Half-day

It’s a half-day of school.
Brother Rob and Stephen Smith are out of town.
YOU have been tasked with opening and closing the school.

Let’s do this!

Arrive early, unlock the gates, deactivate the alarm. Bonus: Take a minute to soak in how quiet it is.

Greet the teachers as they arrive.
                                                     “Molweni!”                 
                                                                                             “Molo Bhuti!”
                                                     “Unjani?”        
                                                                                     “ndiphilile, unjani?”
                                         “ndiphilile nam, enkosi!”

Translation:
                                                     “Greetings!”                 
                                                                                             “Greetings, brother!”
                                                     “How are you?”        
                                                                                     “I am well, how are you?”
                                          “I am also well, thank you!”

Bonus: Have the water kettle boiling, ready for use. Tea and coffee are practically sacraments here.

Greet students as they arrive.

Students will arrive by various modes -bus, car, 2nd round of bus, walking, another car, etc; they will brush their teeth and then play until the bell rings.

While planning the day, be sure everyone knows when school is ending.

Pass the message onto students during morning line-up.

For grade 1, begin class with the typical morning routine then practice counting in multiples of 2 and 5. Once the head teacher takes over, monitor students as they tackle the math workbooks.

Help individual students as need be.

At playtime, enjoy the typical shenanigans.

“Bhuti, I’m making a cake for you!”

“Bhuti, can I please have a push?” “Yes you can! Small push or big?” “BIG PUSH!!!”

Afterwards, allow enough time for students to tidy up the playground (“Qokelelani, Qokelelani!”) and for everyone to gather belongings and line up outside. 

Lock-up the school, set the alarm, and walk to the car which is full of waiting kiddos. With Br. Rob gone, you are their afternoon driver.

No Mozart like last time, but we still made it safely.

 

Drive back, sit down, and ponder how fast time is going.

Congratulations! You made it through a half-day of school :) Enjoy your time off!

Ministry of Presence

I was recently asked “What theology grounds your work in the particular ministry you conduct?” In other words, “What do you believe about God? ….that makes you do this work?”

Sparknotes help: Theology can mean “Knowing about God”. As such, “What is your theology?” means “What do you believe about God?”

As I continue to flesh out my beliefs, the following phrases have become key:

Ministry of Presence

Ministry of Empowerment

Think about these ideas for a minute, and what they tell you about God.

An African sunset to help you focus :)

…Yes? You’d like my thoughts? Glad you asked!

Ministry of Presence:
Think about the most influential mentors in your life; did they impose their own beliefs, or did they let you explore and decide for yourself? The expression of God does not necessitate verbal evangelism. It sometimes involves just being there.

I do not have a monopoly on God. As such, I do not always know what God desires of my fellow man. If they feel a calling toward Y, and my experience with God makes me think they should do X, I have no right to steer their life for them. I’ll offer my input if they want it, but I yield to their decisions. If they later decide that Y wasn’t quite right, and start striving for X instead -or Z- then great! If they remain with Y, great! My role is to support them on their journey, not make the decisions for them.

This cultivation of Theology, or “knowledge of God”, was the touchstone of this year-long endeavor. I still remember the first night of Discernment Weekend, hearing the term “Ministry of Presence”, and how it so succinctly expressed what I had pondered for quite some time.

Ministry of Empowerment: Continuing the “I am not God” theme, my service should entail empowering others to act for themselves. If I proverbially hold a person’s hand during a process, and thus take away from their experience, then I have done a great disservice. There is a balance to this, but more often then not it entails less of you. Here’s one way to gauge: If your companion doesn’t have the chance to make their own mistakes, you have too much control.

We have two regular attendees at our after school clinic, and I could do every homework assignment they have. When they need to find pictures online, for example, I automatically know what to do. However, having each student sit in the computer chair, stumble with the mouse, and slowly type words into a search bar is far more beneficial for them. In these 3 weeks of internet-related assignments, their computer proficiency has noticeably improved. It’s still a slow process, but it’s worthwhile. And it is celebratory. Their excitement at seeing a picture they found is a sight to behold (It’s partly why it takes so long, but I digress :)

And to clarify: I do not do homework for students :)

So why do I leave home for God? 

James Huntington, founder of the Order of the Holy Cross

Belief in God propels us to action. His presence is more action-oriented than any verb we knew. To quote James Huntington “Love must act as light must shine and fire must burn”.


This is not about the physical act of leaving. “Mission Work” is almost a frivolous term; everything you do should be a manifestation of God’s presence in you. Do you realize God exists? Do you realize He works in His people? Congratulations! You are a missionary. I did not become a missionary when I arrived in South Africa; I became a missionary 10 years ago when I first believed in God.

“Mission” is sharing your unique expression of Christ with others, and allowing others to share their unique expression of Christ with you. If this expression does indeed land me in another country, the stark differences between me and my neighbor mean a greater chance for learning about fellow expressions of Christ, thus producing a more magnified understanding of God.

Last thought for now: Do you notice how this changes you more than the people you serve? In my times of living out my faith, I realize the person God truly changes is me.

Reasons to keep smiling :)

Hello again! For this post, expect a few scattered updates about life, in addition to a few videos :)

After 3 months of emptiness, the Monastery is starting to get busy again. Last weekend, we were blessed to have 20+ students from the local theological college. My only pictures are from an impromptu singing/praise session after Sunday Eucharist.

I say we were blessed because all people are unique blessings; one way these students were/are blessings is in their singing! Our high-spirited worship reminded me how vibrant church can be. 

We were also blessed to welcome none other than YASCer Holly Milburn! …and her mother!!! These wonderful ladies spent 2 night with us as part of an adventure along the garden route. Despite being on vacation, they helped teach the grade 2 English class.

This was Holly’s 2nd time at the Monastery (remember this post?) and she says she is “2 for 2” on successful trips.

Once again, our students showed exemplary behavior among visitors.

I’m now going to rewind to last week, and catch you up on laptop class:

Our students get excited about laptops. Really excited. Some students break into celebration after completing an activity.
Behold:

Unsurprisingly, the children are learning the basic computer functions with little help. They also help each other complete an assignment. It is a joy to witness.
Behold (again):

 With classes like this, I’m in a good mood on Friday afternoons!
Now, shifting gears entirely: Do you remember “Waving Flag”, the official hymn of the 2010 South Africa World Cup? I had all but forgotten it until the grade R students began singing it, in Xhosa. This quickly caught on among other students, and I was soon able to catch them in the act:

These are but some of the reasons I’ve been smiling lately. Here are a few more:

-Several fellow YASCers have announced plans for life after this year, thus allowing us to share in their excitement (I can share mine once I know myself :)

-We have 2 weeks left until a school break -a break that I recently learned is not one but two weeks long! Woohoo!        (And after that, only 10 weeks left until winter break? Where has time gone?!)

-I have now been in South Africa for 7 months!!! I know this isn’t a typical milestone, but “7 months” hasn’t quite sunk in yet. I’m realizing 1) time gets away from us when we stop looking, and 2) I am happy to be here :) Simply put, it is right for me to be here -this place, this time in my life, with these opportunities for reflection. It is a blessing to live in, and I cherish knowing there are many several months more :)

What has made YOU smile today?
In Christ,
-Cameron