Cultural Experiences

I have had many fun opportunities recently to enjoy Xhosa culture; music, festivities, food, and traditions. Let me tell you a bit about the church dedication ceremony in Philippi-- but first an explanation of the white face paint you see below...

In Xhosa culture, the face is decorated with white paint during times of celebration or for traditional festivities and ceremonies. We have had a lot to celebrate lately! Most significant is the new church building in Philippi that was just completed! Let me tell you about the church and the recent dedication service and celebration of this new building... The photo above is the interior of the new building taken from the top balcony looking down. This church is one of the tallest buildings in Philippi and the cross on top of the tower can be seen from long distances away. This building serves not only as a strong and beautiful structure for the people of Philippi to worship, but also as a physical symbol in the community of hope, growth, peace, change, and development. "UZUKO KU THIXO" means "Praise be to God"
Directly following the dedication service we enjoyed a Xhosa feast which we helped prepare the day before. A cow was slaughtered right on the church grounds (after being led over to the church on a rope). A man leaned over to me and said, "...this is the freshest meat you will ever eat!" I was fascinated to see how every piece of the cow was put to use. The "mama's" (older women in the community) traditionally get to enjoy the brain while the eyes are saved for the oldest and most respected man. I got to see the whole process of cleaning, scraping, shedding, cooking, and serving-- it was really something! I now know that there is a lot of work that goes into making those nicely cut slabs of meat that are cleanly packaged in Saran wrap for us at our local grocery stores. As I was sitting in the kitchen of the new church peeling potatoes with a group of mama's I was shocked to see a pile of about 15 goat heads under one of the tables on the kitchen floor (right next to where we were working). One of the girls in the room must have seen my shock because she smiled and picked up one of the heads without even thinking twice! I couldn't believe it! Needless to say that little goat head is now in the stomach of a nice, happy, church-goer who celebrated with us the new church building God provided in Philippi! "Celebrate good times, come on"... (African style!!!)

Beautiful South Africa

Lately I have been profoundly aware of just how beautiful South Africa is! Last weekend I spent the day at the beach (pictured above) and enjoyed watching people play volleyball, wind surf, and casually walk along the waters edge.
These past few weeks I have spent the majority of my time working at the farm (Bridges Academy/Retreat Center), which is shown in the picture above. Each day that I drive out to the farm I am struck by the brilliant green of the vineyards and hills complemented by the magnificent blue sky. It is so beautiful!
This is a photo of some of the mountains ("hills" if you are from Colorado) that surround the town of Stellenbosch (where I live). At night, when the sun sets, the hills turn pink and purple against the darkening sky-- it is amazing! I have a view of these hills from the window of my flat just above my kitchen sink (which makes doing the dishes a little nicer)!
This is another picture of Bridges Farm where we have been spending a lot of our time painting, scraping, tiling, and remodeling to prepare it for the upcoming orphan retreat in December.
Above is a picture of the coastal route which runs along the Southern edge of South Africa. Tomorrow I am leaving for a long weekend get-away to enjoy this stretch of beach. Three friends and I are taking this road and stopping along the way to surf, eat at fun restaurants, enjoy leisurely walks on the beach, play volleyball, and maybe throw the frisbee around. Our final destination is a beach town down the coast. I am truly so blessed to live in this beautiful country and experience God's creation by going on road trips, hiking, backpacking, camping, working on the farm, and looking out of my kitchen window!