Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to All!

I am happy to report that many South Africans celebrate Christmas just like us North Americans, with gifts, trees, carols, and family. The town is decorated with similar decorations, and the stores are filled with people shopping for loved ones. It is just done sweating in tank tops with humid 80 degree weather rather than bundled up by the fire with the possibility of snow.

 The rain that has plagued Durban almost continuously since I have arrived has finally ceased and the sun has come out as well as the mosquitos. As I write this, I am being bit up by one little bugger who I can't seem to squash!

Around this time all the schools close for summer holidays and workplaces shut down for vacation. A good number of people in my church had headed off for a holiday and since the 14th of December until the 7th of January my workplace is closed. During the front end of this time, all of my fellow MCC workers from southern African (Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Lesotho, and South Africa) gathered for a retreat on the beach which was quite wonderful. Who can say no to the beach every day!

Here is a lovely picture of all of those in my particular program on the retreat. 

Needless to say, we had lots of fun!

(photo compliments of another SALTer Rachel Krueger)

We also got to sing some Christmas carols to prepare for the holidays. We even sang "Walking in a Winter Wonderland" in spite of the fact that it never snows in Durban. HA! It was also refreshing to hear stories from others who are also living in new places and navigating places, people, and situations that are unfamiliar. 

In this time it was very meaningful for me to reflect on my time here thus far. It is good to realize that in spite of the numerous challenges that I sometimes can face and the times when I feel I'm doing nothing productive, it is not all for naught.

As I reflected, I've thought of the ways that I've grown and been stretched. In my experience, coming to a new place with different cultures, customs, and challenges leaves one quite vulnerable and dependent on those around them- at home, church, workplace, and community. In light of this reality, I am thankful for those around me in Durban who have supported me as I am here. The other piece of this reality has caused me to stretch out of my comfort zone in many ways- in meeting new people, doing things on my own, and asking questions and exploring ideas that I never would have considered before. When I came I knew that I would have to put myself in uncomfortable places, which at times has been challenging, but even more so, greatly rewarding. Because of that, I have developed many wonderful relationships and have learned more about the people here in South Africa than I would have learned had I chosen to let these many opportunities pass me by.

Another area where I have experienced growth is in my beliefs. South Africa is a country of many contrasts and is, in fact, called the Rainbow Nation as it is the land of diverse peoples, in color, language, beliefs, traditions, and MORE! Having seen at least a small piece of this diversity, I have been challenged in my world views and in my Christianity. One of the things that is quite prevalent in the church in South Africa is the prosperity gospel- the idea that God owes something to us and that if we follow him, essentially we will become rich. For many years I have believed that this is not quite how this whole gospel thing works, but being here has caused me to question, challenge, and further ponder this idea. But in this, I have become more certain that when Jesus said, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth" he did not mean, I will make your life easy and rich if you follow me. Instead, he said "deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow me" which sends a very different message. 

So after the retreat, it was just a few days til Christmas. Bustling around, buying last minute gifts, eating PLENTY of Christmas sweets, and Christmas caroling. Christmas brought a beautiful Christmas service at my church- complete with all the wonderful Christmas hymns, opening of gifts from both my host family and home, and then lots and lots of food. First we visited some relatives of my host family having everything from the traditional turkey and stuffing to Indian dishes such as Biryani (a nice rice dish) and curries. After that, I hurried off to visit some friends from church for fellowship, tea, and leftover turkey sandwiches. All in all, a very full day.

Now I am thankful for a time to rest, recouperate, and prepare myself for 2013 and whatever it may bring! In this time, I am grateful for your continued support and prayers. There certainly are challenges to being so far from home on the holidays, but I rejoice in knowing that our Lord became Emmanuel, God with us!

Prayer Requests:

- This has been a bit of a season of change, in the next week or so I will be moving. Pray for grace in whatever that may look like.

- Pray for rest and restoration during this break- it certainly is much needed.

- Pray for peace as it can be difficult to be far from family and familiarity through the holidays.

Grace and Peace to you!

How quickly time passes

Hello!

I know it has been a while since my last update. I am amazed at how quickly time passes! There have been so many things in this past month, at home, at work, and in day to day living to experience and process- it is difficult to organize it all into a simple update.

At work I’m starting to get the hang of how things work, the challenge is now to find balance in all of the things I am responsible for. Each week there are more people to meet with, visit at home, consult with my manager about, and work to create solutions for, and while I am starting to feel like I understand how things work at RSS, the amount of work I need to do can sometimes feel overwhelming and very tiring.

Although the work load can be quite large, I am also learning the joys and the challenges of working with refugees in South Africa. One of the things that I see all the time here, yet is still devastating, is the poverty that so many live in. Most of the people I see suffer greatly, struggling each month just to scrape by. At times, it can be devastating to consider the pain that some of those I work with have experienced and the struggles they continue to face in a place where they sought refuge. There are also challenges in the reality that a piece of my job is to determine who is and is not deserving of some kind of financial assistance- a very difficult task when all things are considered.

In the midst of all these things, there are still many moments of hope and joy that remind me why I do this. I am always encouraged by those who, in spite of the many challenges up against them, are willing to do anything to have something better for themselves and their families. I am also encouraged when people return, thankful for anything that we can offer them. I am hopeful when I see refugee women celebrate at the end of a training course- with gratefulness for an opportunity offered for them to become better prepared to enter the workforce. I get excited when I hear reports of refugee children excited to learn English as they prepare to enter school in the 2013 school year. Lastly, I am so grateful for the women I work with- for their patience with me as I learn, for their kindness in caring for me, and for their support when I am struggling.

With my host family, I am beginning to feel more and more at home. Last week, I walked into my room and was greeted by a goofy drawing of “my friend frank.” I find that it is being included in things like family jokes such as this one, bring me the most joy.  Also, my host sister Raessa and I are soon going to have a contest to see who can learn each other’s national anthem! I think all of us are excited about it J I just have to learn theirs- which is in English, Zulu, Sesotho, Xhosa, AND Afrikaans- oh my!

In my town, I am also starting to feel familiar with my surroundings. I have been going to a small church right down the road from where I stay where I have found a wonderful group of people to fellowship with. Those in the church have made me so welcome in their church and in their lives which has been wonderful for me.  I have also gotten to know some of my neighbors as well as those that I pass regularly in my travels around town. Getting to be part of and feel welcome in the area how been so wonderful.

Prayer:

-That I would find balance in my work- finding ways to care for each of those I interact with, yet still have time to complete all of the things I have to do.

-That I can continue to make connections in my community.

-That I would have energy for the things I need to accomplish & rest as I often feel very tired.

-Grace as I continue to learn the ins and outs of living here in Durban.

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. I am overwhelmed by the ways that I have been cared for while I am in South Africa!

Settling in

Well I have now been in Durban for almost three weeks and am settling into my home and workplace.

I am living with a wonderful Indian family which consists of Melany Dawood the mother, and her three children Saraiya who is 19, Shakeel who is 18, and Raessa who is 13. 

Left to right- myself, Saraiya, Melany, Raessa, and Shakeel

The family lives in a flat which is in a very nice neighbourhood. There is a balcony which overlooks the city. From there I can see the rugby stadium, the soccer stadium which was built for the world cup in 2010, and the Indian Ocean. It is lovely!

I have had a lot of fun with all of them! I have gone to church with them quite a few times in the past two weeks and this past week they have a wonderful music group from Ghana which has been leading some refreshing times of worship. I have also spent a lot of time playing card games with the kids which has been lots of fun. I’ve learned a few of their games they like to play and have taught them some of my favorites J

I have also slowly been moving into my role as a social worker at Refugee Social Services (RSS). RSS aims to work with refugees in such a way that they are empowered to become self-sufficient and integrated into South African society. To do this they provide temporary financial assistance which ranges from rental and food assistance, to medical assistance, as well as with child care assistance which allows parents of young children to pay for childcare so they can work. They also provide referrals to a number of other social services available in the area. In addition, there are a number of projects within the organization which also seek to empower refugees in other ways. RSS runs a variety of vocational trainings which are beneficial to the refugees in finding jobs. These include sewing classes, salon classes, job training, and interpretation classes. They also teach English classes which is beneficial to refugees as they seek employment. In the midst of these services, my role will be to work with the refugees who come in to see how we can best support them—whether that be through financial support, vocational or other training, referrals, or psychosocial support.

All of the people who work there have been so wonderful as I have been learning about all of the aspects of my role there. The first week I mainly shadowed the other social workers to see how things were done, and the past week I began to see clients. There have been many things to learn in this time about South African policy and Refugee Social Services' programs as well as society’s view of refugees so that I can have a fuller understanding of my role. I have learned much already, but there is still much more to learn!

As I adjust into my family and work place you can also pray for me in these ways:

-That I would continue to learn how to connect with and care from those who come from other cultures.
-Patience as I learn all of the different aspects of working at RSS as it all seems to come slowly.
-That I would reflect Jesus in my words and actions wherever I am throughout my days.
-That I would continue to make connections in my community and workplace.

Lastly, I came across this passage this week which articulates the things I have been praying for myself:

"That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might." -Ephesians 1:17-19

We have arrived!

After 30 hours of travel, last night we arrived in Durban and were then driven to Pietermaritzburg where our country representatives live. For the next few days we will be staying in jail- or anyway a re-purposed jail which is now both the home of our reps as well as a center for a number of smaller organizations which aim to provide support to people in the community in a variety of ways.

here's a picture of our team once we arrived- bleary eyed but excited!

From here, we will have a few days of regional orientation with two more team members who are coming from Zambia and Cambodia and then we will head off to our placements.

Thanks all for your prayers as I traveled!

And the travel begins!

After a week of orientation with about 80 young adults, today we are all about to begin our travels to over 30 countries with all different types of placements.

here is the group photo of all those in my program!

This past week has been a time of incredible learning both within sessions where we talked about a variety of topics to help us as we transition into our placements as well as informally as we went through this training with a number of young adults from all over the world who are coming to the U.S. and Canada for similar types of placements. These young adults came from many of the places that we will be going and were able to give us great insight into the many cultures we are heading into.

As I think about heading to South Africa, one of the things that I hope shapes my interactions is the concept of motives. As our group will be heading to cultures, many so different than our own, we may often encounter cultural differences that may frustrate or upset us. In these situations it is so very easy to think that the way others approach certain situations may be wrong. Instead, a fellow SALT member encouraged us to think about how their motive comes from love. We all try to think and act certain ways because we believe that it is the best way to love- so why would we not consider this to be true of those so different than ourselves.


So now we will be leaving- beginning each of our own journeys. Journeys bound up in the histories, the cultures, and the hearts of the people we will live and work along side of. In this, I want to share a quote that was shared with us that I believe gets at the heart of why we should serve:

"If you want to help me, you're wasting your time. If you come because you're liberation is bound up with mine, then come, let's work together." -Lila Watson

So now my 30 hours of transit begins!

Thanks you all so much for your thoughts and prayers.

Grace & Peace

A new adventure!

Tomorrow, August 9, 2012, is the beginning of a new adventure as I will embark on a journey that will begin with a week of training in Akron, PA, and then take me all of the way to Durban, South Africa!

I will be going to South Africa for the next year through Mennonite Central Committee's SALT program which sends young adults to service placements all over the world. I will be putting my recently completed social work degree to good use at an organization called Refugee Social Services. There, I will provide services for newly arrived refugees who need support and care as they adjust to a new society. Also during this time, I will be living with a host family and hope to become part of the diverse community that exists in Durban.

In recent days, I have spent many hours preparing, thinking, trying to bring order to my life before I leave, though I'm not sure I'll ever be ready! So now with this leap of faith before me, it becomes ALL about trusting God, even in the face of the unknown. As I say the last of my goodbyes, I have had my fair share of tears and uncertainty. In spite of this, I know I have been blessed in ways I could not have imagined for myself throughout my time of preparation bringing confirmation again and again that I am heading in the right direction. As I now move forward, I am expectant- expectant that God WILL be working in and around me in mighty and powerful ways as he has already revealed his great faithfulness to me throughout this process.

So now I'm off-- ready (or not!) to begin my travels to the ends of the earth...