At Mapheo last week we looked at Jonah and the Whale. To help explain the concept of the size of a whale we showed some footage of 'The Blue Planet' from the BBC. It was really interesting watching with the kids. None of them have ever seen the sea. Most of them will never have even seen a body of water, as the dam in Clarens is a long way from the townships and most Basotho people never go there. I doubt that any of them have ever been swimming either. They were fascinated by the DVD (apart from Lebote who took the opportunity to snooze in my lap!), Mashoehoe translated some of the facts about whales and Jeremy explained what a wave is and how some people surf on them for fun.
Thursday brought the first storm of the season. There was lots of thunder but it was very cold so the rain failed to arrive, instead we got pebble size hail stones (which are very painful when they hit you!). Friday warmed up a bit, and on Saturday Spring definitely arrived. Since then the blossom has blossomed, the weather is beautiful, the wind has died down, and of course being the english girl I am, I have got sunburnt. But still no rain.
This weekend I went to 2 funerals. Two good friends lost parents over the last couple of weeks so I went along to support them. It was my first experience of a Basotho funeral. Traditional Basotho believe is that we must please our ancestors (ancestral worship), and within this the funeral is very important.
On Friday afternoon, me and Mashoeshoe were visiting a Mapheo family who live next door to Sankwela's dad who died last week. As we approached the house we were greeted by the sight of the cow being slaughtered by a group of men ready for the funeral feast, and beside the cow was a dead sheep being skinned. Quite a picture! It is traditional to kill a cow for the funeral and cook the meat to feed everyone who comes along. I think there are also some ancestral worship rituals performed with the skins.
After Salt and Light on Friday night a crowd of us went out for drinks at Friends, and then to the 'Night Vision' for Mme Elizabeth. Mme Elizabeth was my friend Anna's mum who died 2 weeks ago. She was a Chrisian, so the night vision was very focussed on God. We all stood outside in the 'tent' (a small marquee which is always erected for the funeral, either in the garden or the middle of the road) and sang Christian songs interspersed by people speaking to the crowd. Traditionally anyone who knew the person can speak at the night vision, and they usually speak about the person. The night vision continues all night but we only stayed til about 1am. There was another one taking place slightly nearer my house where the singing was so loud that it kept me awake!
The next morning Mme Elizabeth's funeral took place at the church at 8.30am. Because it was a Christian funeral it was a time of thanking God for her life, and one of our elders preached the gospel to the congregation. But it was not without some African wailing. After the funeral everyone goes to the graveyard for the burial. I didn't go to Mme Elizabeth's burial as I knew I wouldn't be back in time for Sankwela's dad's funeral. That was at 11am. So I went to the house and found Sankwela outside.
Sankwela is the only Christian in his family. He also didn't really have a relationship with his dad as his parents are divorced and his dad had remarried. The funeral was a very traditional affair. We chatted outside while the ceremony took place in the tent as neither of us really wanted to be there. Then we went to the graveyard for the burial. All the men go to the grave, while the women stand at a small distance singing while the coffin is buried. It takes a long time (hence my sun burn) then everyone returns to the house for the meal.
At the house everyone queued up to wash their hands. Because this was a traditional funeral the handwashing was a ritual. There were three bowls in a line, with different things in each. The first was designed to cleanse you from the graveyard (it had a particular plant in it), the second was for ancestral worship, the third just water. Then there was a plate with tiny pieces of meat and a cup of traditional beer.
Once you had completed the washing and tasting you could have food. The food was yummy but for the first time in my life I struggled with the meat. I just kept seeing that cow tied down being slaughtered. As soon as the food was over, me and Sankwela left and spent a leisurely afternoon sunbathing in my garden.
Despite being threatened with being thrown out of home, Sankwela stood his ground on Sunday morning and refused to shave his head as is traditional for the oldest child after the funeral in order to please the ancestors. Standing for Jesus in these situations must take so much strength. I am so blessed to have a family who are all saved.
Saturday night is youth group. The last few weeks have been brilliant. We have really been blessed by the presence of God in our meetings. This week Seabata (who used to live here and help lead the group) came back from Jo'burg and preached. He talked about being set free from sin, even inherited sin. It was another excellent night.
On Sunday night we had our penultimate evening in our 'sex series'. It's been a great series about God's plan for sex and marriage. This week was about homosexuality. The speaker spoke from his own life and it was a very moving evening. He made himself so vulnerable by sharing his testimony and I have no doubt that it will have helped people to understand more about this topic.
Tuesday was 'Spring Day' here, and as I said earlier, Spring has definitely arrived! Here are some pictures of the pretty blossom:
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