2008 Trip to South Africa Blog

Dear friends in Christ,

Well, I?ve now been home for a week, and I?ve been struggling too
deeply from jet lag to write a last trip letter. Today I hope to
rectify that. (from the end of the letter? not finished till yet
another week later!!!)

The trip home took 35 hours from the time I left the place where I
stayed Friday evening till I was at my home? what a journey!
Nevertheless it was filled with meeting many interesting people and
having many interesting conversations. Most notable was a scientist I
met who was on his way to a conference in Senegal. He is working to
get vitamin enrichment into local corn and wheat products as we have
had in the United States for quite some time? he was explaining to me
how much that basic enrichment cuts back on problems such as spinal
bifida and other birth defects. He said that in South Africa since
they have begun to enrich the corn meal products it has cut the spinal
bifida rate in half!

Anyhow, that?s a piece of trivia that suggests some of the basic
things that people are working on.

As for us, before we left, 33 baby rabbits had been born, an incubator
had been repaired, and we had coached on numerous little pieces that
one couldn?t assume that someone would know about.

What I?d like to tell a bit about in this email is something close to
the hearts of many in Southwest MN? the planting of corn and beans.
Now, planting of corn and beans in South Africa isn?t exactly the same
as in Minnesota. For instance, the people that we are connected with
have equipment that has been cast off many times over. Lee Johnson
from Sleepy Eye said he?s never seen such an old two row planter.
When we were in South Africa last time we were asked to help a
cooperative in Rorke?s Drift get off the ground. It never happened.
Anyhow, when we were getting ready to go this time, a new request
came? that was that the women of the local congregation wanted to use
the land to raise cash crops to help the local church women?s
organization as well as help the local congregation. This project had
the green light from the Shiyane Partnership Committee. The beginning
of the second week we stopped in to see the land. The land had lain
fallow for about 15 years. It had been plowed once. We looked. We
talked. We agreed to be back the following Tuesday as long as the
land had also been disked. There had been a good rain. When we
returned, the land had been disked. Lee said that it also needed to
be dragged. They then tried to figure out the correct planting plate
to use. There wasn?t really one available that was for beans. So
they had to plant very very slowly and go over every part 3 times?
the gift of the whole thing was that in the process of going through
all of this we were able to demonstrate by working with people just
how it should be done? certainly had there been better equipment it
would have gone much easier. Nevertheless, the planting got done.
what did they plant? Half round-up ready white corn (a first for the
people we were working with) and half a bean that is called a sugar
bean. It looks a lot like a pinto bean. However, as close as I can
figure out it is a bean that is specific to South Africa and is a
major crop there and an important part of their diet. It was about
13-15 acres. The beans particularly really looked good at first.
Now, since then there has been no rain. The people are worried. So
far we have been able to reassure them that that will mean that the
roots will go down deeper? not a bad thing. There?s a lot of
learning? how to calculate a hectare, how to figure out planting
populations? many things that perhaps our farmers take for granted
but with quite basic equipment and not a lot experience they are the
things that are needed. To me it is a gift that we can offer to
people. Not that they couldn?t get some of the help in another place.
Nevertheless, so far it hasn?t happened. So, somehow the chemistry
is good. I think that is a bit of God?s grace. We have some
technical expertise to offer. There?s a lot of local wisdom as well.
It is good. God is in the mix.

Now, it has been a full 2 weeks since I?ve been home. Getting this
email out has been quite the challenge? I?ve been pulled in many
different directions. And now it is Christmas week. we have had many
followup conversations. About rabbits and chickens and maize (corn)
and sugar beans. And we?ve also talked about relationships and the
workings of God.

If I understand correctly, in the next week another 30 rabbits are due
to be born.
Another 250 chicks or so will be born.
We pray for rain.
We know that this is the season in South Africa where everyone gets
together with family. Things stop. Many businesses and factories
close for 2 or 3 weeks. There?s time for celebration.

God chose to enter our world and see us face to face. In doing so, he
offers to us the strength to be caring and loving. He empowers us to
empower others? it has been our privilege to offer that grace and
mercy to some wonderful friends on the other side of the world. I
pray that this Christmas season you might know that same grace in your
life? Empowered by God?s grace may you extend that same grace to
others. It is one of the best gifts that we can offer?

Peace on earth
Jesus is born!
Rebecca for Lee, Elizabeth, Dan, Barb, Kevin, and Tim

PS? just so you know, I can?t begin to describe how perfectly God put
together our team for this trip? totally amazing? thanks to each and
every one!!!

What a day. Actually, what a week!

I think that I?ll start from the end and move back. Today (well,
yesterday by the time I had time to finish this) we had the privilege
of participating in a Circuit Rally Sunday. This is a celebrative
time when people from the 38 congregations of the Shiyane Circuit all
come together for a festive worship service? (It would be the
equivalent of all the people from all the churches in Watonwan River
Conference coming together for worship.) Of course, not everyone
comes. Nevertheless, I would estimate that there were a good 500
people there. Now, this service was a full 6 hours. There was
standard liturgy, however, a standard worship service is closer to 2
hours, so the full liturgy is much longer than in the States. Each
piece is longer? for instance the kyrie is sung and sung? and it is
wonderful.

The rally Sundays are a time for the whole circuit to come together.
Part of the purpose is fundraising. Like in the US, the circuits in
South Africa struggle to have enough finances. Their structure at the
circuit level is that the dean is paid from circuit funds. The dean
has many more responsibilities than in the States? basically all the
vacant parishes are his responsibility. And in many ways he is more
like a ?deployed? synod minister. There is an expectation that each
of the parishes would contribute a certain amount based on their
membership. There is a grand procession as each parish brings up their
offerings. Each parish has prepared a song. In some ways it is a
competition because the amounts are announced at the very end of the
service. Nevertheless, there is also a way that many people from
other parishes will come in solidarity with the smaller parishes. And
the competition is based not on actual money but on the percentage
given above the expected amount. That makes things a bit easier for
the smaller congregations. Anyhow, after each parish presented their
offerings we too were asked to present our offering. So we processed
singing Soon and very Soon we are going to see the king. Others
joined us in the procession. And soon everyone was singing as well.
It was quite awesome. After the offerings, which maybe took an hour
and a half, then we went on to the Holy Communion. We had stations
all over the hall, and all the pastors (including me) participated in
serving communion. After that there was the presentation of the
Watonwan River delegation. A person from the partnership committee
explained the different projects that we are involved in. a chicken
was placed up on the ?stage? and paraded around while he talked. We
were each introduced and then we presented to the dean elect, Rev.
Dladla, 2 chickens as a symbol of our partnership work. We are
actually giving him 10 as a symbol of his solidarity and support with
the project

Oh, yes, everything takes longer than one might think. Today Rev.
Duma and Dan were going to drive to Ladysmith, less than an hour away
to take his mother to the ?bus? and buy feed. Well? they were going
to leave about 6:30 this morning. Between Dan and Lee wanting to get
more eggs into the incubator and wanting to do a count on all the
breeding stock and and and, and then also the one more things on the
other side I don?t think they left till 11:30. they aren?t yet back?
and it is almost 5PM? one learns to roll with the unexpected. It
will be fun to hear of their adventures when they return.

Here?s the great news?. The 1st pregnant rabbit gave birth to 7
babies. We had purchased 8 pregnant does and 6 ready to be bred does
so that we could teach each aspect of the process. The young adults
having simply a great time? the talk is of how can we come back. Lee
and Elizabeth had a great idea and brought along a bunch of different
games? the young adults from both sides of the ocean have been
playing till late in the night?

This past Friday and Saturday we held an agricultural workshop. We
had discussions on varieties of garden seeds, how to use roundup ready
corn, caring for chickens and caring for rabbits, as well as record
keeping practice. Someone asked how to calculate a hectare, so we
talked about that and then went outside and practiced it on a field
that had just been plowed. You know, there are many little ways that
we see God at work. Here is one of them. Dan brought along a bunch of
candy that he purchased after Halloween. Among them was a bunch of
candy corn. We had really given him a bad time about bringing it.
So, who would have thought? When we got to talking about planting
corn and spraying, there wasn?t much clarity. So, Dan got out his
candy corn, we ?planted? it on the middle of the floor demonstrating
planting distances and then put we demonstrated hand spraying
technique. Of course, we all ate a bunch on the way (NO? not what
was on the floor!!!)

As for the chickens we have also had a breakthrough there. We have
?solved? most of the little problems. However, there was one larger
problem? people seemed to only want to buy the fully grown chickens.
It seems that the corner has been turned. We brought all the smallest
chickens to the workshop, and those were all purchased. Then we gave
10 of the larger ones (maybe 6 week old) to Rev. Dladla, and others
have purchase a bunch more. There is the potential for a different
distribution plan that may just work better.

We will be going to Rorke?s Drift tomorrow for another consultation
about the land there they want to plant. Hopefully it will also get
planted tomorrow. Local wisdom says that the top part can be sugar
beans (kinda like a pinto bean) and the bottom part corn. Simpson,
the plower, says that the bottom half is too heavy for beans? This
will be a first for them using roundup ready white corn.

Its hard to believe but we really only have 3 more days. Then it is
off to Johannesburg.
There?s a lot to get done before then. Nevertheless, since this is
the 1st day that I had the possibility of writing in a long time I
thought that I should do that.

God?s peace and blessings!
Rebecca for Dan, Barb, Lee, Elizabeth, Tim, and Kevin

SauBono from South Africa

The weather has warmed up and stopped raining here. I thought the
country was beautiful before now I see it and it is even more
beautiful!!!

So far we have traveled to many places. We got rabbits at Campdown 8
bred 6 not and 2 bucks. They were very nice.

I was very amused when I saw a sign on a door saying ?closed due to
weather? it was only raining so how can they close. I found out that
it meant the door was closed, not the business. It is custom to leave
the door open when you are open for business.

I had a local youth go with Dan, Rebecca and I over to the town that
Elizabeth and the rest are and on the way back I had Freedom take
pictures of the countryside because I had to concentrate on driving so
could not enjoy the sites. I told her that she should take the
pictures so when I got back home I could then see what the countryside
looked like. The next time I go to a different country and someone ask
me to be the driver I will say NO. That way I can relax and enjoy.

Tomorrow Dan and I will go to mahayoyo for Sunday worship he has been
sending cards and letters to their Sunday school children since his
last visit so is excited to see them again.

Next week we will be going to see a soy goat it is a machine that
takes soybeans and turns them into milk and a protein biscuit. The
biscuit taste good, but to me there isn?t much that doesn?t taste
good. I am a little disappointed in the food it all taste like
American food. I did have some traditional bread tonight it was very
good. We do have a very good selection of fruit that is in season,
from ripe tomatoes, oranges, apples, apricots, and mangos. Dan bought
a pear tree to give to pastor Duma, we brought it home and then left
to go somewhere when we got back a goat pruned the leaves off of it
for us.

Elizabeth is making a lot of friends most of them are on face book
also so she will have contacts not only in America but also in South
Africa. Her group of Barb, Kevin and Tim are staying at a family
compound that has a house for guest only. Today she and Kevin wanted
to wash some of their clothes but Sheila would not let them. Sheila
washed them by hand, dried them, folded them, and then laid them on
their beds. The party is at their house. Every night between 3 and 5
girls show up at their place to play games until 11:30. And by the way
the pastor also shows up. They like to play Jenga the wooden block
game the most. They didn?t think they would know how to play cards so
they taught the girls how to play go fish. When the girls had to
shuffle it was apparent that this was not the first time that they had
played cards. I heard that one of the girls was sweet on Kevin.

Tuesday we will be going to the Game Park and see the Indian Ocean.
Thursday we will be coming back to work on the chicken project and
rabbits. We want to setup standard operating procedures with pictures
to show how to do everything. It will be challenging but fun.
Time to say goodbye for now will try to email when I can. I love all
of you very much.
Love Lee

–
God’s peace amidst the pieces!
Becky

Dear friends,
Yesterday we traveled to Greener Pastures to pick up the rabbits. ?It
was an amazing place. ?2500 rabbits each carefully tended for.
Careful records kept. ?In addition, geese, dogs goats, cats, all
living together in harmony. ?Quite amazing. ?Their eventual dream is
to assist the local people in raising rabbits? ?so they were very
helpful to us. ?We stayed about 3 hours, and came away with a wealth
of knowledge. ?The we were 3 youth, one church leader, and Pastor
Duma, in addition to our whole group. ?What is so fun is to see our
young people, Kevin and Elizabeth interacting with the Shiyane youth.
We had 2 pickups and 2 Avanzas (7 passenger vehicles)? ?we got 8 cages
and 16 rabbits into the cages? ?we purchased 8 pregnant females, 6
other females, and 2 bucks. ?Meanwhile, the youth have been hard at
work making more cages for the other rabbits. ?When we got to
Enthembeni it was simply a delight to hear the laughter as camaraderie
as they were building cages together. ?Elizabeth was the expert on the
ground? ?take this rabbit, put it there. ?Tim was the master ?builder?
?sometimes one of the young people were hitting a finger, but the
cages were turning out well. ?Oh yes, you might want to know? ?we got
the 8 cages for the 8 pregnant females. ?They must settle in right
away so we ordered those cages ready to go. ?However, within a week
we?ll have 40-50 more rabbits? ?they do multiply rapidly!!! ?The youth
are playing games at night. ?They are laughing and enjoying one
another?s company. ?What a gift!

Today we hope to negotiate out the ?plan? for management? ?quite
different for having fun building cages together. ?We seek your
prayers as we continue to negotiate and work together.

Oh, yes, the chicks have only been on the antibiotic and different
feed for a short time. ?They are already doing a bit better. ?It is
good to see.

Now, onward to the current day.
Becky for Dan Lee Elizabeth Barb Kevin and Tim

–
God’s peace amidst the pieces!
Becky

–
God’s peace amidst the pieces!
Becky

Dear friends,

I give thanks. ?Thanks to all of your for your prayers.

These have been amazing days. ?God has been at work from moment to
moment. ?Nevertheless, there have been few moments to take time to
write.

Everyone has been so very gracious.

As you know, it took me 3 extra days to get to South Africa. ?When I
got here I had but a day before I needed to teach the preaching
workshop. ?I?d gotten a good sleep on the plane, so things worked out
pretty well. ?There were roughly 35 lay preachers at the workshop.
Rev. Duma translated most of the time. ?My teaching? ?Well, who knows.
?Nevertheless, the blessings included a couple of hours at the
beginning with each participant sharing their greatest joy in
preaching, greatest sorrow, and expectation for the workshop. ?Old and
young. ?Male and female. ?The result was that at the end the decision
was made that the support from the workshop should not end there but
continue. ?I gave many suggestions in how people could get together in
small groups to study a text? ?how could they do that? ?listening to
the text, sharing insights? ?and then we did a bunch on listening to
the gospel, discerning law from gospel. ?We struggled together. ?It
was very good.

Since the rest of the group has arrived many good things have
happened. ?We had a very long time with the chicken farmer? ?seeing
his layout and learning from him. ?It was quite an amazing day. ?Then
that evening we saw one home where chickens were being cared for? ?the
chickens were lively and healthy, just about ready to eat. ?The woman
was beaming with pride? ?they were so very beautiful and I asked her
how she would ever slaughter them. ?Oh, she said, she would get some
more. ?We made a video of her sharing how she was caring for her
chickens.

The next day we had to work with ?going to the feed company to clear
up some communication issues. ?We purchased a bunch of seed for the
agricultural workshop. ?And then we split up? ?the rabbit group in one
direction and those of us going to Wasbank. ?Unfortunately, Rev Duma
and his wife had spent the day turning in their tax return? ?a very
long process that had made them quite late to join us. ?So, we also
went to the agricultural research station. ?With no notice, Erica
vanZyles spent the next 3 hours with us, and suggested that she show
us the next day some very fine community gardens.

Then we arrived in Wasbank. ?Unfortunately the younger chickens here
have been struggling. ?The primary layers look healthy. ?Nevertheless,
the younger ones are diseased. ?After looking over the whole
situation, the next day we returned to Dundee to meet Erica again.
After visiting the community gardens she then took us to her vet who
consulted with us and then refused to take payment. ?It turns out that
the chicks have a respiratory disease. ?The provision of God is that
today we are going to the rabbit facility and while we are on the way
we can stop to purchase the necessary antibiotic. ?God shall have his
way!

then, because the vet took so long, we were late to get to the feed
store again… ?they had gotten the worng feed on mOnday, so we needed
more… ?we arived after hours, and they were gracious enough to let
us in to get what we needed…

Now it is time to take off. ?We are on our way to pick up the
antibiotic and the rabbits.

I suspect that I may be preaching on Sunday? ?don?t know where, and
have not a moment to even contemplate that. ?Perhaps on the road
today? ?we?ll be in the car for about 5 hours.

Oh, I could say so very much more? ?about the beauty of the land and
the people, of how awefully cold it has been? ?(I?ve been wearing
every layer I own). ?About wonderful food and even more wonderful
conversation. ?But now I must go.

Until who knows when? ?God does!

God?s peace amidst the pieces.
Becky, Rebecca, Revkah

Ps? ?the cpap is working fine? ?and slowly I?m catching up on sleep.

–
God’s peace amidst the pieces!
Becky

OK… some of you are getting a 2nd test email. that is because I
missed a bunch of you AND a bunch came back from the 1st batch as
undeliverable.

So, in the midst of packing I’m also getting my email list updated. \

Now, I really have no idea whether or not I will be able to ever
connect with a computer long enough to send something to you-all, but
I hope to.

I fly out of MInneapolis Sunday at 3:30 PM to Amsterdam and then on to
Johannesburg. Because of the time difference, I’ll arrive at 10:30 PM
Monday evening…
anyhow, I’ll begin by being picked up by Rev. Mathe, and have the
privilege of staying in his home over night. Then in the afternoon on
Tuesday I’ll be picked up by Rev. Duma the chicken man and Skhumbuzo
Mntambo our partnership contact. I actually speak with both of them
all the time. We will travel about 7 hours to Rev. Duma’s home, where
i will hopefully have a bit of jet lag recovery time before teaching a
preaching workshop on Friday and Saturday to the lay preachers of the
circuit. Then it will be back to Johannesburg to welcome the rest of
the group. Wow…

anyhow, the long and the short of it is that i have added a bunch more
people, and a bunch of you didn’t receive this the 1st time. so, i’d
like confirmation that you would like to receive this. i’d also like
it if you know of anyone else who would like to be on the list to let
me know. OR if after Sunday, then email the addition to
mattsull@gmail.com. Thanks and God bless you all!

We need your prayers. the other day when i was on the phone with Rev.
Ndlovu we talked long and hard about the rabbit project. however,
when the conversation switched and i said that our prayers were with
him and the other pastors who are so very stretched, he said, “that is
the most important thing you have said to me in this whole
conversation” We who are traveling need your prayers. The people in
South Africa need your prayers. Thanks so much!

God’s peace amidst the pieces!
Becky

PS… oh, yes, there’s always the possibility that i may need to send
out one more “trial” tomorrow. hope that that is ok!

PPS… some of you have asked me about the possibility of
donations… If you wish to contribute the “best” way to do so is
this: send the money made out to WRCPF (Watonwan River Conference
Partnership Fund) and mail it to Jim Branstad 213 2nd Ave. S. St.
James,mn 56081 he will put it in the account and then when I’m in SA I
can use a debit card to use it for purchasing supplies. We will be
purchasing supplies for rabbit housing, for rabbits, for feed for
rabbits till there is an established supply, for seeds… anyhow, if
you wish we would welcome contributions. nevertheless, please don’t
take away from your other committments to do so. Thanks

Dear family and friends,
I am once again about to depart for South Africa. so, I have a
question for you all… you want to be on this email list (in case I
make it to a computer)???

this time there are 7 of us going. I will leave a week early, on
Sunday the 8th… a mere 3 days from now. (don’t ask how much I
still have to do… this is one thing that I’m now getting done!
On the 13 and the 14th I’ll be teaching a preaching workshop to lay
preachers in Shiyane. Then on the 14, 6 more people from Watonwan
will be joining me. We will be focusing on rabbits chickens and
building relationships on both sides of the ocean. all in the embrace
of God who loves us all.
I wish I had more time to tall of all the amazing things that are happening.
More later!

–
God’s peace amidst the pieces!
Becky

I’m slowly recovering from jet lag.

Ah, there are so many stories to tell. But this one comes from a
heavy heart. It keeps echoing through my heart, inviting itself to be
told.

I am a Lutheran. One who understands that God is a God of grace. So,
with that in mind, this is tough.

On Monday of this week I visited the parish of Nazareth, a rural
mountainous parish about an hour’s drive south of Dundee on a dirt
road. The church (and school) at Nazareth was built by the German
mission society in about 1929 for the Zulu people. It has fortress
thick walls, like I would assume old German cathedral walls had.
There is a white German Jesus for an altar painting. A mile or two
down the road is a German Lutheran Church. The people who worship
there still worship in German. There were many mission societies that
came from Germany, so I have no idea if the same group built both
churches or not. However, slowly the people of the Zulu congregation
explained to me what had happened in that remote corner of South
Africa. One of the troubling things of apartheid was that there was
legislation that forcibly separated the blacks and the whites. The
Zulu were deported to areas that the whites didn’t consider to be of
commercial importance. And so it was that the land that the Zulu were
living on in the area around Nazareth was considered to be good crop
land. According to the Zulu telling the story, their German Lutheran
neighbors wanted their land, and so asked the government to have them
deported. I asked for clarity, “Did the white Lutherans do that?”
and they said yes. In fact, they said, to this day the white
Lutherans will have nothing to do with them. A couple of years ago a
man from the white German congregation died. He had been a shop
keeper and in the course of doing business had made many Zulu friends.
And so many Zulu came to his funeral. They were forcibly not allowed
into the church, and had to sit outside during the service. They told
me that there were 2 such instances in the past 3 years. The dean of
the circuit (the lead pastor) told me that to have a visit with the
white German pastor he has to go in through the kitchen (doesn’t sound
like its a regular occurance!!!). He is not allowed in through the
front door. This is today. Not 30 or 40 years ago. The Nazareth
parish only has a few Zulu in it. All the people are 40-50 miles
away, in a new church that they call Nazareth, in honor of their old
home. The church, while structurally sound, has had no tender loving
care for a long time. There aren’t enough people to care for it.
What have we corporately as Lutherans done? Do we own some
responsibility for brothers and sisters abroad who treat their
Lutheran neighbors as though they were less than human? In Germany
during World War II there were many Lutherans that didn’t speak up.
Bonhoeffer did. I’m told that if Germans from Germany visit the area
they won’t have anything to do with their German counterparts in the
area. I expressed my sorrow at the treatment of my Zulu Lutheran
brethren. Strongly. Vocally. But is that where my responsibility
ends? Ignoring my German Lutheran brethren who continue to wound?
I’m not asking these questions because I have answers. I ask because
I ache at what I saw in one little hidden part of the world. Perhaps
unhiding is a part of healing? Lutherans claim to understand grace.
What does grace look like here?

I saw many more effects of apartheid. The Zulu “homeland” (as
designated by the government) is mountainous and rocky. Waste land
that no one else wanted. People struggle to eek out a living. Now
there is the possibility of returning to the good lands that they
lived on before. But when one has been gone for 40 or many more
years, does one leave ones’ current family and friends to return?
Will people be able to make it if they do return? Many don’t have the
technical skills to be competitive.

One of the many destructive affects of apartheid is in the attitudes
toward the land. One of the few ways that a young adult could get an
education was to earn a bit of money working as a “garden boy”… To
say “garden boy” they needed to say no more… it was a humiliating
degrading position that those hungering for an education put up with.
Bheki Mathe, who was with us in Minnesota this past spring, told of
working as a garden boy to put his way through college. He said that
the whites would put his coffee next to the dog house, where the dog
would pee in it. The Zulu were considered no better than dogs. One
of the ways that we affirmed the land was to state that we worked the
land ourselves. Over and over again I stated that we who were from
the US like to get our fingers dirty. In one sermon I stated that one
of the ways that the white South Africans had enslaved the Zulu was to
teach them that to work the land was a degrading thing, not a
privilege. I talked about how God has blessed us and gifted us with
land, Zulu and white alike, and we are invited to care for the land.
Princess, the head of the partnership committee, stated as she
introduced me once that she was amazed to see that a pastor knew
things about gardening. When I would walk into a garden I would feel
the soil, talk with people about my garden and theirs… admiring,
praising, pointing out a few possibilities for raising more produce.
There are simple things, like crop rotation, like proper planting
distances, like removing bugs. Water is a problem. The whites took
the land that has proper clay amounts. They also took most of the
land where there would be adequate water supplies. The Zulu now have
the right to reclaim these lands, but that doesn’t make it easy.

Speaking of images…
http://www.matthewsullivan.org/zagallery/v/rsulliva2008za/2008-02-04/IMG_3903.JPG.html
will give you one view of the church I was speaking of… If
you wish to see a bunch more pictures, Matthew (thanks, Matthew!) has
placed all my pictures on the web. Just back up to
www.matthewsullivan.org/zagallery and you can access all the pictures.
However, it will be a while before I get labels on them (keep
checking back). Linda and David Pedersen have also entered their
pictures from the trip. And they are all labeled. Enjoy!

More later.
May God’s peace guard and guide our hearts and minds as we struggle to
continue to make sense of all the we have seen and heard.
Revkah

I’m slowly recovering from jet lag.

Ah, there are so many stories to tell. But this one comes from a
heavy heart. It keeps echoing through my heart, inviting itself to be
told.

I am a Lutheran. One who understands that God is a God of grace. So,
with that in mind, this is tough.

On Monday of this week I visited the parish of Nazareth, a rural
mountainous parish about an hour’s drive south of Dundee on a dirt
road. The church (and school) at Nazareth was built by the German
mission society in about 1929 for the Zulu people. It has fortress
thick walls, like I would assume old German cathedral walls had.
There is a white German Jesus for an altar painting. A mile or two
down the road is a German Lutheran Church. The people who worship
there still worship in German. There were many mission societies that
came from Germany, so I have no idea if the same group built both
churches or not. However, slowly the people of the Zulu congregation
explained to me what had happened in that remote corner of South
Africa. One of the troubling things of apartheid was that there was
legislation that forcibly separated the blacks and the whites. The
Zulu were deported to areas that the whites didn’t consider to be of
commercial importance. And so it was that the land that the Zulu were
living on in the area around Nazareth was considered to be good crop
land. According to the Zulu telling the story, their German Lutheran
neighbors wanted their land, and so asked the government to have them
deported. I asked for clarity, “Did the white Lutherans do that?”
and they said yes. In fact, they said, to this day the white
Lutherans will have nothing to do with them. A couple of years ago a
man from the white German congregation died. He had been a shop
keeper and in the course of doing business had made many Zulu friends.
And so many Zulu came to his funeral. They were forcibly not allowed
into the church, and had to sit outside during the service. They told
me that there were 2 such instances in the past 3 years. The dean of
the circuit (the lead pastor) told me that to have a visit with the
white German pastor he has to go in through the kitchen (doesn’t sound
like its a regular occurance!!!). He is not allowed in through the
front door. This is today. Not 30 or 40 years ago. The Nazareth
parish only has a few Zulu in it. All the people are 40-50 miles
away, in a new church that they call Nazareth, in honor of their old
home. The church, while structurally sound, has had no tender loving
care for a long time. There aren’t enough people to care for it.
What have we corporately as Lutherans done? Do we own some
responsibility for brothers and sisters abroad who treat their
Lutheran neighbors as though they were less than human? In Germany
during World War II there were many Lutherans that didn’t speak up.
Bonhoeffer did. I’m told that if Germans from Germany visit the area
they won’t have anything to do with their German counterparts in the
area. I expressed my sorrow at the treatment of my Zulu Lutheran
brethren. Strongly. Vocally. But is that where my responsibility
ends? Ignoring my German Lutheran brethren who continue to wound?
I’m not asking these questions because I have answers. I ask because
I ache at what I saw in one little hidden part of the world. Perhaps
unhiding is a part of healing? Lutherans claim to understand grace.
What does grace look like here?

I saw many more effects of apartheid. The Zulu “homeland” (as
designated by the government) is mountainous and rocky. Waste land
that no one else wanted. People struggle to eek out a living. Now
there is the possibility of returning to the good lands that they
lived on before. But when one has been gone for 40 or many more
years, does one leave ones’ current family and friends to return?
Will people be able to make it if they do return? Many don’t have the
technical skills to be competitive.

One of the many destructive affects of apartheid is in the attitudes
toward the land. One of the few ways that a young adult could get an
education was to earn a bit of money working as a “garden boy”… To
say “garden boy” they needed to say no more… it was a humiliating
degrading position that those hungering for an education put up with.
Bheki Mathe, who was with us in Minnesota this past spring, told of
working as a garden boy to put his way through college. He said that
the whites would put his coffee next to the dog house, where the dog
would pee in it. The Zulu were considered no better than dogs. One
of the ways that we affirmed the land was to state that we worked the
land ourselves. Over and over again I stated that we who were from
the US like to get our fingers dirty. In one sermon I stated that one
of the ways that the white South Africans had enslaved the Zulu was to
teach them that to work the land was a degrading thing, not a
privilege. I talked about how God has blessed us and gifted us with
land, Zulu and white alike, and we are invited to care for the land.
Princess, the head of the partnership committee, stated as she
introduced me once that she was amazed to see that a pastor knew
things about gardening. When I would walk into a garden I would feel
the soil, talk with people about my garden and theirs… admiring,
praising, pointing out a few possibilities for raising more produce.
There are simple things, like crop rotation, like proper planting
distances, like removing bugs. Water is a problem. The whites took
the land that has proper clay amounts. They also took most of the
land where there would be adequate water supplies. The Zulu now have
the right to reclaim these lands, but that doesn’t make it easy.

Speaking of images…
http://www.matthewsullivan.org/zagallery/v/rsulliva2008za/2008-02-04/IMG_3903.JPG.html
will give you one view of the church I was speaking of… If
you wish to see a bunch more pictures, Matthew (thanks, Matthew!) has
placed all my pictures on the web. Just back up to
www.matthewsullivan.org/zagallery and you can access all the pictures.
However, it will be a while before I get labels on them (keep
checking back). Linda and David Pedersen have also entered their
pictures from the trip. And they are all labeled. Enjoy!

More later.
May God’s peace guard and guide our hearts and minds as we struggle to
continue to make sense of all the we have seen and heard.
Revkah

Thanks for your prayers!
Rebecca