South Africa Reflections (#5)

Today is Wednesday and we leave in 2 days. Honestly, I wish it were more like twenty. The first conversation we had with Pure Hope discussed real communities and relationships, and I feel like I am just now starting to have real relationships with not only the team from America but also our friends we’ve made in South Africa like the Pure Hope team and the Nieu Communities families. Regardless of our short time left, I am glad that we met these people and the experiences we have shared.

These past couple days have been filled with some pretty intense situations, but in a good way. Yesterday, we went back to the Juvenile prison and sat in on the weekly Bible Study led by Pure Hope. Last week, Katie and I joined Wihan and Dian for the art class, but since it was a holiday (Women’s Day!!), only the team from America, Maxi and Chris were present. We discussed our identity in Christ and what that meant for our purpose in life. There was some pretty intense discussion in our smaller groups, and Conrad (one of the inmates) even led the group in discussion and song. It was very inspiring and Jennifer even took notes on the South African hymnals he sang. I was very glad we were able to go and visit the boys again.

Today, after sleeping in an extra 30 minutes (such a blessing!!), we went with Curtis and Braam to visit the Apartheid Museum, Johannesburg, and Soweto. After taking a few courses on South Africa and the Apartheid regime, I was not much surprised by what was presented in the museum. However, I was very pleased with the presentation of the Apartheid era and its affect on the nation and surrounding areas. It was unbiased, objective, but also had a personal feeling about it that allowed you to connect to the stories of individuals who experienced Apartheid and the fight against it. Everyone absorbs the information differently, but there is no way anyone could twist the presentation to be for or against anyone – just cold, hard facts. Then we drove through Soweto, learned a bit about its history, saw Mandela’s house and soccer city. We drove through downtown Joberg and returned home. Later tonight, we are going to see Bang Bang Club, which is a movie about photographers/journalists who documented the terrors and violence in the fight against Apartheid. I’ve heard it is graphic, and I am honestly concerned that I’ll be able to stomach it. We’ll see how that goes, and hope that it’s good.

Thank you to all who have had us in our prayers; we have certainly felt them and enjoyed our time here.

- Kristin.