Hi all,
We haven't been written for a while. Interesting what a new addition to the family and pioneering a ministry will do to your time and survival skills. We are also in the middle of buying a house in Cosmo City and closer to Zandspruit, so we have been and are in a lot of transition to say the least.
In the midst of all that we are doing well, getting into some new rhythms and enjoying to challenge of the reconciliation ministry God has called us to. We just had Derek Engdahl, our supervisor from Servant Partners, visit us for the first time in South Africa. It was a real gift to have him here, to share our work and vision together some next steps.
We wanted to share some pictures with you from some recent events and some family pics. They are posted on www.facebook.com/trevsa, so check them out.
Also here are the direct links:
Drakensburg Hike
Family Pics: May 2010
Zandspruit Soccer Tournament
World cup friendly - Soccer City
We will share more soon.
Love to all
The Davies Update: Our journey of hope in South Africa...telling a different story!
Showing posts with label Zandspruit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Zandspruit. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Our second Home
This last week we spent time at our "second home" in Zandspruit. Our friends, Thabo and Dikiledi, opened up their home and their lives to us. I have to say this experience was much different than the last time Trev and I stayed in Zandspruit. This time we had Keira, previous relationship with Thabo and DK and other relationships within the community. However my eyes were still opened even wider.
Our time last week had a strange dichotomy of comfort and discomfort all at the same time. Being with Thabo and DK's was easy, from the moment that we entered we felt at home, there wasn't that awkward couple of hours or days where you are figuring out what to do with each other in this space. They welcomed us showed us the ropes of how things work in their house ( i.e. bathing in a small plastic tub, heating water for bathing and washing dishes etc.) It all felt very natural, even Keira took to calling them " My Thabo and My DK" ( she sometimes calls us My Mommy and My Daddy)
The uncomfortable part came once we were outside their place. I felt comfortable walking around, greeting people, but some days I just felt like a spectacle, I have written before about how some people can just tell I'm not from here or just choose to stare at me. And with Keira, it kinda felt like she was an exhibit, as adults and children would come and talk to her or stare at her or want to touch her hair. Now it is one thing to experience these same interactions every once and a while at the store or where ever, but in Zandspruit the streets are always pretty full of people walking or standing around so its like every other step or turn.
And then we would be home again, arriving at someones home we were visiting or back at Thabo and DK's.
When I think about the amount of fear that people, including myself, have about squatter communities, my mind continues to blare RELATIONSHIP! as the answer. I am only uncomfortable when I don't know the person staring at me, once I am in a home of someone I know I feel safe again. Or even as I walked up and down those streets, toward the end of the week some people would return my greeting and not just stare. And just like anyplace, there are normal people trying to get by and then there are people who are out for no good. Usually the previous out weighing the latter.
Another thing I realized after coming home was how much luxury that I live in. I never thought of sitting in a hot bath in the quiet and privacy of my own home as a luxury (OK maybe the privacy part, Keira is tall enough to open doors !) Or turning on a hot water tap in my house, or not having to share a toilet with anyone but those who live in my house, or having a toilet inside my house, or . . .having a house, where you can't feel the wind blow through the cracks and wholes, where you don't have to worry about rats eating your food or anything else. Or having control over the noise.
I have privilege, and i live with privilege. . .
And . . .I have the privilege of having a second home in Zandspruit. It seems like not having all the conveniences and extras in life make relationship all the more valuable. And time, time and more time, is how you built the relationships. Sometimes I feel like I don't "Do" a whole lot, but my days seem very full, in Zandspruit, if you don't have a job, you are probably going to be sitting chasing the sun to stay warm and just being with the people around you. For us "doers" that can be hard to do, but that time can be time very well spent.
I am thankful that we got to spend time with Thabo and DK and be a part of their everyday for a week, and I am happy to have friends that are willing to walk this journey with us!
Our time last week had a strange dichotomy of comfort and discomfort all at the same time. Being with Thabo and DK's was easy, from the moment that we entered we felt at home, there wasn't that awkward couple of hours or days where you are figuring out what to do with each other in this space. They welcomed us showed us the ropes of how things work in their house ( i.e. bathing in a small plastic tub, heating water for bathing and washing dishes etc.) It all felt very natural, even Keira took to calling them " My Thabo and My DK" ( she sometimes calls us My Mommy and My Daddy)
The uncomfortable part came once we were outside their place. I felt comfortable walking around, greeting people, but some days I just felt like a spectacle, I have written before about how some people can just tell I'm not from here or just choose to stare at me. And with Keira, it kinda felt like she was an exhibit, as adults and children would come and talk to her or stare at her or want to touch her hair. Now it is one thing to experience these same interactions every once and a while at the store or where ever, but in Zandspruit the streets are always pretty full of people walking or standing around so its like every other step or turn.
And then we would be home again, arriving at someones home we were visiting or back at Thabo and DK's.
When I think about the amount of fear that people, including myself, have about squatter communities, my mind continues to blare RELATIONSHIP! as the answer. I am only uncomfortable when I don't know the person staring at me, once I am in a home of someone I know I feel safe again. Or even as I walked up and down those streets, toward the end of the week some people would return my greeting and not just stare. And just like anyplace, there are normal people trying to get by and then there are people who are out for no good. Usually the previous out weighing the latter.
Another thing I realized after coming home was how much luxury that I live in. I never thought of sitting in a hot bath in the quiet and privacy of my own home as a luxury (OK maybe the privacy part, Keira is tall enough to open doors !) Or turning on a hot water tap in my house, or not having to share a toilet with anyone but those who live in my house, or having a toilet inside my house, or . . .having a house, where you can't feel the wind blow through the cracks and wholes, where you don't have to worry about rats eating your food or anything else. Or having control over the noise.
I have privilege, and i live with privilege. . .
And . . .I have the privilege of having a second home in Zandspruit. It seems like not having all the conveniences and extras in life make relationship all the more valuable. And time, time and more time, is how you built the relationships. Sometimes I feel like I don't "Do" a whole lot, but my days seem very full, in Zandspruit, if you don't have a job, you are probably going to be sitting chasing the sun to stay warm and just being with the people around you. For us "doers" that can be hard to do, but that time can be time very well spent.
I am thankful that we got to spend time with Thabo and DK and be a part of their everyday for a week, and I am happy to have friends that are willing to walk this journey with us!
Friday, May 15, 2009
To tell or not to tell
I have had the privledge to be part of a new young adults bible study in Zandspruit on Thursday nights. We meet every other week.
The last two weeks we have talked about the topic "To tell or not to tell." This has created some real discussion as we have wrestled with the struggles of telling the truth, for ourselves, for our friends and our communities. I think this is a challenging issue for us all, especially when telling the truth has consequences.
This is especially true in the squatter community where you can't hind in your house in the burbs, but are tightly packed together, where you see things that you don't really want to see, where telling what you did see has serious consequences.
We are growing as a new community of believers and we are starting to see the more negative consequences of not standing up for truth. Not telling the truth leaves us in the dark, it leads to communities that don't care what happens, where violence prevails. We have to start standing up for truth so that the light can prevail but we have to do it with love.
I hope that my character, along with this great group, will be changed, to be more truthful, to face the reality that if the truth does not prevail, it only leads to death and heartache in the long run.
The last two weeks we have talked about the topic "To tell or not to tell." This has created some real discussion as we have wrestled with the struggles of telling the truth, for ourselves, for our friends and our communities. I think this is a challenging issue for us all, especially when telling the truth has consequences.
This is especially true in the squatter community where you can't hind in your house in the burbs, but are tightly packed together, where you see things that you don't really want to see, where telling what you did see has serious consequences.
We are growing as a new community of believers and we are starting to see the more negative consequences of not standing up for truth. Not telling the truth leaves us in the dark, it leads to communities that don't care what happens, where violence prevails. We have to start standing up for truth so that the light can prevail but we have to do it with love.
I hope that my character, along with this great group, will be changed, to be more truthful, to face the reality that if the truth does not prevail, it only leads to death and heartache in the long run.
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