Yesterday I tried to blog about what I had been doing three times, but the technology wouldn’t play so eventually I had to admit defeat.

Anyway, yesterday was a great day.  We went on a tour of ward 22 in the morning to get an idea of what the area is like.  There is both great wealth and significant poverty. 

We spent the whole afternoon at the Noah project.  This excellent project works with around 190 orphans from nKobongo.  It is not a church project although it works out of KwaKristu iNkosi, the Anglican Zulu church there.  Children are fed and cared for by a fantastic team of staff and volunteers.

Today we spent the morning with the clergy from the Archdeaconry.  Pete, our host, is the new Archdeacon of North Coast, and this was his first clergy meeting.  It was good to be there and share some of the challenges of ministry in the UK and to hear their challenges in return.

This afternoon we returned to Noah to share our stories and to answer questions as diverse as “How much is a loaf of bread?” to “Is it hard being a priest?”

I have to admit to loving my time out here so far.  I could do with a few fewer insect bites, less heat and I do miss Catherine and Martha, but I’m so grateful for this opportunity and experience.

Today was Sunday. As a priest I’m used to working on Sundays.  This morning All Souls held their combined service which takes place on the 5th Sunday.  There were over 150 people in church at 8am!

After some opening worship, prayers, the notices and the creed (not in that order), I preached on Mark 1:21-28.  It’s not the easiest passage and Pete introduced me by saying he was glad I was preaching instead of him.  The congregation were good enough to laugh at the jokes (those of you who know me well will understand that’s important), and to say that it spoke to them on the way out.

By 10.10 we had locked up the church and headed home.  In Natal Diocese, it seems rare to have an evening service, and this parish is no different.  We had a pretty relaxing afternoon, building relationship with Pete, Clare and the family.

One thing that makes a trip like this so much easier is the ability to phone home and Catherine and I even managed video Skype today.  It helps to see M and know that both she and Catherine are ok.

Tomorrow we are being taken on a tour of the ward by the local councillor before spending the afternoon at the Noah Orphan project.  I’m excited and apprehensive about what we will come across, but at the same time I’m aware that even the people we will see tomorrow are not the poorest by some way.

Thanks for the comments yesterday, I’ll tell you what we found tomorrow …

Hello!

You may have noticed that I left on Wednesday but haven’t blogged until today.  That’s partly because I’ve not had access to wifi until today, and partly because I haven’t had loads to say!

The flight was my first long haul and I was a bit nervous. I didn’t sleep on either plane and ended up being awake for 36 hours.  Not ideal, but I slept well on my first night in Africa.

Since then we’ve been being lectured and taught about South Africa, looking at the needs here and the things that haven’t changes in the 18 years since aparteid ended.

Today we moved to our parishes where we will do our placements.  I’m in an amazing parish with the Archdeacon of North Coast, Peter Houston.  It’s an amazing place not far from the beach.

So far we have seen the ‘presentable’ side of South Africa.  On Monday we will see the less ideal parts.

Tomorrow morning I am preaching at All Souls at their morning service.  They are having a combined service. The early service is usually at 7, the late service at 9, tomorrow it’s at 8am.  And I thought 8.30 was bad enough!

More tomorrow.