South African Journey

Learning the Meaning of Psalm 46:10

Part I: ?Be Still?

When preparing to come to South Africa I thought I had everything under control. It started when I officially signed and mailed back my letter of agreement for the program. Along the way I had many trips to the doctor getting the recommended shots and trips to the post office to mail forms to the ELCA?s office in Chicago. After looking over and checking items off of the packing list (and later in a suitcase) I was ready to leave. I mean I knew what I was doing, where I was going and where I?d be living. Things were set, so off to the airport?which would begin a series of tests of my patience and time management skills. (but not the kind of time management where you?re trying to fit a lot into a short time window).

I?m going to skip Orientation in Chicago and jump straight to the day of departure from Chicago. We were the last country group to depart Chicago. We woke up and relaxed the entire day before boarding our flight at 10pm. Roughly 8 hours later we had arrived?in Frankfurt Germany ( our flight to S.A. didn?t depart for another 9 hours). The final leg of the trip was the 10:13.57 hour flight into Johannesburg. Thus ending the longest flight I have been on. The ?Being Still? part of my trip is now over, now to start ?work?.

Or so I thought?

During Orientation in South Africa we had a session on expectations and goals we had of South Africa, the program, and things we wanted to get out of the year. After some time of discussion we started to realize that what we, or at least I, expected South Africa to be wasn?t very accurate. You can Google places and people but once you see them in person you have a whole new understanding. South Africa is HUGE! And it?s not all what is depicted in the National Geographic magazines. After the expectation session was over I realized that I needed to let go of many of my expectations and just ?Be?. Be open to the things South Africa has to offer?not Be Still. That part of the trips now over!

Part II: ?Know that I am God?

The night before boarding the bus for Johannesburg, and arriving in the Hillbrow neighborhood in downtown Joburg, we had one more opportunity for question and answer time with our country coordinators. During this time it had become apparent that it just wasn?t going to be possible to make the Hillbrow placement work. I had known that there were some changes in the program there, but this is when I found out it just wasn?t meant to be. Now what? Time to ?Be Still? again. Right? Yes, but not entirely.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (ELCSA) folks turn out to be miracle workers. In one week they were able to rework about 75% of my program. This included working out housing, numerous work site possibilities, local church opportunities and so much more. While I continued to ?Be Still? they were at work doing in 7 days what they would normally have more than 4 months to do. During the week I heard of the different ideas there were coming up with for me. At this point I knew I was in great hands. These folks haven?t met me, but are excited for my arrival. God was truly at work that week here in Alexandra (Alex).

It?s now a week into my time here in Alex and things couldn?t be much better. Honestly! Every where I have been, community centers, clinics, businesses, church meetings, walking down the street, there are people that are interested in having me come visit their work. For example: I was outside after church this week when my host mom introduced me to someone. Turns out he has connections with schools, organizations and sports teams. I later learned that he used to set up programs for international students similar to mine.

I think the verse in the title of this reflection fits well with my experience thus far in South Africa. In (insert verse here) it says ?Be still and know that I am God?. When my time here is over it could be easy to wonder what would have been different if I spent my year in Hillbrow, but why bother? I may not fully understand how I ended up in Alex but it doesn?t matter. Events leading up to my arrival in Alex don?t just happen for no reason. There were just to many things to be dumb luck and I?m convinced that someone had a hand in all of this.

There is no doubt that the Lord is at work here in South Africa. He was here long before I knew I was coming and he?s set a course that I have just come to find. And now that I?m here in Alex I think it?s time to Be Still?