Hello from Durban!!

Hey friends!

I've just arrived in Durban after spending the weekend at Giant's Castle in the Drakensburg Mountains.  I wish I could describe how incredibly beautiful it was. Out of this world.  We spent Sunday hiking which turned out to be extremely eventful.  One group crossed into Lesotho, another was accosted by baboons (which are not nice animals), and our group got lost, sick, and stuck in the rain. But it was AWESOME!

Last week, we were in Kimberley, touring the De Beers Diamond Mine and the Kimberley research library. I don't want to reveal my history nerdiness too much, but I LOVED this place.  They had "the first history of the world" published in Nuremburg in 1467 and the first Bible printed in an African language, as well as lots of old maps.

Before that, we finished our stay in Joburg by visiting Central Methodist Church in the heart of the city.  This visit has been the most heartbreaking experience of the trip.  The church houses 1400 refugees EVERY night.  The building smells of poverty and many of the refugees are trapped here since they can't find jobs but can't return to Zimbabwe. We started by talking to Bishop Verryn, who I really loved because he's the first person here who seems to understand the hope that is found in the Gospel.  I really appreciated hearing the many things he tries to do to serve here, but the whole talk was also disheartening because it seems the church is often unable to accomplish anything.  He led us to the sanctuary for our service project, which we expected to be something like cleaning, or building something, or playing with kids, but instead we were told we were going to lead a workshop for young mothers who can't find work and who are very alone. We all felt utterly hopeless trying to converse with these women when we knew we were totally unable to change anything about their situation. They looked to us as a large group of white Americans who could somehow fix things for them, which was probably the most humbling part.  That's been the most unexpected part of this trip; everyone we come across expect us to behave in a particular way since we're white and American, when in actuality, we know nothing about their situation, nor do we have any power to change anything. Needless to say, I'm learning a lot and processing a lot.  I miss you all very much!

Laura