home(?) again

Man, that was quick. The time in South Africa blinked by, and I'm once again settled quietly back into life at Oxford, preparing for the upcoming term. But though this was a quick trip it was also a full one, and in some ways it feels like I've been away from Oxford for much more than two and a half weeks.

I spent most of the day after arriving back in Cape Town from Zim with Matthew before rejoining my crew at the Zebra Crossings hostel. As alluded to in the last post, the time with my cousin was very significant relationally. It was an enormous blessing to learn a bit about this person who I've always looked up to from a distance, but with whom I'd never moved much beyond casual conversation. Matthew is sincere, warm-hearted, and well-spoken, and as we talked about everything from life goals and relationships to favorite beers I felt that we connected as friends. It was also good to speak about our common side of the family: where we come from shapes who we are, and over the course of the trip I was filled once again with deep appreciation for the extraordinary trials that my father and his sisters braved to become the caring, accomplished, intellectually-alive people that they are today. Polhami are strange folk, as well, and we spent about as much time joking about our foibles as reflecting on our trials.

The rest of the time in Cape Town was filled with more good things: trips to the townships, including lunch at Mzoli's in Guguletu after church, touring Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela wrote "Long Walk to Freedom" during his long tenure or imprisonment, and visiting an election day rally during a pitstop on a road trip to Knysna. We also had the honor of meeting Desmond Tutu the day before last Wednesday's elections. This remarkable man was the first black Archbishop of Cape Town, chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in post-Apartheid South Africa, and is a renowned advocate of peace and justice in the world. He recently came under fire from many of his colleagues when he denounced Jacob Zuma, head of the ANC and soon-to-be president of South Africa, as unfit to lead. The ANC and its founding fathers led South Africa to freedom, yet the party has been wracked by corruption and fraud in recent years, and many argue its leadership has been inept in meeting the country's most pressing challenges. Jacob Zuma--who has claimed that cold showers prevent HIV transmission and just recently succeeded in having charges of money laundering in a multi-billion dollar arms deal dropped on procedural grounds--represents the worst of what the ANC has to offer in the eyes of many South Africans. Though Tutu expressed no desire to see the ANC voted out of power, his hope was that the minority opposition parties could rally to prevent it from obtaining the two thirds majority necessary to unilaterally amend the constitution. Dissenting voices are essential to functioning of healthy democratic institution, and Tutu's view was that the ANC had grown lazy and corrupt over the course of its unchallenged stay in power.

But this little diversion into politics distracted me from what I wanted to say about the man himself. At age 77 he shows his age a little bit, yet his quick laugh, bright smile, and self-demeaning sense of humor reveal a warm and gentle spirit that has not hardened through years of trial. It was humbling to sit in the presence of this man, who three weeks earlier I had watched break down weeping on film as he listened to one of his African brothers describe how he had been tortured under apartheid. As we sat down together in his office he said "let us begin with a prayer," and invited the Holy Spirit to come and animate our hearts, giving us joy and inspiring us to love one another as Christ first loved us. That place in his heart where God's spirit dwells is the secret of the man's charisma, and though his political perspectives were helpful it was simply seeing his joyful spirit that moved me the most.

As in Rwanda, the limited amount of time spent with community leaders and servants in South Africa affirmed my belief that what the world needs more than anything else is men and women who are alive in their gifts, and having oriented their lives around a purpose beyond their own gratification. I met a lot of people in South Africa who exemplify this, and challenge me to consider whether I am doing the same. I believe that the most fulfilling purpose around which an individual life can be oriented is Christ, yet I am convinced that God smiles all of those who strive to live fully, sincerely, and selflessly, partnering together through his Spirit to bring about a renewed creation. And lofty theological musings aside, people like Desmond Tutu, Edwin Cameron, Lindela, Kanisua, Sindatenda from BEEP are incredible because they are down-to-earth, joyful, passionately-committed people who give more to their communities than they take.

Big words. Words come easy. The nagging question in the stillness and quiet of a lazy Sunday morning, though, is whether I live this way. Here, back at Oxford, exams a month away, I continue to pray for wisdom to make the most of this time, and for a heart that desires to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God in the world.