First impressions of Gugs:
No street signs
Trash EVERYWHERE
Sewage smell
People in bare feet and congregating in small groups
Children around on a regular school day
No white people
Almost another “tale of two cities” within Gugs as there are structured homes to collapsing shacks
Our immersion adventure began with a typical African church service on Sunday morning at 10:00 am. Before I elaborate, let me just say that if church services in the US were at all like this one, you could count on me to be there each and every Sunday. As we filed into our rows, the choir serenaded us with a taste of gospel music. We were intertwined among the church members of all ages. Almost immediately I was handed a baby to hold. If you know me at all, you can guess just how happy that made me. Interacting with these people was unlike any of my past experiences. The ability that these people have to immediately greet us with a warm, loving welcome and place complete trust in us was indescribable. There is no circumstance that US can think of in the US where someone would hand over their infant to a complete stranger. Or on the other hand, an instance where the child would not have been frightened and making it clear that they wished to return to the familiar faces of its family. Or again, for the set of people sitting next to you in church to strike up a conversation and genuinely be interested in what you had to say. But this was different, the family struck up conversation, handed me their baby and the baby sat contently in my arms making happy noises. I couldn’t help to get a little choked up at not only how happy I was to be giving my affection to the child but also at the trust the family put in me immediately. I feel that Americans are so paranoid that something bad will happen (even in church) and that there are too many “bad” people in the world to trust anyone. Instead these people looked at the good in me and handed over their pride and joy and made an effort to get to know me before judging me.
Another thing that I noticed as the church staff and members interacting was how easily and honestly they searched for partnerships and relationships among one another, our group, as well as other organizations in the community and in South Africa. They clearly recognize the usefulness of creating and nurturing relationships. The resources that become available, the insights that are realized and visions that are shared work as benefits to the further development of each individual center as well as work to solidify and strengthen the relationship. As I continued to interact with the church members, they displayed these values of community and partnerships through their willingness to open their homes to others, share their stories, explain their struggles and discuss their plan of action to help other break the chain of poverty, poor health and isolation.
The church service consisted of an immense amount of singing and dancing (we even did the electric slide!). The enthusiasm that vibrates off the members here is overwhelming in a good way. The members come and celebrate their beliefs, nurture their community, and become support systems not out of obligation but out of the good of their heart and because they actually want to be there. The energy continued cas we mingled with the members of the youth group. As we discussed the comparison of religious practice of America and South Africa, a few things came up. First, many Americans are brought up believing what possibly generations of family members believed. However, with this particular church, it was said that “people just find their way here through different means, especially the youth.” It is a church that focuses on listening and NOT solely telling. One sentence that was stated during the service that stuck with me was “It is amazing what one can learn when one is prepared to listen” They have found that the church and its members require a reciprocal relationship instead of the one way street of telling and members following. The youth continued to show us their openness of creating relationships as each one of us felt comfortable asking each other very personal questions and not being afraid to speak up, express thoughts through song and inquire about particular responses.
This welcoming carried on as we left the church to meet our home stay mothers and their families. As we shared a meal together we were able to truly be ourselves and accept one another for our strengths and weaknesses. Unfortunately, my roommates and I were not able to meet our host mother, Noxi, until late in the evening. She attended a wedding celebration all day. We are planning on chatting with her more tomorrow.
First impression continued:
I was quite surprised how different the township and homes were than I anticipated. The outside of the homes do not do the inside justice. They are much nicer and cozier than I had imagined. When walking down the street one would imagine that the inside are as dirty and trash-filled as the outside, however, the longer that a family has been in the home/part of the township, the more unique and better the home becomes. Many homes that participate in the home stays do not having running water, heated water, and showers for that matter, bathroom facilities and many other accommodations. My roommates and I were fortunate enough to have running water. It will be quite an interesting week and I am ready to face it head on.
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