Post-Southern Africa Mission Pilgrimage Reflection #2

While in South Africa, I enjoyed seeing World Cup 2010 posters everywhere, stars as bright as light bulbs, wildlife in their natural habitat, and history living in the air. In Swaziland, it was a natural occurrence to see cows anywhere and everywhere, women carrying 4-foot long wooden logs on their heads on the side of the highway, and kids smiling and waving at our three kombies driving along. In South Africa, I felt very much a part of the country, like I could find some of my history in the people that lived there. In Swaziland, however, I felt like an outsider, looking in on someone else’s world.

It was challenging to see two countries that bordered each other to have such a different culture and landscape. One had gone through a terrible apartheid, while the other was still underneath a total monarchy (one of the last in the world). Yet the similarities between the two countries were startling. Each had a major problem with AIDS/HIV, as well as the overwhelming poverty. In South Africa especially, it was surprising to see the stark difference in the levels of poverty. We would be driving down the highway, seeing some very nice, large, comfortable houses (some nicer than our own), and then BAM! Shacks made of scrap metal as far as you could see lined the highway for miles.



While experiencing the love of all the people I met on this pilgrimage journey, I kept reminding myself, “These are my brothers and sisters.” Even through our differences of race, age, wealth, or political view, we knew we had the most important thing in common: a love of God. This fact made every experience and awkward first meeting seem a bit smoother, more comfortable, more holy.

The first thing I did when I got home (after looking at all my pictures) was go to my closet and take out everything I didn’t really wear or need. That day, I gave away 80 articles of clothing, as well as 8 pairs of shoes. From this experience (especially the part where we didn’t have our luggage for 4 days), I realized that my clothes and personal “necessities”, as I had once called them, were not the things I needed to worry about. The world is a big place and needs some attention, and I was standing in my closet trying to figure out what to wear that day. That has changed. I’ve also tried to become more hospitable with strangers that I encounter in my life on a daily basis. At every place on our pilgrimage, we felt fully and completely loved by the people we had met a few hours before. Their warm smiles and comforting hugs left our cups full daily. I now want all that I know and don’t know to experience that same feeling of comfort.

One thing I’m still pondering: what will my contribution to my global family will be? How can I live in a way that praises the God I love and the person I claim to be? These questions will probably follow me through my lifetime, and I welcome the struggle that they bring. They will help guide me and keep my priorities straight, no matter what comes my way.

Post-Reflection Southern Africa Reflection 1

I think that what I have most struggled with, in terms of understanding my South Africa experience, is how to make it meaningful. Certainly, it was an amazing experience, and I met and was in fellowship with so many beautiful people, but how do I make what I saw and felt and heard actually stick?

I know this much: I never want to forget the stars we admired in Swaziland and Kruger Park, I never want to forget how much I appreciate running water, I never want to forget the love with which I was welcomed. I could list hundreds of things that my experience in South Africa made me realize. Some of these memories were ground-breaking, others were small moments of comfort, but they all mesh together in a way that encapsulates my experience.

I hope that I never romanticize the trip, that I never forget the hard work, the exhaustion, or the uncertainties. Those things were as equally as important as the moments of comfort, if not more so. This was a challenging experience, but it was also a life-changing one. Through our interactions with the people of Come Back Mission and Lomgeletjane, I saw more gracious acts of kindness, humanity, and love than I ever could have hoped to see.

I continue to reflect over my time South Africa and Swaziland, in hopes that I will eventually understand how it will impact my life. To be truthful, I’m not yet sure, though I accept that this is part of the adventure.

June 25, 2009 - Final Reflections

I'm feeling very ambivalent this morning. On the one hand, the prospect of going home and seeing family and friends is so exciting; on the other hand, it is hard to say good-bye to all our new friends in Africa!

Last evening the team spent some time reflecting on things we have learned during our stay in South Africa and I would like to share some of those:

We renamed this our "Hurry up and Wait" pilgrimage, which is to say that we have all learned a little more about patience.

We learned that we could live happily with a lot less "stuff", which may mean we clean out our closets when we get home - and pack less on future trips.

We learned how very fortunate we are by virtue of being born in the U.S. We learned that we are given many opportunities that others don't receive and we learned that good fortune and opportunity carry with it a responsibility to care for

those who are not so blessed.

We learned that Christ was already in Africa waiting for us.

We learned the value of genuine hospitality.

We learned to step outside of our comfort zone and trust God to walk beside us.

We learned that although we live in a completely different culture, we are more alike than different from our brothers and sisters in Africa.

And I learned that Belmont UMC is blessed with some of the most gifted and mature youth I've ever had the privilege to know.

We all agree that this has been a memorable pilgrimage for us and that it has bonded us together into a community that we hope to continue to share when we get home.

We are looking forward to seeing your smiling faces at the Nashville airport tomorrow!

Love,
Chris Steele

June 24 Reflection from Hannah

Today has been a complex day for me, in terms of absorbing all of the information to which we’ve been exposed. To recap: We spent most of the day touring Johannesburg… We visited Soweto, the Hector Pieterson museum, the Apartheid museum, and the Regina Mundi Catholic Church, where many of the Anti-Apartheid activists’ funerals were held.

I had the most difficult time at the Apartheid museum. I think, though, that it was difficult in a necessary way, because it forced me to think about the struggles that we face as youth today in comparison with those of the past, and how we are called to respond.

Activism has been an important message of this trip to me. It seems that I am often involved in “raising awareness” about various causes, but very rarely do I actually do anything to attempt to make a positive change.

I have learned, however, that the changes I most wish to make (big, definable ones) are often not realistic. The beautiful people from Come Back Mission made it very clear, though through their actions and testimonies, that it is through human to human contact that we can ever hope to create a world founded in peace and equality.

Steve Bryant said it perfectly at devotion tonight… he said that whenever we work consciously to help spread love and help others on a person to person basis, that is where there is a new world, a new creation, and that is where the hope is.

Hannah

June 23 Reflection from TJ

Today was a glorious day! Having slept soundly in our host family’s home, Aren and I awoke to the beauteous African sunrise at 7:07am. We then were driven over to our host family’s grandma’s house for breakfast. Breakfast was delicious. Magnificent heapings of eggs were punctuated by bites of spicy sausage and bacon, so that the taste might have been better distributed. Served with cereal, toast, and tea, the carnacious combination made for delicious breakfast. From our breakfast meeting, the team drove to the Come Back Mission HQ. We were debriefed (luckily Aren and I wore boxers so we didn’t have to cope with lack of undergarments).

We prayed and drove through Kliptown before arriving in the not so aptly named Heavenly Valley. Though at first sight there was nothing special about Heavenly Valley, our arduous efforts went a long way towards making it more heavenly. From 9:30-1 pm, we worked well towards painting a preschool and an old lady’s house. After some kids dragged me away from my work and played ball with me and showed me around did I realize for what reason it was called Heavenly. (Yet I am still baffled by the name “valley;” it seemed flat to me.)

Also, while I worked, I got to know some really cool people. At 1pm, we prayed and left our day’s work. We went back to HQ in order to eat lunch. It was delicious. We were served a plethora of hotdogs, each of uniform taste and color. These franks were different from the American variety for three reasons: the neon pink color, the streamline shape, and the satisfying feelers of rubbery skin breaking and freeing up the flesh inside. I loved those hot dogs.

After lunch, we walked to the Freedom Park Methodist Church. I shared the walk with two lovely partners who guided me. After we arrived at the destination (only by preceding the highlighted route) we took part in a marvelous program. Similar to the Swazi service in some ways, there was much singing and much sharing of culture. We talked about presidents, problems, and solutions. I gave a brief history of our national anthem. I loved the service. Many other youth went up and spoke. After the program we went to dinner.

Dinner was bountiful. Before dinner Aren and I talked to a wonderful man named Edmund. He plans to hook us up with some World Cup tickets. Anyway, dinner had so many delicious dishes that even taking 3 oz of each, my plate was full before I made it halfway through the line. And so, I resolved to layers of food, topped with a delectable stir-fry. After dinner, we had a heart-warming devotion followed by the good-bye dances. We sang and danced with happiness. I hated to say goodbye to my friends, but we exchanged email addresses. And so, we departed from the exciting dinner party and went on to sleep.

T. J.

June 22 Reflection from Sarah

We spent Monday driving to Come Back Mission. The drive itself was exciting, but driving in SA is just exciting in general. When we finally made it to Come Back Mission we were so warmly greeted. The second you walked into the volunteers’ presence you could feel God in such a strong way. There was so much love that we all felt instantly. Our whole evening was filled with music, food, and new family members. J

Sarah

June 22 Reflection from Andy

Today was mostly a travel day, driving from Kruger National Park to Johannesburg. It’s given me lots of time to savor the memories of our time in Kruger. All day Saturday, I rode in the white van with Lanecia, Erin, Hannah, Mary, Sarah, TJ, and Richard (our driver). Two of the highlights of the day were:

From another care, we heard of cheetah sighting. Cheetahs are the rarest animal in all the park- there are only 225 or so in the 4 million acres of KNP- so we raced to the site. A jumble of cars, trucks, and minibuses clogged the road, and we jostled our way into the pack. Fortunately, most of us were able to see the cheetahs about 30m off the road in the shade of a tree amongst some tall grass-even if all some of us saw was a flash of orange spotted fur.

Later, we drove to Transport Dam, a watering hole that was the site of “Battle at Kruger,” a famous YouTube video. We didn’t see anything quite a spectacular as a face-off between Cape Buffalos, crocodiles, and lions, but we did see another special event: a giraffe trundled down to the watering hole, awkwardly spread his front legs, and bent down to take a drink.

I’ve really enjoyed our time it Kruger, but it has had a very different feel from Cape Town and Swaziland. I’ve felt much more like I’m on vacation than a mission-pilgrimage. Just like I have to be watchful and vigilant to spy game in the bush, I have to work harder to find God in Kruger. The meaning doesn’t come to me; I have to go find the meaning.

The meaning I’ve found so far in this: to take joy from the fact that we can marvel at really all aspects of God’s creation at Kruger: beautiful sunrises and sunsets; the brilliant Southern night sky; acacia trees, silver cluster-leaf trees, impala lilies, and aloe vera with yellow cone flowers; creature of the air (horn bills, mouse-birds, guinea fowl), water (hippos, crocodiles), and earth (rhinos, giraffes, impalas, elephants). This morning, watching the sun rise, I could also echo the creation and say as God did on the sixth day of the creation story, “It is very good.”

Yet the creation at Kruger is mission something: man and woman, and the hopes and dreams and struggles that have enriched our time in Africa. Tonight we will meet the local people with whom we will stay for two nights in El Dorado Park. I wait with anticipation for the encounters with God we will have in Johannesburg!

P.S. Richard cooks up a mean burrito!