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...