Why debrief? A Dr. Morgan explanation

Our two-month intercultural studies internship ends with four days of “debriefing” and re-entry preparation. Nascer do Sol is a cluster of cottages nestled among the sand dunes on the Indian Ocean coast in Mozambique. At this location, the coastline runs east-west rather than north-south, so we watch both the sunrise and the sunset over water. The view is stunning. The sound of the ocean is relaxing.

People often ask why we put so much emphasis on the debrief time. Is it a vacation? These students have worked hard the past 8 weeks, and have lived much of it in conditions most Americans have only seen in fundraising ads from World Vision. And they’ve done it without complaint. So, a mini-vacation would be appropriate and well-deserved. We do try to choose a nice place, with recreational opportunities (watching Minnesotans experience salt water and ocean breakers for the first time can be rather humorous), where the students can be “American” again after weeks of living in and adapting to other cultures

But the debrief is much more important than that. The students have read a book called Re-entry and written out thoughtful answers to a number of questions in preparation for this time. They spend about five hours each day in meetings; remembering, reflecting, processing, explaining, praying, and, where necessary, reconciling. Multiple research studies have shown that lasting change from short term mission trips is almost nonexistent. Despite what they may say right at the end of the trip, within days or weeks, participants are back into normal life routines, habits and values. Education should be about positive change, and Christian education should be about change that conforms us to the image of Jesus (see Romans 8:29). So we invest a lot in this internship to produce transformation that will last. The debrief is an important and necessary part of that transformation process. I won’t bore you with all that takes place, but one thing the students do is write a letter to themselves, putting on paper the changes they have decided they want to make as a result of what they learned on this internship. No one else reads this letter. We will mail it to them in six months, so they can evaluate how they are doing on the changes they said they wanted to make. Fifteen ICS internships and hundreds of students later, consistent feedback tells us the debrief time is critical to the learning process. And, the view is stunning J.

Post internship reflections from Papa Garry, aka Dr. Morgan

The clock tells me it’s 6:30a.m. I lie in bed wondering why my mind is so active but my body doesn’t want to move. In Mozambique I routinely got up at 4:45; what’s the problem? Jetlag? Two days ago, my body crossed 8 times zones in just over 16 hours, so some internal “confusion” should be expected. Is it the cold? I lie in a warm cocoon of blankets. To get up requires subjecting my body to cold it hasn’t felt in many weeks. The dark? The sun was already up at 4:45 in Mozambique. But this is something more. What? Then, I realize, it’s q-u-i-e-t. The insulation and double-paned windows in my house seal out not only cold, but sound. I listen harder. On my residential street in Minneapolis, at 6:30 in the morning there’s no sound to be heard anyway. No roosters crowing; no geese honking; no birds chirping; no women singing as they walk to the fields to cultivate their crops before the day gets too hot; no insect the size of a golf ball buzzing at the screen outside a window that is always open because of the heat; no sheet metal roof overhead popping and creaking as it expands in the heat of the rising sun. All the cues that tell me it’s morning are missing. It feels like a different world, not just another spot on the same planet that can be reached in a 16-hour plane ride. But it is the same world. And it’s the world Jesus entered as a baby so that he could redeem us from our sin. The world Jesus experienced while on earth was much more like the one in Mozambique that I stayed in for a few weeks than the one I call home in Minnesota. And he calls people from all of the “worlds” on this planet to follow him. So I pray for strength, throw off the blankets, and begin another day of my earthly journey with Jesus.

The Long Goodbye

We're back, safe and sound, greeted at the airport by lots of shrieks of happiness at being reunited with families and friends.  The delayed flight out of Johannesburg was a blessing, giving us nights of sleep at hotels both in Jo'Burg and again in Atlanta, at the airline's expense.  It helped ease us out of village life back into American life.  We had just talked about re-entry issues at our debrief retreat, and it was good to be able to slow down the return trip, eager as everyone was to get home.

So, the internship is over, but there's so much to process for each one who went.  Living life in Africa, at Africa's pace...seeing how scaled down our lives could be in countless ways...being part of a "family" of 16 from Northwestern College 24/7 for two months...seeing the world and cross-cultural ministry through new eyes...being challenged in both good and hard ways...but always finding God there in the midst of life...thank you, Lord.  And thank you, family and friends for cheering us on.

This blogger is now signing out.  For those who are interested, there will be an evening's trip presentation at NWC in February to which all are welcome.  We will try to re-create some of the special memories of the trip!

Last Day in South Africa

Celebrating African-style

Painting the wall at Volta a Biblia

Flight from Johannesburg has been cancelled. Change in arrival date!

This message is being generated Stateside on Monday, December 12th:

We have just received word from Dr. Garry Morgan that their original flight from Johannesburg. South Africa has been cancelled.   Flight information will be sent to those listed on the emergency contact list by email shortly.  Arrival to Minneapolis/St. Paul will be delayed by one day.

If you are on the emergency contact list, please, continue to monitor your email for updates.

Mary Hawley
Adminstrative Assistant for CMD on behalf of the Team

Team Birthdays

We’ve had a few team birthdays on our two-month trip. Evan’s was last week. Dani turned 20 yesterday, the day after we returned from Crocodile village.  She didn’t plan it this way deliberately, but it just happened that a “day off” at the beach was on the schedule.  Days off have been rare, and this was the first we could remember in a long time!  It was also the first day of December, and being on the south side of the equator, it seemed like a delicious idea to swim in turquoise waters and have a nice lunch at a restaurant over-looking the white sand. 

Here’s an up-to-date picture of the team on Dani’s birthday.  Tina, we also want to wish you a happy birthday back at home, and we can’t wait to see you at the airport!

We have a few more days of activities here at Volta a Biblia, including our daily work of building an irrigation system for a citrus orchard.  There’s a lot of muscle power on this team!  Then, the last leg of the trip will be four days of debrief on the coast at a secluded set of cottages before starting our journey home.  Students are holding up, and want to finish well.

Crocodile Village

Our team spent four days and nights in the village of Ngwenya, which means crocodile.  Miles from any paved road, the area really consists of scattered humble mud and reed houses, surrounded by open grassy fields and small cultivated farm plots.  Electricity and running water have not reached this area.

We were invited by a pastor from that village who teaches at Volta a Biblia. He wanted us to be able to experience the life of rural Africans as close-up as possible.  We knew that we would be rising early with them to go to their fields, and to follow them through the activities of a normal day, participating as much as possible.  Foreign visitors had never spent the night with them before, and it was a great honor to them, and a moving, humbling experience for us.

When we arrived to a big welcome from the extended family and neighbors and local village authorities, we were divided into smaller groups and taken to one of four homes within shouting distance of each other to become members of our new “family.”  Some slept on reed mats on the dirt floor of tiny one-room houses, sharing space with their hosts and children. Others crowded into beds that had been vacated by their hosts.  Some slept in tents that we had brought along.  Without a common language for most, communication often consisted of smiles and gestures.  “It’s now time to eat.”  “It’s time for a bath”  (a warmed basin of water behind an outdoor reed screen).  We had already learned a few basic Shangaan greetings, but little by little the vocabulary grew to include “water”, food names, people’s names, and other important survival words.

When we woke up early in the morning, we found that the household had risen long before to sweep the compound and to work on making reed mats, their primary source of income.  They were eager to get to their fields by 5:30 a.m. to get in some hours of work before the sun got too hot.

Over the course of the four days, these were some of the things that became part of our African rhythm of life, and new skills learned:

·         Walking a mile to the farm plots to hoe and harvest cassava, sweet potatoes and greens

·         Passing by the river where the community gets its water, spear fishes with bamboo poles, ladies bathe and swim after working the fields and people wash clothes

·         Learning how to weave reed mats on an outdoor loom

·         Learning to pick a variety of greens to sort, slice, and prepare for meals (eaten with rice or “pap,” which is stiff cornmeal porridge)

·         Killing chickens! (Eleven had to be butchered for a farewell feast, and almost everyone on the team had a chance to dispatch one)

·         Plucking feathers from chickens you’ve just butchered

·          Cooking all meals over outdoor wood fires

·         Preparing “millies” (corn) from grain to table by the traditional African method - pounding,  grinding, mixing with water and cooking (involves LOTS of stirring)        

·         Learning new African songs and celebratory dances

·         Watching how children are cared for in a traditional setting: a communal effort

·          Being amazed at how skilled a five year old girl can be peeling cassava with a sharp knife

·         Seeing how the household community works in harmony with many daily chores

·         Observing that doing things together is the norm; being alone seems unacceptable

·         Being good-naturedly laughed at for not knowing “basic skills” of life

·         Seeing how no resource is wasted; every drop of water is hand carried from a distance  

Many mental images will remain from the stay in Crocodile village, including the sweet friendships that formed with the families who lavished us with love and laughter.  One that will stand out for me was this:  at the farewell feast (freshly butchered chicken, pap and rice), the pastor's wife thanked us for coming, and as we women on the team stood to the sound of singing, she took traditional African head scarves that matched the one she was wearing, and tied one on each of our heads.  It seemed like a fitting initiation ceremony into a way of life that had seemed strange and difficult the day we arrived, but now seemed almost normal to us.

Thanksgiving in Mozambique

(Connie wants everyone to know this post is written by her husband : )).

Unlike Christmas or Easter, Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday. For the rest of the world, including Mozambique, Thursday, November 24 was just another weekday. The team dug irrigation ditches. I (Garry, aka Dr. Morgan) taught my Islam course. Life at Volta a Biblia went on as normal - almost.

Late morning it began to rain - hard - and went on for the rest of the day. We discovered that puddles will even form in sand if it rains hard enough. The geese that roam the school compound thought they were in heaven. Laundry that had been hung out in the morning was quickly gathered and draped inside wherever there was space. It looked like a bleak afternoon.

Connie and I are staying in a house previously occupied by a South African  missionary family that returned home several years ago. A number of girls on the team came over to the house, wearing aprons they had purchased in South Africa. Connie pulled out a few surprise items she had picked up at a supermarket in South Africa before we left. Before long the aroma of oatmeal cookies wafted from the oven of our propane stove. Then the rest of the team came over and we had coffee, tea and cookies warm from the oven. While the rain pounded down outside, we sang praise songs and gave thanks to God. Then Willem was prodded into telling a few stories, like how Volta a Biblia began (he literally built it from the ground up while living in a tent) and how he proposed to Carol (after the Land Rover got stuck hood-deep in a mud hole).

It wasn't turkey and cranberry sauce, but we were truly thankful and I expect it will be one of the more memorable Thanksgiving days for many on the team.

Journey to Mozambique

A lot of dreams came true last weekend as our team got to experience a real African safari. Our route from South Africa to Mozambique (17 hours on two buses, which included a night of “sleep”) took us near an entrance to Kruger National Park. We had booked two nights at a small Christian retreat center nearby, overlooking the Crocodile River, which lived up to its name.  On Saturday, a full day’s game drive through the park gave us glimpses of many African animals – elephants, giraffe, lions, zebras, hippos – just to name a few!  It was a perfect break before we transitioned to our next destination on Sunday.

Thankfully, the border crossing into Mozambique went smoothly and quickly, and now we are located in the southeast corner of the country in a town called Macia.  We are staying at a Bible school that trains African rural pastors, hosted by a special couple named Willem and Carol Nel.  Carol happens to be the sister of Garry Morgan, so there’s a nice family feel being here with my sister-in-law and her husband.  Willem has a number of practical projects for the Northwestern students here.  They’ve been hard at work helping to put in an irrigation system for the orange trees on the compound.  Today some students spent several hours roasting and preparing peanuts to make peanut butter, which the Bible school students sell for fund-raising.  Others walked to a nearby church to have English practice and discussions with some Mozambique young people. Before supper, there was a short class on the local Shangaan language so that our students can at least learn some basic greetings to use with the local people.  Portuguese language knowledge has also come in handy as a bridge language for some.

Life in Mozambique is much less modern and developed than South Africa, and it seems that our ICS team is enjoying getting into the rhythm of a more rural lifestyle.  They’re even getting used to starting their day at 5:00 a.m. to have morning devotions with the Bible school students, followed by shared outdoor chores with the students before breakfast.  Garry is teaching a four and half-hour per day course on Islam for the Bible school students this week, which is being translated into Shangaan.

We don’t have any easy access to internet while we’re here, so it’s more of a challenge to post blog updates, and that’s also the reason the picture downloads haven’t been working.  But be assured that everyone’s doing well, despite a few coughs and colds that come and go.

I’m sure the students will all be thinking of home a bit more on Thanksgiving.  We’ll imagine the smell of turkey in the air!  We won’t be celebrating here until the 6^th of December, which is the end of the school term.

On the Road Again! Small Group Update

Due to Internet difficulties, this post was emailed to NWC and posted Stateside.  We apologize for not being able to post the pictures at this time with the update.  Hopefully, in a few days the pictures will be added to the post. :)

Hey everyone! This is Stephanie (Morgan not Manthey) here with a brief update. Our team is no longer in Luskikisiki – we are back “home” at Sondela. Here at Sondela we are more at ease and resting. Our hosts, Barry & Louise Atkins, cook delicious food for us each day and we are so blessed to be in their care. The weather here has been sunny and breezy, so we have had a lot of time outside J Tonight we will be leaving this place we have come to love and bussing to the next phase of our journey. It will be a challenge to be on the road again, but thankfully we have gotten some rest and rejuvenation here at Sondela. Below is an update from each of our small groups – Portugal, South Africa, and Mozambique. Enjoy!

Steph Manthey: “I learned to dance filled with the joy of the spirit. I’ll show you some moves when I get back.”

Chris Vang: “Being stripped of my daily comforts, I shout for joy in knowing that every single breath is a blessing.”

Ali Gunderson: “I praise God for his grace in my life as I learn more and more everyday about Africa, about God, and about my wonderful team.”

Emily Hein: “We have gained just a glimpse into South Africa as a country by riding the buses, knowing the people and speaking in the churches. We are stretched to love people enough to share the hope of Jesus by word and example everywhere we are.”

Priscilla Martinez-Carlos: “I am becoming a woman of faith and prayer.”

South Africa has been really, really great, to say the least.

Our team misses everyone at home: family, friends and especially, Tina.

United States’ food can’t compare to South Africa’s, especially their scones.

“T.I.A.” This is Africa. And, thank you.  For your prayers.  For your thoughts. We can feel them.

Halleluyah. Maga-bong-weh. Halleluyah. Maga-bong-weh.

All the memories and friends we’ve made here will be remembered forever.

Fridays are no longer what we look forward to during the week.

Rain has never meant more to us than it does now. We bathed in it, drank it and everything in between those two.

It is possible to fall asleep with cockroaches flying off the walls and falling off ceilings.  Believe us.

Can’t wait to share our stories and pictures, though what we have experienced here couldn’t possibly be put into words or captured through images.

All of us would like to say a few things: “You deserve the best.”  Africa does get cold sometimes. You can do almost anything in a skirt, really.  No alarm clocks are needed, if the roosters don’t wake you up, the children will.  Kari is leaving her heart here in South Africa.  And, last, but not least, God is good and He has blessed us with more than what we could ask for J

Signed,

Team “South Africa” from South Africa
Evan. Kari. Erin. Pazee. (Tina, we miss you)

Greetings from the Mozambique team! In just a few short days we will be entering our final destination which is of special interest to our small group. This is a group photo that was taken at the lake that we visited a couple days ago. It was a beautiful setting for a day of relaxation and soaking up the sun as we had a braai, or a cookout. The small group has just a few thoughts to wrap up processing our time in South Africa, so here are some words from us students:

In Africa we have learned:

Chelsey- 1) Cockroaches can fly. 2) Roosters crow at ALL hours of the night. 3) God and His Word are living and active in my heart and in these people. He is mighty to save!

Dani- 1) I can do anything in a skirt. 2) Sponge baths create great team bonding. 3) Singing “I have decided to follow Jesus” with my mouth and singing it with my heart are two different things—and one is easier than the other!

Mafú- 1) The world knows what eating well is exponentially better than U.S.A-ans. Mom, I now love squash. 2) It is not necessary to know the deceased or really anyone at an African funeral in order to be seated in a place of honor and be a pallbearer—you merely need to be white, Christian, and male. 3) “Solid, lasting missionary work is done on our knees.” Preaching seven different sermons in one day takes “pray without ceasing” to the next level!

Stephanie Morgan- 1) A netti pot works wonders in clearing up sinus infections. 2) Slapping children’s hands is a common form of discipline. 3) Evangelism is key. Sharing Christ is powerful and effective—many times children become saved and later bring their families to salvation!

Sunny- 1) Showering is in fact optional. 2) The “sniff test” takes on a whole other meaning. 3) “I’ve learned to hold everything loosely because it hurts when God pries my fingers from it.” –Corrie Ten Boom

That is a small snapshot into what we are learning culturally and spiritually throughout the adventures of this trip. We appreciate the prayers and ask that you keep them coming! We are praying for those of you at home as well and are excited to see you in a few short weeks. For now though, we will fully enjoy our time in Africa. God bless.

A Week in Lusikisiki

A Week in Lusikisiki

Last Monday, our team loaded into three vehicles.  Garry and I were two of the “designated drivers” to navigate the right-hand drive vans on the left side of the roads – our years of driving the busy and rutted roads of Kenya came in handy!  In the last 10 days, we’ve covered hundreds of kilometers on a variety of road conditions.

Monday’s drive took us through beautiful countryside of rich farmlands nestled below giant cliffs and rocky peaks that opened up to our first view of the Indian Ocean, where we picnicked.  Our final destination for the week was a town in the Eastern Cape Province called Lusikisiki, where we were received by a Xhosa pastor by the name of Robert.  He and his wife and extended family welcomed this big group of gregarious Americans into their compound, vacating several rooms for us to put down our mattresses for sleeping.  We also brought a bright green and white striped vinyl tent to serve as our bath house for taking bucket baths.  The ladies of the house worked around the clock, it seemed, to serve three big hot meals to us each day and to heat up water for the bath house.  Village homes do not have indoor plumbing.  The main source of water at our hosts’ home was a tank that collected rain from the roof of their house, and not wanting to deplete their supply, each day we’d take empty water containers by car to a public water tap down the road to restock the water we were using.  By now, the ICS students are experts at using outdoor pit latrines, as well. 

It’s hard to summarize in a few words just how the week was filled.  Pastor Robert had a lot planned for us.  For example, on two of the mornings, we participated in the assemblies at both a private and public junior secondary school (kindergarten through grade 9).  We will never forget how we were greeted with joyful singing by all those hundreds of uniformed students, as they stood outside in straight rows to begin their day.  Our group did songs and skits, and afterwards was received by the teachers for refreshments and exchange of ideas about education in our two countries. 

Another day, we traveled to a village and took part in a women’s conference at a church – which was also attended by men.  The cultural challenge of this day was huge.  The students saw firsthand the effects of syncretism, where elements of the Bible were taught, but where African traditions were also deeply entrenched.  The elders and women wore special capes and robes and accessories to give them protection from evil spirits.  A candle burned on the altar, signifying the presence of the “angel” of the church, who is actually a departed ancestor.  Loud iron cymbals were beat, along with drums, as they sang.  Pastor Robert, along with our translator for the week, Dumi, had both come out of this tradition before they met Christ, and they are working to bring Biblical truth to churches like these.  Our students had a lot to process after that day’s experience.

Each day, back at Pastor Robert’s, our students were responsible for two events in another tent (a larger yellow and green vinyl canopy which sort of matched the bath house…).  This one was large enough to fit about 75 people.  The students who love to work with kids put on a children’s program for children in the area.  The program was quite popular, and the children would wait eagerly each day for it to start.

In the evening, there would be a meeting for singing, testimonies, and a message.  Each of the guys on the team got to practice homiletic skills.  Jesus was always at the center of each talk, and there were a number of young people who gave their lives to Christ during those meetings.

One young man in the church asked Pastor Robert if he would bring the foreign visitors to his mother’s house.  His mother, a widow, was a witchdoctor, and wanted prayer.  Several of the members of our group went to her house yesterday, along with Robert and Dumi, to see what she wanted prayer for.  It turned out that she had seen such a change in her two sons’ lives in recent months because of their new-found faith in Christ, that she had made up her mind to follow Jesus as well.  So she wanted to make a public profession of Christ in front of the group!  Afterward, she told the pastor that she would be removing her charms and getting rid of all of her paraphernalia. 

One surprise this week was several days of rainy weather with temperatures in the upper 50s at night. The team has pulled out their sweaters, jackets and stocking caps while they ask each other, “Are we really in Africa?” Yes, we are, but this is the rainy season.

It’s been a long and rewarding week.  Saturday, the students had a work party, spending  the morning hauling dirt in wheelbarrows and filling in the foundation of a nearby church building.  I think everyone’s ready for a rest.  Monday we head back to Sondela for a few days to regroup, wash clothes, and rest, before starting the next phase of ICS Fall 2011 – Mozambique.

A Xhosa Funeral

Going to a Xhosa funeral wasn’t on our original schedule, but some of us got to see one close-up.

Over the past weekend, our team was divided into two groups and assigned to a different Xhosa church in two villages in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa.  One group did teaching at a men’s conference.  Another group did house to house visitation with church members and helped in some church services, with Xhosa translators.  We were exposed to (and blown away by) the music that makes South Africa famous.  The beautiful  harmonies and rich voices make the whole congregation sound like a choir.  The singing was a huge part of the service, and even the children had impressive voices.

Back to the funeral.   Our host pastor had been asked to speak at the funeral of an old woman who had recently died, and he invited us to come to the funeral to experience that side of Xhosa culture.  The service took place under a huge rented tent on the woman’s home property.   About three hundred people were crowded underneath.  While the girls on the team sat on benches in the crowd, the “men” (our guys) and myself were ushered to the front, squeezing between the coffin and the front table.  We watched the proceedings within arm’s reach of the coffin.  The service, which lasted a couple of hours, was filled with remarkable singing that went on and on.  Even our Northwestern team was asked to come up and share a song.  We knew we couldn’t begin to measure up to the South African standard, but we sang with our hearts “You’re Beautiful,” which was actually pretty appropriate for a funeral.

Mafu (Mathew), our Brazilian MK who’s always ready for anything, ended up being one of the pall bearers at the end of the service.  A long procession made its way out of the tent to a nearby steep hillside where the grave had been dug.  Prayers and more songs were offered, and the coffin was lowered into the ground.  The officiating pastor gave a final word to the crowd, “And remember, our dear departed is now in heaven.  Her spirit is not here to be appeased, so do not come here to offer your sacrifices to the ancestors.”

Back to the tent we went to be served a huge meal.  Our plates were piled high with food: rice, “nqosho” (beans and maize), beef chunks, chicken, potato salad, pumpkin, beets, cabbage, and apples.  Everyone did their best to clean their plates…

Pictures from South Africa

Running with the Ball

Running With the Ball

Because we are staying on the grounds of a training center that also houses a nursery school, attachments are quickly forming between the adorable little children that come each morning, and our Northwestern students.  Some of the girls visited classrooms this morning, hoping to ?”  They observe early childhood teaching methods.  A couple of them, Sunny and Dani, were “thrown a ball,” and quickly caught the ball and ran with it.  It went like this:

They entered the classroom and were introduced to the children.  The teacher asked them, “Did you come with a lesson to teach, or should we use mine?”  Sunny and Dani were wondering what the polite answer to that would be, so they replied, “It’s better to use yours,” thinking that she would go on to teach her own lesson.   The teacher then introduced them as the” teachers for the day” and handed them her lesson plan.  She said it was a music lesson, and then showed them the sheet, which had four words on it:  “high-low; soft-loud.”  With that lesson plan in mind, they took off running, and taught the children all kinds of ways to make sounds that were high and low, and soft and loud.  They taught them do-re-mi.  They sang songs. They pulled out of their repertoire many fun and creative ways to teach their lesson objectives.  The morning session continued on until recess, and after playing with the children at recess, the teacher asked them if they would like to teach the next lesson as well.   Unfortunately, they had other things on their schedule, so they passed the ball back to the teacher.  When they later  met up with a couple of the other Northwestern students who’d visited another classroom, those girls said, “Guess who got to teach class today?”  “You, too?”

Starting tomorrow, there will be many more opportunities for the team to “run with the ball,” as they have been invited to teach (and other things) in a couple churches throughout the weekend.  Then on Monday, we will be traveling for a week’s stay in a rural setting (about three hours from Mthatha), at the invitation of a pastor there, so we may not have access to internet for a while.   We heard that there used to be an internet café in that town, and hopefully it’s still there!

First Impressions -- South Africa

Usually every couple of days or so, Garry does an informal “debrief” with our students to see how they are processing new experiences.  Last night, after our second full day in South Africa, he asked, “When did you really feel like you were in Africa?”  That was different than the first question, “What did you first notice when we landed in Johannesburg?”  There were comments like, “I love the purple trees in full bloom everywhere” (jacarandas).  “I was surprised to see that most signs are in English.”  “Most of the houses are behind locked gates.”  “I have to stop using Portuguese greetings!”

Soon after arriving, we were taken off on an afternoon tour of the city. We visited Soweto, the black African township that birthed the popular uprising against the apartheid system in the 70’s.  That, together with touring an apartheid museum, gave us a good backdrop for beginning to understand the post-apartheid climate in South Africa.

We were then whisked off to the bus depot to take a twelve-hour, overnight Greyhound bus to Mthatha, about seven hundred miles to the southeast of Johannesburg.  After arriving the next morning at our new “home” for the next couple of weeks, the answer to the original question became clear:

“I felt like I was in Africa when I saw the first early sunrise coming through the bus window…”

“…..when I looked down the hill from our dorm and saw villages below and fields with cows and goats…”

“…when I heard the clicks coming from people’s mouths as they spoke…” (in the Xhosa language)

“…when people laughed at me trying to make a click sound…”

These are only a few of the many first impressions.  As a co-leader who’s already been to Africa (although in a different part), I’m having a great time watching the students adapt to their new surroundings.  They’re mastering the art of washing clothes by hand and hanging them out to dry.  They’re learning that a “geyser” (pronounced “geezer”) is a water heater, and it runs out of water quickly, and it’s really ok to take a cold shower.  They’re learning to share their bathrooms with the nursery school children (or vice versa), because we’re staying on a compound that houses a rural preschool.  They’re learning that lunch is at “lunch time” (whenever it happens to be ready), and according to Barry, our missionary host, “You’re better off not wearing one of these things,” pointing to the watch he’s not wearing.

Learning is coming in many forms; every day has been full of its richness.

Tina's Perspective

(This special entry comes from Tina, as she processes her experience of getting sick and returning home.)

I write this post to you from my home in Minnesota. I wanted to share with everyone my perspective of my journey with the ICS trip. I returned home safely late last night after some tough weather in Philadelphia where my connecting flight was. It was a huge relief to be home in Minnesota with my family and friends.

Before all this, though, God sent me on a new journey with Him.

Two weeks before I left on the ICS trip, I had beginning symptoms of mono: a weeklong headache followed by a sore throat and fatigue. I figured it was due to all the stress of final projects and so I remained spirited and positive about going on the trip despite a bit of illness. Any ICS-er will tell you how crazy it gets the few weeks before departure!

As many of you know from other updates, my first days in Portugal were spent in different hospitals and clinics trying to get answers to my incredibly swollen lymph nodes and fatigue. When I received a final diagnosis of mono, there was a sense of relief and dread. I knew what I was dealing with now, but I didn’t know what this meant for the rest of the trip.

As the first week went on, I began to realize the gravity of my situation. Waves of anger and bitterness swept over me one afternoon and I wept with the Lord. The last 8 months of my life were spent preparing for this internship, only for me to be sick and go home? Why God? I haven’t even seen Portugal, except for the airport and the hospital! Why don’t I get to go to pastry shops and churches and learn about ministries here? What about all of the people who gave me financial support? Why is this happening to me?

I felt so alone.

And indeed, mono really isolates you! No one wants to be around you because you’re contagious, and you can’t be around people because you’re so tired all the time.

I started thinking through the meaning of being alone.

God gently whispered truth into my life about coming to Him with my hurts instead of running to other people and things. “What do you treasure most?” Now that I really was alone, I realized my gaping pain was because I was lacking deeper intimacy with God and was using people and things to get by in life. Though God did not cause my mono, He has used it to teach me the importance of treasuring Christ over anything. I was selfishly and sinfully treasuring this trip, among so many other things, more than Christ. These things were my comfort and treasure, not Christ. I felt so much guilt and cried out to God for forgiveness and wisdom as to what to do.

Be still.

“Be still and know I am God.” I don’t need to run. I can be still and know the Lord will fight my battles, and that he has forgiven me. I can have peace and liberation if I choose to be still and trust in God’s sovereignty despite any situation. I can have joy because of Christ’s love for me. Ironic. With mono, you are forced into stillness and rest. And so, I am learning the ways of stillness so that God can work in my life. Truly, I have been able to give over my bitterness and anger to God and I now have peace that is past understanding. I have such rest in the goodness, the treasure of fellowship with God.

I am reminded of Romans 8: 35; 37-39

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? … No, in all things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height or depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

And so, this blog ends with a question for all its readers: what do you treasure most?

-Tina

Hello, South Africa

(from Garry)

From southern Portugal to southern South Africa. 48 hours, two trains, two vans, two planes, two busses. You can imagine how we felt arriving in Mthatha, South Africa at 5:30 this morning. Most of us were too tired to even notice, much less appreciate, a flight on an Airbus A-380, the largest commercial airliner in the world, from Frankfurt to Johannesburg (on the inside it looks just like any other widebody aircraft, except for larger overhead bins). We thank the Lord for safe travels and endurance for the journey. Today we are recovering and learning about the plans for our two-plus weeks in this region.

We'll have more details of our last days in Portugal by the end of the week. In the meantime, we are enjoying the beautiful view from Sondela (a Xhosa word meaning "come near"), a combination training center and preschool as we catch up on sleep.

Goodbye, Portugal

This will be a brief update before we begin our travels to South Africa tomorrow.  We said goodbye to our friends at the seminary in Lisbon on Friday, and traveled to Southern Portugal for the weekend to spend time in an area called the Algarve.  We have been hosted by a Christian conservation organization called Arocha.  It has been an interesting, informative, and restful break from the previous two weeks; and well-timed, since tomorrow marks a challenging 48 hours of travel with two nights of not being in a bed.  So pray for us tomorrow night (Monday) on our overnight flight from Europe to Johannesburg, followed by a Tuesday overnight bus ride to our next "residence" in Mthatha, South Africa. The students are facing this next adventure with a little trepidation, but their usual great attitudes.

We also said a tearful goodbye to Tina on Friday.  The doctor advised a rest at home rather than the demanding trip to Africa to ensure recovery from her mono.  In our minds and hearts, she is still a part of our team, and we will miss her.  She returned home to the US on Saturday.

American Day/Portuguese Day

The evangelical church in Portugal is small, and an attendance of 200 is a “mega” church by Portuguese standards. Most church growth here is among Brazilian and African immigrants, not the indigenous Portuguese population. We have had the opportunity to participate in services at two local churches in the Lisboa area on our weekends here. Below we describe one of those events.

Last Saturday, our group was invited by a local church to plan activities for a one-day youth retreat.  They wanted it to have an American theme.  In a Portuguese setting, how does one make things seem American, other than just showing up and “being” who we are?   Americans tend to give themselves away when traveling abroad, even when they try not to.   So at least on this occasion, we had the permission to share some positive aspects of American culture.  Having been forewarned back in the U.S., we had packed some Mexican seasonings and tortillas (do you seen the irony?) as well as some brownie mixes. Here in Lisbon, we attempted to go to the “Chinese” store (like a dollar store) to buy some red-white-and-blue decorations, though without success.   On the day of our retreat, several girls of our team, together with some Portuguese young women, shared a bonding experience in the church kitchen, baking brownies and preparing our taco meal.  When the meal was ready, the American and Portuguese young people all took turns introducing themselves in a mixture of the two languages, each group happy to have a chance to practice a “foreign” language.  Most Portuguese foods are eaten with forks and knives, so a demonstration (and permission) was given by the Americans on how to eat tacos.  They were declared delicious!

Following the meal, the young people all headed to a nearby park to play games, led by our NWC team.  The favorite hit was the American game, “signs”, which lasted for two hours before anyone suggested it was time to do something else.   American football was also a hit.

We then returned to the church, where members of our team led music, drama, and shared testimonies and a message from the Bible.  One of the pluses on our team is having two MKs who grew up in Brazil, who have filled in as translators in settings like this one. 

At the end of the evening, each young person from that church stood up and shared how special the “American” day had been for them, and lots of cheek-to-cheek “air” kisses (Portuguese style) and hugs were given.  For everyone on our American team, we felt like it had been a perfect “Portuguese” day.

Portuguese Language and Culture

(Today's entry is written by one of our NWC students on the trip, Stephanie)

Bom dia, good morning. Our team would like to give you another update about how things are going here J We have a very full schedule that is filled with language learning, music, sharing, exploring, traveling, and serving. Each day, we wake up and begin 2 hours of Portuguese language classes with Mena. She is the lovely woman in the picture who patiently helps us learn words for family, food, greetings, occupations, colors, and so on. She says that learning a new language can either be frustrating or fun, you choose! So we are having lots of fun trying to pronounce words like “os pintores” which is pronounced “oosh pintoodsh” and is how you say “a painter”. 

After language class, it is time for lunch. The meals here have taken some getting used to, but are delightfully healthy. First, soup is served with bread. Then, there is a meat/fish dish with rice and salad. Last, there is a dessert. We have been learning to pace ourselves so that we can make it through dessert without being extremely full.

Even though we are fed solid breakfast, lunch and dinner at the seminary, we still like to get out the café for a bica (small shot pictured above) or meiu de leite (coffee with cream). We get to go on a lot of walks too, taking in the refreshing air and soaking up a little sun. The guys play soccer at the park occasionally with locals.

Overall, we have been enjoying the 1^st week of our stay here in Portugal. A few of our team members even say they could see themselves living and working here!