Calling all Missionaries and Mission-Minded People
By Rev. Dr. Gloria E. Jimpson, 1st Episcopal District
A mission trip was taken by a group in touch with their ministry of helps and desire to uplift those who are underserved and in need. The trip occurred on December 8-24, 2019. On the trip were five women and one man, among them the Rev. Linda Van Alstyne, and me, from Payne AME Church in Chatham, New York. Briefings about food, customs, clothing, schedule, and financial exchanges for the volunteers were provided. Optimism, hope, and faith in the mission objective became uppermost in everyone’s mindset and a centering factor. We were now a solid group on our way to do missions.
Our first week’s agenda included time in Durban. We met our Durban contact, Ms. Daniella Daniels, the manager of the daycare center in Quarry Heights, who is also a celebrated vocalist. The center and its children were a key mission site for us. Daniella has been doing mission work in Durban for over 20 years.
We introduced ourselves to the children using song and movement as best we could. We shared belly laughs as each team member did their best. The children gave us all Zulu names and we felt honored. We met a teacher—and our interpreter—Cynthia, who lives in Quarry Heights and works in the community school and with the center.
Neither Daniella or Cynthia is salaried and must fundraise to provide the necessities of food and maintain the shelter at the center. We met a few other volunteers at the center, mostly elderly women and about four elderly South African women who spoke Swazi or a mixture of Zulu dialect. We also met one other young woman who was fluent with the language enough to provide interpretation for us in Cynthia’s absence.
There are no words to aptly tell the joy and curiosity on the faces of the children and the team was equally joyous. The naming gave the children and adults a sense of mutual respect and love.
As the days went by, we played, sang, and fed the children. We experienced a joyous Christmas. We participated in a small parade that must have resembled the pied pipers walking up one of the many hills near the center with the daycare manager playing guitar and singing a local rallying tune which had an amazing and awesome effect on the children. The following day, we conducted a health teaching session and delivered enough food for at least a month to a small family.
Before leaving Durban, we did an awesome prayer walk through the miles of farmers’ markets that contained stalls for “witch doctors” or spiritual practitioners of native health. Each stall was filled with large containers of herbs, small dead animals, and chairs for the patient and doctor to have a consultation. We passed by venders and miles of fresh produce, flora, and fauna of mostly chickens and birds.
The sellers and owners on our prayer walks included the famous Bead Market where the women came to sell and continued to make their beautiful necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. These items, we were told, were their only source of income. Many of these women were visibly elderly; and although they were working, they did not appear to be in optimal health.
The second week was spent in Eswatini! We traveled by auto for slightly over four hours. The changing scenery was imposing as the buildings and businesses faded to trees, grassy plains, and mountains filled with trees and luscious foliage of a wide variety. The vehicle slowed frequently for small herds of domestically-owned animals like goats, sheep, and cows wandering back home or to graze.
One roadside stop housed a small menagerie of wild animals suitable for children to pet. Upon our arrival, we found our hotel accommodations as comfortable as those in Durban. The meals were excellent and we enjoyed every bit of it as we did Durban.
We attended and participated in worship services. Our ability to actively worship was not hampered.
Each age level of children prepared a phenomenal celebration for our team. The team brought each child a bag of underwear, sweet treats, and a small gift.
Critical needs we were unable to meet were identified in both Durban and Eswatini. How those needs will be met may depend on increasing the number of mission trips and a sincere desire to lend a helping hand to make a difference.
The Rev. Dr. Gloria E. Jimpson is the pastor Payne AME Church in Chatham, New York, located in the Western NY Conference, First Episcopal District.
