Goodbye Thank Yous

 

Dan and I have been blessed to spend our last full week in South Africa getting to “explore” some of the sights that true tourists come to see.

What a blessing to spend the best part of the day Monday with a large portion of the staff of DBC on a “fun day” excursion to uShaka Sea World.  Many years ago a tanker became grounded on the shores of the Indian Ocean in downtown Durban.  The tanker sat and rusted until someone saw potential in the ruins.  It still amazes me that folks are able to turn trash into treasure, and they hit the jackpot with this “garbage”.  The ship itself has been turned into a beautiful aquarium, housing all kinds of saltwater sea life.  We enjoyed seeing a variety that included gold fish, blue fish, yellow fish, pink fish, green fish, rainbow colored fish, striped fish, sharks, stingrays, turtles…and that was just a small part.  There were tanks filled with seahorses, crabs, little wormy looking things that stuck up out of the dirt, a chameleon fish that could only be found by his dark black eyes because the rest of him blended with the dirt.  There were jellyfish, upside-down jellyfish, starfish of all sorts of colors, a hiding octopus, pufferfish, and a really plain looking, but very delightful, unicorn fish…yep, he had a horn sticking straight out just above and between his eyes!  Listening to the schoolchildren ooh and ahh in front of the displays was delightful.  Finding ways to take pictures that would give an idea of the size of the fish was challenging.  I could spend several days just sitting and staring at the beautiful tanks and never grow tired of the assortment of life to see under the sea.  Again I wondered how anyone in the right mind could possibly believe that all this started with a “big bang”.  It’s so obvious that we didn’t all come from one single cell somewhere.  I also loved how the fish “shared” their space with each other.  No one seemed put out about skin color…or fish that swam in schools instead of doing their own thing…or fish that had scales while others did not…or fish that didn’t even look like fish at all.  They just lived and breathed and did what they were created to do in the world their Father had placed them in.  I think we could all learn some lessons from the fish of the sea.  We also delighted in the sea lion show...but my favorite was the dolphin show.  Such joyful creatures...and they sang for us!

Tuesday I administered final tests at school and then came home to grade papers.  I’d like to share a little of the wisdom gained from my students this summer.  One student, when asked about designing a music ministry, said, “I would teach them not to entertain other people but to seek the heart of God.”  Another student wisely stated, “It’s hard to lead different types of worshippers, but as a leader you must create unity in the church, because all of us worship God!”  One young man really caught a vision of a church whose standards have been lowered (I’m talking about the church as a whole, and not a specific church).  He said the following:  “Before people prayed much and fasted much, but today people think they will die if they do that…purity of heart is not emphasized as much as before.  Miracles, signs and wonders are rejected whereas before they were embraced.  Demons are ignored and given special names, but before every problem that came could be connected to demons.  Evangelism is not emphasized any more as before.”  What a tragedy that our young people are being raised in a church atmosphere that has become almost impotent.  We have the student that talked about how to worship God better:  “There are many things that we can say about the character of God.  He is all-providing; he is eternal; holy and mighty; all-powerful; El Shaddai; Adonai; Jehovah-Jireh; Jehovah-Nissi; Jehovah-Rapha; our healer.  When we know His names, we can understand how great He is and worship Him better.”  I loved one student’s description of the “Unveiled Worshipper” who takes on a special “glow” in their time with God…a glow like you see on a new bride’s face as she leaves the church with her new husband.  One student described the “Unquenchable Worshipper” as one that "never quits nor gives up on worshipping God.  When the storms come and the going gets tough, the worship is never quenched with this guy.”  One of the young ladies in the class would design her music ministry to include “a team that not only led praise and worship in the church, but would also lead in evangelism/outreach and would go on a mission trip to minister to a lost world.”  The last student shared that she was very aware that our worship OF God is directly related to our intimacy WITH God.  She listed prayer, fasting, Bible study, listening to godly music and meditation as tools that help us come to know God.  She also stated that we are to worship God on His terms…not how we “think” or “feel” we should worship Him.  Her words made me think about the Hebrew children of the Old Testament.  As long as they did what God commanded, their fellowship with Him remained secure.  But over and over again they lowered their standards…and over and over again God had to deal with their lack of standards to draw them back to a right relationship with Him.  I wonder how long He’ll continue to put up with a church that has lost the ability to obey His Word and do what He requires?  How arrogant are we to think that “our ways” of worship come anywhere near to His ways that are so far beyond what we can think or imagine?  I’m telling you, my encounter with God this summer…and with the heart of these students in Durban, has been life-changing…and worship changing!

I can’t remember if I explained the dilemma I face here DBC that I’ve faced nowhere else as a teacher.  If students receive grades in the 90’s, the teacher’s ability to grade is questioned.  No one is expected to score so high at the college level.  A score of 90-100 makes you an “expert” in whatever field you are studying, and no one expects a “student” to be an “expert”.  I’ve actually had to look for ways to take points off of papers, notebook assignments and tests!!! Take points off!!!  In America it seems we look every way possible for ways to “help” our students get extra points.  Two of the students stood out among their classmates for diligence, work ethic and understanding of all that was taught.  I’m talking almost photographic memories and able to give back all the information shared in their text and in classroom discussions.  I had to grade them rigorously enough to keep their scores as low as possible.  So only one student has a score in the 90’s.  Of course…I should also say…here the grading scale is quite different.  You can still make the equivalent of an “A” with a score of 75 (gasp).  It’s called a grade of “distinction”.  The next range 65-75 is “First Class”, or equated to our “B”.  You can actually pass the course with a score of 40 in South Africa!!!!  Some American students would love that.  It’s been so hard to make this educational “cultural” change in my mind.  I finally gave up and just deducted 5 points from each final grade to account for the difference between American and South African grading. (sigh)

Wednesday we left the house about ten in the morning to head to the Drakensberg Boys Choir School.  It was a ride of 3 hours one way across the beautiful open land of South Africa.  The Drakensberg Mountain range is so named because it looks like the back of a “dragon”.  The mountains are dramatic to see.  Most of the land between here and there would be perfect for filming an old American western movie.  Trees are sparse…lots of open land.  The hills and mountains have dramatic cliffs.  We traveled through small “villages” of cinderblock homes with thatched roofs and cattle and poultry running free.  We had to slow down at one point for a cow crossing the highway.  Even more alarming was the return trip in the dark, because people walk and stand along the highway to catch a “taxi”…a van that is sometimes stuffed with more than a dozen people taking them from point to point.  It was a beautiful ride.  We lunched along the way and arrived at the school…in the middle of the boondocks…in time for a short tour of the facility before the concert.  The Drakensberg Boys Choir is almost as well known as the Vienna Boys Choir.  The choir is made up of boys in grades 4 – 9 who live full time at the boarding school.  You can join the choir only by audition.  Tuition runs around $10K a year…but includes room, board, tuition, national travel and international travel.  The choir is made up of 103 boys (not sure why the 3 is on there, but it seems to consistently be made of this number).  Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw those boys do.  They started the concert (to an almost full auditorium) with “The Hallelujah Chorus”.  The first half of the program was remarkably religious in nature.  There were two grand pianos, kettle drums, bongos, an organ, xylophone…and the auditorium was designed as a recording studio.  The boys had only just returned at 1:00 that afternoon from a trip to Johannesburg to perform on “African Idol” (yes…just like American Idol).    The intermission included some of the boys “basking” in the courtyard while “tea and crumpets” were served.  “Basking” is singing for the pleasure of the audience…and for possible “tips” (smile).  And "crumpets", according to Dan, was "pancakes".   While the first half of the show was beautiful, it was the second half that excited my heart.  The boys dressed in the first half in formal suits or bibbed outfits.  They were in native costume in the 2^nd half and performed African tunes, a Jamaican tune, I believe an Austrian tune.  By the end of the concert they’d sung in at least a half dozen languages.  They did native dances.  But my favorite part was when they turned out all the lights and we had the opportunity to sit in “the native land”, hearing the sounds of the night creatures.  Snapping fingers, whistles, rubbing hands, patting legs…even a thunderstorm broke out with flashing lights and the boys pounded their boots on the risers from one side of the room to the other to sound like rolling thunder.  If we were to see these boys perform in the U.S. our tickets would be exorbitant, but because we drove to their school, we paid $14 (for me) and $12 (for the senior citizens that accompanied me – snicker).  What a treat.  We’re bringing home and video and a DVD of this wonderful group.  As someone who loves music…loves children…loves God…this was a dream come true.  I’m so glad that God has allowed me to never dull to the beauty of music…whether joyful and spiritual…or “a joyful noise”.  The young men were charming, personable and their manners were impeccable.  How I wish I could pack them up and show people what children are capable of when they’re in the hands of someone who knows the blessing of working with their strengths.  The boys traveled across America last year and later this year will be traveling to Germany and Belgium.  They continue their studies while they're traveling...everything about them was impressive.

Yesterday we had the opportunity to visit the consulate office of the American Embassy here in Durban.  We’re hoping to bring Stephen Chisonta to America for a visit October 15-December 15^th and he needed our help applying for a VISA to visit America.  Stephen was one of my students four years ago whom I wanted to pack into my suitcase and bring home.  I look forward to introducing him to my family and friends soon.  Stephen is originally from Zambia and has trained to become a pastor.  We were blessed a few weeks ago to meet his beautiful fiancé-to-be, Brenda, and I look forward to getting to know her better too.  These will be my “African children” in my genealogy!

Today was a day of “goodbyes”…a sad day in many ways.  The school staff had planned a full-school luncheon to “commend” us on our way.  Speeches were made by staff and student representatives thanking us and telling what they liked about us.  It was very overwhelming, but I keep thinking of something someone said earlier this summer, I believe on Facebook.  They said that when they received compliments, they gathered them up in a bouquet to give to Jesus.  We have an incredible bouquet to give to Him today!  I know we’re not supposed to take pride in compliments…but I have to say that I loved how I was recognized as a “Barnabus”…an encourager.  I was commended for the encouragement I brought to the school and more specifically to the students.  I found out that a young woman that was here before has continued to speak about the blessing of encouragement I brought to her life.  And all I could think was, “Thank You, Lord.”  I put as a goal in my life earlier this year that I wanted to be known as an encourager.  I have an abundance of encouraging friends in my life…and I wanted their encouragement to “rub off” on me.  There was a time in my life I was known as a whiner and complainer (I think sometimes my poor husband still has to deal with that way more than he should).  But I was so grateful today to hear that my “bubbly” spirit and “breath of fresh air” did not offend anyone.  So I go home knowing that God not only worked in me through this summer, but that He was also able to work through me.

Tomorrow morning we load up for our “safari” weekend.  The sunset and sunrise “tours” in the open-air jeeps have been arranged.  Now we just have to drive the eight-nine hours to our destination.  I’ve been told I’ll see what I really want to see…the elephants and giraffes.  If all goes well we should also see big cats of some sort.  Sometimes it’s hard for me to know what to look forward to since I’ve not experienced it before.  Camera and computer will be headed to Kruger Park with us, so hopefully before we head for home I’ll have some more posted.

I just noticed my clock on my computer…and I’m tearing up as I realize that in exactly one week from right now I should be arriving at the Buffalo Airport where Andy will pick us up to drive us back home and into the waiting arms of our kids and grandkids.  Maybe I should say my arms are the ones that are waiting to hold them.  It’s been the summer/winter of a lifetime.  I’m glad winter in Durban is pretty much like summer at home…not sure I could truly handle a two winter year!  We’ve not only “survived” our African adventure, we’ve “thrived” in our time with God…out of our comfort zone…but still in His!  I shared today that if someone had told me when I took piano lessons in the 7^th grade that God was preparing me to one day play the piano at a Bible College in South Africa I would have thought they were crazy.  I’m so glad His ways are NOT our ways… because I know I wouldn’t have picked South Africa as a place to adventure to back then.  But it is permanently embedded in my heart and will, from now on, be considered my home-away-from-home!  Thank You, Lord.  Thank you, DBC staff and students.  Thank you, Marcie, for your patient and incredible hospitality.  And thank you friends for your prayers and good wishes.