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.