prayers needed.

I want to take a minute to thank all of you friends and family for keeping up with my blog this long, especially since I have been home from South Africa for almost two months now. It was very hard to leave, and even taking the effort to choose a photo to post each day is almost heartbreaking.  But one of the best things about the Augustinian Volunteer program is its sustainability, and I took a lot of comfort in the fact that after Meg, Mary-Kate, Becca, and I left South Africa to come home, another group of volunteers would be taking over for us as the new year began.

Though I have only met Erika and Damien, they, along with Jenny and Tyler, are incredible young people with a passion for service that will do them well in their year ahead.  But unfortunately, this group of people has already encountered more hardship than I think I faced all year.
Your prayers are needed.

One of this year's volunteers, Jenny, who replaced me at St. Leo, is in the hospital and about to undergo very serious and risky open-chest surgery.

And in addition, Tyler, another community member, has a brother named Kyle who is currently in hospital in Johannesburg with a brain infection.

During my year in South Africa, I learned a lot about the unexpected turns that life can take, but I have to say that since being home, these tragic surprises have been much more numerous and much more unexpected.  We just have to keep trusting that we will be taken care of.

Please keep this AV community and their families in your thoughts for the next few days, and, most especially, in the next few hours.  Having a strong network of good people sending positive thoughts their way may just be the magic touch.  Thanks.



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overheard in south africa.

We've been working on Alphabet Books with Grade 4 for the past few weeks, and today we tackled the letters L, M, and N.  First we brainstorm a list of words that start with each letter, then each table chooses one to write a sentence about and illustrate.


Teacher: Ok, so what starts with the letter N?
Learner: Nice... noisy... ninja!
Teacher: Yes, ninja starts with N.  Good.  Now think of a sentence using the word "ninja".
Learner (without missing a beat): Bruce Lee is a ninja.


I will never, ever understand the way in which Bruce Lee and Jean Claud Van Damme have infiltrated Zulu culture.


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overheard in south africa.

We often find ourselves playing "hairdresser" at St. Theresa's when the boys have finished their homework and all the soccer balls are in use.

Volunteer: So I think I'll probably chop all my hair off when I get home.
Philani: You should relax it, that would look nice.
Volunteer:  I actually don't need to relax it, it's sort of "naturally relaxed", you know what I mean?
Philani: So who relaxes y'all's hair then?  God?



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overheard in south africa.

I've gotten myself mired into a Tickle War with a couple of the Grade 3 boys.  Then this happened...


Teacher 1: Sphelele!  You're not laughing!  Aren't you ticklish?
Sphelele: No... I'm Zulu!



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learning to pray.

This blog entry was written for the Augustinian Volunteers' website, which you can find here.  I wrote about how my spirituality has grown so far during my year here in South Africa.

It’s another Tuesday at St. Leo’s Primary, and I’m seriously dragging.  The photocopier is out of toner again, which means the vocabulary test that we’d planned for Grade 5 has to be a bit more off the cuff than I’d anticipated—but that’s the nature of teaching in this school.  This is a place where almost seven hundred learners have been admitted to the school, despite lack of space and individual attention;  a place where pencils are in such short supply that they have to be labelled with names to keep them from going missing; a place where teachers engaging their students in the classroom is the exception, and not the rule.

But St. Leo’s is also a place where the library is one of the most valued spots in the school; where the enrollment is so high that the administration can’t keep up, just because parents want their children to learn English with Americans; a place where the sound of young voices singing can make even the most miserable Monday mornings worth it.  In a country where the population has big dreams and very little follow-through, the children at St. Leo’s are an example of the hope I’ve come to look for with each day that passes here in South Africa.

Break at St. Leo’s comes early; at ten o’clock in the morning, I’m not hungry and not ready to interrupt the day just yet.  On this particular Tuesday, the four classes that follow break are even more of a struggle than the two I had this morning.  We attempt to review some lessons from the previous weeks after the test is finished and graded, but the learners are lethargic and I’m losing my patience.  I can only repeat myself so many times—a mystery is “a puzzle without an answer”, and “a chance to do something” is an opportunity, not often.  And then, just when I’m about to resort to reading them a story instead, the bells from the church next door ring to signal midday, and the sixteen Grade 5 students in front of me stand up, fold their hands, close their eyes, and bow their heads.  They begin to pray.

Yethi Maria, ogcwele igrasiya, iNkosi inawe, ubusisiwe wena esifazaneni, ibusisiwe nenzalo yesisu sakho uJesu.  Maria ocwebileyo, Nina kaNkulunkulu, mawusikhulekele thina zoni, manje nasesikhathini sokufa kewthu.  Amen.

As the words rise to Mary who hears and understands, whether in English or in Zulu, I close my eyes and lean against the bookshelf near my desk, reflecting on the day so far and silently asking God to help me through the rest.  I open my eyes again and look around the room, at the boys and girls in front of me, praying fervently in the midst of the schoolday.  My heart is filled with so much love.

This is the type of encounter with God I have come to know and appreciate during my time as an AV in South Africa—the prayers that offer me respite from the noise of language barriers, racial identity, and poverty.

Though I’m a teacher, I’ve learned from these students; learned that prayer has to be an integral part of every day, even if it is just a few Hail Marys quickly spoken during a vocabulary review, or hymns sung during assembly as the sun rises over the valley.  The Zulus’ prayer life is one without expectations or judgment, where I can participate in a Zulu teachers’ prayer meeting in English and no one minds.  The devotion to everyday spirituality that I’ve witnessed here in South Africa is inspiring, especially when the living conditions of some should adversely affect their wellbeing.  But it is these simple daily encounters with a very present God that give South Africans the hope they need to push onwards.  This entire year is my classroom, and the people with whom I spend my days are my teachers, gently guiding me towards the presence of God.

overheard in south africa.

On Five FM, a super aggravating national radio station:

DJ 1: I mean, polygamy could just be a cultural thing, you know?
DJ 2: Yeah... just look at Jay-Z.  He's a polygamist and he's famous!
Volunteer 1: Did he just say Jay-Z is a polygamist?
Volunteer 2: Yeah, I think that just happened.
Volunteer 1: Jay-Z... hmmm... wait.... JZ...
Volunteer 2: OH!  Jacob Zuma!  I get it.

overheard in south africa.

In a 6th grade classroom at St. Leo's:

Teacher: So, now that you know some things about us, we'd like to know things about you guys!  Like... who's your favorite actor?
Student: Jean Claude Van Damm!