End of September

Hello Everyone!

It is hard to believe that I have been in South Africa for a month already! I have continued to learn and experience new things everyday. Each day I am settling in more and more. I am continuing to split my time between DAM and the Soweto Circuit. Everyday is a new adventure. I am even starting to get use to the slower pace of things. Recently I have had the opportunity to travel a little bit. Thanks to my flexible schedule I hope to see more of South Africa. This past weekend the Evangelical Church of Southern Africa (ELCSA) held 4 conferences across the country. I was fortunate enough to attend the Young Adult League (YAL) Conference in the 1000 Hills area, located between Pietermertzburg and Durban, though I thought it would be closer to Durban and the beach it was a beautiful very hilly area. The conference itself consisted of many meetings, chances to worship, and much fellowship. I am not sure exactly what I expected but I was surprised with the full schedule and formal meeting structures. Everyone I spoke to on the final day was pleased with how the conference had turned out and felt like much had been accomplished. The YAL is the newest league in ELCSA and is still working out what exactly this league will look like. ELCSA has a Men’s League, Women’s League, and Youth League already well established. These leagues offer meetings, prayers, fundraisers, rallies, and conferences. Attending a church service it is easy to see who is who as each league has their own uniform which they were proudly every Sunday morning. As a new comer I have felt so welcomed by each league and enjoy seeing the unique aspect the leagues play in the church. They are a way for each person to be more involved in the congregation than just simply attending church once a week.

A total of 8 YAGM volunteers were able to make it to this conference. Seeing each other for the first time since orientation you would have thought we had been separated for months not just weeks the way we were talking and trying to catch up. It is remarkable to realize that while we are all in the same program and thought we would have similar experiences due to the fact that we are in the same country on the same program but in reality things are very different for everyone of us. Each of us is experiencing a different South Africa. I think I was silly to think that just because we were in the same country we would have similar experiences but I try to think about the reverse if there were 11 volunteers who were spread out across the US how different their experiences would be. A few of our volunteers are in urban settings like myself. Others are very rural. Some are in the mountains, some near the beaches, some working with children and are very busy while some like myself are still working on finding our place at our sites. Some people are well on their way to learning a language while others of us are still trying to figure out what language would make the most sense to start learning. Spending time with the other volunteers made it easier for me to reflect on where I am. Some days are still hard, they will be the whole year. But compared to where I was a month ago I have learned so much. I know more of what is going on each day. I can talk about locations in South Africa, about South African politics, almost tell you the streets to get in and out of Soweto, but most important I can tell you about the people I see and talk to everyday. The conversations we have shared. The insights I have gained. It was good to see the other YAGMs we felt recharged and ready to see how much will have changed by the next time we are together. Some of us will try to gather for Halloween at the end of October; we will all be together to celebrate Thanksgiving and for our first of 3 retreats. To say I am looking forward to it would be an understatement. I feel like these times we are together are like when you are growing and you make a mark on the wall to show where you are. It’s a chance to check where you are, where you came from, and where you are headed.

Sorry for the delay in posting. While I have internet access on my compound it is not the most reliable so I am posting this from an internet café. Please stay in touch and let me know what is happening to you! E-mails make my day and I love staying connected to home.