Dear Family and Friends:
Many of you know that we send a Christmas letter out each year to those who do not live near us. This year, that means nearly all of you. You won’t be receiving a card as that would cost about as much as a plane ticket to Tampa. So we ask that this year and the next two, you settle for a post on the blog. We will miss your letters and cards this year. Feel free to contact us at dcroland@gmail.com and let us know what’s going on in your lives.
We arrived in Africa as volunteers in late July knowing only a little about what we would be doing. If we thought for a moment that it would be low impact work or easy, we were greatly mistaken. We knew what gifts God has given us, but we failed to appreciate that, over the decades, we had developed certain other skills, interests and passions. These, together with our gifts, are our tools - everyone has them. The humbling surprise is that when these tools are reconfigured and re-calibrated, then dropped into a country like South Africa, they can make a difference in ways we could not have predicted.
Our primary job is to develop and implement one of the core required courses at the seminary. The former “Field Work” course was not working for a host of reasons. We have taken on the task of re-inventing it into what we now call The Field Education and Ministry Course. The aim is to bring seminarians into close contact with people in need: those with or affected by HID/AIDS, crime, aging, hunger, abject poverty, dying, disabilities, malnutrition, injustices, gender bias - the whole panoply of issues that pervade the culture. Here the seminarians put their academic learning into practical hands-on ministry. One of our greatest joys has been meeting leaders in many agencies and projects that serve vulnerable populations, and asking them to provide opportunities for seminarians to serve. Through these contacts, we are developing a network of agency partners who understand that ministers are in a unique position to transform the nation. Some agencies have volunteered to provide training in listening and caring skills for people in crisis, transition, grief and dying. It has amazed and heartened us how receptive people are to participate in this project. Right now, it is still on paper, but ready to launch when the students return in late January. There will be bumps in the road, but the potential for seminarians to have experiences that threaten to change their attitudes from indifference to caring, and from passive observation to leadership are there.
From time to time, some people have responded in ways that reveal a subtle cynicism, as if to say, “It’s all been tried.” But cynicism, while convenient, is not an agent of change or transformation. We refuse let it direct what we are trying to do. This little job we thought we thought we were taking on is at once daunting and important. The training of servant leaders is very serious business.
We are living in a society that needs major re-tooling. The govenment drifts toward corruption nearly to the point of acceptability. The bureuacracy is choking initiative and creativity. For example, one of the local public hospitals serves 150 patients with a staff of 500. We read recently that there are 5 million registered taxpayers in South Africa and 13 million people who are receiving grants (welfare). We read statistics that 10% of juveniles believe that theft is justified if it is something you want, and that rape is justified if the girl wears suggestive clothing or he pays for the date. These conditions are not sustainable. And they are the tip of the iceberg. Only a change in the human heart can begin to restore communities. It will happen, if at all, one person at a time. In some small way, we believe we are helping in that effort by joining in the mission of the seminary: the forming transformative leaders for church and nation.
Taking on a challenge like this isn’t done for the recognition. Neither is it pollyannish or quixotic, unless hope has evaporated. We may never know what contributions our efforts produce. We do know that we were sent here to be faithful seed planters. God promises to do the rest. It really is what Christmas is about.
Cheri and Doug
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At this season of giving, we invite you to participate in this effort. We promise that this will be done only once each year. Ideally, we want you to come here, visit and gain understanding. If that is not feasible, you can help by making a tax-deductible contribution as follows:
Hyde Park United Methodist Church
500 W. Platt St.
Tampa, FL 33606
Designate for Seth Mokitimi Methodist Seminary/Roland
Be sure to include your address for a letter from the church confirming receipt of a donation.
