Right now I am actually writing you from an ocean view café on Beach Rd here in Sea Point. I must admit, I feel a bit conflicted. When I signed up for Africa, I really didn't have in mind ocean view cafés on Beach Rd., and yet here I am. I suppose the first thing we should establish about my time here is that it won't be what most people imagine as 'African Missions.' I suppose I'm making some assumptions here, and perhaps you know a little something about South Africa, and Cape Town more specifically, but really, this city is quite like any other that you would find in the North America or Europe. It is quite developed, with many of the luxuries and capitalistic, consumer based problems you would find in Winnipeg or Toronto. Except there's an ocean. And mountains. And of course it's not so simple as all that, either. I find that as I try to understand this city for myself, I'm still only making superficial assessments. I look forward to being able to really come to know this city and it's people, to have something to say about the struggles and the joys of South Africa, but more specifically our lovely church here at Sea Point Evangelical Congregational.
Life in Sea Point
So far I am very much enjoying my time in Sea Point. There are times when it is difficult to be without my family and close friends, but such things are natural I do believe. I believe I've told you a bit about the house I'm staying at in Sea Point. Things are still going well there, we're still working out the finer points of what it means to live together, but I think it will work out well in the end. The family I'm staying with is in the midst of 'reorganizing' themselves a bit, it's proving to be difficult times for them, keep them in your prayers as continue through a rough patch.
In Sea Point there's no shortage of things to do, but I do try to keep cost in mind, and also, my first commitment is to the church, so that comes to influence how I spend my free time. However, this isn't to say that I just sit at home on my nights off. Last Friday I was to see “As You Like It” at on outdoor theatre in a suburb on the other side of town. That was a real treat, a good performance in a really nice venue, it was a nice experience. And tonight I plan to see what the symphony here is like. By this point I have pretty high standards, so we'll see how it goes, but I'm confident they'll be fine. Also on the point of arts appreciation, I've joined the Cape Town philharmonic choir! I'm pretty excited about this one, it's a privilege to be a part of a choir such as this, so I'm glad to have the opportunity. And finally, I plan to begin piano lessons in the near future.
So between all these ventures I will be keeping quite busy. I think the priority I have set up in mind is to have the church come first. That is my primary assignment here, after all, so if worse comes to worse I will let go of some of my extracurricular activities, but judging from my discussions with Thomas I think what I've taken on so far has been reasonable and will work well for the year.
Ministry at Sea Point Evangelical Congregationalist Church
On the 22nd, I finally got to me Thomas Scarborough, the man who will be my supervisor for my year here in Cape Town. Thomas is part of the leadership at our church here in Sea Point. At a first glance one would probably peg him as the 'head minister' or some similar title, but from my earliest correspondence with Thomas he assured me that the leadership at Sea Point was shared amongst various leaders in the congregation, he only holds one equal part of a greater whole. It is true the church provides Thomas with full time work, but I believe this church takes seriously the idea of – dare I say – a priesthood of all believers? No, it's not quite to that extent, but I do appreciate this approach to ministerial leadership. Of course in the Mennonite context back home we are notorious for expecting everything of our pastors only to find out that they burn out after 3 or 5 or maybe 10 years. So it is nice to get another interpretation on what pastoral leadership can be. I should probably mention at this point that Thomas is working on his Master's degree (just handed in the final draft of his thesis) which is specifically about the different leadership models in the church, so he is quite experienced in the area.
Starting To Work At Sea Point
For me, the arrival of Thomas more or less marked the starting point of my assignment in South Africa. In actuality I'm not sure that's quite true, I think my time in Pietermaritzburg as well as the week in Cape Town before the 22nd was important for my coming to understand this country, but nevertheless, with Thomas here, I began to take on more 'ministerial' roles. Thus far I have been gradually eased into what my roles will be. Th e idea is that eventually during my time here I will have had experience with all aspects of pastoral ministry, from visitations to church discipline to preaching et cetera, but as for now, I'm gradually easing myself in as I get to know the congregation and they get to know me, it's a good pace to start, I'm keeping quite busy, but not overwhelmed.
Visitations
I started by doing some visitations at two of the senior's centres in town, just down the road from where I'm living. It was a real treat to meet some of the older members of the congregation and to hear about their lives. Really, they were simply very happy for the company, these are the types of visits that aren't so hard to make, when you are so happily received. I've also had the chance to do a couple hospital visits. These have proven to be a bit more challenging, just in terms of the emotional intensity. Unfortunately the public health care in South Africa is quite bad. They do have a private health care system, but of course it's only for those who can afford it, providing for a system that is discriminatory and unjust overall. A nurse from our congregation put it quite starkly for me, “you got to private health care to get better, you go to public health to die.” So the health care system here has a pretty bad reputation. I've done two hospital visitations so far, one at public health and one at private, the differences were appalling.
Bible Studies
So far I've only been to one Bible Study, the minister's Bible Study, but I will be getting to more after things start up more after summer break, which ends more or less at the end of January. But the study I went to was a very interesting. They were working through Acts just toward the final part of the book. Personally I've spent some time speculating thus far as to how different Congregational theology would be from Mennonite theology. Now, focusing on differences isn't something I like to do, I prefer to be more ecumenical, and to that end I haven't been disappointed. Even though some people may read the Bible a bit differently than I do, we are still a people working together to be a faithful community. I'm looking forward to sharing with these folks a little bit of what Mennonites are and having some meaningful conversations about our similarities and differences.
Final Thoughts
I've found that when I'm writing, my natural inclination is towards 1500 words, and that's where we're at about now. I hope that my humble speculations prove to be as edifying as read as they are enjoyable to write. So far I am very happy with my time here. I'm continuing to discern who my primary social group will be, and that can be a bit of an exhausting task, but we'll see what happens as I continue to meet people and pursue social events. So, I'll try to write again in a couple weeks. Also, I'm planning to send out a prayer letter in the next few days. If you're not on my 'prayer letter email list' just pop me a email (pete.nigh@gmail.com) saying you'd like to be and I'll be sure to include you.
Until next time,
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
First Days in Cape Town
So, here I am, finally arrived in Cape Town, South Africa
Flight From Durban
We got up early on Thursday, the 15th, to drive to Durban airport. My flight was in the afternoon but we were driving another friend, Phil, to the airport for an earlier flight. So that meant that Dan, Yvonne and I had the morning to spend in Durban. We spend most of our time at a museum documenting the social and political history of Durban as well as the rest of South Africa. It's always good to learn more about the struggle of South Africa. We also visited city hall, which features an art gallery as well as a natural science exhibit, both were fascinating.
After this we drove to the airport and after a nice lunch I parted company with Yvonne and Dan to board my plane. It was somewhat bittersweet to say goodbye to my wonderful hosts in Pietermaritzburg. Dan and Yvonne were gracious in their welcoming me, I appreciated their wise insights into this new culture I am entering, I will not soon forget all the wonderful conversations and good advice. However, I was very excited to be finally getting to see what my placement would be like.
Arrival in Cape Town
The flight into Cape Town seemed very long. I had an aisle seat, so I couldn't see much out the windows, but the flight did eventually end, and I touched down in Cape Town. After what seemed like forever waiting for my bags on the carousel, I finally found them and went out to meet Dieter, who had graciously offered to pick me up at the airport. Dieter is a fine man, and as we drove into Cape Town he proved to be a wonderful guide.
After a drive of about 20 minutes we arrived at 38 Rhine Rd, my home for the year. The Pretorias family (my hosts/landlords)has a lovely home, spacious bungalow with large private bedrooms. We share a kitchen and a bathroom, but there is plenty of space for everyone. Upon arriving I discovered that I had three roommates besides the Pretorias family. There are three Brazilian students also living in the house, studying English in Cape Town for the summer. However, their term is almost up, and in fact, my first night in Cape Town I was invited to a farewell party for one or all of my roommates.
ESL House Party
I tell you, it was a strange and wonderful thing being at a house party full of students learning English. There was music and food and alcohol (of which I partook, in moderation)and a whole crowd of very wonderful and friendly people. I was the only one there who had English for a first language, but everyone was very kind in trying their best to converse with me in English. They all seemed to be fascinated that I was studying to be a pastor, and I had some wonderful conversations toward the beginning of the evening. But as the wine got passed around and the evening carried on, I was mostly left to myself, which is fine with me, I'm a wallflower at most parties anyways. I very much enjoyed myself, it was nice to meet some people my age and make some acquaintances that hopefully I will be able to capitalize on in the future.
First Day with Sea Point Evangelical Congregationalist Church
At 10:00 the next morning I arrived at the church to meet some of the staff and help prepare for youth in the evening. There I met some of the administrative staff as well as the youth team there. They are all lovely folks, and they seemed very happy to have me. I was given a tour of the church, which is quite lovely. The church is beautiful stone church, the original architecture from the 19th century. The sanctuary is lovely, with great acoustics.
Getting ready for youth, I was warned of the nature of the group. The youth that attend the Friday night activity night are a wonderful, vibrant bunch, but sometimes their energy gets the best of them and they are unable respect rules or their supervisors. Probably 95% of them come from unchurched homes, most of them are from single parent families, they live difficult lives. So then, we are happy to bless them with an activity night on Fridays. They arrive at the church at 5:00 for various games and activities: pool, soccer, skipping rope, different drawing and puzzle activities are all laid out for them to enjoy and peruse. Then at 5:40ish we have a brief worship service in the sanctuary. They are learning to treat this time with respect and it seems some of it is soaking into their minds, which is wonderful. And then we have snack and they leave at 6:30. It is a whirlwind of activity, I was glad to accompany Mirjam for a nice, relaxing supper afterwards.
Exploring Cape Town
Friday night Mirjam drove me down the coast aways towards some of the other suburbs in Cape Town. The next suburb down the coast is Camps Bay, which is the vety posh, upscale 'burb right now. Very nice and expensive hotels and restaurants, lovely beaches and etc. We stopped in the next suburb down the coast, the name of which escapes me just now. The drive down was absolutely gorgeous, a lovely coastline with the mountains in the background and the ocean opposite that, very beautiful. We went to a pizza restaurant where Mirjam knew the owners. A very nice evening generally.
Saturday I had mostly to myself, and I spend the day walking the streets of Cape Town, first things first buying a pair of sunglasses, which proved to be vital. I walked down main street for a while, exploring the shops and the restaurants. It was a bustling Saturday crowd, I didn't take in any place too in depth, but it made me excited to get to know the place better
The evening I went for dinner with a couple from the church. They took me to the downtown waterfront mall for a lovely dinner at a restaurant in the mall. I've been very lucky with my meals recently, I've barely spent a meal at home!
First Sunday at Sea Point
Finally, the moment I had been waiting for had arrived, my first Sunday at our church in Sea Point. The crowd was overwhelmingly welcoming, I met 100 new friends that morning. I was fortunate to be able to take part in the chorus singing that morning, it was good to get an idea of what's already there, I'm looking forward to seeing how I can contribute in the future. The service was very nice, quite similar to what I am comfortable with back home. The sermon was performed by a guest speaker visiting from the United church in Camps Bay. It was a challenging sermon for me, personally. He spoke on the conflict in the Middle East and gave a perspective that I normally don't hear. It inspired me to learn more about my own perspective as well as to consider that not everyone takes the same perspective as I do.
After church I was taken out for a meal, again! I feel very fortunate to be with such generous people, they have been wonderful in making me feel welcome in this new place, I look forward to a good year here.
Final Word
That takes us up to date for the most part. So far I have been fairly superficial in my posting about my time here, there has been so much moving around and going on, I have hardly been able to bare down and speculate on what I am taking in. In the future I hope to take more time to examine the hopes and concerns of our congregation in Sea Point and to offer some thoughts on the struggle in South Africa.
That's All for Now!
Flight From Durban
We got up early on Thursday, the 15th, to drive to Durban airport. My flight was in the afternoon but we were driving another friend, Phil, to the airport for an earlier flight. So that meant that Dan, Yvonne and I had the morning to spend in Durban. We spend most of our time at a museum documenting the social and political history of Durban as well as the rest of South Africa. It's always good to learn more about the struggle of South Africa. We also visited city hall, which features an art gallery as well as a natural science exhibit, both were fascinating.
After this we drove to the airport and after a nice lunch I parted company with Yvonne and Dan to board my plane. It was somewhat bittersweet to say goodbye to my wonderful hosts in Pietermaritzburg. Dan and Yvonne were gracious in their welcoming me, I appreciated their wise insights into this new culture I am entering, I will not soon forget all the wonderful conversations and good advice. However, I was very excited to be finally getting to see what my placement would be like.
Arrival in Cape Town
The flight into Cape Town seemed very long. I had an aisle seat, so I couldn't see much out the windows, but the flight did eventually end, and I touched down in Cape Town. After what seemed like forever waiting for my bags on the carousel, I finally found them and went out to meet Dieter, who had graciously offered to pick me up at the airport. Dieter is a fine man, and as we drove into Cape Town he proved to be a wonderful guide.
After a drive of about 20 minutes we arrived at 38 Rhine Rd, my home for the year. The Pretorias family (my hosts/landlords)has a lovely home, spacious bungalow with large private bedrooms. We share a kitchen and a bathroom, but there is plenty of space for everyone. Upon arriving I discovered that I had three roommates besides the Pretorias family. There are three Brazilian students also living in the house, studying English in Cape Town for the summer. However, their term is almost up, and in fact, my first night in Cape Town I was invited to a farewell party for one or all of my roommates.
ESL House Party
I tell you, it was a strange and wonderful thing being at a house party full of students learning English. There was music and food and alcohol (of which I partook, in moderation)and a whole crowd of very wonderful and friendly people. I was the only one there who had English for a first language, but everyone was very kind in trying their best to converse with me in English. They all seemed to be fascinated that I was studying to be a pastor, and I had some wonderful conversations toward the beginning of the evening. But as the wine got passed around and the evening carried on, I was mostly left to myself, which is fine with me, I'm a wallflower at most parties anyways. I very much enjoyed myself, it was nice to meet some people my age and make some acquaintances that hopefully I will be able to capitalize on in the future.
First Day with Sea Point Evangelical Congregationalist Church
At 10:00 the next morning I arrived at the church to meet some of the staff and help prepare for youth in the evening. There I met some of the administrative staff as well as the youth team there. They are all lovely folks, and they seemed very happy to have me. I was given a tour of the church, which is quite lovely. The church is beautiful stone church, the original architecture from the 19th century. The sanctuary is lovely, with great acoustics.
Getting ready for youth, I was warned of the nature of the group. The youth that attend the Friday night activity night are a wonderful, vibrant bunch, but sometimes their energy gets the best of them and they are unable respect rules or their supervisors. Probably 95% of them come from unchurched homes, most of them are from single parent families, they live difficult lives. So then, we are happy to bless them with an activity night on Fridays. They arrive at the church at 5:00 for various games and activities: pool, soccer, skipping rope, different drawing and puzzle activities are all laid out for them to enjoy and peruse. Then at 5:40ish we have a brief worship service in the sanctuary. They are learning to treat this time with respect and it seems some of it is soaking into their minds, which is wonderful. And then we have snack and they leave at 6:30. It is a whirlwind of activity, I was glad to accompany Mirjam for a nice, relaxing supper afterwards.
Exploring Cape Town
Friday night Mirjam drove me down the coast aways towards some of the other suburbs in Cape Town. The next suburb down the coast is Camps Bay, which is the vety posh, upscale 'burb right now. Very nice and expensive hotels and restaurants, lovely beaches and etc. We stopped in the next suburb down the coast, the name of which escapes me just now. The drive down was absolutely gorgeous, a lovely coastline with the mountains in the background and the ocean opposite that, very beautiful. We went to a pizza restaurant where Mirjam knew the owners. A very nice evening generally.
Saturday I had mostly to myself, and I spend the day walking the streets of Cape Town, first things first buying a pair of sunglasses, which proved to be vital. I walked down main street for a while, exploring the shops and the restaurants. It was a bustling Saturday crowd, I didn't take in any place too in depth, but it made me excited to get to know the place better
The evening I went for dinner with a couple from the church. They took me to the downtown waterfront mall for a lovely dinner at a restaurant in the mall. I've been very lucky with my meals recently, I've barely spent a meal at home!
First Sunday at Sea Point
Finally, the moment I had been waiting for had arrived, my first Sunday at our church in Sea Point. The crowd was overwhelmingly welcoming, I met 100 new friends that morning. I was fortunate to be able to take part in the chorus singing that morning, it was good to get an idea of what's already there, I'm looking forward to seeing how I can contribute in the future. The service was very nice, quite similar to what I am comfortable with back home. The sermon was performed by a guest speaker visiting from the United church in Camps Bay. It was a challenging sermon for me, personally. He spoke on the conflict in the Middle East and gave a perspective that I normally don't hear. It inspired me to learn more about my own perspective as well as to consider that not everyone takes the same perspective as I do.
After church I was taken out for a meal, again! I feel very fortunate to be with such generous people, they have been wonderful in making me feel welcome in this new place, I look forward to a good year here.
Final Word
That takes us up to date for the most part. So far I have been fairly superficial in my posting about my time here, there has been so much moving around and going on, I have hardly been able to bare down and speculate on what I am taking in. In the future I hope to take more time to examine the hopes and concerns of our congregation in Sea Point and to offer some thoughts on the struggle in South Africa.
That's All for Now!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Hike Through the Drakensbergs
On this past Sunday (the 11th) Dan, Yvonne and I left to spend a couple days in the Drakensberg mountains. They know of a little resort type centre that has a few cottages and a little dam that you can fish in, if you so desire (and we did, or at least Dan did, and I wanted to learn). So, this place is actually only about a 90 min drive from their flat in Pietermaritzburg, so after church we set off for the trip.
On the Way to the Resort
Typical to my style, I was sick for the car ride down, but the ride was pretty short, so it wasn't a huge deal. We did actually stop for dinner though, for a typical "Sunday Roast" at a hotel restaurant that was on the way. The restaurant was styled in the theme of the area, called "the Midlands" after the region of the same name in England (or so I am told). So it's in the style of quaint little cottages in the midst of rolling green hills and all that. Truth be told it's very lovely, but certainly only accessible to those who can afford the kind of high-middle class way of life, so a little discriminatory in that way. It's very much a tourist trap type deal, but it didn't feel so inauthentic as all that. A "Sunday Roast" in case you were asking, is a common feature that many restaurants offer: on Sunday their main special will be a roast of some kind that has been prepared for the day, and it will be extra fancy and extra special. So we took that option, and despite my general nausea, it was very nice.
The Resort
We did arrive at the resort soon after the restaurant, and 'resort' is perhaps a bit of a stretch. It was certainly very nice, but don't think 'resort' as in posh, upper class, in-room service, swimming pool, open bar, type resort. It was more a rustic type thing with a little kitchen in the cottage. So, we got there on Monday night and had a nice dinner (I had a big nap once we got there and felt MUCH better afterwards) and a relaxing evening.
Dan was up early the next morning to try out the fishing there, and I joined him around 8:30 to try my hand at the business of fly-fishing. I have to say, it was quit enjoyable. I was terrible to start off with, but eventually I got the hang of this casting business. And Dan actually caught two fish! In a mere four hours of fishing! Impressive. For me, getting three good casts in a row was something to be excited about, so, actually catching fish was quite the feat.
Into the Mountains
After a nice morning of fishing and relaxing, we left for a hike into the mountains. As usual, I have posted some pictures, feel free to peruse them at your will. It was a very nice hike. Lovely views, mist coming off the mountains into open plains of sunlight, all very breathtaking. We hiked for about an hour and then came back for the ride home. I feel I owe you a bit more of an in-depth description of the hike, but really, the pictures are your best bet there. The only thing with that is I didn't get any great pictures of the baboons we saw! There were four of the, two older and two younger, but they were quite far away, so pictures were difficult.
After the hike we drove home and enjoyed a nice relaxing evening, and prepared for an adventure in Pietermaritzburg the next day.
On the Way to the Resort
Typical to my style, I was sick for the car ride down, but the ride was pretty short, so it wasn't a huge deal. We did actually stop for dinner though, for a typical "Sunday Roast" at a hotel restaurant that was on the way. The restaurant was styled in the theme of the area, called "the Midlands" after the region of the same name in England (or so I am told). So it's in the style of quaint little cottages in the midst of rolling green hills and all that. Truth be told it's very lovely, but certainly only accessible to those who can afford the kind of high-middle class way of life, so a little discriminatory in that way. It's very much a tourist trap type deal, but it didn't feel so inauthentic as all that. A "Sunday Roast" in case you were asking, is a common feature that many restaurants offer: on Sunday their main special will be a roast of some kind that has been prepared for the day, and it will be extra fancy and extra special. So we took that option, and despite my general nausea, it was very nice.
The Resort
We did arrive at the resort soon after the restaurant, and 'resort' is perhaps a bit of a stretch. It was certainly very nice, but don't think 'resort' as in posh, upper class, in-room service, swimming pool, open bar, type resort. It was more a rustic type thing with a little kitchen in the cottage. So, we got there on Monday night and had a nice dinner (I had a big nap once we got there and felt MUCH better afterwards) and a relaxing evening.
Dan was up early the next morning to try out the fishing there, and I joined him around 8:30 to try my hand at the business of fly-fishing. I have to say, it was quit enjoyable. I was terrible to start off with, but eventually I got the hang of this casting business. And Dan actually caught two fish! In a mere four hours of fishing! Impressive. For me, getting three good casts in a row was something to be excited about, so, actually catching fish was quite the feat.
Into the Mountains
After a nice morning of fishing and relaxing, we left for a hike into the mountains. As usual, I have posted some pictures, feel free to peruse them at your will. It was a very nice hike. Lovely views, mist coming off the mountains into open plains of sunlight, all very breathtaking. We hiked for about an hour and then came back for the ride home. I feel I owe you a bit more of an in-depth description of the hike, but really, the pictures are your best bet there. The only thing with that is I didn't get any great pictures of the baboons we saw! There were four of the, two older and two younger, but they were quite far away, so pictures were difficult.
After the hike we drove home and enjoyed a nice relaxing evening, and prepared for an adventure in Pietermaritzburg the next day.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Pictures of the Mennonites Missionaries' Retreat
I mentioned it in my blog, but I'll say it again here: I've posted some pictures of 'the Creek' retreat area where we stayed for 5 days. Most of the pictures are just a general overview of the area and then some pictures from the hike some of us went on. There are also some pictures of the drive to and from Pietermaritzburg.
Sent and Received
**A little not to begin this entry, I realize I can be a bit verbose on entries like this, so unless you are my mother I probably wouldn't expect you to read this whole thing, just pick out the headlines that seem interesting to you and that will probably serve you better.**
This past set of days I was out down further south on the east coast of South Africa in a region known as 'the Wild Coast' near a town called Port St. John's. Pietermaritzburg (PMB), where I have been staying is in the province of Kwa-Zulu Natal, in the north-east of South Africa. The reason I traveled to Port St. John's was to be a part of a retreat with the local Mennonite affiliated missionaries in the area. So, we embarked on the approximately 6 hours drive down to Fort St John's from PMB. On the way down we picked up the speaker for the retreat, Mirjam Scarborough. It was a particular treat for me to have Mirjam be the guest speaker, as she is the wife of Thomas Scarborough, the minister who will be supervising me for my placement in Cape Town. So it was very interesting to get to know Mirjam because of these circumstances, but also because she is a lovely and fascinating woman. Mirjam is just finishing up her dissertation for her doctorate, she is studying female Mennonite missionaries to the Congo. Beings that her studies were so relevant to the Mennonite missionaries, it made sense to have her come to be our speaker and lead in reflection of what the challenges and joys of being a missionary are. So needless to say, it was an enjoyable trip from the airport in Jo'burg to Port St John's discussing my future placement as well as her work.
The Drive from PMB to Port St John's
The Wild Coast is in the province of 'Eastern Cape.' The transition in terms of demographics and landscape between Kwa Zulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape was quite noticeable. Kwa Zulu-Natal was, from what I saw of it, mostly fairly typical housing that would not be too out of place in North America or Europe, sort of categorized and typical to what I was used to. It's kind of difficult to describe what exactly it was, I suppose I lack the vocabulary, but whatever it was, it wasn't so unfamiliar. Port towns and coastal towns with a distinct regional flare, yet familiar European tendencies, if that isn't too vague for you. We stopped for lunch in Port Edward (which ended up taking two hours, service was on 'African time'...) which is a town on the boarder of Kwa Zulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. 'The Wild Coast' starts at this point and stretches some distance down the coast to Hole in the Wall (which is a town) and from the coast inward to Mthatha in the west (these are very approximate boundaries I am giving here). The landscapes we saw were gorgeous and as opposed to the typical landscapes and demographics that I was used to was sorted more into towns of scattered houses and farms on the rolling hillsides. The houses were more simple and things seemed more laid-back generally. I really can't quite comment too much on the tendencies of either Kwa Zulu-Natal or Eastern Cape because I really only drove through them myself. Suffice it to say they were both beautiful but for different reasons. In both provinces the rolling hills and lush greenery was enough to take your breath away.
Arrival in Port St. John's / 'The Creek' Retreat Centre
After driving inward from the coast at Port Edward we eventually completed the half circle back down to the coast through Bizana, Flagstaff, Palmerton and Lusikisiki. These were all really neat smaller towns made up entirely of a black population (I am almost positive). As we drove down the main streets of these towns the streets were just bustling with people, we actually opened our windows so as to better hear the local culture. It was a cultural experience just driving through, I really appreciated it.
Finally we arrived in Port St John's, our retreat centre was actually a couple minutes outside of town, so we ended up not actually seeing the town until the next day. 'The Creek' is a lovely little place just outside of town, hidden in amongst the trees outside of town. Our group was divided into a number of cabins within walking distance of a main meeting / kitchen / dining area. I've posted some pictures onto my Flickr site, so anyone who wants to get a little bit of an idea of the location can take a look there.
At the Creek
The retreat itself was very nice, there were quite a few people for me to meet. The nature of the retreat was that it was a time for the local Mennonite missionaries to get together and share and pray for each other. Altogether there were five different placements represented: Joe and Anna Sawatzky with their three young boys: Isaac, Moses and Levi, they are in Mthatha. Then there was Phil and Kristine Lindell-Detwiller with their kids Nathan, Annika and Lydia who are here working here in PMB and also Glyn and Susan Allison-Jones with their kids Maeyken and Adriaena who are working in Botswana in Gaborone , and then Melanie Quinn who is also working in Botswana in Francistown. And of course I was there with Dan and Yvonne who are working here in PMB. So the retreat was a great way to get to know a fantastic group of people fairly well fairly quickly. The days passed at a leisurely pace, taking the morning to have tea and a session of sharing, followed by a session led by Mirjam. Then the afternoon / evening was mostly free time with some scheduled events and another sharing time in the evening. It was a pleasurable time, edifying sessions and meaningful group interactions. I entitled this entry “sent and received,” this is in reference to the Mennonite tradition of 'sending' those who are going on an extensive journey, traditionally a missionary one. The process is that before you go a group of close friends and family take the time to lay hands on you and pray for you, a very moving experience that I participated in at Hawkesville Mennonite Church the Sunday before I left. And then, at the retreat in Port St John's I had the opportunity to do some sharing and be prayed upon as part of a worship session, a process that felt very much like a 'receiving'. This process very neatly wrapped the transition process in my mind, it was truly a blessing.
New Year's Eve
Of course the trip spanned a couple years, so we celebrated New Year's Eve together. For this we actually headed into town to gather supplies and get a general lay of the land. Port St. John's was a bustling beach town, this was especially evident on New Year's Eve, it was packed with the townsfolk buying various supplies and copious amounts of fireworks. We bought a small tube of fireworks which actually proved to be pretty entertaining once the clock struck 12. Aside from the venture into town the same schedule as the other days was maintained, so there was some sharing that evening. However, we did also have a little bit of a party into the night. It actually proved to be a bit of a challenge to stay up until 12, but we did most of us manage, and together we welcomed in the New Year.
The New Year's Day Hike and the Beach
The rest of the retreat passed similar to the first half. On New Year's day Anna, TJ, Nathan, Megan, Isaac and I decided to take the 'short' hike to a local waterfall then the top of the hill behind the retreat centre. I say 'hill' and 'short' because these would have been accurate terms for some one who was well acquainted with the area. The hills surrounding Port St John's aren't quite mountains, but are a significant climb, and the waterfall we were looking for was immersed in dense forest, so our directions were mostly useless. We did end up seeing both, and I have a few photos of the excursion (it was fairly wet out, so I didn't want to risk too much with my camera).
The following day we said good-bye to Mirjam after a wonderful few days of sessions and most of the group headed to the beach. It was a very nice trip, but very rainy and even kind of 'cool' for the time of year. But nevertheless we did get some time in the Indian Ocean! Very exciting for me. Boy, what a salty, warm ocean. I think I'm still tasting salt...lots of fun regardless. We then headed home for a nice dinner of take-out pizza.
Departure / Drive Through the Drachenburg Mountains.
The following day we had breakfast together and parted ways. It wouldn't be too long before we would be seeing the majority of the group again, so the farewell wasn't so emotional, but it was sad to say good bye after such a nice set of days. The drive home Yvonne, Dan and I brought Melanie back with us so she could catch a bus in PMB, and it was a lovely trip. We headed home on a route that took us past the outskirts of the Drachenburg Mountains! Agh, my goodness were they lovely. And, by the by, though I don't drive standard too well, and I'm used to driving on the right side of the road and the left side of the car, I did indeed drive through the Drachenburgs without stalling once! Ha! Who would have thought? But it was an absolutely breathtaking drive, passing through a wide variety of weather! Within an hour of PMB we passed through rain, hail, sun, cloud, and saw a double rainbow as well as the beginnings of a funnel cloud! Quite the adventure. We arrived back in PMB on time for a nice supper and the proceeded to watch the thunderstorm roll on through. That was Saturday. Sunday was spent relaxing and recovering from the trip.
This past set of days I was out down further south on the east coast of South Africa in a region known as 'the Wild Coast' near a town called Port St. John's. Pietermaritzburg (PMB), where I have been staying is in the province of Kwa-Zulu Natal, in the north-east of South Africa. The reason I traveled to Port St. John's was to be a part of a retreat with the local Mennonite affiliated missionaries in the area. So, we embarked on the approximately 6 hours drive down to Fort St John's from PMB. On the way down we picked up the speaker for the retreat, Mirjam Scarborough. It was a particular treat for me to have Mirjam be the guest speaker, as she is the wife of Thomas Scarborough, the minister who will be supervising me for my placement in Cape Town. So it was very interesting to get to know Mirjam because of these circumstances, but also because she is a lovely and fascinating woman. Mirjam is just finishing up her dissertation for her doctorate, she is studying female Mennonite missionaries to the Congo. Beings that her studies were so relevant to the Mennonite missionaries, it made sense to have her come to be our speaker and lead in reflection of what the challenges and joys of being a missionary are. So needless to say, it was an enjoyable trip from the airport in Jo'burg to Port St John's discussing my future placement as well as her work.
The Drive from PMB to Port St John's
The Wild Coast is in the province of 'Eastern Cape.' The transition in terms of demographics and landscape between Kwa Zulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape was quite noticeable. Kwa Zulu-Natal was, from what I saw of it, mostly fairly typical housing that would not be too out of place in North America or Europe, sort of categorized and typical to what I was used to. It's kind of difficult to describe what exactly it was, I suppose I lack the vocabulary, but whatever it was, it wasn't so unfamiliar. Port towns and coastal towns with a distinct regional flare, yet familiar European tendencies, if that isn't too vague for you. We stopped for lunch in Port Edward (which ended up taking two hours, service was on 'African time'...) which is a town on the boarder of Kwa Zulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. 'The Wild Coast' starts at this point and stretches some distance down the coast to Hole in the Wall (which is a town) and from the coast inward to Mthatha in the west (these are very approximate boundaries I am giving here). The landscapes we saw were gorgeous and as opposed to the typical landscapes and demographics that I was used to was sorted more into towns of scattered houses and farms on the rolling hillsides. The houses were more simple and things seemed more laid-back generally. I really can't quite comment too much on the tendencies of either Kwa Zulu-Natal or Eastern Cape because I really only drove through them myself. Suffice it to say they were both beautiful but for different reasons. In both provinces the rolling hills and lush greenery was enough to take your breath away.
Arrival in Port St. John's / 'The Creek' Retreat Centre
After driving inward from the coast at Port Edward we eventually completed the half circle back down to the coast through Bizana, Flagstaff, Palmerton and Lusikisiki. These were all really neat smaller towns made up entirely of a black population (I am almost positive). As we drove down the main streets of these towns the streets were just bustling with people, we actually opened our windows so as to better hear the local culture. It was a cultural experience just driving through, I really appreciated it.
Finally we arrived in Port St John's, our retreat centre was actually a couple minutes outside of town, so we ended up not actually seeing the town until the next day. 'The Creek' is a lovely little place just outside of town, hidden in amongst the trees outside of town. Our group was divided into a number of cabins within walking distance of a main meeting / kitchen / dining area. I've posted some pictures onto my Flickr site, so anyone who wants to get a little bit of an idea of the location can take a look there.
At the Creek
The retreat itself was very nice, there were quite a few people for me to meet. The nature of the retreat was that it was a time for the local Mennonite missionaries to get together and share and pray for each other. Altogether there were five different placements represented: Joe and Anna Sawatzky with their three young boys: Isaac, Moses and Levi, they are in Mthatha. Then there was Phil and Kristine Lindell-Detwiller with their kids Nathan, Annika and Lydia who are here working here in PMB and also Glyn and Susan Allison-Jones with their kids Maeyken and Adriaena who are working in Botswana in Gaborone , and then Melanie Quinn who is also working in Botswana in Francistown. And of course I was there with Dan and Yvonne who are working here in PMB. So the retreat was a great way to get to know a fantastic group of people fairly well fairly quickly. The days passed at a leisurely pace, taking the morning to have tea and a session of sharing, followed by a session led by Mirjam. Then the afternoon / evening was mostly free time with some scheduled events and another sharing time in the evening. It was a pleasurable time, edifying sessions and meaningful group interactions. I entitled this entry “sent and received,” this is in reference to the Mennonite tradition of 'sending' those who are going on an extensive journey, traditionally a missionary one. The process is that before you go a group of close friends and family take the time to lay hands on you and pray for you, a very moving experience that I participated in at Hawkesville Mennonite Church the Sunday before I left. And then, at the retreat in Port St John's I had the opportunity to do some sharing and be prayed upon as part of a worship session, a process that felt very much like a 'receiving'. This process very neatly wrapped the transition process in my mind, it was truly a blessing.
New Year's Eve
Of course the trip spanned a couple years, so we celebrated New Year's Eve together. For this we actually headed into town to gather supplies and get a general lay of the land. Port St. John's was a bustling beach town, this was especially evident on New Year's Eve, it was packed with the townsfolk buying various supplies and copious amounts of fireworks. We bought a small tube of fireworks which actually proved to be pretty entertaining once the clock struck 12. Aside from the venture into town the same schedule as the other days was maintained, so there was some sharing that evening. However, we did also have a little bit of a party into the night. It actually proved to be a bit of a challenge to stay up until 12, but we did most of us manage, and together we welcomed in the New Year.
The New Year's Day Hike and the Beach
The rest of the retreat passed similar to the first half. On New Year's day Anna, TJ, Nathan, Megan, Isaac and I decided to take the 'short' hike to a local waterfall then the top of the hill behind the retreat centre. I say 'hill' and 'short' because these would have been accurate terms for some one who was well acquainted with the area. The hills surrounding Port St John's aren't quite mountains, but are a significant climb, and the waterfall we were looking for was immersed in dense forest, so our directions were mostly useless. We did end up seeing both, and I have a few photos of the excursion (it was fairly wet out, so I didn't want to risk too much with my camera).
The following day we said good-bye to Mirjam after a wonderful few days of sessions and most of the group headed to the beach. It was a very nice trip, but very rainy and even kind of 'cool' for the time of year. But nevertheless we did get some time in the Indian Ocean! Very exciting for me. Boy, what a salty, warm ocean. I think I'm still tasting salt...lots of fun regardless. We then headed home for a nice dinner of take-out pizza.
Departure / Drive Through the Drachenburg Mountains.
The following day we had breakfast together and parted ways. It wouldn't be too long before we would be seeing the majority of the group again, so the farewell wasn't so emotional, but it was sad to say good bye after such a nice set of days. The drive home Yvonne, Dan and I brought Melanie back with us so she could catch a bus in PMB, and it was a lovely trip. We headed home on a route that took us past the outskirts of the Drachenburg Mountains! Agh, my goodness were they lovely. And, by the by, though I don't drive standard too well, and I'm used to driving on the right side of the road and the left side of the car, I did indeed drive through the Drachenburgs without stalling once! Ha! Who would have thought? But it was an absolutely breathtaking drive, passing through a wide variety of weather! Within an hour of PMB we passed through rain, hail, sun, cloud, and saw a double rainbow as well as the beginnings of a funnel cloud! Quite the adventure. We arrived back in PMB on time for a nice supper and the proceeded to watch the thunderstorm roll on through. That was Saturday. Sunday was spent relaxing and recovering from the trip.
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