Saturday, October 18, 2008

The Village

I spent last week in a very rural village about 2 hours from where i've been living. It was an excellent time! I really got to experience the traditional Zulu culture in it's entirety. Well, probably not everything. Here are a few of my experiences in a very summarized manner:

lived in a mud house
slept on the ground
ate traditional food
attended a traditional funeral
experienced traditional life in Zulu land
learned much about the culture
ate more food
preached to a church
discipled believers
shared the Gospel of Jesus to non-believers
took many, many pictures
learned more of the Zulu language
ate still more food
hiked on the hills and in the valleys
observed how a Zulu fishes
rock-hopped across a river
walked across a legit swinging bridge that people use daily
took more pictures
groaned with the discomfort from eating too much
played soccer barefoot
encountered and battled ancestor worship first hand
spoke boldly against it
prayer walked
prayed over people who were oppressed by demons
and ate more food.

There is much more, but i cannot remember it all. I was quite blessed to have that week. God knew i really needed to get away from civilization for a bit, and He took care of me. It was nice also as I have been reading so much over the past two months, and last week was the time where i was to speak the things i had learned. That was nice.
One of the biggest accomplishments of the week was simply the fact that Josh and i lived with blacks. Since South Africa is still so segregated, it was a huge deal that two white guys would actually want to go and live with the black people. They were so honored to have us there and they felt very blessed. i felt equally blessed to be a part of tearing down the ridiculous dividing walls of racism and segregation. The Zulu are beautiful people and i really enjoyed living with them in their traditional environment. Yes, i actually miss that small village a lot. It was very hard to leave that beautiful place with such hospitable people. I do hope God allows me the opportunity to set my eyes on that village again, with its rolling hills and steep valleys! I did take many pictures, and i hope to get a couple up soon.

2 comments:

mklilley said...

Wholly holy is the Lord God Almighty who ordained you to be right where you are in this point of eternity to witness such wonders -- even as the Ozarks is impoverished without your sweet smile and spirit! Hey, would you pray about me using your last blog for a dvd on purity for the crises pregnancy center? I had envisioned just taping young, godly women, but I loved your blasting boldness! Love ya, Mama Lilley

Carissa said...

Your guys' trip sounded awesome! I can't wait to see pictures of it. You witnessed ancestral worship? craziness. I just caught up with your blogs and am excited to hear all of what's going on. I'm praying for you guys. Finish strong. :-) God bless