Prayer From Rondebosch United Church

We heard and were moved by this prayer at our worship at the Rondebosch Church.

Prayer of Intercession

Rondebosch United Church

17^th October 2010

Lord of love, we bring so many emotions with us as we pray together this morning. We are at the same time feeling elated, a sense of privilege, humbled, saddened, shocked, hopeful

We are elated by the good news of human endurance, perseverance, struggle against odds … by the rescue of miners stuck underground for ten weeks; elated by celebrations of life that we find in birthday parties, by achievements in education and at work.

We pray that you will give elation and joy to those who love life.

We are privileged when we hear of the initiative, commitment and compassion of people of all faiths who work to bring healing and love to people who suffer.  People working in rural hospitals and providing care beyond their professional calling; people providing help to communities in need across the globe. People who bring energy to anything they do, who initiate processes that empower people to control their own lives. 

We pray that you will continue to give peace and the knowledge of your presence to those who show such commitment.

We are humbled by the strength of people living in hardship, not giving up; continuing to care as best they can for children, family, friends, community. Humbled by the courage of people who are ill but do not complain; who love no matter what. 

We pray that you will give strength and courage to those who find things harder than they think they can endure; more painful or difficult than we can imagine.  We pray that you will bring healing to those who are ill.

We are saddened by the corruption that appears endemic in our society.  Saddened by crimes that have become excessive in their violence; by a society that has somehow shunned individuals to such a degree that they have turned on that society. Saddened that the excitement of real democracy is turning to cynicism in some and that people are turning inwards to protect rather than outwards to give and encourage and resolve.

We pray that your Spirit will inhabit the lives of people who have the responsibility to bring to justice those who are corrupt or violent. We pray that individual acts of subverting wrongdoing will add to making the whole good; to creating a national determination for sharing the country’s resources, natural and human.

We are shocked by natural disaster and the suffering it brings to so many; shocked by human systems that bring suffering to millions.

We pray that shock will lead us to act.

We do, through faith, usually come around to being hopeful.  There is hope in so many acts that are played out every day: acts of compassion, of determination to make things better for the people in the immediate vicinity; voices that cry out for justice, for laws that enable freedom rather than curtailing it.

We pray for the continued determination to engage in both random acts of kindness and in the willingness to change in ways that create a greater good.

And so we pray for liberation from fears, pride, selfishness and greed. We pray for the liberation to love.

We bring you our prayers through our Lord Jesus

Amen.

Sunday Oct 24th - Rondebosch Church

                     We add our group to the choir at the Rondebosch Church

On Sunday morning we went for the last time to meet our friends and worship at Rondebosch United Church. We went early to rehearse a couple of songs with Carol, the choir director. We introduced her to "Santos" and she taught us a lovely Zulu anthem. It was great to "dance" to the music. Our entire group sang in the choir and filled the loft!

We began worship by singing "Dona Nobis Pacem" in a semicircle around the sanctuary. David and Claudine Harrison and the girls were there and many of the new friends we had made during our week in Cape Town. After prayers and singing, Kathy Helliesen gave her first children's sermon, ever, on the universal language of signing. She ended the sermon by teaching everyone the sign for "I love you." the entire church shared the sign with each other and Kathy was a true hit!  Next came a spirited song on the marimbas by the youth. Pastor Robert Steiner surprised us by giving us a small marimba to take back to FCCB.

Robert preached and I led communion, FCCB style, by intinction, something that was new for Rondebosch congregation. We were "prayed over" by Herbert, a refuge from Zimabawe and then service ended with us singing the Irish blessing, to each other.

After a wonderful coffee hour,with more African  music and some fantastically

   Wild Zulu dance moves, we piled back into our vans to head home and pack for Johannesberg later in the day.   - Pat deJong

Monday, October 25th- Back in Jo'burg

We meet with Queen Monamudi at CIDA College.

From our hotel in Sandton we drove with our driver Collin to pick up Queen at her downtown campus. We were all so excited to meet her after sponsoring her education for the past 4 years. She took a break from her exams to spend the day with us and we found her to be delightful.  We visited the township of Soweto, a museum and craft market.  Queen was very impressed with the African cultural village we toured with grass huts and lots of ceramic scultures. Upon dropping her off she said, "This has been the best day of my life. Without you I would never have had the life I am going to have." We are so proud of her for all she has accomplished.

Becky and Moe Wright

Saturday October 23rd A Free Day at Our House Outside of Cape Town

Our house on Stadler Road in Blouberstrand, North of Cape Town

On Saturday we were able to relax, sleep in and catch up on e-mail and blogging. We spent some time exploring this small seaside community that is a magnet for beach lovers, joggers and surfers. A late brunch held us over until dinner at Rodebosch church. Some of us also attended Pentacostal church Nyanga late in the afternoon. Moe Wright

Lerato Mahoyi Joins us in Cape Town

Lerato in Nyanga, Cape Town

The idea of spending a weekend with FCCB Group at first sounded just great when David Harrison told me about them, when I started commnicating with Paul about travel arrangements I got even more excited. When I met the team I realised that this was just an awesome experience of my life, not only for the fact that I had a weekend away from my normal routine or spent a weekend with people from the states but I learnt quite alot about individuals in South Africa and the States also how different life experiences on the differnet parts of the world can be.

I am a 22 years old young lady from Orange Farm, furthest south of Johannesburg in South Africa. I stay with my mom and 3 little brothers, and they my pillars of strength, they are the reason I wake up everyday and motivate me to be a better person so that I can create a better life for all us. I work at New loveLife Trust in Sandton as a National loveLifestyle Coordinator, having started as just a Mpintshi (friend/volunteer) when I was still in school, grade 10 in 2004.

loveLife is an HIV Prevention Campaign for young people that promotes healthy lifestyle amongst young people and our target market is young people who are between the ages of 12 to 17 to keep them HIV megative by teaching them about issues that might just influence their decisions on sexual issues. These are issues such as alcohol and drug abuse, lack of parental communication, peer pressure, sexual coersion and so much more, we call these drivers of HIV. Reality is that young people know about HIV/AIDS and they just tolerate risk because of the circumstances they find themselves in and loveLife with it's powerful (even when I say so myself - I do because I am the existing evidence of what loveLife can do a young person) group of 1200 grondBREAKERS (also known as Peer Educators) each year has found the most easy way to pass around messages around positive living, identity, sex, sexuality, HIV/AIDS, etc.

I have grown from being just a Mpintshi at the loveLife Youth Centre in Orange Farm to being a groundBREAKER and now a staff member, a youth leader in my community and I have been through a few challenges in my life, being abused by my step dad when growing up, fighting a battle to be understood by my own my mom that I needed to join loveLife and be part of  a moving generation, attacked and raped in December 2007 and again February 2010 in my own neighbourhood, the same place that is supposed ot be home to me. Being a loveLife generation provides young South Africans with possibilities of a new future despite all the trials and tribulations and believing that God is always with you helps alot.

Now meeting with the FCCB Group has also taught me alot of lessons when it comes to personal development and atending to social and environmental issues. I think it's great that at church one is regarded as family, a sister, a broither, a father, a mother, a friend. Dinner at Rondebsch Church with the team was an eye opening for me as a young person who is passionate about youth development, HIV and social issues affecting young people. The team speaks well of the work that loveLife does, and I believe it is great that the organisational work had this effect on people, it really motivates us (young people) to do more and better.

I would love to thank David Harrison for putting me in touch with such a warm hearted elderly group that made me feel at home, the first night in the house with them was like I have known them forever. Food is one of my favorite things in the whole world, and yes they fed me, we sang together and I was so happy and open to share with them as they also were. The singing at the choir practise was just awesome, we learnt a song that goes Akekho o fana noYesu (There is no one like Jesus) when we sing and read at the same time, it's so easy but when you take the papers away, all you hear is humming, hilarious.

FCCB Group, South Africa 2010 ROCKS - like I would say in my South African funky way, AYOBA FCCB AYOBA........

I believe that our paths will cross again.

Regards and many thanks
Lerato Patricia Mahoyi

Friday October 22 - Stellenbosch and Franschoek

        The Winelands view from Franschoek

Today we got up early to drive about an hour out to the winelands near Somerset West to meet Helen Hutchi, a member of Rondebosch Church, who is an accomplished tour guide. She lead us on a tour to the winelands surrounding the town of Stellenbosch and a lunch in Franschoek.

Our first stop was the Fairview winery and farm. This place was a large farm that had been run by a family for three generations. They produced wine and cheese and we had a wonderful sampling of various wines and cheeses to go with them. We heard a story about one wine called "Goats do Roam". The name got them in legal trouble with the French wine authorities.

Our next stop was for lunch at the La Petite Ferme in the town of Franschoek. It is a restaurant that has a small winery attached to it. Most of the wine produced by the winery is consumed in by the patrons who dine there. It has a beautiful view of the winelands. The town it was settled in the 17th century by the Huguenots, a Protestant group that left France in search of religious freedom. They brought wine making and a tradition of fine food with them. We had a wonderful meal and a little more wine tasting.

The last part of the day was a short drive and walk around old Stellenbosch. This town was founded in 1679 by Dutch settlers. It has a large central square with Cape Dutch houses and other buildings interspersed with buildings of English, Georgian architecture. This town of about 100,000 today shows its colonial roots as it was variously governed by the Dutch or the English over the past centuries before becoming part of modern South Africa.

Thursday October 21- District 6 Museum

                    Plaque outside the District 6 Museum asking forgiveness for displacing so many people.



We were moved to hear the story of a once vibrant mixed and multi-religious area of Cape Town known as District 6.  Our tour guide, Joe, grew up in District Six with tolerance and respect for his neighbors.

In 1966, District Six was declared a white group area.  By 1982, the life of that community was over and 60,000 were forceably removed, their houses flattened by bulldozers, to barren outlying area aptly know as the Cape Flats. 

The museum uses story telling as a way of recovering the memory of forced removals.  The goal is "to rekindle the fires of community, mobilize the spirit of giving and sharing, of laughter, of life lived in homes and public spaces, of creativity and volunteerism that was the cornerstone of the old area, a spirit called Kanala."

The Museum has photographs and memorabilia from District Six as wells as street maps.  Many of the maps are now signed by the people who were forceably removed and now returned to the Museum.  The Museum provides a connection to the old community, now divided and separated at several Townships.

- Bob & Bonnie Hester