God in my Waiting

I have let far too much time pass by once again since my last post, but I am thinking that the regularity with which I write will soon be adjusted. A couple changes are goin down so bear with me. I'm taking a little Facebook hiatus here, so if you found me via my status, great! My main man McCurry back in Azusa decided to delete his profile so I jumped on the bandwagon. So here's to no Facebook til' May! I can already tell it is going to be liberating. One less thing wasting my time on my computer.

One small dilemma is that I am now unable to post photos for you all back home to see. Thus, I have a nifty looking Flickr photostream directly to the right of this post. There you can see some of my latest photographs. Also just a reminder, not that any of ya are just itching to contact be, but I do have skype, (robert.verwys) and gmail. (robert.verwys@gmail.com) I will do my best to respond, seeing as I plan to have a bit of extra time on my hands due to nixing Facebook.

Many different things have happened since I last wrote. So many unique experiences I am blessed to be having. Here on the campus we have two bicycles, so on my free Wednesday afternoon last week, my buddy Mikey and I grabbed the bikes and headed off. We had no idea where to head, so we just took off. The thing about African Enterprise is that it is nestled up in the hillside above PMB. (Pietermaritzburg) So when we decided to go towards downtown, it was downhill the whole way. And when I say downhill, I mean keep up with the speed of vehicle traffic downhill.By the time we decide to turn around and make it back for tea, we are a good 5 kilometers out from AE and very near to God's Family Christian Fellowship where I attend church. The way back was tortuous. 5 straight Km up hill in the Shiza,(zulu for hot) equates to sweat and sunburn. Never-the-less, it is an awesome opportunity to break away and see PMB from behind the handlebars.

Later last week on Friday, we had a Kwazi-Africa speaker named Jomo Mchunu speak in chapel. He is a theology professor at a small Christian university in Cape Town. He was particularly challenging, reminding each one of us to remember God. It is always most natural search and listen to God when we don't have much spiritually or monetarily. It is when we reach the "promised land," that we most easily forget to remember God. South Africa is my promised land, and I first hand realize how easily I can forget to praise and thank God for where I am in life. He has been so merciful to me and has repeatedly blessed me, even when I am so undeserving, which is always. I know nothing of where I am in life is because of me, it is of God. Lest I become prideful. God has provided and now my focus must become to live gratefully.

So easily I can become impatient. Previous to coming to Africa, I felt God preparing my heart and mind to do His work. Looking back, time after time I see God's fingerprints all over my story building up to this experience. Now that I am here, I admittedly get frustrated. I no longer want to be held at arms length from the real Africa, I want to go out an serve. It is at these moments that God provides someone to speak truth into your life. That person for me this time was my roommate. He had just been coming out of his d-group, and was just beaming. He and a fine man named John Dickson were just beaming with excitement from their conversation. We just shared our expectations coming to Africa and whether or not they had been exceeded. At which point I shared where I had been at. They had experienced some of the same feelings and longings. Josh then explained that at this point is where we need to praise God for the work He is doing in the lives of people all around me. I have so much to be thankful for. God is moving, albeit not on my time table, but that is why His plan is better than mine. Thank goodness I am not in control, I have far too much to learn yet.

Anyways so after Jomo shared his message, he went on to teach us about Ubuntu,("the spirit of Africa") which defines who we are in relation to others,("We all need each other, and none is greater than other")and the African traditionalist religion. This religion involves prayer and sacrifices to your passed on loved ones/ ancestors. They are spiritually seen as a GPS to their lives, and may cause sickness or injury (no such thing as accidents) to direct and pull them in their lives. It is at this time they would visit a "Sangoma" or witch doctor. Where they would sacrifice animals, receive herbal medicines via cuts, and pray to their ancestors. The sad thing is that this still occurs to this day. That afternoon we boarded the Combis (Buses) and headed out into the countryside to visit one of these Sangomas.

This experience was hard to describe. As we reached the small little settlement or community we were greeted by a jolly looking man in pajama pants of all things. After exchanging a handshake, he ducked into his dark room and emerged wearing a black hat that looked similar to braided black hair with little kiddie neon beads around the strands. He also had donned a colorful bathrobe-like cloak, and a leather band adorned with tin pop can tops cut off to be a noise maker as he chants/dances. We each were able to step into his "office" and observe where he practices. He had all sorts of concoctions, (and alcohol) for different diseases. It was a dark and deeply saddening experience. He has dedicated 9 years of his life to being a Sangoma. You could tell just from looking into his eyes that his vision and symbolic eyes of his heart has been clouded over by the lies of the world and this religion. This experience was a valuable window into the life of so many traditionalist Africans around this country.

Next came Saturday: excursion day. We drove 2 hours to a "World Heritage Site" called Drakensburg. It was here that the ancient peoples called Bushmen or the Sans lived and painted on the rocks up in the cliffs. As I looked and the scenery all around me, my God grew exponentially bigger. To me I imagined God as a child sprinkling legos (massive chunks of rock jutting out in each direction) all around a beautiful and pristine valley. I have never seen a country so green and fertile, God's handiwork is indeed evident.

Another week came to a close with another refreshing Sunday at God's Family Christian Fellowship. This week was refreshing for a very different reason than the previous week. It was no normal Sunday, yes I loved the music, but the vast majority (by majority I mean a good hour) was spent welcoming and praying individually for about 30 new believers/members to the church. God is moving in mighty ways in the church in Africa, I long to see this occur in the States.

I hope to soon update on the happenings of this week as well. Blessings and thanks for reading!

Song of the Week: They That Wait- Spencer (Thanks Lane!)
Verse of the week: Matthew 16:21-28

Shalom my friends!

3 weeks. Already?

Believe me when I say, it is so hard to believe that three weeks already have past. I guess time flies when you are falling in love with a country and a culture. I know that in the realm of what my whole experience will be like, I have only scratched the surface. It only makes me excited for what I know the future to hold, God allowing.

This past week has held a wide spectrum of experiences for me. By far this was the most class work intensive week we have held yet. The primarily academic portion of the semester is to last the first six weeks. So as we hit the half way point here, I had a mid-term, a 9 page paper, 5 page paper and bountiful pages for reading. Not trying to have a pity party here, but I had a nice little sinus infection to boot. But God is good and sustained me through completion, and blessed me with a beautiful weekend as a reward.

Every Tuesday over the past 3 weeks, we have visited our various options for service. For 4 weeks in the middle of this semester, we get to go out into the Pietermaritzberg community to minister and be ministered to. With a group of our size we have 5 options to choose from. The first week we visited a small Christian preschool where we would get to interact with the children and establish relationships. Our second stop was at Gateway, a prison (that Mandela possibly was held at) converted museum/non-profit headquarters. At this ministry we would have the option of working at Gateway Christian School, interacting with the children and helping the teachers on a daily basis. Another ministry that Gateway offers is a home for abused women and children. The most surprising thing about it is that they WANT men to step in and be an example of a Godly and NON-abusive presence in their lives to help the healing process. A third stop was Walk in the Light; a non-profit, community engagement center that provides people with a subsistence/cash crop to trade and live off of. Along with the farming, It provides medical services and a safe haven for outcasts amongst the community. Next came RivLife, a community center that combines a preschool, factory for the disabled, a special needs learning center for children and outreach working with elderly in the township. Tomorrow we make one more stop, I pray for God's leading to be used and serve in whatever capacity He places me in.

After such a long week of schooling and focus, (and believe me it is of UPMOST difficulty to focus when wherever you are on campus you can hear a waterfall, and I am in AFRICA after all:) we all needed some time to relax and unwind.

The activity planned hit the spot for all of us. We drove about an hour south east to the coastal town of Durban.

First we stopped at the downtown business district. So many sights and sounds to absorb. Although we stuck out like a sore thumb, It was so much fun interacting with different people and shopkeepers we would meet. My purchases included some small original paintings by some locals, and an Inter Milan practice jersey for 5 bucks. (Requests and orders accepted for those of you back home ;)

Next stop BEACH. It was a gorgeous summer day with temperatures in the 80s and water temperatures hovering in the 70’s. (I love the Indian Ocean by the way) I didn’t lay down on the sand at all the whole afternoon; far too much to do and see. Rugby is a new found favorite sport. Back at the campus we play whenever it is raining and we are free. The beach game was much more intense. Locals named Rudy, and Lucky were around to show 8 of us novices how it is done. Even Baba (daddy) Phillip, played. SO much fun. After a good four hours of sunburn for most of us, we loaded up in our Bakkie (truck), 2 twenty passenger buses, and Janet’s Avanza and trekked back to PMB.

Sunday, February 14, 2010 Valentine’s Day

This Valentine’s was a bit different for me this year. We will get to this a bit later. I woke up at 6:30 for an 8 o’clock service at God’s Family Community Church. This was a church of about 300, the majority being of Zulu background. From the very moment we walked in, we were family. Not only because of the welcome we felt, but because of the unity that raising our voices in praise and exalting our Savior together provides. Rejoicing in the Lamb who was slain, He is the one worthy of breaking the seals and opening the scroll. (Revelation 5) The church was more charismatic than any church I have experienced, but it blessed me so deeply. Being able to dance and jump unashamedly before our Savior was one of the most liberating and intense experiences of my life. The pastor named Greg spoke with such passion, it would have normally been a distraction to me, instead, God worked in me to have it reach the core of me. One of the most powerful moments of the service was singing the words, “Falling in love with Jesus, is the best thing I have ever done!” at the top of my lungs with 300 strangers, who are really my brothers and sisters in Christ. God provided the exact thing I was in need of yet again. He is so faithful. He the source of love is my valentine.

Sunday night there was a fun Valentine’s dinner planned in the Jabulani hut. (means happiness in Zulu) I never knew chicken alfredo could taste so good. I miss pasta. We exchanged names and bought some 35 rand maximum gifts for each other. I received a nice card and a Bafana Bafana bandana. Such a good night, with good friends. I remember the anxiety felt coming into a situation with new and unfamiliar faces, but God provides. It is so good to see our group, even with 53 people, mesh and come together. I am excited for the depth and understanding that is growing with these new friendships.

God is teaching and revealing Himself in new and beautiful ways I could have never imagined.

I love Africa.

So. It has been a while, yebo?

I will admit, I write with a guilty conscience. I feel guilty because of the difficulty communicating with many of you back home. Know I miss you all! It has been over two weeks since I last shared anything new. I would like to think that a good amount of change in my mentality and life here has occurred since, but I'll tell you more on that a bit later. First, let's get into the logistics of things.

When I last wrote, I was nicely situated in a hotel in Jozi, Jo-burg, Johannesburg. We were there for all of two days nothing more. We arrived mid to late afternoon and were greeted with a nice bit of heat, that I know I had not felt since when summer was winding down in late August. After arriving, we loaded all our large bags, that we would not be needing, up into a van for Baba (daddy) Philip to drive to what will be our home for ten weeks in Pietermaritzburg.

On our fist day in Jozi, we were led around the city by our guide Alina. She took us around the city to several different sites, most spent in Soweto, the location of a major uprising of students protesting the use of Afrikaans rather than English in the schools. (Afrikaans was the language of Apartheid) In Soweto we went and saw Freedom Square which has a cone shaped building in its center which houses a monument to the 12 chapters of the new South African constitution.

Next, as we made our way to lunch Chez Alina, (Alina's restaurant) we passed by Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu's homes.

Lunch was a nice traditional meal of rice, chicken, fish, the works. It was a great introduction to the food here (which has not caused any need for ciproflaxin thank goodness :) )

From there we trekked over to the Apartheid Museum, for a difficult but import time of reflection on the nation's scarred history and the bright but long road yet to be traveled by this beautiful nation and it's kaleidoscope-like people.

That ended our day and we headed back to the hotel and posted up for the night. The next morning,(a Sunday) we flew from Jozi to Durban, which is approximately a 1 hour flight, on which they served us food of course. Durban and most all of the Kwazulu-Natal province, of which Pietermaritzburg is the capital, is a much more warm, muggy, tropical region. Which does not bode well for my VerWys sweat genes, but am and will deal.

I was struck from the very beginning, by the vastness and beauty of this place. To think it had been just an image in my head less than a month ago, to be here is surreal yet.

Arriving at the African Enterprise campus, I only began to realize the awesome location I would get to call home. It is nestled in the hills north east of the city with two small waterfalls and a game reserve virtually right on campus. I am SO BLESSED!

The next days mostly can be summed up with adjustment and getting acclimated to my new environment. I would even go as far as to say that in this in-between time that I have been rediscovering myself and my niche in a sense in this large group of 53. It can often overwhelm. And in all honesty I struggled with that dynamic. God is good though. Just when I was getting to a place of confusion and loss He sent a weekend of intercultural immersion in the Durban area, but specifically Umzinto. This area is heavily populated with Indians. South Africa has the highest population of Indians outside of the country of India.

Coming into this weekend, I had a variety of expectations and feelings in my head. Different struggles within myself with self-adequacy to be blessed in this situation, to be in South Africa, with so much to learn and be taught by God. For the first two weeks I was looking for the uncomfortable, and this weekend was when I found it, or it found me more like. Uncomfortable, because the people taught me so much about myself, my culture by being thrown out into the "deep-end" in my professor Clive's words. It’s funny how God works that out for us, challenging us right where we need it. I had become stagnant and comfortable where I was at, this weekend helped me to break from that mold. The highlight by far was the hospitality and amount of interaction that we were allowed to be a part of after the service at Umzinto Christian Fellowship at Reuben’s house. It really blessed me to feel a part of their family unit that opened up it’s doors to a group our size and sacrificed of what they had for us, who have so much. It should have been the other way around. It was quite a humbling experience. It really for me, felt like what God intended for His Kingdom and the relationships He calls us too. Giving of ourselves for one another and being raw and real in our conversations. This was just so clear to me when I was able to interact with Reuben one on one. We really were able to invest in each other and offer a deeper understanding of our pasts and what our lives and struggles are currently like. I remember sharing my pursuit of what God would have me do in his world career wise, and he in turn shared how God is using him in a very difficult situation of being a paramedic in a different country so that he gets two weeks at home and six away, and the struggles that he experiences being away from family and home, and he encouraged me to lean on God even when I don’t understand always where he has got me. It was exactly the antidote I was needing, and I bless God for how he orchestrated that in my life at my point of need.

The weekend stretched me, my norms of structure and order and ultimately changed my outlook on relationships and perceptions of the country. BLESS GOD, He is so GOOD. I know this was a lot to read, it was honestly as short a summary of life here I could muster. Thanks for your continued prayer and support. Love you all.

-Grace and Peace