and visited the Apartheid Museum and then went to a traditional craft market (let's just say that everything is AMAZING and I wish I had unlimited funds and was decorating a whole house). Today was our Sabbath. The leaders are wonderful and very intent on us driven crazy college students to understand that REST is an essential part of being able to serve well and of abiding in the Lord who bears our burdens, so they work hard to make the schedule one where we have at least a few hours free for exercising, journaling, reading, playing games, sleeping - whatever it is that recharges you and brings you back to the joy of Christ. The Sabbath today has been wonderful: church at the Methodist church that Dana attends (he has two PRECIOUS sons, ages 5 and 3), lunch at the center where we're staying, ultimate frisbee and kickball at the High Performance Center (this is where the U of Pretoria teams practice and national athletes train here - on our tour of it I was 3 feet away from an Olympic gold medal winning South African swimmer who was working out and we saw the rooms in which the Argentinian soccer team stayed for the duration of the world cup), and now a brief stint at the humongous mall with the internet cafe.
I can't believe that I have only been with this group of people for a week and that we have only been in South Africa for 5 days! It feels like so much longer. It is all so amazing and interesting and heart-breaking and life-giving. God has been stretching me as I am reminded to find myself solely in Him and His loving grace, rather than in relationships or skills or anything else that is totally fallible just like me. It's a lesson I must learn over and over again, but He's so faithful and patient to remind me :)
A thought that spoke to me that my small group leader, Kat, shared with me last night, has been on my mind so I wanted to share it as well. This is taken from John Piper's "Desiring God" and is a quote from George Muller:
"While I was staying at Nailsworth, it pleased the Lord to teach me a truth, irrespective of human instrumentality, as far as I know, the benefit of which I have not lost, though now...more than forty years have since passed away.
The point is this: I saw more clearly than ever, that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was, to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not, how much I might serve the Lord, how I might glorify the Lord; but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished. For I might seek to set the truth before the unconverted, I might seek to benefit believers, I might seek to relieve the distressed, I might in other ways seek to behave myself as it becomes a child of God in this world; and yet, not being happy in the Lord, and not being nourished and strengthened in my inner man day by day, all this might not be attended to in a right spirit."
As I am such a fixer and one who just constantly wants to be helping while not needing help and serving while not being served, it really struck me that these actions miss their true mark if I am not at peace and joyful in the truth of Christ's sacrifice and love for me. So I have been taking full advantage of our opportunities to rest and my time to spend in the arms of my sweet Savior Lord :)
One of the things that I am looking forward to is making a list of my God-given passions and then reading over it to see who it is that I have been designed to be, where my uniqueness and individuality lie, and how I can pursue those areas. Yay for soul-searching :)
I'm so thrilled to be here. I can't wait to report on how our first week of tutoring goes. Please keep sending thoughts and prayers our way.
I love you all!
The past few days have been a whirlwind of getting to know South Africa. We met the administrators and teachers at the school where we will be working in the township of Mamelodi - our first day of tutoring is tomorrow and I am so excited and nervous and all a-jumbled with feelings about it; I will probably be helping with biology class and tutoring. On Friday night we drove for about 45 minutes out into the middle of nowhere and participated in an African drum circle, witnessed some fire-dancing (and a couple people tried it out - that was a "heck no" from me, haha), and had an awesome dance party to the amusement of our South African contemporaries there. Saturday we drove to Johannesburg, or Jo'burg as it is called here, and visited the Apartheid Museum and then went to a traditional craft market (let's just say that everything is AMAZING and I wish I had unlimited funds and was decorating a whole house). Today was our Sabbath. The leaders are wonderful and very intent on us driven crazy college students to understand that REST is an essential part of being able to serve well and of abiding in the Lord who bears our burdens, so they work hard to make the schedule one where we have at least a few hours free for exercising, journaling, reading, playing games, sleeping - whatever it is that recharges you and brings you back to the joy of Christ. The Sabbath today has been wonderful: church at the Methodist church that Dana attends (he has two PRECIOUS sons, ages 5 and 3), lunch at the center where we're staying, ultimate frisbee and kickball at the High Performance Center (this is where the U of Pretoria teams practice and national athletes train here - on our tour of it I was 3 feet away from an Olympic gold medal winning South African swimmer who was working out and we saw the rooms in which the Argentinian soccer team stayed for the duration of the world cup), and now a brief stint at the humongous mall with the internet cafe.
I can't believe that I have only been with this group of people for a week and that we have only been in South Africa for 5 days! It feels like so much longer. It is all so amazing and interesting and heart-breaking and life-giving. God has been stretching me as I am reminded to find myself solely in Him and His loving grace, rather than in relationships or skills or anything else that is totally fallible just like me. It's a lesson I must learn over and over again, but He's so faithful and patient to remind me :)
A thought that spoke to me that my small group leader, Kat, shared with me last night, has been on my mind so I wanted to share it as well. This is taken from John Piper's "Desiring God" and is a quote from George Muller:
"While I was staying at Nailsworth, it pleased the Lord to teach me a truth, irrespective of human instrumentality, as far as I know, the benefit of which I have not lost, though now...more than forty years have since passed away.
The point is this: I saw more clearly than ever, that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was, to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not, how much I might serve the Lord, how I might glorify the Lord; but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished. For I might seek to set the truth before the unconverted, I might seek to benefit believers, I might seek to relieve the distressed, I might in other ways seek to behave myself as it becomes a child of God in this world; and yet, not being happy in the Lord, and not being nourished and strengthened in my inner man day by day, all this might not be attended to in a right spirit."
As I am such a fixer and one who just constantly wants to be helping while not needing help and serving while not being served, it really struck me that these actions miss their true mark if I am not at peace and joyful in the truth of Christ's sacrifice and love for me. So I have been taking full advantage of our opportunities to rest and my time to spend in the arms of my sweet Savior Lord :)
One of the things that I am looking forward to is making a list of my God-given passions and then reading over it to see who it is that I have been designed to be, where my uniqueness and individuality lie, and how I can pursue those areas. Yay for soul-searching :)
I'm so thrilled to be here. I can't wait to report on how our first week of tutoring goes. Please keep sending thoughts and prayers our way.
I love you all!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
"Mzansi fo sho!"
I'm in South Africa! Currently in an internet cafe in a gigantic mall/movie theater/amusement park-esque type place called Menlyn Park. And there is a keyboard covering on the keys that is Kung Fu Panda characters :)
It has been a great adventure so far in different places: a great 24 hours in Boston with being commissioned by Park Street Church, having a number of meetings and briefings as a team to get to know one another and prepare for the trip in terms of attitude going in and being intentional about keeping in mind that the down-side to short term missions is that they are short, and some good bonding time at the Wilson House; 7 adventurous hours exploring Frankfurt, Germany (since we had a 10 hour layover) that included the beautiful Kaiserdom Cathedral, delicious gelato (sp?), almost getting bowled over by a man as he sprinted away from a police officer (crime unknown), and a 20 minute ride on a train heading in the wrong direction so that we had a few sprints involved getting to the correct one before it left us; and now here we are in Pretoria!
The man who met us at the airport with a number of volunteers from his church to drive us is an American man named Dana who lived in South Africa for 4 years after college, married a South African woman, they came back to America so he could attend Divinity School at Harvard, and now they have been back in South Africa for 4 years. He is wonderful and so nice and willing to answer our questions. We've already had interesting conversations about politics since Mandela and polygamy in African marriages.
"Mzansi" means 'south' in Zulu and is how South Africans refer to their country, so as we took a group picture in front of the Union Buildings (where the executive branch of government works; anyone who's seen Invictus - it's where Matt Damon got dropped off to have tea with Mandela) he encouraged us to happily exclaim the phrase "Mzansi fo sho" :) We had a great picnic lunch in the beautiful public gardens that are in front of the Union Buildings, after getting settled into the convention center/community center that we are staying at.
We're off to see more of Pretoria. Tomorrow, Dana's wife is going to come give us some lessons in basic languages which I am thrilled about!
Prayers for rest for everyone and joy as we settle in for our month here and learn how to live with, work with, and love and support one another would be greatly appreciated!
Love to all :)
It has been a great adventure so far in different places: a great 24 hours in Boston with being commissioned by Park Street Church, having a number of meetings and briefings as a team to get to know one another and prepare for the trip in terms of attitude going in and being intentional about keeping in mind that the down-side to short term missions is that they are short, and some good bonding time at the Wilson House; 7 adventurous hours exploring Frankfurt, Germany (since we had a 10 hour layover) that included the beautiful Kaiserdom Cathedral, delicious gelato (sp?), almost getting bowled over by a man as he sprinted away from a police officer (crime unknown), and a 20 minute ride on a train heading in the wrong direction so that we had a few sprints involved getting to the correct one before it left us; and now here we are in Pretoria!
The man who met us at the airport with a number of volunteers from his church to drive us is an American man named Dana who lived in South Africa for 4 years after college, married a South African woman, they came back to America so he could attend Divinity School at Harvard, and now they have been back in South Africa for 4 years. He is wonderful and so nice and willing to answer our questions. We've already had interesting conversations about politics since Mandela and polygamy in African marriages.
"Mzansi" means 'south' in Zulu and is how South Africans refer to their country, so as we took a group picture in front of the Union Buildings (where the executive branch of government works; anyone who's seen Invictus - it's where Matt Damon got dropped off to have tea with Mandela) he encouraged us to happily exclaim the phrase "Mzansi fo sho"
We're off to see more of Pretoria. Tomorrow, Dana's wife is going to come give us some lessons in basic languages which I am thrilled about!
Prayers for rest for everyone and joy as we settle in for our month here and learn how to live with, work with, and love and support one another would be greatly appreciated!
Love to all :)
Sunday, July 11, 2010
And I'm off! and hoping to encounter Ubuntu
Today's the day...In two hours I'll be getting checked in at the RDU airport to up to Boston and meet the team - eeee, I'm SO excited! I don't know when I will first get the opportunity for internet, so my family is operating on the "no news is good news" policy and I will communicate when I have the opportunity - full of stories about travel adventures, meeting new friends, and whatever mishaps are bound to occur :)
One of the things that I have come across multiple times in my reading about South Africa is the philosophy/way of thinking/traditional value system that is called ubuntu. Ubuntu is about how one interacts with others and thinks about oneself. It has been sometimes described as the idea that "a person is a person, only through other people." Here are a few blurbs about the philosophy (from a couple names you might recognize...):
"Ubuntu is an African philosophy focusing on people's allegiances and relations with each other. The word has its origin in the Bantu languages of Southern Africa. Ubuntu is seen as a traditional African concept.
A person with ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed."
~Archbishop Desmond Tutu
"A traveller through our country would stop at a village, and he didn't have to ask for food or for water. Once he stops, the people give him food, entertain him. That is one aspect of ubuntu but ubuntu has various aspects. Ubuntu does not mean that people should not enrich themselves. The question therefore is: Are you going to do so in order to enable the community around you to improve?"
~Nelson Mandela
I love this understanding. As my discussion-based Adolescent Development class can attest to, I am far less individualistic in my thinking than a lot of people in our country, so this idea of a community based on relationships and mutual care is very appealing and beautiful to me. I am interested to see if this will be the heart of the communities that I visit on my trip. I hope that it is. I pray that it is. As Desmond Tutu once said, "We are bound up with God's creation and a solitary human being is the ultimate contradiction."
I hope I find that community there :)
_______
I'm thrilled my trip is almost underway. I am excited to meet the students and leaders that I will be living and working with for a month, excited to see the ways that we challenge and support and love one another.
Prayers for travel mercies as we gather today and then leave tomorrow would be appreciated! I love you all and will be praying for you as well :)
One of the things that I have come across multiple times in my reading about South Africa is the philosophy/way of thinking/traditional value system that is called ubuntu. Ubuntu is about how one interacts with others and thinks about oneself. It has been sometimes described as the idea that "a person is a person, only through other people." Here are a few blurbs about the philosophy (from a couple names you might recognize...):
"Ubuntu is an African philosophy focusing on people's allegiances and relations with each other. The word has its origin in the Bantu languages of Southern Africa. Ubuntu is seen as a traditional African concept.
A person with ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed."
~Archbishop Desmond Tutu
"A traveller through our country would stop at a village, and he didn't have to ask for food or for water. Once he stops, the people give him food, entertain him. That is one aspect of ubuntu but ubuntu has various aspects. Ubuntu does not mean that people should not enrich themselves. The question therefore is: Are you going to do so in order to enable the community around you to improve?"
~Nelson Mandela
I love this understanding. As my discussion-based Adolescent Development class can attest to, I am far less individualistic in my thinking than a lot of people in our country, so this idea of a community based on relationships and mutual care is very appealing and beautiful to me. I am interested to see if this will be the heart of the communities that I visit on my trip. I hope that it is. I pray that it is. As Desmond Tutu once said, "We are bound up with God's creation and a solitary human being is the ultimate contradiction."
I hope I find that community there :)
_______
I'm thrilled my trip is almost underway. I am excited to meet the students and leaders that I will be living and working with for a month, excited to see the ways that we challenge and support and love one another.
Prayers for travel mercies as we gather today and then leave tomorrow would be appreciated! I love you all and will be praying for you as well :)
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Gearing up for South Africa...
My weeks at home have flown by, wonderful time spent with friends and family in North Carolina, Connecticut, and Tennessee. Now the countdown is on: 4 days until I fly to Boston to meet the team that I will be a part of to go to South Africa. After spending Sunday night and part of the day Monday getting acquainted, meeting in our small groups, discussing the tutoring, and praying for the trip, we will head to the aiport on Monday night and set off on our adventure.
I am thoroughly settled in my nervous excitement phase as I look ahead to the next month. I'm excited to meet, get to know, work with, support, grow with, and love the team I'm lucky enough to be a part of. I'm excited to go to a country and culture that I have never experienced and have my mind opened by what I witness there. I'm excited to meet the university students that we will be partnering with to develop the tutoring program. I'm excited to meet the children and youth (and their families, I hope) in the township where we will be working and loving. I'm excited to worship with believers in a new part of the world and to learn from them. I'm excited about the opportunity to tutor and see if I have gifts to offer in that area in the future. And, of course, about all of these things I am nervous as well :)
I know very little about South Africa in general, so I've been trying to learn what I can in the short time I have. A family friend gave me an issue of Alive Now that is completely about South Africa - its spirit described by South Africans and those who love it - that has been wonderful to read with devotions. I am planning on watching the movie Invictus before I leave. Most informative, though, has been a book recommended by one of the team leaders: "Bring Me My Machine Gun: The Battle for the Soul of South Africa from Mandela to Zuma" by Alec Russell. Russell is a journalist who has spent a significant amount of time in South Africa over the past 15+ years, covering the end of apartheid, Nelson Mandela's presidency, and the political environment since. I'm only a quarter of the way through the book, but I already have a much greater understanding of the political and racial atmosphere since the official end of apartheid. I am very interested to see how what the media presents measures up to what we witness in our time there.
For the most part, I feel like I have no idea what to expect from this trip - and I'm fine with it. I doubt that any expectations I could come up with could get close to doing justice to what is coming - both the trials and the blessings - so I will rest in hopes and wonderings and utter lack of assumptions, haha. Prayers for my preparation - physical, mental, and spiritual - and the preparation of my team would be greatly appreciated!
I am thoroughly settled in my nervous excitement phase as I look ahead to the next month. I'm excited to meet, get to know, work with, support, grow with, and love the team I'm lucky enough to be a part of. I'm excited to go to a country and culture that I have never experienced and have my mind opened by what I witness there. I'm excited to meet the university students that we will be partnering with to develop the tutoring program. I'm excited to meet the children and youth (and their families, I hope) in the township where we will be working and loving. I'm excited to worship with believers in a new part of the world and to learn from them. I'm excited about the opportunity to tutor and see if I have gifts to offer in that area in the future. And, of course, about all of these things I am nervous as well :)
I know very little about South Africa in general, so I've been trying to learn what I can in the short time I have. A family friend gave me an issue of Alive Now that is completely about South Africa - its spirit described by South Africans and those who love it - that has been wonderful to read with devotions. I am planning on watching the movie Invictus before I leave. Most informative, though, has been a book recommended by one of the team leaders: "Bring Me My Machine Gun: The Battle for the Soul of South Africa from Mandela to Zuma" by Alec Russell. Russell is a journalist who has spent a significant amount of time in South Africa over the past 15+ years, covering the end of apartheid, Nelson Mandela's presidency, and the political environment since. I'm only a quarter of the way through the book, but I already have a much greater understanding of the political and racial atmosphere since the official end of apartheid. I am very interested to see how what the media presents measures up to what we witness in our time there.
For the most part, I feel like I have no idea what to expect from this trip - and I'm fine with it. I doubt that any expectations I could come up with could get close to doing justice to what is coming - both the trials and the blessings - so I will rest in hopes and wonderings and utter lack of assumptions, haha. Prayers for my preparation - physical, mental, and spiritual - and the preparation of my team would be greatly appreciated!
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