Happy Good Morning!

"Happy Good Morning, Everyone!" If I said this to you at Kwasa you would be in line waiting to wash your hands to begin the day. You would say, "Happy good morning Mrs. Cat." The 'th" sound is difficult for many of the kids to make, so they just call me Cat.

Anyway, it is a good morning. A good week all in all. There have been frustrations and disappointments, however. Let's start with those. On Wednesday, people broke into Kwasa. It was described as an annoyance and as something we didn't have time for. I was so angry. How could someone steal from a project that helps children grow and learn? I didn't understand. Later, my emotions were twisted up in knots as I learned that the only items stolen were pieces of bread. Imagine being so hungry that you have no choice but to throw all principles out the window to survive. I was heartbroken.

Sharron commented that if someone really was that hungry, they could just ask her, and she would help. Allow me to be cynical for a moment - how many people would do that? Would I?

I learned this week that crime and violence has many more layers than I once thought. Anger, revenge, survival, sense of entitlement, and sometimes, just pure meanness are some of the motives.

But with every frustration and sadness comes joy and happiness.

I was invited to attend the opening Eucharist of Synod (like our General Convention). It was a wonderful service with a Zula choir and a very inspiring sermon by the Bishop. The diocese has many challenges to face like crime, HIV, and education, but the clergy and congregations are so excited to take them on; it was very fun to be part of it if only for a few hours.

Kwasa has been really fun this week. I taught the kids "The Wheels on the Bus" (their favorite part was saying "beep, beep, beep") and two types of freeze tag. I have so much fun with them and I think just in those few hours I get my laugh quota in for the day. The after care children now have two of five stars. I suppose I need to start thinking about what their prize should be. I'd love your suggestions.) I got to go with Gill (the principle) and two children from Kwasa to the clinic. I sat with a little girl who has trouble walking on her right leg. One of the muscles is shorter than the one on her left leg. With stretches and exercises everyday, her leg will develop normally. Otherwise, she will either need an operation or limp for the rest of her life. I'm looking forward to spending time with her and watching her progress.

One more happy for you to read. My birthday was yesterday, and it was so so fun. This was the first time I've ever turned 23, in South Africa, in summertime, and it was absolutely wonderful. The best part I didn't even know was coming...a surprise party! How fun, right? I'm so thankful for the friends I've made here. People are so thoughtful and fun and genuine and I'm so happy that I get to be a part of these people's lives this year. Also, thank you everyone at home for the birthday wishes. You were with me in spirit (and your cards, calls, emails, etc.)!

I'm expecting the coming week to be just as adventurous and full of stories and emotion and, of course, God.

Meaning of Kwasa

I should have mentioned this long ago....

"Kwasa" is a Zulu word used to describe the moment after a really bad storm when the clouds part and the sun begins to shine through. It means the darkness has passed and the light is coming.

What a beautiful way to look at what this school and community is doing. Kwasa really does provide hope for lots of people, not just the kids. Their parents, the church, and the people reading or hearing about how successful this place really is.

So many exciting things happened in church aside from my two favorite parts (the Eucharist and the Peace, obviously). Two babies were baptized, I am now a Eucharistic Assistant, and a stained glass window was blessed and dedicated to the late Bishop David. Everything went very smoothly. I held Sharron's prayer book while she was baptizing the kids, so I got a great view of the facial expressions of the kids as the water was poured over their heads.

After church, I had my first driving lesson on a real road! MJ has a few gray hairs, but other than that, I'm chalking it up as a successful lesson. I do have a hard time remembering which side of the road to go to when I'm turning. Oops.

I arrived at Kwasa this morning at 7:45am and stayed there all day. It was a lot of fun. The kids are learning about traffic rules, so I taught them the game "Red Light! Green Light!".

After care was difficult because I was the only adult for most of the afternoon. I'm learning the necessity of a "teacher voice". They tend to listen to that voice more than the "I'm-being-really-nice-and-friendly" voice. I also implemented a reward system. If the class gets five stars, I'll give them a prize. You may say "bribery" but I say "peace and quiet".

Sanibonani everyone!

Don't be impressed. I've been in South Africa for almost one month now, and I still have lots to learn about the language. I have, however, managed to learn many of the kids names at Kwasa, and for that I'm very thankful.

To begin, I apologize for the delay in blogging. I don't have my own internet, and I don't want to wear out my welcome by constantly asking to use someone else's computer. I will now get you up to speed with my life thus far in Springs, South Africa.

On my last Sunday in the States, a woman from St. John's asked me, "why are you doing this?" I stammered off a quick answer, but later I realized that my answer, "because I've always wanted to" just wasn't enough for me. I'm in Springs working at St. Peter and St. Paul's and Kwasa in hope to seek clarity about who God is calling me to be and what God is calling me to do. With that comes a totally new bag of challenges I've yet to face in my life - a new culture, new language, new joys and sadnesses, new worldview, and new ways of occupying my time have arisen.

Since the minute Sharron and others greeted me at the airport, I have felt nothing but warmth and hospitality from my new church family. For the first two weeks, I lived with my now neighbor, Suzanne. It was so wonderful to have that transition where Suzanne helped me get the lay of the land and showed me parts of the world I never dreamt of seeing. You see, I arrived at an odd time. The schools were on holiday, so I couldn't go work at Kwasa. So we took the opportunity to make our own holiday. I visited Maropeng, the Cradle of Humankind, which was facinating! It was like a hands-on review of my physical anthropology class. I also visited Gold Reef City, an old mine that is now a theme park. Suz took me and three children that she supports from Kwasa. I took them on their first roller coaster ride. (I don't think they'll thank me for it until they're older. Their tummies were a bit queasy afterwards.) We also got to go way far down in the earth to see a real mine. I'll admit, I got a little nervous. (You all know how I don't like the Metro - imagine a gold mine!)

As my time here progresses (and it's flown by so far), I'm slowly finding my place here. I love my work as it's new and different everyday. Sharron is great about keeping me informed and inviting me to different services, etc. to be able to better see the big picture. The blessing of Kwasa House was wonderful. Many of the Kwasa kids came to see five of their classmates' new home be blessed. Five vulnerable girls were chosen by Sharron to live in a house to form their own family and have a more stable environment. It was so fun to see the Bishop in his fancy attire with all of these kids behind him!

Going to church was hard the first couple of weeks. I've grown up with church as the focal point of my Sunday since I can remember, and before. \evenWhen I am in a new place, I know that I can count on church centering me and allowing me to worship God with others. Church is a comfortable place for me because it's always been part of me and as an Episcopalian, I know what's coming next! Even though things are generally the same here in the Anglican Church, I didn't know the prayers, the order is somewhat different, and I felt like a second grader at lunch time wondering who I could sit with. It was very stressful. With lots of thought and prayer, I realized that I had the wrong attitude. Church had become too comfortable for me. I had become the kind of Christian whose feathers got ruffled if change happened. I realized that Church is about being together with God, and that people do that in zillions of ways and they are all good. So, I am getting more familiar with the prayers, but more importantly, I wake up on Sunday mornings ready to hear what God has to say to us through the service at St. Peter and St. Paul's. I love when there is a hymn sung in Zulu. I don't know what we're saying, but it sounds so joyful!

The focal point of my weeks revolve around Kwasa After Care. It was a bit intimidating at first, but now I absolutely love it. I work a lot with the third graders, and they are very energtic people. Sometimes, I sigh and wonder how they can have this much to say and that many reasons to get out of their seats, but then I realized we were all the same way. Except not.

I am truly inspired by these kids. They come from such different and oftentimes unthinkable backgrounds that it's almost impossible to believe that they go to school in a language not their own and do quite well. Most of the time, I sit with them individually as they read me a story, and when they are finished with their homework, we play games like pick up sticks or memory or I read them a story, or play outside. I'm working on making the after care more consistent for the kids. I want to have different activities each week like art, pe, cooking, or a science lesson. It will certainly be a challenge, but it's worth a try.

If you've read this far, I'm very impressed. I promise my blogs from now on will be firstly, more frequent, and also shorter!

Some odd and perhaps interesting things I'm doing....
1. learning to drive a stick shift on the other side of the road. yes, it's scary even though everyone continues to say, "Oh it's so easy! You probably already have the hang of it right?"
2. practicing the clicking noises. the kids are helping me. really, they are laughing at me, so it's fun.
3. tea time! i love love love tea time. the best part is that there are tea times!
4. living all by myself. mostly wonderful, but sometimes i get a bit lonely.
5. journalling a lot.
6. saying morning and evening prayers everyday. that has probably been one of the best parts of my stay here. i've always promised myself and God to be more consistent in my prayers, but this is the first time i've been this diligent and it makes all the difference in my spiritual life.
7. waking up early and going to the gym. some of you probably don't believe me on that one.
8. i joined a line dancing class! as most of you know i "hate" dancing, but really i just feel self-conscious. however, since i don't know anyone here, what's to lose? i really like it. it's me and a bunch of middle aged south african women. that in itself is entertainment enough.

thank you all so much for your prayers and support during my time here. i really wouldn't be here without you all. so thanks.

more soon!