Rebecca: understanding meanings & feelings beyond words

Rebecca arrives in Cape Town

One of the experiences that has stuck out most in mind since arriving in Cape Town was participating in a Baptist service at a Church in the township of Guguletu.  A township is a an area of Cape Town that was designated as a Coloured or Black neighborhood during Apartheid, an era of racial segregation that used laws to force all people that were not white to give up everything they had ever known. 

Before continuing, for anyone who does not know me, I think it is important to know that I am Jewish.  My entire life I was raised Jewish and my religion is an important part of my life.   When I heard I was going to be attending a Christian Baptist Church I was both excited to participate in another culture’s religion, and a little hesitant. I have attended Church before, but have never felt completely comfortable.  The second I walked into the Church, I felt right at home.  Everyone seemed so welcoming and we arrived while they were singing the first of many songs to be sung that day.   Even though the room was small their voices sounded like they were in the largest concert hall.  Every person young and old knew every word and sang at the top of their lungs, and it sounded so beautiful! They had four part harmonies, and every person was standing and dancing to the music.  It was a very enthusiastic and involved service the likes of which I have not seen very often. 

The entire service was in Xhosa, which is one of the languages spoken in South Africa.  Because I did not have to focus on the words I was able to appreciate the service, and simply feel the emotion and devotion that enveloped every person in the Church.  It almost reminded me of hearing Hebrew in Temple; I may not always understand the words, but I understand the meanings and feelings behind them.   It was humbling to see how dedicated to their faith every person was and made me want to enjoy going to Temple as much as they clearly enjoyed going to Church. 

In the middle of the service a collection was taken which was a very emotional moment for me.  Every person in the church walked up to give whatever they could….literally most people were only putting in a handful of coins because that is all they can afford, but everyone did it with such pride it was like they were giving thousands of dollars.  This congregation was such a haven for people who lead lives full of trials that I could never have imagined before coming to Cape Town.   At the end they talked about how they had adopted a sister church that was even less fortunate than them, so the church was buying the children new school uniforms.  People then donated again and it was amazing to me that most of these people have next to nothing yet they are still more generous with what little they have than many of the people I know in the United States.    

Rev Vernon Rose outside his childhood home where his mother still lives

 Later at lunch Vernon, one of our program directors, said something that really put the day into perspective for me.  He talked about how the people attending Church were all part of the HIV and AIDs, unemployment, TB, and poverty statistics that we hear everyday, and that Sundays are their time to themselves to not be part of a statistic.  Hearing this made me realize how fortunate I was that they were willing to share their religion, and their time with us.  I know that day will stay in mind forever. 

I’m still a little homesick but everyday I get more used to being in this amazing city.  More from me soon! 

Rebecca being welcomed to Moyo