Lights, Camera, Action!!!!

April 24, 2012

Dumalang, my wonderful friends! I hope everyone is enjoying another week of Easter blessings. I know I certainly have. I love everything about the Easter season, and it is very different here where it is not springtime! You don’t get confused about what resurrection means (not new flowers and baby animals in the spring!)  when the weather is getting cooler and moving towards winter! It’s not a spring holiday here, and that changes the way we see it.  So, no matter what season it is in your life, the church sings, “Alleluia!”

   The children are back in school session at St.Peter’s after the Easter break,  and it’s been so good to hear their delightful giggles, squeals of excitement, and the wonderful sound of,  “Auntie Minda'',  “Auntie Minda'' , every 15-20 minutes.  Since my birthday came during the holidays, Mma Mudereri, the staff and the children wanted to put on a surprise birthday party for me afterwards. So this last Wednesday the kids went about the morning as usual, and I was greeted with the usual, “Dumela Auntie Minda”.  No clues that anything was different. But then at 10'0clock teatime everyone hurried into the dining hall. I stopped at the restroom, and when I came out, I found Mma Gladys and Father Andrew waiting for me. I thought that this odd, because Father Andrew rarely comes during teatime. They wheeled me in the dining hall as everyone stood up and started singing, Happy Birthday! They had a large colored sign over the kitchen counter saying, “Happy Birthday Auntie Minda.' ‘Gladys had made a beautiful cake with yellow icing. The kids made a precious birthday card, and gave me 2 lovely scarves. I asked Gladys if there would be enough cake for all the kids. She said she knew I would ask that question- so she made a cake big enough for everybody!  It was truly a wonderful gift and I was really surprised by it all! I love this place so much!

On Saturday night my friends, Rorisang and Kamogelo and I went to see the Italian opera Cavalleria Rusticana.  It was amazing to hear it sung in Setswana!  If you don’t know the story, it is typical opera: love story gone wrong, betrayal, anger, passion, drama, and beautiful music! This one is about a villager, Turiddu, just returned from military service, who finds that his fiancée, Lola, has married Alfio, a prosperous village.  In retaliation, Turiddu seduces a young peasant woman named Santuzza. As a result, Lola, overwhelmed by her jealousy of Santuzza, begins an adulterous affair with Turiddu. It’s a very intense and exciting all at the same time. Sandy was in charge of all the music for it – by which I mean she was the entire orchestra!  So obviously that has taken up all her spare time – and some time that was NOT spare!   It is being performed at “The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Opera House and Restaurant” which is very far out in the bush. It’s named in honor of the book series of the same name, set in Botswana – and much loved by my family and friends.   

Well anyway, my friends and I arrived early so that I could get situated in the front, because there is no wheelchair seating in that place. This was a lot of fun because we got to watch the singers do   their vocal warm ups before the performance. As I was watching them and how the conductor, David Slater, worked with each one on his or her voice, I could not help but smile. It reminded me that when I was little I listened to my big sister, Becca, rehearse just like that! My mom took me to every one of the many performances she was a part of – all the operas and musical events. I see how watching those stories come alive then, inspired a great deal of my own interest in theatre and drama.  

It was interesting to watch how this opera was staged. There was nothing on the stage at all except a large white cross to the left, indicating the church where some of the events take place. Everything else was solely determined by on the singers’ abilities to portray the characters. There was very little in way of costuming, and absolutely no makeup whatsoever. This made it a little difficult to distinguish some of the characters and therefore some scenes were a bit confusing – at least for me struggling to understand the sung Setswana!  The opera house would like to purchase some theatre cosmetics for future performances, but they just can’t afford that right now. I loved it all! The opera was amazing - and Sandy played the whole long thing beautifully!

Afterwards, the director and I talked some. He was very interested and pleased to know that I am also studying theatre.  When the opera has finished its run, we will get to together and talk about theatre and drama and our experiences with it all. It will be really cool to talk to him and get some ideas for the work I am doing – and want to do in the future using the arts in ministry.   I’m finding that I miss my drama classes a lot, especially now when I know they are about to perform “Women of Lockerbie” this weekend.  I am sorry to be missing that.

 After the show we all went back to the flat and had dinner and then Kamogelo spent the night. She and I talked and laughed about a lot of things, and watched 2 movies. She has promised to teach me how to make earrings using things her jewelry-making set!  It was just a great girl-night!  

Tomorrow I’m beginning my theologizing project with both children and the adults at Cheshire, the disabled community.  I am trying something new by working with scripture with both adults and children at the same time. We will be using drama and art as well as story-telling and discussion to see how God understands the lives of disabled persons and their families. This is huge here. We will be looking at various stories of disabled and sick persons in scripture - from Mephibosheth in the Old Testament to the man born blind in the gospel of John. We want to think about what it means to be human, to be made in God’s image – so that they can understand and trust that God created us as we are – and intends to do good in us and through us, to shine in our lives regardless of disability. Pray for us. It is a very important issue here, where many parents have been told that they are to blame for their child’s handicap, and we want to replace a sense of shame with hope and joy in Jesus.    

Well, for now my friends, Modimo tsegafasa (God bless you!) and Ke o Rata (I love you)!

Minda

Alleluia! Christ is Risen!

April 14, 2012
Happy Easter, my precious friends! Alleluia!! And blessings from Africa! I had the privilege of growing up in the Episcopal Church where we celebrate the Resurrection for the entire fifty DAYS – all the way to the great final celebration of Pentecost!! This means that I can still say Happy Easter, and it’s still true!
Holy Week was wonderful and restful, which I realized I truly needed. Being in Africa for Easter has offered me so many wonderful experiences. Starting on Good Friday, every shop, mall, local grocery store (except for Superspar here in RiverWalk, which was only open for half a day) closed - and all of Gaborone was abuzz with Easter excitement! As usual, this week has been rich with new experiences and more surprising blessings.
Let me begin with the service on Good Friday, when Monica and I went to St. Simon of Cyrene Anglican Church in Tlokweng, where I have made several friends, including Rorisang (whom I mentioned a couple of weeks ago) and where some of the members of the Young Adult Anglican Fellowship attend. We arrived around 3:00 in the afternoon at the little church which is right in the center of the small town. Rorisang told us to wear black, since it was Good Friday, and here they really respond to Jesus’ death the way they would for a funeral for someone they love. This is neat, and good drama, because it is really the commemoration of the death of the Lord Jesus who gave himself up for all of humanity. So I pulled out one of my nicest black dresses - one that I found at a local store. Monica was beautiful with a long black skirt and a crème colored blouse. I had the taxi driver pick us up at 2:30. We arrived at the church a few minutes early so we went in and sat down to take time to pray. There are no pews in the church, so everyone sat in ordinary chairs. People entered the sanctuary very quietly with serious looks on their faces. The air in the room was very still and somber and there were no out bursts of spontaneous singing at all, which we usually hear and see. All the songs were strictly from the hymnal, and even the ushers, pastor, and preacher were clothed in dark black robes. The table was completely stripped except for the metal crucifix that was positioned in the middle of the barren altar. The pastor, preacher, and ushers processed in silence and then the pastor said a long prayer in Setswana and then a hymn followed. Then there were three gospel readings about Christ’s last days on earth read, of course, in Setswana and then more hymns. What was really wonderful was that there four sermons by three men and a woman and each of them stressed different aspects of Jesus’ death for us. One of these homilies emphasized how Jesus willingly sacrificed himself for us, another talked about how Jesus felt as we sometimes do: abandoned by God himself and that he hung on the cross in wonder at what God was doing. The woman preached the third sermon and discussed the rejection Jesus felt from the multitudes he had come to help, teach, and to love with God’s love. They could not see that Jesus came to show us what God was really like! It was very interesting and at various times people would applaud or cheer. After the homilies were finished it was time for everybody to go up and honor the cross. This was done in a very serious yet beautiful manner each person took turns kissing and blessing the cross; even the children participated in this. It was not just watching people do it that was neat, but more the way that they did it. Each one came up with a calm quiet humility that was beautiful to watch, and when they bowed and kissed the cross it was like they truly understood what this meant for them – that they were offering themselves to God in the way He had offered themselves for us. I have started to think that calling this “Good Friday” doesn’t do this day enough justice. I do believe it should be called “Victorious Friday.” This is the day He gladly won for us the victory over sin and death. We didn’t know it until Easter, but this is the REAL day of triumph! Everyone processed out very quietly and left. It was really beautiful.
Sunday was Easter, and Rorisang invited me back to St. Simon of Cyrene. I had so much fun at this service that I cannot even begin to describe it. I was picked at up 8:30 by another 22 year old friend of mine, Kamohelo and her mother, with Rorisang. The church was packed full of people all wearing their best outfits in very bright, beautiful colors. There was so much singing and dancing that if I remember correctly, I think there might not have been even a moment of silence during the whole 2 1/2 hour service! The preacher took over an hour to talk about Jesus’ resurrection, and every once in a while he would break out with a new song which then everyone else picked up! The contrast between Friday and Easter was so wonderful – I LOVE good dramatic worship. There were three baptisms: two little girls and a boy and all of them were under the age of four. All of them were really sweet, but when it came to the preacher splashing them with water, the little boy gave a great yelp of un-amusement and then burst into tears and cried and cried. I know this is not familiar to some of you, baptizing little children who don’t understand yet, but we see it as being joined formally to this new “tribe” of believers. Baptism for children is like crossing the Red Sea in your mothers’ arms, being carried into the Promised Land. It’s a way into the new community of faith, the new family created by Jesus’ death and resurrection. Then it is in this community where they will come to know and love and trust Jesus. It is something like circumcision in that sense – making the child part of the “tribe” of Jesus-people. And it is especially powerful here in Africa where tribal loyalties matter. Everyone welcomed them with so much joy! People just kept singing and dancing down the aisles even during communion and for a long time afterwards. It was so amazing to watch people dancing to the musical rhythms in a way I had never seen! And of course, the whole thing was in Setswana, which I love, and which made it even more exciting – It is so obvious here that the “tribe” of Jesus-people spans the whole globe! We really are one in the bond of love! After the service was finished Rorisang, Kamohelo, I, and a few others went out for an Easter lunch at a local restaurant and we had such a wonderful time. People here love to eat together. Sharing food matters so much. They really do build relationships, and strengthen relationships when they eat together. It is a privilege to be welcomed in this way – to belong.
Wednesday brought my 24th birthday. Oh, my goodness! I have been blessed with three birthday celebrations! The first was with the Mudereri’s on Tuesday. They had me over for lunch, which was amazing. Gladys made meatballs, brown rice with roast potatoes and mixed vegetables. We also had an assortment of fruit juices and sponge cake with peaches for dessert. Quite a scrumptious meal! We talked and laughed through the entire meal. Mma Gladys is going to put me back with the 3 and 4 year olds next week in the daytime, and we are going to do Jesus walking on the water – not afraid of the sea, in fact, in control of the sea. I’m really excited about this! It’s is good people that make good friends and good homes as well as good meals! I love Gladys and Andrew so much. They have made me feel so much part of their lives and work.
The second celebration was with Sandy. She took me out for lunch at a tea garden place way out at the end of Gaborone called Saneta’s. It’s a combination of garden and restaurant and it’s beautiful. We ate outside under a large palm tree and had a delicious lunch of quiche, salad, and French fries or as the Motswana call them, chips. After lunch we walked around the area and saw all sorts of beautiful plants and flowers as well as interesting metallic art pieces including bronze cobras, iron alligators, metal butterflies and fish. It was an absolutely stunning place. Sandy, too, has been so good to me these months – and I love her!
The third celebration was with several of the girls from the Adult Anglican Fellowship. This included Rorisang, Kamohelo, Tshegofatso, and a few others. It was actually a combination birthday party for me and Tshegofatso whose birthday was the 3rd of April. That was very cool! We met at the Anglican Women’s Office and together we made a huge meal of grilled lemon chicken kebabs, pasta salad, baked rolls, fresh greens, garlic potatoes, corn on the cob, and chips. Delicious! Then the girls surprised Tshegofatso and me with a large purple and yellow chocolate cake that they had bought. We had so much fun and we partied till midnight. I love the relationships I have here, and people have been repeatedly told me how much I will be missed. I KNOW I’m going to miss them!
Well my dear friends I will close with this and until next time, Sala Sentle!
Alleluia! Christ is Risen! (You should answer: The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!)
Minda

A Walk to Remember

April 3, 2012
Dumalang, my precious friends! Wow, March is finished! I can't believe that I’ll be half way through my 6 months abroad as of Wednesday, next week! It’s also my birthday, which makes it an odd way to celebrate – I’m already realizing how much I am going to miss Botswana and everyone here. This feels like home to me.
How can I even begin to explain this last week, and all that has happened in a 2-3 page blog?! Well I’ll make an attempt to do so.
This week has been filled with bitter-sweet, special moments. The children celebrated their last week of school before their two-week Easter break. On Friday, they performed the passion play in the chapel. They were fantastic! They all knew what to do, and each of them really put their heart into the character they were portraying! I was very proud of every one of them, as well as the teachers, because they all really put a lot of hard work into this whole project. Many of the parents and other relatives came to watch the show and were surprised and delighted to see how well their children could tell the Easter story. After the production Mma Mudereri asked me to say something to the guests about the play. I told them why we did it, that we wanted the children to see how much God loved the world that he sent Jesus, who died and was raised from the dead to make us new. I told them how important it was for them to bring the kids here to the daycare center to learn about God, and how much he loves them. I told them how much the children loved hearing us tell stories about Jesus: how he took care of the poor, sick, oppressed, and needy, how he loved the little children. And I encouraged the parents to read the Bible, if they had them at home to the kids so that they can help the children grow in their belief and trust and reliance on God. Many of the parents told us that they do have bibles that they read with the kids on occasion, which pleased us all greatly. This was also Boniswa’s last time to be with the children at the daycare, and the children presented her with a banner that they made with a few other small gifts. Boniswa cried a lot but she did promise to come back to see them sometime next year, and the children kept running up to her and giving her hugs and kisses. I know for a fact that I will be in tears when the time comes for me to ay good-bye to them when the 2nd semester ends in June. The school day ended right after 11 o’clock. I brought the kids chocolate Easter candies to go with the rest of their Easter goodies and of course this excited them greatly! Once the sweets were passed out all the children scurried away, thrilled for the two week holiday. It’s Tuesday night and I’m missing them already. I have plenty to do during these two weeks, and I need the time to read and write papers, but still….
I may have mentioned this before, but I have also become part of the Young Adult Anglican Fellowship also called the T.A.S.K Team. During the last month or so we have been putting together a sponsored walk to benefit those suffering with HIV/AIDS. We want to continue to raise awareness among the churches about the continued tragedy of AIDS so that they can prevent it from spreading it to even more people. We want all the churches to become more involved with helping people understand the dangers of having unprotected sex. We got a lot of support from various corporations as well as individuals, and we had our 10 mile walk on the 31st of March beginning at 6 am. We congregated on in the parking area at the Holy Cross Cathedral. This was where the walk was to start, and where we all would meet again at the end of the walk.
The walk actually started at 7, because the police escort arrived rather late which is no particular surprise. The weather for the walk was perfect, a nice sunny blue sky day. We had over 300 people who participated in the walk, including the Anglican Bishop of Botswana, Trevor Mwamba, as well as the English and American Ambassadors and plenty of media attention! Sandy was too busy practicing the organ for the opera and couldn’t participate in the walk, but Boniswa really wanted to join, so she volunteered to help push me along with another lady whose name is Klatso. Klatso works with the Botswana government, and has a real passion for awakening the world to the needs of the AIDS victims and the disabled. As the three of us walked we talked like crazy, and enjoyed each other’s company immensely.
It was really interesting because Klatso used to be a fashion designer in Portugal before she returned to Botswana. I was excited about this, because I would really like to have some of the traditional clothes made for me while I’m still here, but I’ve been having a hard time finding a material shop. Klatso said that she knew plenty of shops located in the main malls that sold material, and she said she’d be able to help me find some. Then I need a good tailor, since my body is not quite simple to sew for! She was really interested in both Boniswa and me, and what each of us was doing in Botswana. Boniswa and I have slowly discovered that we have a lot in common, but particularly our love for Botswana. We both have a desire to come back here within a year or so. Once we got back to the cathedral we all enjoyed some good music, lovely refreshments (donated to us by the local grocery stores,) and great fellowship. There were speeches, but you really could not hear them, because the sound system was not coping against the wind that was picking up. This was certainly a walk to remember!
The walk ended at around 10:30 that morning, and when we got back to the flat Boniswa and I took long naps. We were pretty wiped out considering the fact that we had to get up at 5 o’clock in order to be ready for our ride at 6. Neither one of us are morning people!
Last Sunday was Palm Sunday, and I went with my good and dear friend Tshegofatso to St. Michael’s in Broadhurst. She picked me up from the flat at 8:30. When we got there we all gathered in a large circle while the pastor said a long prayer in Setswana. When the 25 minute prayer was finished, he passed out the palms shaped in the form of a cross and handed the acolytes and others leading the procession large palms to wave. We processed at least a mile! It was a lot of fun to sing the Palm Sunday hymns in Setswana, and to dance around as we paraded the streets! I think one of my favorite hymns goes like this “Jesu Wena Sena Calvary! Wiena Lena Sona! Eloi! Eloi Calvary! This was certainly another walk to remember!
Well my dear friends it’s 4 in the morning, and I’m off to bed!
Modimo O Teng! God is HERE!
Minda