Global Grace from Maura

From our beautiful Maura Rehfuss in South Africa, shining our Light...

Finally able to send this message…and wanting you to know how keenly your presence is felt. The 34 hour trip to South Africa was filled with synchronistic moments. Many people came to our aid in ways we could not have imagined and that feeling of ‘being carried’ has continued.

We traveled last week with Sobonfu Some’ (www.Sobonfu.com) and the experience has been indescribable but I will try to find words. Gabriel Gonsalves from Agape Church in South Africa is placing photos of our time together in an online catalog that I will send when able.

Our first day in Capetown we visited a settlement (inner city) school in Gugulathu. The teenagers had prepared a welcome for Sobonfu and it included singing, dancing and poetry. (These children have been brutalized by the experiences that accompany the AIDS/TB/Cholera pandemic (i.e. loss of a cohesive family system, addictions to alcohol and other drugs, rape, and high crime).

We sat in a circle and each one shared their name, age, and what their dream was for their future. Many wished to be actors or accountants. One young man, with arms folded tight across his chest, said he had no dream. When my turn came I said that I was from America and I came to see the faces of members of my global family. I told them there was a community of people in Austin Texas who held them closely in their hearts and who shared their passion for their dreams. I told them my dream was that they would come to know the power they had to use their gifts and talents to be a positive force in their world.

During Sobonfu’s presentation she shared that in her village in Berkina Faso the children (and the community) know what their gifts are, and why they have been given them, before they are born. The community supports their individual expression and their names reflect their life’s assignment. She said that each of us is given specific gifts and talents and our community, and the world, is depending on our courage to express them. She said that we are here to support each other in living to our highest vision.

The afternoon sharing brought us to a place of deeper understanding and connection. These ones will remain in my heart forever and I hope this will be the first of many opportunities to support their dreams. Hope the group photo will reflect the hundred hugs that marked our departure. The caretaker at the school, a very wise and spiritual man, came to Robin and myself, hugged us heartily, and said he felt as if he was meeting people from the moon! He said he has never seen people that ‘looked’ like us before in Gugulathu and never heard a more powerful message. He said that something in him had been ‘healed’. I told him that from now on when he sees the moon he can imagine that there are people from America lovingly looking back.

That evening we spent in Langa, another settlement. We had dinner at a restaurant owned by a husband and wife who met in 1976 during the student uprising and subsequent strikes that marked a significant challenge to apartheid. He had been imprisoned for 3 years…Some of the men from the neighborhood formed a band and provided live entertainment and we feasted and danced-an amazing first day in Capetown.

The following day we were at the Novalis Ubuntu Institute (www.Novalis.org.za) where 38 grandmothers gathered who have lost daughters to the AIDS pandemic are now raising their grandchildren, some who are HIV infected from birth and some who are now teenagers on drugs. These women, thanks to Robin Goff and the Light Center, have formed a supportive system. We had an amazing time together which included the gifting of aprons (with affirmative prayers in the pocket from UCOH’s YOUers), knitted items in rainbow colors from Unity in North Atlanta Georgia, and lunch. After the festivities we gathered in a room and Sobonfu lead a beautiful grief ritual used in her community. It was a most powerfully emotional time and hopefully provided some relief for these angels in the world. I felt your presence (my UCOH family) in the room with us. The unconditional love was palpable. Know the difference you are making in South Africa. I would never be able to move through these days without the awareness of your love carrying me.

That evening another grief ritual was performed. It was attended by many white professionals who are stepping up to be part of the reconciliation process in South Africa. It had been scheduled from 7-10:00pm but we didn’t get back to the International Police Academy, where we are staying, until after midnight. The evening was transformative…My second day in Capetown and I am having full days! I realize I am using words like profound and transformative a lot, but that is the experience.

Driving has been beyond amazing. Robin drives and sits on the opposite side of the car and drives on the opposite side of the road. We have had some harrowing experiences already. The angels clearly protect us and the drivers on the road with us! Ha! When teenagers are learning to drive a large red ‘L’ is placed in the back window to warn other drivers. We need to find one of those signs and place it in our car!

I will likely be writing in a scattered manner until I am able to catch up on sleep. Today we went back to Langa. The settlement is a series of ‘no name’ streets and the torrential rains and bitter cold have left rain soaked dwellings, inside and out. Men are finding small amounts of wood, some are tearing down an abandoned shack to build fires in the area to try to warm themselves. The sun is shining now but the winter temps are in place. We soon are lost and stop the rental car to take a look at the map which is of no help without names on the roads. Suddenly a car sweeps past us then returns to us. Three men are in the car and the driver asks if he can help. We have been told to be wary of people who may want to take advantage of us by offering to assist us. But as the man is speaking to Robin I look over his car and notice that we have stopped directly in front of a makeshift church. A wooden cross similar to the one that hangs in our sanctuary is peeping over the fence. The driver does not understand our American English when we are asking for Ndileka and her childcare center but he says he can take us to a lady who will be able to help us. We decide to follow him through a maze of alleys. It has begun to rain. And suddenly are escort stops and we realize he has taken us to Ndileka’s to find Ndileka! She runs through the fence to hug me hard. We had had such a healing time together at Novalis a few days before. It feels as if we have known each other for a very long time. She lives in a small home and is raising 26 children that she has adopted. She also feeds more than 150 each day after school. It is the only hot meal they get. She is one of my heroes. We took the beautiful friendship bracelets, toothpaste and toothbrushes (from a dentist in Kansas), coloring books and colored pencils and crayons for the smaller children. Hoping the photos will convey the joy that your generosity of Spirit has brought to that space.

The Sunday morning service at Agape was awesome! Rev. Beckwith’s presence was felt and Rikki’s music was used. WOW! Gabriel Gonsalves is a charismatic and inspired Being who is in his perfect place to be a point of love.

Today, July 14th, we were at St. George’s Orphanage. It is Robin’s birthday and she shares a birthday with one of the girls at the center. We took knitting and crocheting supplies, oranges, granola bars, more friendship bracelets and a bouquet of flowers.
Robin and I gave knitting/crocheting lessons. Robin has been doing this for a number of years and the children remember her even though it has been a year since she was here.

We had a wonderful celebration and a couple of the girls were especially interested in touching my hair, first with their hands and then on the side of their faces. I then did the same with theirs. It provided a very sweet moment for me as we ‘bonded’ a bit in this way.

I will sign off for now. Know that this time for me is fulfilling and I know now why I had the deep desire to be here. I miss Curtis more than I can say and could not have traveled without his full support. He has been my rock for almost 30 years and I am grateful beyond words for him always. (Hope you won’t mind that personal note. Ha!)

Sending love and light to all,
Be Awake,
Be Hope,
Maura