First day in Guguletu

I have to admit that I was nervous about going into Guguletu this morning because I wasn’t sure what to expect and I didn’t know how the people at JL Zwane would treat us. On our drive over we passed a township that just looked so heartbreaking. There were shacks all over each other that were torn down and had garbage on top of them, shops and salons were in the storage shipping crates from trains (aka pods). When we pulled up to JL Zwane (the center/church) I was surprised. The center is very nice-it was only built a few years ago. There’s an area in the middle that has no roof, but has these tarps hanging on top-it looks cool, kind of like a parachute. The church has wooden chairs like classroom ones, but they are joined together, that are used for the pews. The church service was a lot different than what I’m used to in a Catholic church. The service doesn’t really follow and order- the minister will ask if anyone would like to say a prayer and also asks if the choir can think of a song that revolves around giving praise. There was also no communion (it is only done about once a month). One thing that I found funny was that after each song you’d sit down and then about five seconds later you’d stand back up to sing another song. During the second mass I had an embarrassing moment where I stood up when I wasn’t supposed to since I wasn’t a member of the congregation. The church choir is filled with about 20 ladies who have amazing voices. Their singing is so strong and powerful that even though I don’t know the words they were singing (they speak in Xhosa), it still moves me and makes me happy but also wants to cry at the same time. They use these small rectangular sandbag pillows to pound and make a beat with. Their voices fill the church with a sense of love and community. You can tell that they all have strong beliefs because they get really into it. Their music also has no music notes, so it’s hard to tell how long you’re supposed to hold a note for. Their song and praise is so moving and uplifting. You can tell they are so grateful and have so much love for God.

After mass we met our house mama. Brittney and I are staying with Kate, her daughter Penny and Penny’s newborn baby boy, At. Kate is very friendly. The first thing she asked was “Who likes noodles? Who likes mashed potatoes? Who likes dogs?” You can tell that she is very caring and wants you to feel comfortable in her home. She prepared food and read our biographies about our likes and dislikes. Brittney had in her bio that she enjoys reading and so Kate even left a stack of books by Brittney’s bed for her to read. It’s really cute. Kate calls us her babies and love. All of the mamas are outgoing, friendly, caring, warm-hearted people. You can tell that they really appreciate us coming here and will take good care of us.

Johanna, a volunteer at the center that takes care of the elderly, came by to talk to us for awhile. She told us how for the past two years she has been visiting the homes of sick people who are elderly. The other day she visited this lady who was waiting for her daughter to come home from work so that they could go to the clinic and pick up her medicine. So Johanna went to go pick up her medicine for the lady and went back to her home and talked with her for about an hour. By doing simple things like, you can make a difference in their lives. Johanna told us that you just need to move on from the bad things and keep hoping, being positive, and thankful. This was very inspirational because one person can make a big difference in the lives of others. It bewilders me as to how people who are suffering are able to sustain such a positive outlook on life and go about every day in a bright perspective.

The assistant minister, Mel, was telling us how one of her goals since she has been in Cape Town is to help someone somehow every day. This may be by giving them money or helping them spiritually. But then she also mentioned to keep in mind that you can’t help everyone you see. There’s some people that she walks by and all she can say is “God bless you.” This is something to keep in mind because I’m sure I’ll want to help others once I talk to them and hear their story, but I’ll have to remember that even the lady wearing the collar can’t help everyone.

When we were getting dropped off to our homes in Guguletu I was getting nervous because we kept passing these really run down areas and I had no idea what to expect for what my home would look like. It was really strange because on one side of the street there’d be these nicer small brick homes and then in their backyard would be stacks of tin metal box homes with bags of garbage on top to hold down their roof. At church today they said that some people couldn’t make it to mass because of the rain. This meant they had to take care of their homes because of the leaks that would drip down from their ceilings. They also said they may not have gotten much sleep because they have to keep moving their beds at night if the ceilings leak. It’s hard for me to understand that people live like this- it’s so surreal, yet real.

We pulled up to our home, which is nice! The home has a tiny living room, a dining room, small kitchen and one bedroom with two beds in it. Brittney and I are staying in a separate building in their backyard that has two beds, a TV, three comfy chairs, space heater and a desk. It’s actually really cozy and nice. I was just a little nervous about the fact that it wasn’t connected to the house, but it was okay because we could lock it. Kate also has three dogs, one of which is a guard dog named Danger (reminds me of “Sandlot”). The bathroom is also in a separate shack in their backyard. It’s basically like an outhouse but has a running toilet in it. Stay tuned to see how everything works out!