Ready or not, Here I come!

Sunday morning we drove about an hour into downtown Durban to attend a Mennonite church largely made up of Congolese refugees. Now I don’t know what images pop into your consciousness when you think “Congolese Mennonite Church,” but I guarantee that the reality of it is very different than what you imagined. We pulled into the downtown district of Durban (1 block away from where I will be working) and it was very evident that this was a more impoverished part of town. Walking through the doors of the church that opened onto a main street, we were met with a bustling, one-room sanctuary complete with curtains draping the wall, plastic chairs for pews and an amplified worship band practicing up front. The usher immediately welcomed us with a hug. I noticed there was no door that looked like it led to the bathroom so I asked the usher if I could use the toilet somewhere. I then got to venture into this back courtyard that also looked like a combination kitchen, play place and living area – and was warmly greeted by a series of great big hugs. The service was dynamic, French, loud and jubilant. Nearing the end us SALTers had the honor of getting up in front of the congregation and introducing ourselves/ telling everyone where we would be working. This was followed by music and a receiving line of sorts, in which we were hugged by just about everyone in the church and welcomed to the congregation. Cake, hotdogs, waffles and soda were served as the pounding music continued. The pastor eventually made his way over to us and pulled us up front for some sweet dancing – including some confusing but hilarious instructions on how to do hip circles.

This crazy energetic service was followed by an afternoon spent playing Frisbee, playing in the waves and enjoying a meal at Durban beach. I think I’m going to like it here!

Yesterday was spent outside of Pietermaritzburg at a ‘Spiritual Retreat.’ Again, I really don’t know what I expected, but this was not it. Jim and Heather – a sweet couple from Northern Ireland who have lived here over 20 years – hosted us for a day filled with sharing, reflection, laughter, naps by the fire and delicious food. We will be going there again for the next three days.

Oh YA! And Joan and James were able to confirm my homestay for the year. I will be living fairly close to the crèche that I will be working in. It will be downtown in an apartment probably with a family with 3 small children. In the same building there are two women that work at the crèche with me so I can walk with them to work every day. I’m excited to start this new phase of my adventure!!

Aug. 20^th 2009 – Pietermaritzberg

I arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa Sunday morning. It is late winter here in South Africa – the clear sunny skies (second bluest in the world!!) and cool wind make the weather lovely.

We stayed in Johannesburg for 3 days and had a tour of Soweto, Freedom Park, the Voortrekker Monument and the Apartheid Museum. All these sights allowed at least a little insight into what the people in South Africa went through and allows you to understand a little more why there are so many struggles that persist throughout South Africa.

The highlight of our 6 hour drive from Johannesburg to Pietermaritzburg was definitely the game of “Name that Tune,” followed by a few impromptu hymn sing-alongs. Since then we have been staying in Pietermaritzburg (one hour outside of Durban) at Joan and James’ house. After attending an Annual General Meeting and a chapel service at “Project Gateway” I got a feel for the “African way” of doing things. Two minutes into the meeting, a director/a pastor at Project Gateway commented how boring the meeting was and proceeded in starting a friggin sweet sing-along. Everyone jumped up and joined in with awesome rhythms and such powerful and joyous voices filled the room. I was so surprised but just loved it so much! The chapel was much of the same. So much energy. So much joy. So many amazing voices.

So I arrived here in Akron Pennsylvania Saturday afternoon/ evening. After two nights prior to leaving of very little sleep, I slept for a solid 10 hours the first night, which was awesome!

The humidity here is definitely affecting my sweaty self. It is HOT. Oh well, I am just getting ready partially for Durban, so I really can't complain too much.

MCC headquarters in Akron are definitely different than I expected. Each continent has a residency/retreat centre type thing that all the SALTErs and IVEPers are staying in.(IVEP is a program for people from all different countries around the world to come to North America to serve) I am in the Africa House with about 22 other people, and I am sharing a room with a girl from Zimbabwe. Our lodgings are just incredible! They are all decorated with artifacts from the certain continents and have great common areas with kitchenettes.

One of the coolest things for sure is meeting everyone. There are SO many people from so many different countries and going to so many different countries - EVERYONE you come in contact with has a sweet story to tell. Andrew and I (the other SALTer living in Durban close to me) got our first Zulu lesson from his roomate. Uh... it was fairly challenging... but we have a whole year! It's manageable.

So this week will be filled with devotions/worship and lots of learning sessions on the country we are going to on the continent we are going to and more general principles of MCC.

I eagrly await going to Durban and meeting my host family, but am dreading the 15 hour flight to Johanesburg.