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Friends United Meeting |
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September/October 2006
Experiencing Life and the World...
By Erini Shields
In the May 2005 Quaker Life, you’ll find an article about a girl who went through various medical tests and was having a challenging time. Hi, that was me. I haven’t been to a hospital for any spasm-related problems since January 2005. We still don’t know what caused them, but I haven’t let that keep me from experiencing life to the fullest.
During this past year at school, I went to three countries on three different continents. Leaving my home and my comfort zone was probably one of the most memorable things I did in the past few years.
My first international trip I spent the first term of my junior year in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province in China as part of Goshen’s Study Service Term (SST). I wasn’t alone—I had 22 other Goshen College students, a professor, his wife and two young children with me the entire time.
But things weren’t always like I hoped. Our first week, we did touristy things in Beijing and Xi’an. Due to health problems, I was the only one in our group who couldn’t hike the Great Wall. Although I really wanted to experience the Great Wall, I felt something pulling me back saying “not yet.” Sometimes God keeps us from things we think we want. When my friends returned from their tiring journey, I learned one of my close friends had passed out during the hike. I had a hard time making it to the entrance for our group picture; God knew I would have an even harder time making it to Simatai, the end point for my group, on my own, so I sat for about four hours. Although I was alone, I especially enjoyed listening to the blind man who sat about 10 feet away from me. He played a three-stringed traditional instrument called a sanxian and sang what were probably traditional folk songs.
After Beijing we went to Xi’an, then to Chengdu. It was my first time living in a big city and I felt right at home. We lived and studied at Sichuan Normal University, a school of 36,000 students. The service part of SST was teaching oral English—just like every other China SSTer had done for the past 25 years. I went with 13 others to Sichuan Normal’s eastern campus to teach juniors—my peers. I couldn’t think of a better service assignment.
As far as Christian service goes, I have never felt interested or called into what is seen as traditional missionary work. I didn’t, and still don’t, feel it’s my place to go into someone else’s home and culture and say “Believe in God or perish in hell” or even “Jesus loves you; commit your life to him.” For me, the service in SST is exactly what I feel Christian service should be. Going to another place and helping where it’s needed, getting to know the people and the culture, establishing yourself within that community. Through your work people can come to know Christ. I enjoyed teaching because it gave me a chance to connect with people, so we could see each other for who we were.
Near the end of our trip we took a journey to Mount Emei, one of the four holy Buddhist mountains. We had been to a Daoist mountain earlier and even visited LeShan (the world’s largest sitting Buddha), but Emei was beautiful. The air was clean and crisp, and everywhere you looked it was picturesque. It was easy to see why Buddhists picked this mountain. Nothing shows the glory of the Creator more than a collection of creations working in harmonious beauty. Most of my classmates hiked for an hour, to where the monkeys were, before heading to the nearest teahouse to rest. I joined four of my friends and hiked halfway up the mountain. Given my physical strength (or lack thereof) in the beginning of the trip, this was quite a feat for me. Even now, I’m still proud of myself. Going on past the tourist area, my friends and I were surrounded by the beauty of God’s creation. God’s artistry was around every corner, over every hill.
The three months went quickly. Some classmates were beyond homesick and ready for it to end. I, on the other hand, did not want to see it end. I’m determined to return, to experience the Wall for myself, to revisit my favorite places, reconnect with friends and to fill myself to the rim with food! Chengdu had become my home. Even when my family was experiencing the birth of my niece and a serious diagnosis for my stepmother, I didn’t want to let go of China. Maybe it’s my calling, but I feel drawn towards China. Deep inside of me, it’s as if I know I’m going back, that it’s part of my plan.
I left with more than silk goodies and fond memories—I left with the travel bug.
Three months after returning I was more than happy to be on a plane heading across another ocean. After an eighthour layover in Frankfurt, Germany (where we explored), I arrived in Peitermartizburg, South Africa. Again, I was with another Goshen College group, but this time there were only two other students and one professor. We joined a professional producer and a videographer/editor as part of Goshen’s Peace and Justice Journalism program, hired by Mennonite Mission Network. I spent the next week, my spring break, as the Associate Producer for a documentary about three partner churches that are working to bring social change in post-apartheid South Africa. (It premieres this fall.)
South Africa really opened my eyes. Racism, among other problems, is still present. And while the apartheid might be over according to our history books, black and coloured South Africans still face economic segregation. It was here I learned that most non-whites don’t want some foreigner to come in and “fix” the problem; they have to find the strength within themselves in order to find freedom. And that is exactly what the churches in South Africa are doing.
Sometimes, it’s hard to feel God working through our lives or even to understand that what is happening is God’s work. I continue to struggle with it in my life. But while I was in South Africa, God’s work was something you could see in the faces of church members across the country. The Break Through Church International in Peitermarizburg works on gathering people; they have a strong faith that God will better their lives. The church has many cell groups, which meet in members’ homes, and they actively discuss issues of faith and share moving testimonies.
The Grace Community Church in Philipstown has an outreach program for local farm workers. Like much of South Africa, most of the land is still owned by white and Afrikaner farmers who live in large houses, while their workers live in one or two-room cement shacks. The Afrikaner farmer who owned the farm we visited was a kind man who encouraged his workers to live in Christ. He felt that a faith in God was important, just as is lifting up the meek and bringing down those who have profited on them for too long. Feeling a strong need for equality, he saw God as the means of bringing it.
Our last stop in South Africa was in Cape Town, a beautiful, wealthy seaside city that definitely leaves an impression on you. But as you drive in you literally see the shift in economic stature. Coloureds and blacks were forced out of the city and into townships (shantytowns) at the edge of the city. The furthest township is Khayelitsha. And it was in the New Zion Fellowship in Khayelitsha I was left speechless. The average age of church members was 18-20. Passion-filled singing led to open testimonials about God’s work in their lives and prayers for God to lift them up. And although this church did not own their own building, they still hung up signs—prayer requests for children, young adults and women around the world. I was amazed these people weren’t praying for a building; they were praying for God to enter the lives of those around the world.
Here in Khayelitsha I felt a spiritual challenge. And it came from the words of the pastor’s wife. She had felt the hardships of racism all her life, from her childhood living in a tent to adulthood where she is working hard to become a doctor. Because of her skin color, people think she is not capable of succeeding, but she is proving them wrong. Her strength is amazing, just as is her pain. I left her house wondering, what is my place as a young Caucasian North American female? I didn’t choose my race or my gender or even the nationality I was born into. God still created me, so I must have some purpose.
Unfortunately, I left South Africa with a different kind of bug—an intestinal one probably caused by one of the many mosquitoes that attacked me. But I healed, my stomach is fine and I only have a few scars on my legs. And while I’m still ready to go back to China, I’d also like to return to South Africa—to experience the culture and truly get to know the people, maybe even be a part of this great Christian movement across the country (this time I’ll always sleep with a mosquito net over my bed).
By the end of this past school year, I had climbed a mountain, seen real pandas (even a two-week old cub) and cheetahs, held a red panda, been touched by a monkey, attacked by the Indian Ocean, ate “exotic” foods (like eel, sheep’s lung and springbok) and was amazed by God’s creations. And while I may have missed things at home, I wouldn’t have traded it for anything. I grew stronger personally. Inspired by the beauty of God’s creation and the compassion and faith of a world of people, I was able to find strength within myself I never knew I had. I learned I don’t have to rely on others to accomplish everything, and to accept and appreciate help when it’s offered. I also learned people are relatively the same, no matter where you go, but the key is to get out and explore for yourself.
Erini Shields is a senior Interdisciplinary major at Goshen College and served as intern for Quaker Life this summer. She is writing a short novel based on her experiences in South Africa. Find the documentary information at: www.mennonitemission.net.