Projects Underway

Sorry it's been so long since my last post; things have been very busy! There are currently two projects that have taken my time/attention (and heart) that I'd like to share a bit about with you.  Both projects have a lot to do with children; one being a children's home and the other being a bi-weekly children's outreach event.

The children's home project is probably the most complicated and expansive endeavor I've put my name to since my arrival, and the situation is this:  Many years ago there was a children's home established under the Orthodox church's care (whether officially or unofficially, I'm not sure).  It is on a piece of land situated just outside one of the most developed and expansive squatter camps I've seen here, called Atteridgeville.  I would like to show you pictures of the living conditions, but I can't bring myself to pull out my iPhone to document these people's homes; it just seems wrong to expose them. I will say this though, I'm fairly confident that I could build a home comparable to the ones there with nothing more than my two hands, a hammer and nails.

Although I hear that the children's home itself was very nice at one point, over the years it has gone into a states of disarray.  There is no proper locking door, most windows are broken, the roof leaks, etc.  It is unsafe to live in, but it is currently home to 4 teenage boys, one girl in her early 20's and the caretaker and her child.

The big plan is to fix up the current residence into a hostel type housing for older children, build a new housing area that would be able to foster 16 youths, possibly build a volunteer medical clinic onsite (that could be used by the residents in the surrounding areas), build a church, cultivate a garden and soccer field on the land, and get all of the properly running and registered with the South African government.

…but as it is, I'm taking baby steps to get things going.  I have visited the site multiple times; getting to know the current caretaker and assessing the land with priests and builders.  I've created intake documents for the current residents (to hopefully go over with a social workers soon), have created and begun the filing process to make the children's home a registered non-profit organization, and have ordered the first of the building materials to fix up the current building (work to start on December 1st).

My desk and the quoted order for building supplies during an afternoon of work

The other project that I'm really excited about is a children's outreach that has been spearheaded within the Brixton community.  My home parish is located in an impoverished suburb of Johannesburg, close to the CBD; however, most of the people who attend our services do not live in the area. Because of this, I decided to organize an afternoon meal twice a month to feed and bond with the kids living directly around Saint Nicholas.  I really want them to see the church as a place that is for them… and not just on Sundays.  This past weekend was our first event; including donated pizza, cold drinks, cookies, get-to-know-you games, and playing in the street out front.  I wish you all could have been there; it was such a joyful afternoon.  When I arrived 45 minutes early I was greeted by 2 boys posted outside the front gate.  They quickly scurried away to gather the others, as I hurried to get things in place.  They came back with 15 other kids, and they were shortly followed by 5 more and 3 parents.  The food was handed out as the children (without prompting) went to wash up.  Once everyone was seated I asked who wanted to pray… they all raised their hands and then proceeded to recite the Lord's Prayer from memory (their ages ranged from 4-13).

After eating we headed outside to play, prompting neighbors to curiously look on.  There was laughing and competition and lots of fun.  By the time the event was coming to a close, there were about 5 adults outside watching the games and talking amongst themselves; it was really lovely.  The next event is scheduled for next weekend, and I've managed to sort hotdog and crisp donations and a volunteer soccer coach to help out.  I can't wait!

If you're interested in contributing to this outreach, donations can be made here: https://kayciesimmons.webconnex.com/southafrica

God bless you all in your work and please keep these and other missionary efforts in your prayers.

Monastery of the Descent of the Holy Spirit

This past week I was lucky enough to get the chance to spend some time with Father Elias at the Monastery of the Descent of the Holy Spirit; located on a farm about 20 km outside of Pretoria, on land that was formerly used for torture during South African Apartheid.  (See this video for a bit more information about Vlakplaas, the farm's location.)

Father Elias currently oversees the monastery and is highly involved in the development and planning of what is to be called "New Sion."

New Sion is the area that is to be built up around the current chapel and Monastery of the Descent of the Holy Spirit.  Once completed, it will include a visitor's center with a museum to explain the land's history, chapels from many different nations that comprise the South African Orthodox landscape, theological schools and a missions center.  There is still a lot of work to be done to bring this vision to life, but paperwork has been submitted, plans have been blessed and construction is set to begin within the month; I'm excited to be part of the process!

Our visit to the site last week was just a brief introduction, but it was filled with all kinds of coincidental pleasant surprises for me.  Going into the day, I knew that it would be a bit special seeing as the monastery is celebrated on Pentecost and that is the day on which I was chrismated almost 2 years ago.  But as I was escorted around I also stumbled across a room that was completely dedicated to my patron saint Xenia within an old storage area.

I have plans to work with Father Elias on some evangelistic endeavors as well as informational and promotional materials for the developing site.  I hope to share more as things progress, but as for now I have plans to visit the site (and surrounding areas - including an adjacent children's home) once a week as time allows.

Working on the Weekend

This past weekend parishioners from a couple mission churches in the area made their way to Saint Nicholas for a joyous baptismal celebration on Saturday.  The Bishop, His Eminence Damaskinos, and 3 helping priests were there to assist in the ceremony to receive 15 people into the church.

Catechumens praying outside the church 

His Eminence Damaskinos and the other priests praying over the water

Two newly illumined children admiring each other's crosses

The whole group processing around the baptismal fount

There is still a great need for God-parents for these people (and others soon to be baptized), as there isn't a large Orthodox base among the mission parishes here.  I was happy to be able to sing for the service, but turned down the opportunity to be a God-parent as I had just been introduced to the entire bunch and wasn't familiar with any of the people yet.

The following day I made my way to Mamelodi to participate in a "reader service" (a liturgy that can be done without a priest).  The service was done mostly in a language foreign to me with bits of English and Greek mixed in, but I was able to follow along well enough and really enjoyed the experience.  The group meets in family homes, so it makes sense that the church mainly consists of different generations of the same family.  After service this provides for a very family-like atmosphere; wonderful Sunday lunch and children playing outside included.

At one point during the service I asked to use the restroom and was escorted to a small outside room with accommodations less that those I've seen at most American campsites… I felt bad for a moment and then I remembered that if they've never known otherwise that they're probably perfectly happy with this.

After the service concluded the women in the room broke out into this lovely song:

The kids from the neighborhood playing around after service

All this to say, I had a very eventful weekend and spent a lot of time in prayer for these people and their families.

Childlike Faith

Among the many different things that I've been learning here, the unique situation you get when children find there way to church on their own has been one that I've been spending some good thought time on lately.

Last Saturday I had the blessing of getting to spend the afternoon at the Johannesburg Zoo with about 15 kids from Saint Nicholas (most who live in and right around the parish itself and who attend services without their parents regularly).  The majority of the kids where sponsored by loving parishioners hoping to give them an opportunity for a day of fun and fellowship with each other and some children from other local parishes.  It was really wonderful to spend time with them, see them learning about the animals and enjoy a picnic in the park together.

The group outside of Saint Nicholas

A "BIG" hit with the kids, especially when it peed… (so gross)

Waiting games

The situation on hand at Saint Nicholas is this:

The parish itself is situated in a neighborhood that is… let's just say "less than desirable."  Break-ins are commonplace, it's not unheard of for cars to be stolen, and I've been told more than once that I am just to drive straight to church and straight away once my business is finished.  It is South African quaint and quiet from what I've observed (located relatively close to the University of Johannesburg and the University of the Witwatersrand) but I've only been here for a month and those who have been around longer would advise that my observations are a bit ill informed.

The loyal parishioners of Saint Nicholas are mostly Greek (as it's a Greek Orthodox Church, this isn't surprising), generally live some distance from the parish itself, and have for one reason or another seen value in having the church located in the Brixton area.  One unique thing is that there are a handful of children (6-12 years old) from the neighborhood itself that hear the sound of church bells and come running each and every Sunday morning.  The children obviously live within earshot of the building, come dressed in their Sunday best sans parents, and patiently sit through a rather "non-seeker friendly" liturgy.  They attend a Sunday school class, are allowed some after service refreshments and then sent on their way.  To my knowledge, only one of these children is currently baptized (I could be wrong), but many have recently shown interest in joining the Church.

I was approached by the current Sunday school teachers and asked to come up with some kind of program to prepare these children for baptism, and this week I will begin just that.  The thing is, it's not such a simple process.  Since the Orthodox faith is one that allows for infant baptism and almost assumes that there will be a family example at home to model how to live out a life in Christ, things get tricky when parents are not involved.  Yes, we will be obtaining the parent's consent before baptizing these children, but more than that, I'm trying to figure out what information is key for them to understand at their young age before beginning their walk within the Church (as the Church-the body of Christ- isn't one only for those able to intellectually understand history and complex theological concepts).

I will be meeting with these children tomorrow during their normal Sunday school class time and learning about them; trying to figure out where they come from, why they come each week and what kind of thoughts they have on being baptized.  If you have any thoughts on the matter, feel free to email me at kayciesimmons@hotmail.com and please keep my impending conversations with them in your prayers.

Making Sunrise Matter

For those of you who know me well, it will come as no surprise to you that sunrise is my favorite time of day.  The stillness, the quiet, and the time alone with God is my absolute favorite…

Most days back in the states I would find myself up around 4:30am, spending my time preparing for the day; showering, reading, eating breakfast, composing emails, going for walks, and even watching movies in order to give myself enough time to face the day with a smile.  Here, things have been a bit different.

Since I don't have a typical 8am-5pm job, I find myself sleeping in a bit later.  I wake up with the sun instead of ushering it in.  Most days I have been staying up later, so I'm not completely wasting my time with sleep, but it is a change in my norm nonetheless; except for on Wednesdays.

Every Wednesday morning at 6am there is a Divine Liturgy service held at Saint Nicholas.  At first I was a bit apprehensive about being around other people so early in the morning (hoping not to be an absolute mess), but I've quickly become fond of the early service as a midweek time for communion.  They have the service so early to accommodate for morning traffic, but I like to think God made those accommodations with my preferences in mind as well.  :-)

Does This Come With Directions?

So far so good.

I've been to various church services at Saint Nicholas over the past 2 weeks; love the parish, love the people, love the mission and all of that.  I have plans to serve in at least 2 other communities within the coming weeks already; one in Eldorado Park (which I've already been to twice) and one in Mamilodi with Father Stephen (in conduction with serving at Saint Nicholas).

As I hit the ground hoping to get to work straight way, I think my mindset needed a bit of adjustment.  While I'd love to share pictures and stories about what I've been doing, to be honest, most of what I've been doing is just trying to gain my footing.  Yes, people are people everywhere, so I have that working to my advantage; but this is a whole new culture, there are so many new things to learn.

Currently I'm putting a lot of effort into securing a car, and in the meantime I've been getting little ideas right and left about things that I could do in support of the church once I'm mobile.  I will likely take initiative with the kids first; spending some one-on-one time with the older girls and planning group meals for the younger ones in the neighborhood.  For now, I've been attending every service available, learning the music and structure of the Divine Liturgy and trying to take in as much of my surroundings as possible.

It seems that every day I'm growing more comfortable and that I'm also beginning to understand the culture somewhat better.  It is probably a blessing that I don't have a car yet, forcing me to take this first bit of time here slowly, really getting to know the area, assessing the current situation of the church, and looking for Kaycie-sized opportunities before I go in and try to do anything major.

All that to say, I'm on course.  I have no idea how this year is supposed to play out, but I hope to fall more in love with South Africa and be a blessing to the people here.

Qualified

I never thought I would be doing missionary work.  My thoughts on the matter were that missionaries had to know more about the faith than most, had to be incredibly charismatic and that they needed some blinding unequivocal sign that God needed them in such and such a place; but that is not the truth.

As I got off the plane in O.R. Tambo last Wednesday night, and for the second time in my life set foot on South African soil, a confidence welled up in me that I'd only partially experienced before.  Yes, I had made the decision to come months ago, and yes, I had taken big steps like quitting my job and selling my car prior to even boarding the plane, but I think in the back of my mind I was almost waiting to see if God would intervene; if he would save South Africa from the mess that is me by flight accident or something; but He didn't.

This past week I've found myself surrounded by some pretty incredible people; most of which are far more educated then myself, have had many more years living faithful to Christ than I have, and who innately know the South African culture.  Surprisingly though, I fit in perfectly because… well, because I'm me, and because some clever all knowing being has gone before me to prepare a perfect Kaycie sized place in this community.

One day last week I was driving home from Eldorado Park with Father Kobus, a very well educated, well traveled, devout and humble Afrikaans man, who has been dedicated to the parishes in this area for many years.  We had just finished a service in a "coloured" neighborhood known to be a bit rough, and I was wondering of what use I could be to these people.  Sure I could participate in the services and bring food with me to share, but I was curious where Father Kobus saw me best fitting in.  His answer touched on the confidence that I had felt at the airport.  He said, "the people here just need you," and then went on to explain how he is not the most sociable individual nor does he have the most natural nurturing side.  The Eldorado Park parish happens to have many children who attend without their families, and they have often not been exposed to the healthiest family dynamics at home, leaving them without a great tangible example of how to love well.  Father Kobus used the example of hitting to illustrate this.  At times these children will lash out in physical ways to correct each other because they have not often had someone there to teach them by other means.  "Having a woman of God around will make a lot of difference in modeling Christ's love to them," he said…

At the moment most of my days are spent trying to learn about my surroundings, the culture and the people (books do not do this country justice), and one might think I would feel useless, but I don't.  I'm a carrier of Christ wherever I go.  I still have all the same gifts I was working with at home; the ability to connect people, a unique perspective, a loving and giving heart, and I will work to put these gifts to use in my new home… Is that the definition of a missionary?  I'm not sure, but I know I'm growing more and more in love with this place each day.