ubuntu

"Ubuntu is very difficult to render into a Western language. It speaks of the very essence of being human. When we want to give high praise to someone we say, 'Yu, u nobuntu'; 'Hey so-and-so has ubuntu.' Then you are generous, you are hospitable, you are friendly and caring and compassionate. You share what you have. It is to say, 'My humanity is caught up, is inextricably bound up, in yours.' We belong in a bundle of life. We say, 'A person is a person through other persons.'"

-Desmond Tutu-

gaborone

this place is the real africa. i know that cape town is in africa, and we experienced some incredibly african things there. but for some reason, botswana is really africa. i wake up in the morning and smell africa. i stand outside and feel africa. it is in my very spirit.
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i am tired. i am a little homesick. i am slightly annoyed by most of the people on the trip. but i know these things are only a passing phase on this journey. i am experiencing god in new and fantastic ways. i am seeing god work in the lives of women who are taking control of their destinies. i met dr. musa dube. she is one of the most inspiring people i have ever encountered.
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i can't wait to get home, but i really don't want to leave either.
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t.i.a.
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this. is. africa.

bittersweetness

today was a day of goodbyes. this morning we sent the belmont athletic team off to joburg and then on to the usa. then we spent our last day in cape town. i am incredibly sad to be leaving. encountering this place for a second time has been absolutely magical. i have been continually reminded of how much i love it here. and i will definitely be back again. whatever it takes.

but tomorrow brings with it the excitement of a new place. botswana will be fantastic and life-changing. i can feel it. however, there will most likely be limited internet access, so this may be my last blog for a while. if that's the case, i hope all of you have a great week and a half, and i will talk to you all when we return. blessings from mama afrika!

a dirty tradeoff

i went to church at masiphumalele this morning for the second time in my life. and for the second time i was moved as no other church service has ever moved me in the states. for some reason the joy and freedom with which they worship is profoundly variant from the way we choose to worship in the united states. it makes me wonder why i have to go to africa to experience it.

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this trip has turned out to be an incredible struggle...in a good way. last night i spent time talking to my friend chris about the purpose of this trip. i am unique on this trip in that i have been here before. there was no shock factor for me walking the streets of ocean view and masiphumalele. yet because of that i have had to process through a new, deeper level on this encounter. again i find myself believing that i could live here. and i don't say that idly. god is moving here, around me, in me, and through me. and even all my theological schizophrenia is able to find reconciliation with that fact.

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it is, in essence, a dirty tradeoff. i have to come to africa for three weeks to make discoveries that seem elusive back in the states. yet i grow to love the place so much that returning home seems an unbearable burden. but i also miss home. so there is no good clean way to fit all the pieces together...and i am growing to understand that i probably wouldn't want them to fit together anyway.

quite a day

It is impossible to truly visit Cape Town without taking time to play tourist at Table Mountain. This natural world wonder is a giant flat-top mountain that can be reached one of two ways: (1) hiking or (2) cable car. We all opted for the cable car and enjoyed a wonderful hour on top looking out over the city center (downtown). The views were indescribably breathtaking, and the shear magnitude of Table Mountain left everyone with a sense of awe.
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From Table Mountain we made our way to the District Six museum. District Six was a community of mixed races and religious traditions that lived peacefully together until the mid-1940s. At that point, the dominant white minority (and the perpetrators of Apartheid) forced this community into barren lands outside the city. This event was what instigated much of the poverty problem that exists in Cape Town today. The museum was unbelievable. Our group had the opportunity to move about the building taking in the stories of those affected by the District Six expulsion.
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We moved from the museum to Table Bay where we caught the ferry to Robben Island, the location of an infamous prison. This prison was the home of Nelson Mandela for nearly two decades during the anti-Apartheid struggle. Mandela was not the only political prisoner held here. In fact, myriad political positions were represented in the Robben Island prison showing that the crime being punished was race and not political ideology.
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After a full day, we grabbed dinner at "Mama Africa." EVERYONE dug right into the traditional South African cuisine. We had everything from Springbok and Kudu (both antelopes) to ostrich and crocodile. We all had a fantastic time. I know that we appreciate your continued prayers for safety. It is hard to believe that we leave for Botswana in just a few days. Love to all of you back home from all of us here!

the icon of st. george

today we visited the cathedral of st. george the martyr in the city center. this was the cathedral where desmond tutu performed his duties as archbishop of south africa. it was an incredible experience. in the courtyard of the church is a labyrinth. i spent time walking the labyrinth in prayer, focusing my prayers on south africa, the people on our trip, the upcoming summer, and my new roommates. it was a beautiful act, and it was one i had never before experienced. there are three stages of the walk. the purgation is the first part, performed on the inward spiral. this is where you let go of all the details of life. it is a spiritual catharsis. this is followed by illumination, or the time spent in the center of the labyrinth. it is a place of meditation and prayer. the return through the spiral is the union. this walk is represenative of rejoining the higher work your soul is reaching toward. it was incredible.

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inside the cathedral i came upon the icon of st. george. it was a small painting of the saint. below it were candles to be lit and a small prayer hung on the wall. it read:

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prayer at the icon of st. george

gracious god,

stretching out your hand of

protection over st. george our patron;

stretch out your hand to protect and

bless all who are hiv positive and

living with aids.

empower us to overcome the dragon

of stigma and fear and to embrace

our own woundedness.

we ask this through jesus

who overcame sin and death for

us and now reigns with you in glory.

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i was moved to tears while praying this prayer. it was a complete spiritual experience. i felt the presence of the holy spirit there with me in that moment of lighting a candle for all those affected by hiv/aids. as the tears fell down my face, i bowed my head in extended prayer, lifting up all those we had encountered and all those we would not encounter. i felt connected to my brothers and sisters in south africa. i felt connected to god. it is a shame that we have forgotten the traditions of our church like sacred prayers and labyrinths. there is immeasurable worth in this practices. and i got to experience them in a powerful way today.

quick update

don't have time for much this morning, but yesterday was incredible. i'll write more on that later. today we're heading to learn-to-earn, a south african social entrepreneurship experience. after that we're going to streetwires. check out the website. love to all of you back home!