Durban/Indian Ocean

Yesterday we visited an indian area of the coastal town Durban and went to the beach! The drive from Pietermaritzburg is about an hour and 30 mins so we left pretty early and spent the second half of our morning walking around the predominately indian town just outside of Durban. It was the poorest area we've been in so far (it was about on par with Soweto, but we didn't get out of the vans for very long there or interact with any of the people) and it was a great experience. We were confined to walking around the main street and as soon as we pilled out of the vans it became ridiculously obvious that we were very out of place. I have never felt so much like a tourist or so obviously white in my life. We all went our separate ways (in groups- except for Adam, who talked to every single person on that street) and we started walking through the market area where women were cooking things like huge sausages on small fires and selling produce and clothing. We then moved toward the shops and looked around for a while. Most of them sold about the same random assortment of clothing and bedding and shoes and any other random thing they could squeeze into the small room. The women that ran the shops followed you as you browsed and most of the stores did not even bother pricing their wares because everyone haggles over everything. The South African people are so overwhelmingly hospitable and open that everywhere we went we had people shouting greetings and questions at us and we were invited to the homes of a couple of the shopkeepers we had particularly long conversations with. Most of the shops were owned by indians and the workers were blacks and generally the owner was in the shop standing in the door until someone came in and then they stood and talked while their employees shelved and moved things. In one of the shops i met a man that told us that we should tour the mosque at the end of the street so we made our way there and as we were walking around trying to figure out how to get in we ran into the principle of the school that was attached to the mosque and he ended up taking us on a tour of the mosque and the school. We were not allowed into the prayer area of the mosque but we were able to stand in the back and the principle explained what the different areas were for and how prayers work, where the leader stands, and all the other basics none of us knew. Then he opened up the girls school for us and let us walk through a few of the classrooms and explained how they split the genders after puberty. They actually had one classroom where both boys and girls took a class and there was a brick wall splitting the room in half so they remained separate. After our tour of the mosque and the school we looked through some more shops and got back in the vans and went to the beach. The coast of Durban is beautiful and the water is clear and a light green blue, not quite like the Mediterranean but still very beautiful. But the most impressive thing about the beach was definitely the waves. Since my primary frame of reference is the Atlantic it doesn't take much to impress me, but these waves were unreal. I made the mistake of just walking into the water instead of bracing myself like i was going into battle and i was immediately knocked on my butt. But besides my not-so-graceful beginning, the water was warm and we had a great time. After swimming we met up with a local youth group. We had to move beaches because a number of men had parked themselves right next to us and were getting progressively more and more drunk which was taste of the disappointing reality of SA. This country and its people have so much beauty and potential but you are confronted with serious social issues every time you turn around. Leisel, Reagan's (one of the CLC's) wife was talking to us about the struggle with teenage pregnancy that is going on especially in the black and colored communities. The potential of this place is so overwhelming and there is a feeling that this potential is not being realized and is not being met. But we have a lot more time to wrestle with and try to understand these problems. So after we switched beaches we started the braai which involves a lot of meat which takes a long time to cook so we walked around and talked with the local kids until it was ready and by that time it was late so we ate and went home.
This morning i got up and went to church with Reg, the director of the program. His church is mostly white and is so full of joy and the holy spirit, it was great to be there. I love that we are getting the opportunity to see God praised and experienced in so many ways, it is really impacting all of us and will definitely change the way we understand the global church and the way we experience and see God.