Our Last Day in SA!

Today is our last day of the WBGC SA study seminar. We've actually just wrapped-up our final session as a group and several of the women are in eating lunch as I type this. We'll be boarding our 2 vans shortly to head to the airport (Durban), from which most of us will head into Johannesburg and go on to our respective countries.
It's a sad day! We've genuinely built some global community these past weeks, and it's sad to think that the 2 weeks have already passed by. BUT, the silver lining is that the 'community' we've built does not rely solely on being physically in close proximity with one another; this community will continue through correspondence, our interactions back at home, and prayer. Today is the 'last day', but actually, it's the first day,too. This is an exciting time for all of us to go back home with all that we've learned and experienced here. 'Break the silence', ladies!!!
Vanessa

P.S. Internet access has been considerably more sporadic than we expected/were told it would be, and for that we want to extend our apologies to family, friends and supporters! As we were unable to make regular posts to the blog during our day-to-day experiences these past 2 weeks, we'll be taking the time during the next few weeks to bring the blog up to speed and post the reflections, pictures, stories, videos and things learned for everyone to share in. Please be patient with us and stay tuned! And again, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Day 10: Durban, Focus - Faith and Worship

Today we attended worship in 2 separate groups at two local Lutheran congregations in Durban. In the afternoon we spent time debriefing our 2-week experience and then later had a farewell dinner as a group!

Day 9: Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve/Durban, Focus - The Landscape and Natural Resources

This morning we participated in an open-vehicle game drive to view South African wildlife. Afterward we traveled to Durban.

Day 8: Umpumulo/Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve, Focus - The Landscape and Natural Resources

Today we traveled to Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve.

Day 7: Pietermaritzburg/Umphumulo, Focus - Lives of Local Women

Today we traveled to Umphumulo Southeastern Diocese and had a conversation with local members of the Womens Prayer League, including the bishops wife. We also took a walking tour of the surrounding community of Umphumulo - the seminary campus, the hospital and the nearby Lutheran church.

The video below is from our brief time spent at Umphumulo Lutheran Cathedral, where we were fortunate enough to listen to the last few minutes of the youth choir practice. The youth choir was AMAZING! They had such beautiful voices, and all of the WBGC women who walked over to listen to them sing were so grateful to hear them practice 3 of the songs they've been rehearsing for an upcoming celebration. The recording below was taken in the back of the church standing across from the singers where they were practicing, but doesn't truly do the choir justice. The electricity was out that afternoon so it's a little hard to see the choir director and members, but the beautiful voices are definitely still audible. The youth in the choir are mostly high school age with a few who are older (young adults), and at the time we were there, practices were taking place 3 days a week leading up to their performance. We were told that many of the youth travel an hour or more to make it to practice!

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Quick Update

Family, friend and supporters,
Just a quick note on behalf of the group:
We'll be departing from Kenosis Retreat Centre today in Pietermaritzburg. Internet access has been limited (we can't upload much text and don't have access to the stockpile of photos without wireless access), so we apologize for not being able to update the blog for a couple days. We'll try to log back in soon to let you know about the past 3 days!
On our way to the next stop...
Love,
the '08 WBGC Participants

Day 6: Pietermaritzburg, Focus - Gender Justice

Today we met with representatives of the Pietermaritzburg Agency for Christian Social Awareness (PACSA) to hear about their Gender Audit Research among churches and other related issues. Afterward, we went to the Lutheran Theological Institute and spoke with female students about their studies in religion and theology, and their experiences relating to gender justice, race relations and the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

PACSA - http://www.pacsa.org.za/index.html

LTI - http://www.sorat.ukzn.ac.za/lti/