reflections from S. Africa - 2.21.06

Greetings Family,

We are now in Pretoria, South Africa, which is located about 30 minutes
from Johannesburg, S.A. We have left Mother of Peace orphanage and the
country of Zimbabwe. Pretoria is the capitol city of South Africa and
is a beautifully modern city with old-world style buildings,
cobble-stone sideways and a world-class university.

I don't know quite where to begin as I try to write about the
life-changing journey that we've experienced these past few days. I
will attempt to share with everyone just a few of the profoundly
impactful things that our eyes, spirits, and hearts have witnessed
these past few days. Our health is good, but we are emotionally
drained - nevertheless encouraged.

Mother of Peace orphanage
We arrived at Mother of Peace (MOP) almost a week ago and were greeted
by about 80 singing, dancing, and wide-smiling children. [Almost 200
children reside at MOP]. Never in my life have I ever been the
recipient of such unbridled love and hospitality.

Mother Jean who runs the orphanage is doing well and being the angel
that only she can be. At almost 80 years of age she is still driving
tractors, feeding babies, and being mother for the children that reside
at MOP. I am simply amazed at the work that Mother Jean and those who
work with her accomplish day in and day out. Over 10 years ago, Mother
Jean retired from her job as a school teacher in London and returned to
Zimbabwe to provide care and love for these precious children.
Tirelessly she, her sister Stella, and a host of house mothers and
workers care for almost 200 children - most of which are infected or
affected by HIV/AIDS.

If you've ever question the reality of miracles, question no more. In
addition to the amazing care that MOP provides for the all of the
orphaned children, it also operates a full-service free clinic for
persons in the community. Our beloved Dr. Bob Scott, an HIV/AIDS
specialist who runs a medical practice in Oakland, serves as a deacon
at Allen Temple, and who first introduced Bishop Flunder to Mother Jean
and MOP, is doing the most amazing work that I've ever experienced in
my entire life. Persons begin lining up for treatment at the free
clinic at around 5:00 am. They arrive walking from miles and miles
away - by ox driven carts, by taxi bus. I honestly don't know how many
of them survive the trip as frail as they are when they arrive. Just
as we were on our way to the orphanage we were flagged down by two
women trying to make their way to the clinic. One of the women was
extremely ill and emaciated - almost to the point of death. We
provided a ride to them and they were indeed grateful.

On our first full day at MOP, Dr. Scott and Dr. Joya who attends New
Spirit Church in Berkeley, began seeing patients at about 7:00 am and
continued until about 9:00 that evening. I won't even to begin to
attempt to describe the life-giving care that this clinic provides.
Without this clinic, thousands of individuals would be dead. Dr. Scott
and those who traveled with him brought boxes and boxes of AIDS drugs.
At the end of his unbelievably tiring day, there were still persons
[about 70] who could not be seen by either Doctor. Dr. Scott and those
who support him, literally work to points beyond exhaustion each time
they come - which is about every 3 months. During the other times, the
clinic is staffed by a beautiful sister named Stella and Cephas who are
both RN's in Zimbabwe.

Baby Anthony
Upon our arrival, one of the first infants that we met was baby
Anthony. Baby Anthony was 11 months, weighed less than 10 lbs, and had
the biggest and brightest eyes that anyone has ever seen. Baby
Anthony's mother passed from AIDS soon after he was born and he was
brought by social services to live at MOP. By the time he reached MOP,
Baby Anthony was a very sick child. Several members of our group
bonded instantly with Baby Anthony - namely our sister Aretha from City
of Refuge. For hours she held him, as he watched her every move.
Everyone in our group poured so much love into this beautiful child in
just a few short hours. At 3 am that very next morning, Baby Anthony
passed and entered into sweet rest. The community at MOP and all of us
from the States were devastated. For those who don't know, M.O.P. has
not experienced the death of a child in over a year. Mother Jean and
Dr. Scott were of course devastated and fought hard to figure out how
and why they lost [in their minds] this precious child. But the
amazing thing was that they did not stop working. Mother Jean took a
few hours to grieve and Dr. Scott worked on to serve the living.
Mother Jean greeted us later that morning and we showered her with love
and prayers. It was becoming increasingly apparent that we were
supposed to be there and also that baby Anthony had done exactly what
God had put him on this earth to day - to change our lives in
unimaginable ways. Mother Jean announced that we would bury baby
Anthony that afternoon at 2:30. I will shared the details at a later
time, but next few hours of that day provided an experience that none
of us will ever forget. There was a short funeral service for Baby
Anthony led by one of the nuns. It included prayers, readings,
singing, and blessings. Next followed some of the most touching images
that I've ever witnessed. Dr. Scott arrived from the clinic about
halfway through the brief funeral mass. At the end of the service, Dr.
Scott carried the tiny coffin the distance from the chapel to graveyard
that was filled with about 90 graves - most of them of children who've
died from HIV/AIDS complication. With sweat and tears flooding, Dr.
Scott walked slowly as he carried Baby Anthony's handmade coffin to its
final resting place. There were more prayers, more singing, and lots
of tears at the gravesite - but there was also profound beauty. At the
end of the burial, Mother Jean asked Bishop Flunder to give words and
to pray for the soul of Anthony. Bishop Flunder offered thanks to God
for the gift of Anthony and offered thanks to our God who gives and
takes - blessed be the name of the Lord. The men of the community
covered Baby Anthony's grave and then we witnessed indescribable beauty
as the smallest of the children placed single flowers on Anthony's
grave and sang the most beautiful songs of praise as they said goodbye
to Anthony who was now among the ancestors.

Bear in mind that this was just our first full day at MOP. We spent
the rest of our time at MOP holding children, playing, laughing,
crying, listening to God's spirit - attempting feebly to share God's
and our love. We are fortunate to have with us several medical
professionals. They have been a tremendous blessing to the people at
MOP and the surrounding country-side. There were so many children to
hold and never enough arms or time.

We are all trying to find ways to process what we've witnessed and in
many ways, we know that there will be no resolve. But we are
determined to wrestle with the questions - and most of all, we are
motivated to work - even in the midst of our wrestling.

Upon my return, I will be sharing with all of you the ways in which we
can all support the work of our beloved Mother Jean and the children of
Mother of Peace. Mother Jean will be with us in California in December
and you will have the opportunity to shower an angel with love and
support for MOP. We will also be shipping a container of much needed
supplies from the Port of Oakland in the spring. Plan now to do
whatever you can. The drugs taken by the infected persons here cost
less than $20 US per month. We have NO reason not to give.

For the rest of our time here well will be visiting with our UCC
partners in South Africa and will spend time with our friends at the
Lydia Project(?) which provides jobs and resources to widows and women
infected/affected by HIV/AIDS. We will also visit Soweto Township and
enjoy a free day for a bit of rest and renewal.

Pray for us as we journey and do God's bidding. We are indeed called
to greatness and to save lives. I'll send pics whenever I can download
them

Thanks be to God & Much Love,

Pastor Kendal

Here's a quick list of the folks who are here with us... please forgive
me for the incorrect spelling.

Jim Mitulski - MCC
Penny Nixon & Annlee - SF MCC
Dr. Joya - New Spirit
Bishop & Mother Miller, Aretha, Deacon Bobby Bost, Dr. Lucki, myself -
City of Refuge
Michael Schuenemeyer (sp?) - HIV/AIDS Program Director/UCC
Steve - CDC and MCC Atlanta
Pastor Bonnie - Refiner's Fire Church in Long Beach
Kelvin - MCC Zimbabwe
Joshua Love - AIDS Prevention Coordinator - MCC/Denver