Rain

Rain often represents a new beginning leading to new life. Since I’ve begun my time as a YAGM volunteer, rain has come at many times of transition: when the bus of YAGM volunteers left the O’Hare International Airport and arrived at the University of Chicago, where we would live for one week during orientation; on our last day in Chicago when we packed our things for our year of international service; as we traveled from Johannesburg to Pietermaritzburg, where the ten YAGM volunteers in South Africa learned about MUD (Ministry Upstream Downwind – http://elcamud.blogspot.com/) and the ELCA’s companion church in Southern Africa: ELCSA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa); and, most recently, during my second and third days in Cool Air, as I begin to settle into my new home. I hope that the symbolism of rain bringing new life holds.
*I wrote this post in September, but haven't posted it until now. Rain has been a good sign.

Christmas Greetings

Wonderful Family and Friends,
Merry Christmas! I hope you are enjoying a holiday season full
of joy and peace. In eighty degree weather, I am struggling to
convince myself that Christmas is just a few days away. Practicing a
reenactment of the birth of Jesus with my Sunday School kids requires
thinking about sun protection. Yet, I continue to receive God's
blessing both in my communities in Cool Air and Pietermaritzburg, but
also in angels I meet in my South African experience. Thank you for your support in words and prayers. I pray that God will lovingly bless you this season of celebrating Christ's birth.
With Christmas Spirit,

Kate

November Snapshots and Sound Bytes

*The goal of the snapshots section is to give you verbal pictures of my experiences in and perceptions of South Africa, which are limited and not representative of South Africa as a whole, just as my experiences in and perceptions of the US do not represent all of the US.
Personal:
- I finished two books; I recommend anyone to read Desmond Tutu’s God Has a Dream, and if you’re interested in reading about the last 15 years of South African politics, read Alan Russell’s Bring Me My Machine Gun
- Talked with Sandy Govender’s 7th graders at a local school about Native Americans and answered their questions as a US representative
- Started a Lutheran youth group
- The youth group got accepted to a regional youth leadership program through PACSA (Pietermaritzburg Agency for Christian Social Activism)
- Started a Sunday School program, assisted by the youth group
- Colored cards with my two younger host sisters
- Typed up 300 students’ information, including their birthdays, identification number, languages, ethnicity, and their parents’ information
- Stood in a room with a South African, a Zimbabwean, and a citizen from the Democratic Republic of Congo

Sound bytes
- “He killed our country.” –Eva, referring to Mugabe’s role in Zimbabwe, a housekeeper from Zimbabwe
- “We don’t need corruption.” –A Lutheran Parish representative on his views of some government officials
- “They are a part of us.” –The same representative, pointing to the mud homes along the highway, about how for some people, their lives have not gotten better since Apartheid due to the corruption in politics.

The Importance of Children: A Morning Devotional for the Teachers of Dalton Primary

“People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.” Mark 10: 13-16

Jesus wants the little children to come to him. During this devotional, I will share three points: children are important, we are examples of Jesus Christ’s love, and we are all children of God.
First of all, I want to thank you for recognizing the importance of children, as you chose the profession of being teachers. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus encourages the children to come to him. At the time, this identifying of the importance of children was contrary to the cultural norm, where adults treated children as less than a person deserving respect. Jesus ignored the cultural norms as he pointed out the significance of children. Thank you for shaping the leaders of tomorrow.
Secondly, we are each examples of Jesus’ love. My favorite part of each school day is when we gather at the beginning of the day to sing and pray. As we worship, the children look up to you, literally in front of them, as Christian examples. Not only do they see you as examples of Christianity at work as you worship, but also as you act out your beliefs in the classroom. We serve as important examples in these children’s lives, because the scripture says that it is only as children that we “receive the kingdom of God.” We should show Jesus’ love in all our actions.
How do we show love? By hitting them? By encouraging them? Jesus, our example in every day life, tells us to love our neighbors, not with a few actions, but with every action. Jesus demonstrated love by washing the disciples feet. He said verbally and through his actions that status and power does not change how much we love each neighbor. Our savior embraced children.
Thirdly, we are all children of God. We all matter equally to God. Jesus gives children as an example of who receives the kingdom of God. I really enjoy the South African concept of “ubuntu,” which means that we are humans because of one another. In how we treat our fellow children, no matter their wealth, nationality, race, or age, we bring ourselves as humanity up or down.
Thank you for recognizing the importance of children. We should show Jesus’ love to the children in every action, every day. As children of God, each of us we are precious in God’s eyes. May we be instruments of God’s love, this day and always.

November Events

- Attended a Christian, ‘Indian origin’ couple’s wedding and thanksgiving service
- Lutheran Church Circuit Rally, a service that all the Lutheran congregants are encouraged to attend, and the Circuit Meeting
- Shared a weekend in Durban with two ELCA volunteers, during which we visited uShaka Marine Park, shopped, ate delicious seafood, and took many pamphlets from a visitors’ information bureau
- November 25th – 30th: A retreat with group of ELCA volunteers during which we celebrated Thanksgiving and traveled to the Drakensburg mountains and Lesotho

A Word in isiZulu: Sawubona/Sanbonani

Sawubona – used to greet one person
Sanibona/Sanibonani – used to greet more than one person

IsiZulu speakers will be impressed if you say “Sau’bona” or “San’bon” instead, because you will sound more like the natives. 

Greeting other people is a sign of respect in IsiZulu culture.

From a South African Friend: A Local Teacher, Sandy Govender *

South Africa’s ‘colourful’ past renders it an interesting case study for justice and its implementation. Major class differences exist among the citizens of our beautiful country; luxurious suburbs slumber adjacent to monstrous informal ‘squatter’ settlements. Such extreme differences in wealth and lifestyle exacerbate crime.
Although apartheid has disappeared from our legislation for fifteen years, its legacy still taunts us, having left some sectors of the population financially secure and others poverty stricken. For many South African youth poverty is the order of the day and a sense of hopelessness pervades. Many view crime as the only alternative or rather hope.
Initially when I hear of suffering inflicted on my people by ruthless criminals I wish for a justice system that would cause them as much pain and suffering as they so vengefully inflict on their victims. However, such reasoning is quite primitive and unproductive and does not serve to improve our society. Justice which does not sought to rehabilitate criminals is base and when we behave in this fashion we are lowering our standards of behavior to match that of criminals.
Many South Africans are disillusioned as our justice system battles to process the growing number of trials with efficacy. Hence many criminals walk free. Added to our disappointment and yearning for justice are our country’s new leaders who confuse serving ‘selflessly’ and ‘selfishly’, corruption is rife. Politicians line their pockets rather than the bellies to the nations growing population of AIDS orphans.
I am pretty sure that by now you are contentedly chewing on your apple pie marveling at how dark Africa really is. But to me, a 36 year-old female, a South African of ‘Indian origin’, this is my home, warm and familiar. Justice for me takes on many dimensions not just judgments and criminal courts. My personal beliefs are very strongly rooted in the law of Karma. Karl Marx described religion as the opium of the masses, yet I am quite content leaving justice to be meted out by God. “Behind the sometimes seemingly random or chaotic succession of events in our lives as well as in the world lies concealed the unfolding of a higher order and purpose” (Eckhart Tolle- A New Earth). Although this maybe difficult to conceive, especially, with the many senseless murders, we must realize that sometimes what is lost can never be found, we must accept and so find peace. Peace comes from a place of knowing that we are just a small part of a higher order and as expressed in the old zen saying “The snow falls, each flake in its appropriate place.”

Sandy Govender
November 20, 2009

*Added to blog with permission from Sandy Govender