Remembering Beauty

Granny Beauty was the matriarch of a loving, close-knit family who called me their sister and daughter during my time in South Africa. I celebrated birthdays and Christmas with the family, I attended coming-of-age ceremonies and funerals, we laughed and grieved and shared life together. I can't imagine my time in South Africa without Granny.

Celebrating Christmas with Granny's family

Granny had been sick for quite some time, and this year, her arthritis and diabetes and other health issues caused her to spend much of her time in bed. Her daughter, Christina, passed away in May. The family held a final mourning service for Christina in August, and two days later, Granny passed away in her sleep, on the morning of August 23rd.

I met Granny Beauty for the first time in 2006. I visited South Africa on a two-week Road Trip, and Granny and her family hosted our group for a meal. I sat in the dusty yard behind Granny's house and ate chicken and pap, and then Granny's grandkids and the neighbor kids teamed up with several of the white people to teach them to dance. There was a dance competition, and a lot of laughter. It was one of my favorite nights of the trip.

When I returned to South Africa for 10 months the following year, I spent my ministry time primarily in Soshanguve. I went to Granny's house twice a week with one of the NCSA staff. Sometimes I led a Bible study with Granny and some of her daughters, granddaughters and neighbors. Sometimes I joined in when Doug led worship or Bible study. And sometimes, I just shared life with the family. We visited friends who were suffering from HIV and other illnesses. We took food to neighbors in need. We visited friends who'd had a death in the family. As my friend Sarah once said, "You know how things are at Granny's--some form of life always takes over." It always did. And God was present.

One of my favorite memories of Granny is the song she wrote about eating pizza. The lyrics consisted of a repeated refrain: "Pizza imonati, pizza imonati..." which is Sotho for "delicious pizza." Granny spontaneously sang this song as her daughter Annah improvised a harmony, and the best part of all? Throughout the performance, Granny played air guitar.

Pizza imonati...

Toward the end of 2007, I went on a crazy road trip with Granny's family. We drove to a mountain village in KwaZulu-Natal to reunite Granny with her daughter Dumazile, who'd been kidnapped at the age of seven. We made our way up muddy, narrow, winding roads, our overloaded VW microbus clinging to the side of a mountain. The views were spectacular. Granny couldn't watch--it was too scary to look out at the dropoff. I kept exclaiming over how beautiful it was, and meanwhile Granny had a blanket over her head. At one point, we rounded a precarious corner and I said something about the view. Granny peered out from under the blanket, looked at me and shook her head, saying: "Ohhhh, Barbara!!" as she smiled in disbelief that I was still looking out the window.

Mother and Daughters:
Emily, Anna, Dumazile, Granny, and Christina

Later that same day, we said goodbyes to Dumazile and walked down zig-zagging pathways back to the microbus. Granny, walking beside me, said over and over: "Barbara, I am so blessed. So blessed by God." I was filled with thankfulness--not just to have been part of this reunion, but to hear Granny praising God for this blessing, to see her giving the glory to God for accomplishing this reunion with her long-lost daughter.

It's hard to be far away while Granny's family is grieving the loss of their wonderful mother and grandmother. Granny has left them (and me) a rich legacy of love and hospitality. I will miss Granny greatly, but am so thankful for the three and a half years I got to spend as an adopted member of the family. I have been blessed to see her grow in faith and her love for God, and look forward to the day when I will see her again...

Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.
--Jesus (John 16:22)

Since I've Been Gone

In the rush of leaving, I didn't manage to post photos of last goodbyes in South Africa. Now these seem ages ago and continents away... the latter of which is true.

Dinner & movie night with Sarah, Busi, and Lizzy before Lizzy left for Limpopo where she's been teaching for the past 6 months.

Goodbye party in Pretoria North with lots of South African friends (too many names to list!)

A last visit to Soshanguve, at Emily's... with pap & vleis for lunch. Mmm.

Playing games outside while lunch was cooking--two kids held a long tied-together loop of pantyhose and everyone else took turns jumping into the middle, hooking one of the strings over a foot on the way in.

Tshepo shows his style here...

A last Soshanguve sunset

Catching up

It's hard to believe the World Cup is nearly over... which means my time in South Africa is nearly over as well. Here are some pictures of what I've been up to over the past few weeks.

World Cup Opening Match
I went with some friends to a public viewing area at Giants Stadium in Soshanguve to take in the Opening Ceremonies and the opening game against Mexico.

It was amazing to be in the midst of tens of thousands of loyal fans to watch the first goal of the Cup scored by Bafana Bafana... even though the game ended up being a draw.

Paraguay vs. New Zealand
Sarah and I got tickets for one of the World Cup group matches and took several of our friends from Soshanguve on a road trip to see Paraguay play against New Zealand. It was a no-scoring draw, sadly, but we still had a blast watching World Cup soccer live and in person!

Me, Pretty, Lucky, Emily, Alex and Solomon

Kids' Photo Class Field Trip
Sarah took her photography class kids on a field trip to Joburg, to visit the Market Photo Workshop and the Joburg Art Gallery. She needed another driver, so I got to tag along for the day!

Sarah and me with the moms who came along for the day, and Sarah's translator for her photo class (also big sister to one of the kids). We took this picture with all the adults, and realized it doubles as a picture of our women's prayer/Bible study group. :)

Goodbye at Granny's
On Sunday, I had to say goodbye to many good friends in Soshanguve. Sarah and I had a goodbye party at Granny's home with the family as well as some other friends from Sosh. It was a great time of being together, sharing gifts and memories, and letting the family know how much they have meant to me during the past 3 1/2 years. I will miss all of them so much!

Me and Precious, Emily's middle daughter. Since I first met her in February 2007, Precious has been the little girl who singles me out whenever I'm in Sosh--to play ball, to dance, to do my hair. I'll really miss her.

Sarah and me with the women of Granny's family: Granny, her daughters, and granddaughters (and a great-grandson)

In between the above, I've been finishing up my weekly prayer & Bible study with women in Soshanguve and Art of Soul every couple weeks (we had a goodbye Monday night but I forgot to take pictures)... and now I'm in the midst of taking care of final details, thank you notes & goodbye gifts, and the packing will happen all too soon. I'm gonna miss this place.

Kids with Cameras

My good friend Sarah Woolley has been teaching an 8-week photography class for kids in Soshanguve for the past couple months. She's using her talent for photography to teach these kids to look a little differently at their world, and to capture it on film.

Most of these kids are daughters and sons of my good friends in Soshanguve. Over the past three years, I've played hide and seek with them, sat with them on my lap, let them do my hair, celebrated their birthdays, and they've pulled me out into African dance circles several times (usually against my will, but who can say no when Precious tells you to dance?!). A couple of them frequently ask to borrow my camera when I'm out in Sosh, and I get home to find all kinds of pictures of their friends and their neighborhood.

It's been exciting to see these kids have the opportunity to learn more about photography and get their own disposable cameras to experiment with. I love seeing the kids' excitement--most times I've gone out to Sosh in the past months, I've seen these kids using their fingers to frame potential shots.

Sarah wrote a post about the project here, and I encourage you to check it out! She gives a short bio on each kid, so you can get to know them a little bit. I would so appreciate your prayers and support as Sarah finishes up this class and the kids have the opportunity to display their work at an art show in Soshanguve.

If you'd like to make a donation of any amount toward this project, you can click here. This link will take you directly to the support section of CRM's website, where you can make a donation to the "Kids with Cameras" project.

Your financial support goes toward supplies for the class, including:

• Disposable cameras for practice and assignments
• Film developing: prints and digital copies on CD
• Snacks for each class
• Journals, pens, posterboard, and other supplies

The cost for the class in Soshanguve breaks down to $100 per child. If you'd like to make a $100 donation to sponsor a specific child, please email Sarah by clicking here to let her know which child you’d like to sponsor. Again, to make the donation, click here. Donations are tax-deductible and work just like any other CRM donation. Thank you!

Introducing Lesedi

My friend Doris is the mother of two boys, and really wanted to have a little girl one day. Last year, she became pregnant with her third child. Doris is HIV-positive, and so her friends were very concerned about her health as well as the health of her baby. We've been praying steadily for Doris, and she gave birth to a healthy baby girl in early December 2009. Both Doris and baby Lesedi are doing well, and I finally got to meet Lesedi this week. Her name means "Light." She's beautiful.

Doris and me



Me holding Lesedi, who looks extremely startled in this picture














Melinda holding a sleeping Lesedi, with Doris and me














Group photo! Sarah, me, Lesedi, Doris, and Gopolang (Doris' younger son)

With the Girls at Emily's

I've had a lot of fun the past couple of weeks hosting my good friend Melinda, who came to visit from California. Melinda and I were roommates the semester I studied in Italy, and are seasoned travel buddies... we added a few journeys to our repertoire, having previously only traveled together in Europe. It was great to introduce an old friend to my home and friends here in South Africa. Here are a few pictures from an afternoon we spent hanging out in Sosh with Emily and her daughters.

Me, Melinda, and Sarah with Emily and her girls: Precious, Lungile, and Pretty















Games with Lungile: "One day I go to Congo, to see the people of Congo..."















Melinda making faces with Lungile















Mel and the girls: Precious, Lungile, and Pretty, and their cousin Nthabiseng in the background

Emily's garden

Emily and the other employees at the bakery are growing vegetables in a community garden behind Emily's house. Emily has talked about getting this garden started since I was an apprentice in 2007, and it's exciting to see it growing at last!

Birthday Party

Tuesday last week, Sarah and I took cakes & goodies out to Emily's to celebrate her daughter Precious' 10th birthday. Here are the girls with the cakes & snacks...

Nthabiseng (cousin), Precious, and Lungile (little sister)

Grey day in Sosh

Sunset in Sosh

New shoes on Solomon's bakkie

Emily's yard, Wholesome Bakery, Solomon's bakkie

Sunset through the fence

Sunset from the stoep

Palm Sunday

On Palm Sunday, Sarah and Colletta and I visited our friend Doris' church in Soshanguve. Church in Sosh is usually an all-morning (and into the afternoon) occasion, and this past Sunday was fairly usual. We arrived at 8:30 for prayers before the service, service started at 9:30, and we got home to Pretoria a little before 2:00pm. =)

Woman walking and praying before the service started (Sarah took this one on my camera)

Sarah sharing a little about herself & NieuCommunities

Giant bags of vegetables placed at the front of the church at the end of the service. The church encourages its members to bring food and other staple items each week. Anyone in need is free to take from what is brought, for themselves as well as others in their community.

Swinging

On Monday afternoon, when I arrived at Emily's house with Sarah and Doris, we were greeted by Emily's daughter Lungile. She was hanging out in the front of the house, just playing on a swing with a friend... in the back of her dad's bakkie (truck). I love it.

Christmas Day at Granny's

Dayna, Tony, Sarah, and I all drove out to Soshanguve mid-day on Christmas to celebrate with Granny and the family. We hung out with Granny's family, ate chicken & pap, and exchanged small gifts white-elephant style. They loved the cookies the girls had decorated the night before! During the afternoon, we read the Christmas story from the Bible together, and then Dayna played guitar as we sang Christmas carols. The family loved learning "Little Drummer Boy," and after we sang the carol, Dayna talked about how Jesus gave himself to us at Christmas. The boy in the song brought the gift that he had—himself—to Jesus. In the same way, Jesus gave himself to us. As I sat in the midst of this family who has welcomed me in, who has given of themselves to me so richly, I saw a reflection of Christ's love in Granny's family. I am so thankful to minister both to and with this family… and to be ministered to by them.

Me and Tshegofatso






















Tshegofatso and Lungile






















Dayna, Pretty, Emily, Annah, and baby Douglas: singing carols together

















Christmas dinner #1: chicken, pap, chakalaka, coleslaw... and gingerbread and sugar cookies






















Me, Emily, Dayna, Granny, Annah, Alex, Pretty, and Sarah: wearing our hats from the Christmas crackers!