Grahamstown 101

It occurs to me I haven’t shared much about Grahamstown itself. I’m no expert, but allow me to give you an introduction to this town.

Grahamstown is like many college towns in the US (at least, the developed part resembles most college towns -more on this later). Rhodes University is the main hub of life, and consequently most of the town residents are either students, faculty, or families of faculty. As you might have guessed on account of it being a college town, there is a steady turnover in the population. As far as fun activities, there isn’t much to ‘do’ here other than the typical college nightlife of bars and dance clubs; ask someone else if you’re curious about those, as I’m definitely no expert there! 

When I go into town with a monk, they are typically dressed in casual clothes (like what they wear outside of church anyway); however, they don their monk robes (aka “habits”) on special occasions, which can create unique moments such as this:

Contrary to what you might assume, this town -at least, the developed core- is not “the bush”. There are stores, running (drinkable) water, paved roads, and lots of other amenities you might associate with a developed city.

All that being said, the following things differentiate Grahamstown from your typical American college town:

Beggars: Get ready to be asked for money. And rides. And food. And whatever sort of favors people might think you can do. This happens to me probably 90% of the time I go into town. More often than not, I give a quick yet kind ‘no’ and keep walking. My personal advice is to say no to strangers (*especially* hitchhikers, if you ever drive), and to set clear boundaries with people you befriend. I hear stories of other YASCers, past and present, being asked for money all the time, and you can see how it corrodes whatever friendship they once had with a person; they are now only thought of as a walking atm. I’ll stop before this becomes a sermon :)

Car Guards: Almost every public parking place in town has people ‘guarding’ your cards. It is expected that you will tip them upon returning to your vehicle. When they aren’t running up to collect money, they are typically sitting down on the side of the street. High Street (the main street of town) has guards with handheld machines that indicate how much you owe based on the duration of your park. These guards are wearing street clothes plus yellow vests. There’s a little uncertainly about who exactly these guards work for. 

If a guard is not wielding one of these machines, this means they work for no one and they are guarding the area simply to earn money. They might wear a tattered, older vest of some sort, but they are not official in any way. This is most common at night. 

I’ll be honest: I’ve yet to see a car guard that made me feel safe about the car. Many times, you can tell they only seek money.

side note: Grahamstown’s unemployment rate is 70% (yes, 70), and you can find people trying to earn money through various small tasks -wash your car, sell you fruit, etc. It’s up to you if it’s worth payment.

Language: English is the common language of business, but on the streets you may also hear people speaking Xhosa (pronounced “[click]hosa”), and/or Afrikaans. If you only speak English, you are quite fine.

The Townships: Like many South African cities, Grahamstown has a large township -an urban area of unkempt buildings and roads. You wouldn’t see a township on brochures or websites, but it often comprises the majority of the city.

Believe it or not, that is just a fraction of the entire township.

 
In my experience, driving into the township feels like traveling back in time. Dilapidated shacks and houses (predominantly single-story), poorly maintained roads (usually unpaved, hardly any traffic lights), tattered and dusty clothing of residents (often the fashion fads of past decades), and stray animals roaming about (typically dogs and goats) all give it an identity quite divorced from the previously discussed developed part of town.

During apartheid, non-white residents of South Africa were forcibly relocated into the townships. When I asked a former township resident about the changes the townships have experienced since then, he said the only noticeable difference is the absence of police -during apartheid, police patrolled the streets and often used tear gas on crowds; it was common to experience this multiple times while growing up.

For the sake of being thorough: There’s actually a xhosa township and colored township in Grahamstown; “colored” describes anyone of mixed race, while “xhosa” signifies non-mixed.

I typically only enter the township with others, and usually with a specific purpose. The area is not particularly safe, especially for a caucasian. That being said, I can attest that you can find wonderful people living in the townships, much like you can in most places in the world.

Remember St. Augustine’s? Stephen, Br. Josias and myself have kept up regular attendance, spending approx. 90 minutes each week with some happy kiddos.

I hope you enjoyed this insight into Grahamstown!!
Have a good week, everyone.
-Cameron

Fathers

no pictures this time, just observations

First, Happy Father’s Day, Dad! Thanks for all you do, raising me up, teaching me responsibility, blah blah blah              (Don’t worry folks, we’re facetiming later this weekend :))

Second, some observations on Fathers:

I’ve heard many a statistic suggest a fatherless home leads to a fatherless home in the next generation. If dad wasn’t present, then the son doesn’t know what a good father looks like; thus, if the son ever becomes a father himself, he is more likely to exit the picture.

This phenomenon rings true for the families surrounding the monastery. Most fathers are absent (some making the occasional appearance when/if it would somehow personally benefit him), and few of the remaining males have cared about being good role models. In my limited knowledge base (once again, just firsthand experience and stories gleaned while in Africa), I’ve noticed the following:

-The male children are typically the ones you have to look out for. Stories of skipping school, not showing up when promised, underage drinking, and displaying an overall lack of responsibility are far more frequent among the sons than the daughters.

-Over the years, the males of each generation tend to repeat this pattern of neglect. It doesn’t surprise me that the males who have gone of the wagon (so the speak) have fathers who went off the wagon long ago.

This brings me to school on Friday:

Students spent the morning making father’s day cards. The teachers explained you can give it to any father figure in your life.

I’m pretty sure only 3 students live with their biological father, and I didn’t really know what to expect when we started making cards. For the most part, it was like any other craft project, although a few unique moments stand out:
-Several children approached me after writing “Happy Father’s Day!!!”, seemingly unsure what to do next. I suggested they draw their fathers, and they eventually drew various other relatives.
-When I asked a child what her father’s name was (I initially debated asking this question to anyone), she replied with “S____”, which is her last name. I asked about his first name, to which she sheepishly smiled and covered her face.
-As they finished, some children handed in the cards like they would an assignment. When I said they can give it to their fathers, one child asked “…why?”

Our head teacher thinks our children have a right to know their fathers, that it is important to their self-identity. I would elaborate by saying the children have a right to positive role models in their lives -female and male. To use a simplified expression, sometimes we don’t realize our potential until we see what others accomplished before us. These role models can significantly impact our life -for better or for worse.

At present, these families have a stellar legacy among the women of keeping the family together and raising them no matter the odds. The males leave a lot to be desired. 

edit: The following quote nicely synthesizes my thoughts on this: “Experts say that even when a child has all the basics such as food, shelter, and education, a positive male role model is still essential for creating a well-rounded human being” -from Father's Day for some, should be for many. by ENCA

Change the world by relating to people.

While preparing for life in South Africa, a local resident offered this insight:

“You are coming to a country of intense bureaucracy which is close to totally dysfunctional in most sectors of public life, especially education.”

I didn’t quite conceptualize what he meant by “intense bureaucracy”, but it’s certainly become obvious. Simply put, there are moments where it feels like educators insist on impeding progress. Two examples:

-Grades. In SA schools, a 30 qualifies as passing (yes, 30/100). When confronted with poor success rates, the department of education opted to lower the passing rate to its current mark, thereby increasing the number of passing students. This maneuver provided an excuse to not address teaching standards.(1)

-Teachers. I hear stories of teachers in township schools simply leaving school on Fridays once they receive their paychecks. This touches (again) on a larger issue of teacher accountability, which might not have an easy solution.(2)

Important side note: This can change! There’s actually a great success story of a principal in Grahamstown moving from a prestigious private school to a struggling school in the township, and creating a domino effect which is slowly turning the school around. It is, truly, a source of hope.

(Notes from a recent conference: For every 100 students who begin grade R in Eastern Cape public schools, only 1 will complete some form of higher ed.)

Overall, this enforces a cycle of poor education producing poorly educated students, thus perpetuating the poor education system (since the future teachers were not adequately trained). Consequently, South Africa’s global rankings suffer.(3-4-5)

These are but a few ways in which South Africa’s education system is entangled (I could list many, many more). In many respects, performing well is the exception rather than the expectation. 

This leads me to Holy Cross School, and the overall idea of ‘changing the world’.

Holy Cross School, 2011. Photo courtesy of Stephen Smith.

Holy Cross School is a tangible outcome of the monastic community’s desire to provide education. You will find trained teachers, furnished classrooms (visitors consistently remark how well-resourced the school is), and a well-kept building. I won’t claim perfection in our day-to-day functioning (I sometimes don’t believe how dysfunctional I am!), but I will say this: The brothers were straightforward in this mission. They saw a problem, they saw how they could help, and they did it.

Holy Cross School, 2013.

The school does not claim to be the best, or to be the ‘fix’ to South Africa’s problems; it simply welcomes 42 students and gives them an education. If you find yourself drawn to hopes of changing the world and/or being part of a greater cause, I’d like to offer this piece of food for thought:

As humans, and as Christians, we change the world by relating to the people. If I was preoccupied with the grand notion of changing South Africa’s education system, I would be quite let down with my work. The most fulfilling moments of this work have come when I truly felt a growth in my relationships -with monks, teachers, students, anyone. This isn’t ignoring hopes of changing the world; this is recognizing the very real method by which you make an impact.

As Christians, we are to unconditionally love and serve all people, especially the poor (Matthew 25:31-46). You might know the phrase “to preach the good news to all of creation”; sometimes, that good news comes in the form of bread. or safe housing. or good education. Jesus himself calls us to serve others, giving special mention to children, widows, and the poor.

Side note: It occurs to me that the great commission (Matthew 28:19) is a people-focused mission. Jesus said “make disciples of all nations”, not “make nations full of disciples”. I’ll have to see if any deep revelations come of this :)

Have a great week, everyone.
-Cameron

The content of this post comes from firsthand experience and stories gleaned in my time in Africa. I added the citations afterwards in case you wanted to cross-check with other sources (which I’m glad you do!).

1 Phakathi, Bekezela Umalusi defends 30% matric pass mark. BusinessDay Live, 19 April 2012

2 Modisaotsile, Brenda M. The Failing Standard of Basic Education in South Africa. Africa Institute of South Africa, 72, March 2012. (the section “Teachers” beginning on p. 4 discusses teacher behavior)

3 Verrijdt, Andrew. SA ranks its maths and science second last in the world. Mail & Guardian, 7 June 2013

4 Wilson, Craig. South Africa: a nation of dummies. TechCentral, 11 April 2013

5 Mtshali, Nontobeko. Ugly truth about SA education. IOL News, 25 September 2012

Sermon: Astounding Faith

Believe it or not, I preached this past Sunday! Here is a copy of the sermon:

Assigned Readings:
1 Kings 8:22-23, 41-43 (Great text, but I do not reference it)
Galatians 1:1-12
Luke 7:1-10

Heavenly Father,
We surrender our center space and beg you come occupy it.
We thank you for changing us so that our leadership in your mission is worth following.
Amen.

One Sunday, a pastor was approached by a group of people unfamiliar with Jesus or scripture, and who wanted to join the church. The pastor was happy to welcome them, and offered to lead an introductory study on the gospel of Mark to help them understand what they were getting themselves into. Come one class time, the group reaches Jesus calming the storm; the pastor invited them to discuss the ‘storms’ Jesus might calm in their lives. After a long, uncomfortable silence, a man asked, “Do you mean Jesus actually calmed the wind and sea?” The pastor replied, “Yes, but we should not get hung up on the details of the miracle. We should remember that Jesus can calm the storms in our lives.” Another long, awkward silence followed. Eventually, another person said, “Well, if Jesus calmed the wind and the waves, he must be a very powerful man!” The participants suddenly came alive, buzzing with excitement, entering into something like worship. Meanwhile, the Pastor found himself on the outside looking in. In his own words, the pastor so took Jesus for granted that he’d missed Him altogether.

I share this story because it shows our capacity to miss the mark. Sometimes, our biggest faith struggles come from us forgetting the nature and actions of God. In a sense, we have to remember to remember God. Our memory can erode over time, and –whether we realize it or not- our idea of God shrinks. We develop misplaced faith. Faith in our idea of God; not faith in God.

But we can also be completely sold on God, as exhibited by the members of the bible study; I sense a similar manifestation of faith in the Centurion you just heard of. He does not ask Jesus complex questions about marriage or salvation, or Cesar’s authority, nor does he inquire what he must do to obtain eternal life. He simply believes. He knows that Jesus is God! That His breath heals and transforms, that even sickness must bow to Him. This centurion –a ruler of at least 100 men, hence his title- has no backup plan; he is fully convinced. Even further, he realizes that so sovereign is Jesus that this centurion is not even worthy to welcome Him. There’s no mention of the centurion seeing Jesus face to face, and yet Jesus is astonished at the faith this man displays. Think about that for a minute. Did you know the Messiah experiences astonishment? That’s one thing I forget in my day-to-day life. I forget that God can be captivated by our faith.

I suspect this is the faith God desires of all of us. Recognizing and irrevocably accepting that Jesus is Lord. The beauty of this is that this faith does not have the prerequisites you might imagine. You need not a certain number of years experience following God, nor do you need an advanced degree –in fact, it’s often the educated who struggle-, and while a mountaintop experience is certainly encouraged, God meets you where you are now. God, who breathed creation into existence, is the same God who walked on this earth as a human, healing the sick and teaching those who listen.

But again, we sometimes falter. Our idea of God shrinks, and we mess up. Whoever helped craft this lectionary was on to something when they tied this account from Luke with the passage from Galatians. Most of the letters in the new testament begin with deep and profound encouragement, yet Paul starts this letter by telling the Galatians, “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ (v. 6a)”. There’s that word again –astonishment; this time from the perspective of a human. It seems every Christ-follower has at some point crossed a threshold where –from their perspective- they feel they have erred too much to be redeemable. I know I’ve felt this before, and much like others, I find this issue compounded by spiritual weariness. It’s hard to stay diligent when you feel you’re beyond recovery.
Human beings can mess up. Think back to the Pastor for a minute; He was dead-set on Jesus, and yet –in his own words- he still misses the mark. How’s that for our capacity to err?

Yet this is not the end of the story; and whether you have a faith that has been broken and put back together multiple times, or one that is truly unshaken (if so, congratulations), here is where the mystery of God deepens even further.
When you find yourself distant from God, the response is not to dwell on your mistakes. Christ himself told His followers not to do that.

Think back to Peter for a minute. The disciple who denied Jesus 3 times the night of His imprisonment. After being resurrected, Jesus asks Peter if he loves Him (John 21:15-19). When Peter replies “yes”, Jesus does not demand an explanation for his past mistakes. Instead, He says three times “Feed my sheep”. God, executed on our behalf, did not focus on Peter’s past. Rather, God beckons him to move forward and get to work. God forgives Peter, and God forgives you.

In that letter to the Galatians, Paul mentions their lack of faith multiple times, yet he realizes this is not the end of the story. In the course of this letter –which is not very long- Paul emphasizes the weight of their grievances, and then guides them past it and gets them refocused on their mission as Christ-followers. At one point, he writes, “You are all sons [and daughters] of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ Jesus have clothed yourselves with Christ (3:26-27)”. A whole community distanced themselves from God, but that does not de-validate their identity as Christians. God forgives the Galatians, and God forgives you. 

Two weeks ago, we celebrated Pentecost, what can loosely be thought of as the birthday of the Church. This celebration of God bestowing His Holy Spirit onto His followers, allowing them to grow in the full stature of Christ, is another way God blurs the perceived boundaries of heaven and earth, allowing us to experience Him in a new intimate way. 

Yes, I referenced a meme in a sermon. Believe.

Thanks to this show of grace, we are now part of the apostolic succession- or, to use slightly irreverent words I read the other day, a 2000 year-old game of tag tracing back to Jesus. You are as much a part of this succession as Peter, Paul, St. Benedict, Pope Francis, and every Christ-following mentor who has helped shaped your life, and God is not done with you. As apostles, your task this week is to astound Jesus with your faith. Have faith that God’s word can outlast –and is already outlasting- all the promises of this world. Have faith that God’s nature and actions far exceed any of our previous ideas. Have faith that you are not an accident, that the God who said, “Let there be light” also said, “Let there be John” and “Let there be Cameron” and “Let there be You”. Have faith that in following God, you are exactly where you are supposed to be, doing exactly what your are supposed to be doing. Have faith that this same God, while being executed for you, also said “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34). And lastly, have faith that the God who did all this knew full well you were going to mess up, and he forgives you anyway, and even now He forgives you, beckoning to you, saying, “Come to me. I’m not done with you”. And Thank God for that.
Amen. 

I first read the beginning story in Jesus-Centered Youth Ministry by Rick Lawrence, pg. 13.