Greetings to everyone from Bonaero Park/Johannesburg, South Africa! Welcome to a new chapter in my journey in faith, love, and hope! As I continue to walk alongside the amazing people of South Africa and beyond this will be where I share and reflect on how the Spirit is moving through me, the people here, and our experiences in this amazing place! As you can see my blog has taken on a fresh new look and new name. No longer "M.u.d.dy in Maphumulo"... it's now "Joyful in Jozi" and I hope to share both the joys and challenges through open and meaningful dialogue during my time here. I have redesigned the blog page to reflect the energy of Johannesburg; Africa's melting pot. The bold colors and graffiti draw on Jozi's dynamic cultures and artistic manifestations. Seeing beauty on so many levels echoes the soul of this city and the unique nature of God's creation within it. I hope you enjoy this new expression of life and community in southern Africa. As always, I look forward to everyone joining in the discussion; tell me what's on your mind...it's only through our sharing that we can understand our full potential!
After a year of serving as an ELCA Young Adult in Global Mission (YAGM) in the village of Umphumulo (Maphumulo Proper), KwaZulu-Natal I have moved to the Johannesburg metro area to begin work as an ELCA Global Mission 2 worker. I will work within the Lutheran Communion in Southern Africa (LUCSA) as a communications specialist through December 2012. LUCSA is the regional expression of the Lutheran World Federation's Southern African body and is headquartered in the Johannesburg suburb of Bonaero Park. LUCSA works to help its 16 member churches in 9 member countries develop effective and holistic mission and prophetic diaconia through capacity building.* What exactly does this entail? Well, LUCSA works, first hand, with the region's member churches to combat various health challenges including HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and TB through education, workshops, and capacity building. LUCSA also develops new Christian education materials and trains educators within the framework of these materials. LUCSA is committed to peace, justice, and reconciliation through various projects including it's Seed for Zimbabwe Campaign which saw the delivery of aid worth $60,000 (R420,000) to those left hungry due to the recent political instability within the country.* LUCSA has a proven track record of both accountability and meeting the challenges of southern Africa in new and creative ways!
I look forward to sharing more in the coming months as my role as communications specialist starts to develop and evolve. We are focused on bringing LUCSA's stories (and its member nations of Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland, and South Africa) to everyone through new forms of print and web media. Please let me know if you have any questions along the way. I hope that through this blog as well as our new information networks we will be able to continue to finds ways of connecting all members of the body of Christ to combat the world's challenges and help uplift those who have been marginalized in our societies!
UBUNTU-"I AM BECAUSE WE ARE"
*Information and themes were taken from the current LUCSA website www.lucsa.org
