There are 5 ecclesias in the Durban area: Durban proper, where we will be attending; Westville, a near-west suburb; Pinetown, a farther west suburb; Lamontville, a township to the south; and Marianhill, a township to the southwest.
The Durban hall has a flat over it, which the ecclesia has recently refurbished. It is very nice, and immediately felt like home. Cathy had bought some basic groceries to get us started, and when we arrived with David she made us all tea, and then began to go through a packet of information for us. Our first week was to be quite busy, with various brothers & sisters having us for dinner, several Bible classes, our training sessions at the BEC, events in Lamontville and Marianhill...whew!
Still a bit dazed, Cathy drove us to the Westville meeting hall, where the vehicle we'll be using was parked. It's called a "bakkie" (pronounced "buckie", no one seems to know why, or what the origin of the name is); at home we would call it a pickup. This one is a four door Mazda, and has a topper over the bed in back. The vehicle is getting a bit elderly, and therefore has some quirks, but it runs fine.
And then, we were on our own! With some written instructions, we had to find our way back to the flat...only got lost twice! Durban is a big city and has big city traffic. In the week we've been here, Paul has gotten fairly comfortable with driving on the left, shifting with his left hand, and dealing with the traffic. The weather was drizzly/rainy for several days, which made the driving that much more interesting. Jane is letting Paul do the driving for now.
Since the flat is recently redone, it needs a few things. The brethren did a great job of furnishing it, and stocking it with dishes, pans, etc. But inevitably there are a bunch of little things that we find we need (or at least want). Our first few days, we did a little shopping almost every day, working around our training sessions at the BEC.
On Tuesday we were picked up by Dan & Leah, and met them for the first time. They are very energetic, and have been a great asset to the work here. Both are in their mid-tw
enties. They took us for coffee and some introductory conversation, and then to the BEC for our first training session. Lots of stuff to remember! At the BEC we met Mary Wilondja, who is the backbone of the BEC day to day operation. Originally Congolese, she speaks 7 languages, including Zulu (or more properly isiZulu), the first language of most people in this area. Most of the people who come into the shop have gotten to know Mary, and she has been key in building relationships with many who are now in the ecclesia, and others who are studying. The BEC is open 9:30-3:30 M-F and 9:30-12:30 on Sat, and Mary works every day but Wed. There's always more than one person on duty for safety; the mornings are mostly staffed by Durban and Westville volunteers, and the afternoons mostly by overseas volunteers.Tue aft
ernoon (Dec 2) we went to Marianhill township for a card-making session. This is new. Leah is trying to set it up where local young sisters (and a couple of young women who aren’t yet baptized) produce hand-made beaded greeting cards, for sale in Aus, US, etc. The old Marianhill hall (formerly a house) has been torn down and a new one & larger one is being built. In the meantime, Sister Sylvester Cele (and her husband Bro Phinda) are hosting the ecclesial meetings in their home. This past weekend, they also hosted a funeral service for 400, including a big meal as is traditional. No idea how they pulled it off! She is also currently hosting the card making group, so we were at her home.From there we quickly were taken by Dan & Leah to the Lamontville hall, for an outreach Bible study; they dropped us and left. By the time we got there it was in progress, being led by Bro Barry van Heerden of Durban. Lively discussion ensued. The Lamontville centre includes a creche (day care), an HIV prention program, a reading class, and other activities, as well as the Sunday meeting place for the ecclesia. It is also providing temporary shelter for some of 40 families whose homes burned in a recent fire.
After the class, Barry took us to his & Sis Wendith’s home for dinner, pretty late by this time. They live quite near the Durban hall and so are essentially our neighbors; they're also our designated "hosts", whom we can call on if we need help with anything. We learned that they are getting a new “aircon” (we would say A/C), and will donate their old one to our flat. That will be huge—everyone says it is VERY hot & humid in the summer here, and we’ve already experienced a bit of it, but apparently nothing like what’s coming.
Wed was another training session with Dan & Leah, on Mary's day off. We are learning the operation of the shop, including how to do the paperwork, sign people up for classes, and so on, and also how to manage the shop's stock, where to buy, how to handle the invoices--essentially everything for running a small retail operation, plus various correspondence Bible courses. On Thursday we were there with Mary, but without Dan & Leah. We feel comfortable with the basics, but it's a good thing Mary is there!
Wed and Thur evenings we went to the Durban and Westville Bible studies, both of which are held in homes. We are meeting more and more of the brethren, and finding them to be most gracious and loving, opening their homes to us and giving us a very warm welcome. We of course have some tugs of homesickness now and then, but we feel so welcome here that we don't feel at all lonely.
Thursday evening it rained pretty hard...and thereby hangs a tale for next time.
By the way, a couple more photos have been added to the previous post.
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