New Tastes and New Sights

Due to the holiday on Monday, our work week began Tuesday morning.  Everyone in the office was attending a parenting workshop in order to see what techniques and lessons could be incorporated into Sinomlando’s workshops, and so us interns were left at the office to do a little paperwork.  After proofreading packets for the children’s camps for this week, we prepared many other papers used by the staff during workshops and camps.  It was interesting for us to get to see a behind the scenes look at the amount of preparation required for each workshop and camp, and the ways in which the materials are similar and different in order to be appropriate for their target audience.

Did I mention we met another American girl who works with Sinomlando?  Laura has been in South Africa since last August, on a mission through the Lutheran church.  She is currently living on the university campus, but has also stayed with a Zulu family further away from town. Her work throughout the year included teaching children in a crèche (kindergarten) and work with other NGOs.  We’ve had a great time getting to know her, listening to her Minnesotan accent, and hearing about her experiences in South Africa as well.  After so many unfamiliar things, its nice to have another relative piece of home!  Comparing our experiences so far has made for many laughs and fun.

With the four of us (Amanda, Delphine, Laura, and I), we wiped out the work fairly quickly and left the office by noon.  Deciding to try out the local chain restaurants, Laura, Amanda and I headed to Wimpy for lunch.  Think of Friendly’s with a smaller menu, and you’ve got a Wimpy.  We each had a burger and fries for much less than what it would cost in the States, and topped it off with an ice cream from KFC.  (We were in a caloric mood that day.)

Interior of the chapel

The beautiful Cathedral – photo taken from the internet

Amanda and I returned to the Priory just as lunch was wrapping up, and got ready to head out again with Fr Joe.  He had to do a few errands at the Mariannhill Monastery, and offered to let us tag along for the ride.  Along the way, he pointed out the giant lumber trucks carrying their loads towards the ocean where the lumber would be send along to Japan for newspaper use, the old railroad tracks, the massive amounts of sugar cane along the road, and many other things.  He made sure to give us a detailed introduction to the Mariannhill Monastery as well ,which was incredibly interesting.  Originally settled by European Trappist monks (lots of Austrians!), the area stretched over huge amounts of land.  The monks created everything they needed: bricks and lumber to mill, their own tailoring, farms and gardens for food etc.  But upon discovering the need to evangelize the Zulu population surrounding their land, they realized that their role as Trappists would not be conducive.  In 1909, the Pope separated the Mariannhill monks from the Trappist order, thus creating the Missionaries of Mariannhill.  Their founder, Abbot Francis Pfanner is currently undergoing the process of becoming canonized.  Mariannhill (named for the Virgin Mary and Saint Ann: Maria-Ann) was at one point the largest Christian monastery in the world.Abbot Francis also founded the Sisters of the Precious Blood in order to fulfill the need for girl’s education – their motherhouse is located a short drive from the Mariannhill Monastery.  Together, the orders erected schools for all levels, churches, and stretched their influence over an incredible distance.  As the order has shrunk, so has their presence, but the name, many of the schools and history is still there.  Our first stop was to the printing press to pick up Brother Ndabaningi’s ordination cards, where we got a tour of the facility.  I’ve never seen so much paper, and moving so fast!  There were machines to copy, print, cut, paste, fold and who knows what else!  Walking by the woodshop, we could see a beautiful unfinished altar and many pews waiting to be stained.  The tailor shop was a little further down, and we continued on to the Repository where Amanda and I browsed for a little while.  The grounds were beautiful, and Father Joe pointed out the retreat houses, gardens, the chapel and cathedral and everything else we passed.  The workmanship in the chapel and cathedral was absolutely breathtaking and well preserved, especially when you consider that it was all handmade over a hundred years ago!

Peeking into the woodshop

We finished our errands and visit with a walk through the monastery to see the small, quiet courtyard – so peaceful!  Although there is still so much happening and so many people around, we were amazed by the serenity and beauty of the grounds.  Amanda and I discussed the best way of convincing PC’s Campus Ministry to host a retreat here…any thoughts Gail?  Returning in time for evening prayer, we thanked Father Joe for taking us along and for the wonderful history lesson.

You can read more about Mariannhill on their website here: http://mariannhillmonastery.org.za/

Love and prayers,

Heidi