The house is quiet this morning, since most of the team has left for Johannesburg to go to the game park. Three of us--Mark Mattson, Rhonda Price, and myself--will fly home today (through tomorrow). We are all going to miss the rest of the group, but I think I speak for all three of us when I say we're glad that, because we have a later flight, we didn't have to get up as early this morning!
Friday was a rewarding day for me personally. The original schedule had called for us to be finished working on Thursday and just be tourists ("ministering" to the local economy...???). But there were a couple of projects we didn't want to leave undone at the hospice, including preparing the flowerbeds around the building and putting up shelves. So we extended our work through lunch and took care of those things; the shelves are up and the flowerbeds are almost completed. Also a few of us went to the homeless shelter and participated in the devotional time in the morning and spent more time with the guests.
I spent the morning at the Christian radio station across the street, CCFM. The station is another result of the ministry vision of the church, and continues to grow in its outreach and community presence. In a conversation with Avril Thomas (wife of Pastor John Thomas and manager of the station) at dinner the night before, I had found out they were planning to do a songwriting workshop in a couple of weeks, as part of a continuing series to develop local Christian musicians. So I offered to compile a list of resources, such as articles, websites and books by professionals, to help inform her on the topic. She was very appreciative, and I felt I was being used to encourage her, by offering these "loaves and fishes" of information. While I waited to get on the office computer there, I sat in the studio to watch the live talk program they had going on at the time. The host was very professional, as she interviewed a woman who represented a Christian children's home in the area, introduced a song or two between segments, read recipes to her listeners, etc. I didn't feel like I was doing as much "hands-on" work Friday morning, but I felt I was there to help build a bridge of relationship for our mutual benefit. I must admit I was glad to be clean all day for a change!
Friday afternoon most of us went on a tour of Robben Island, off the Cape Town waterfront. This island had been used over the centuries as a place for social outcasts of various kinds, including lepers and the mentally ill, and in 1964 it became a depository for political prisoners including Nelson Mandela. There was a bus tour of the island and a walking tour of the prison itself, after which we were invited to take a "short walk to freedom" (a pun on Mandela's autobiography title) back to our ferry. The prison tour was led by a former prisoner. He was of Xhosa background, very articulate and pointed in his lectures; reminded me of John Houseman in "The Paper Chase." He had the unfortunate duty of asking a woman to try to keep her little girl quiet; the girl was around one and a half years old, and kept humming to herself, happily oblivious to the dark nature of the place she was in. She never did stay quiet for long; I supposed that was HER song of freedom! Our guide confessed, when pressed, that the reason he continued to work on the island, the last place you'd think he'd want to be, was that even with the changes that have taken place over the past 10 years, it was still tough for many non-whites to find jobs, so there he was. As we have found in our own country, true change takes time.
Well, it's time to eat my final breakfast on this trip; I would not be surprised if I find myself back here again someday in the near future...in fact, I look forward to the opportunity. Meanwhile, the mission continues and the work goes on.
Grace & Peace,
Mark Kelly Hall
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