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We're Back!

After another long journey we left a very hot South Africa and have returned to a rather cold England. It was another interesting journey that included a delayed flight from Durban, a mad dash through Johannesburg airport and the niggling doubt about whether our bags had made it on to the same flight.

However all was well and my colleague Dean met us at Heathrow with our lunch, before we boarded the coach back to Cornwall and after reuniting Lydia and then Mike with their parents the rest of us arrived in Truro at 4.30 to a warm welcome from our families.

Personally I had an early night and slept well, and I'm sure the other members of the team did too!!

When I have a bit more time, I'll fill in the last couple of days and add some photographs. In the meantime thank you to all those who were following our journey and leaving comments and apologies for the hiccup in the middle when we lost the internet connection.

Kokstad Day 2

This morning we went back to the Diocesan Office and were joined by the ladies from the Siyafundisa - Teaching Our Children project. They took us to a very poor area of Kokstad, where houses were made of mud or what ever other materials that could be found. No one had jobs and many made their living and found their food on the nearby rubbish dump. The ladies visit regularly and help the families to get ID Cards and provide health advice. It was another eye-opening experience of the inequality of provision in the country and on how easy it is to be left behind by the system.

In the afternoon we visited an Anglican Convent, this is quite new and the nuns are still working through how they can best serve their communities. At present this is by making clerical vestments but they visit parishes with the Bishop and hope to establish a formal role within the Diocese. There are only 7 nuns at present and currently they are very young compared to nuns in England. most are in their thirties and forties with only one who was in her fifties. (We thought of leaving Claire behind to join them!)

We also spent some time shopping for souvenirs, so parents, siblings don't worry, genuine African gifts will be coming your way!!

This evening Wendy (our host at the B&B) cooked us some traditional African dishes, Babote and Milk Tart - delicious!

We will be meeting the Diocesan Orphans and Vulnerable Children's worker tomorrow morning before we head for Durban and our epic journey home. This will probably be our last post from Africa and we look forward to being reunited with our families on Saturday!

CEDARVILLE - Day 11 / Kodstad Day 1

It was an early start and a farewell to our hosts who have been most wonderful in putting up with us all. For some, parting from their host's dogs was also a sad experience, but so far it appears that none have been smuggled into bags as has previously been suggested! David packed up the minibus and we set off to Kokstad.
We arrived at Diocesan Office where we met Bishop Milbo who showed us the Counselling Service that is run from the grounds and the container that was provided by the Diocese of Truro. The service is well used and in the last month alone X people had had consultations.

We are staying at a lovely B&B, The Planes and have en-suite rooms and TV's! After checking out our rooms and dropping off our bags we walked into Kokstad for some lunch. In the afternoon we met with some of the youth team of the Diocese of Umzimvubu including two who we had met on Saturday with St Stephen's youth group in Matatiele. We also met the youth chaplain and the archdeacon with responsibility with youth.

They related how supporting youth work in the Diocese is a struggle and how difficult it is to get around the parishes. We shared experiences and examples of our own and realised that many of the issues faced were common to both Dioceses including rurality and a decline in interest amongst young people. Then it was back to The Planes and a chance to chill out before our evening meal.

CEDARVILLE - Day 10

Today we went to Ramohlakoana and met with Revd Peter and Sindy Ledena, who last year were visitors in Cornwall. Again we had a very warm welcome with lots of singing and hugging. Revd Peter's parish covers a large area up to the border with Lesotho and includes seven other churches or stations. We were at St Paul's, where we had a short act of worship and were taught more Xhosa hymns, before driving to visit one of the other churches St David's. The scenery was amazing with the Drakenberg mountains nearby and over them the border with Lesotho. Once back at the rectory we had a look around the Old Rectory, which will become a respite centre. The Diocese of Truro has raised some of the funds to enable this to happen. Work on the building has been delayed by negotiations with the local community and the local government, but the result is that the project will be even bigger, the local chief has given more land and now the plans include a respite centre, a clinic and counselling service and provision for the elderly. We were given a traditional African lunch of Shepherds pie and pumpkin! Before we left gifts from Bishop Cornish School and Carbis Bay were given to Peter and Sindy and Sindy passes on greetings to the Mothers' Union in our Diocese.

We drove back to Matatiele where we had an appointment with the Diocesan School, St Monica's. This school is a primary and middle school with older pupils transferring to other schools for the final few years of their education. It was PE afternoon and Mike and Tom soon joined in with the cricket practice where Mike was taught how to bowl. The school choir also performed some songs for us and we donated some sports equipment to the school.

We then went back to the project for the street boys and this time met with the youth worker Bertram, who was from Cameroon. We had a short tour of the building and an explanation of how the project works. It was homework time when we arrived and the sight of teenage girls caused a bit of a stir, though when we began to chat with the boys themselves they were initially quite shy!

After a stop for a milkshake and ice-cream it was back to Cedarville and we had a short time discussing all that we had seen and done during our time there. The common themes to emerge were of the hope that was in the place, despite desperate poverty and how the school children we met had hopes for their futures.

As this was our final evening we had a splendid meal together, curry, and Cathy and William came to join us. At the end of the meal gifts were exchanged with the girls receiving bead necklaces and the boys fridge magnets. We gave Cathy and Val some momentos of Cornwall and the Diocese of Truro.

CEDARVILLE - Day 9

This day turned out to be a vit of a disaster in that nothing we planned seemed to happen. We had arranged to go to Masakala Guest House for a traditional African meal, however, communication failed and we only discovered this after we had arrived. Therefore it was back to Matatiele where we ended up descending on a Coffee Shop and ordering lunch for 16.

We then went to visit a project associated with the orphanage that worked with street boys and provided them a home and education. It has a very good success rate with boys staying with them until they leave school. The project also helps them find work. However, the house warden there was not aware that we were coming and so we felt it best not to intrude. So we went to the supermarket and stocked up on sweets!

After some time at Cathy's house (where Tom's stitches were removed) we went our separate ways for the evening.

CEDARVILLE DAYS 7 & 8

On Saturday morning we finished the hay boxes, this time the polystyrene was kept under control and the job finished very quickly. In all we made 11 hay boxes which the care-givers will demonstrate to those in need. Eventually these will be distributed to those in need where, hopefully they will cut fuel costs for cooking many of the staple foods eaten here.

In the afternoon we visited an orphanage in Matatiele, the children were aged from babies to 16, but they only accepted children between the ages of 0-3, therefore the older ones had lived there for most of their lives. The children were lovely and so pleased to see us, we gave lots of cuddles and played lots of games. They took our hats, bags and sunglasses as soon as we arrived and then played with them.

We reluctantly left as we had arranged to meet the youth group of St Stephen's Church in Matatiele. We walked in and they sung a welcome before we introduced ourselves and started to mingle. Soon after there was an act of worship - involving English choruses and Xhosa songs, you can guess which were the more lively! Fr David was even seen to lift his hands in the air in worship.

Also there were representatives from the Diocesan Youth Department who gave a gift of a T-shirt to each of the young people, who are now 'Engaged in God's Business' or so it says on the back! Then it was time to eat, and a good spread had been provided for us. All too soon it was time to return to Cedarville, which was in darkness due to a power cut. Those at Val and Kips had power restored quite promptly, though those at Cathy and William's had to wiat until Ten O'clock for power to be restored!

On Sunday we attended St Mary's Church were Fr David gave a talk for All Saints and there were three other clergy in attendance. This was quite a traditional Anglican Communion Service, though some of the words in the service book were slightly different and would cause us to stumble. At the end of the service we gave the six care-givers who had helped us with the decorating a Diocese of Truro T-shirt and a t-towel as well as a small financial gift to thank them for their help. They were great fun to be with and it is a shame that we will not be seeing them again.

Afterwards we came back to Val and Kips for lunch and members of the Board for the Palliative Care Project joined us. The afternoon was spent playing cricket in the sunshine, we could almost have been in England on a June day, and had to remind ourselves that it was actually the 1st November!

CEDARVILLE - Day 6

Today we went back to Cedarville Public School, where we gave them our gifts of stationery, sports equipment and lego. We were each given certificates from the school for Community Development in Cedarville and the Headteacher told us that the school motto was 'Enter to Learn; Leave to Serve', but that we had entered to serve and as we left we had learnt. Then some of the girls performed some more dances for us and the choir sung some Xhosa songs and Silent Night. We then went outside and taught the children some parachute games, they all got very excited and did not want to let us go when it was time to say goodbye.

Our next stop was the Pre School and Creche where we gave some toys and craft equipment. We then visited the Cedarville GI (Griqua Independent) School in Cedarville, where we gave them some books and stationery. The Headteacher there showed us around the different classes, some of which were just large wooden garden sheds and he was hoping that we would spend some time decorating the classrooms there, however we have no time left. The pupils there were having a 'Civvies Day' where they got to wear their own clothes.

After lunch, snow came to Cedarville as we began to make Hay Boxes. These are used for cooking where the dish is brought to the boil and then placed in the box to cook slowly in its own heat; however, nowadays the Hay is replaced by two beanbag sacks, one on the bottom and one on the top. The team either cut or sewed or stuffed, and it was the stuffing of the sacks with the polystyrene chips that made Val and Kip's garden look snow covered!

In the evening we had a Braai, with beef, chicken and Vurst. Feeling terribly English we all ate outside, wrapped up in coats, hats and blankets as it was so cold!

CEDARVILLE - Day 5

We had a wonderful day today, we carried on painting at the school and some of the young people insisted on painting each other! We managed to finish painting six classrooms altogether, and the teachers were very pleased with the result. We also talked to the local children and talked a lot about 'High School Musical' and Tom being Zack Efron!



After a wonderful lunch of soup and rolls we had chill time. In the afternoon we went to Matatele and had amazing chocolate milkshakes at the Matatele Milk Depot. On return to Kip and Val's we spent some time debriefing within the team the work we had done at the school and the impact that that would have had on the young people and children there. We then spent some time in prayer and devotion, thinking about God's Love for people and that our motivation for everything must be out of Love.



It is unseasonably cold here at the moment, it's not too bad and warmer than the UK, but we are enjoying the log fire at the moment.

CEDARVILLE - Day 4

Today we were at the school by 8.00am for assembly, there had been a thunderstorm in the night and it was still raining as we arrived. The children lined up outside by class groups and began by singing the Lord's Prayer in Xhosa, which was very beautiful and moving. David then gave a short talk about Zaccheus.

Then we began the painting. We had three classrooms and fortunately some of the care-givers that we had been with over the last few days came to give us a hand. Some paint ended up on people rather than walls (Mike & Rose you know who you are!) but we still managed to almost complete the rooms by lunchtime. the school was so impressed that they asked if we could do more rooms tormorrow.

At the end of the morning some of the girls did some traditional Xhosa dancing for us, and they had changed into traditional dress (mainly beads). Some of the other girls were singing for the dancers and the whole experience was enlightening even though some of the dancing looked painful. Other groups of children also got up and recited poems for us.

After another amazing lunch we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing as a group, and the group staying with Kip and Val had THE most lovely steak supper!

CEDARVILLE - DAY TWO

Today we all distributed food to the poor deprived areas. We went to the cash and carry and bought a huge bulk of food. We all also bought paint and paint brushes to decorate the children's school on Wednesday. The people seemed very grateful for the food and the children enjoyed the toys and sweets given. We all split into groups to give the food to families. The sun shone very brightly today! We all enjoyed the sunshine and at lunchtime we all ate our soup outside. Tonight we are all playing cards together.

- Hannah

The supermarket was definitely very interesting, unlike Tesco's or Sainsbury's, most of the items were in bulk - it was amazing seeing the large bags of samp and miele meal. Today was also the first time we've seen ladies precariously balancing sacks of rice or fruit on their heads. After four trolley loads of shopping, we headed back to the palliative care office in Cedarville, where we organised the shopping into 26 piles, each containing one of each item we had bought. We then split into groups to deliver the food parcels - I was in the group who balanced in the back on a pick up truck and had sore bottoms from the bumpy dirt track roads! However, with the sun shining, and knowing that we were supplying families with food and items such as jumpers and toys, this gave me a really amazing feeling. I can't wait to show my church the photos of the children wearing the jumpers that they have knitted!

- Lydia

CEDARVILLE - DAY ONE

We were up bright and early... (but perhaps not for Mike and Tom). This morning we went to Cedarville Public School. It is here that we will be undertaking our painting project and we saw the three classrooms that we will be tackling on Wednesday. There are over 1000 pupils at the school from Reception to age 19, in a space the size of an average school plaground. Class sizes can be very large, up to 107 in a class with one teacher. We went into some of the classes for the yonger children but before long it was break time and we were mobbed, all of the children wanting their photos taken, though the cooler, older students lurked at the edges. Although the students were in uniform, it was obvious that they were hand downs and that the students came from poor families.

We then met some of the care-givers who work for the Palliative Care Project and split into smaller groups to go and visit some of the homes. This was an overwhelmingly emotional experience, to see families living in small spaces and who had so little. To see children playing with a balloon and getting so much from it, whilst hearing stories like that of a grandmother who had buried two of her daughters, one of whom had died only last week. Tomorrow we will be buying food and then distributing it with the care-workers, to some of the homes we visited today.

In the afternoon we brought out all of the gifts that we had brought over with us, it was the most amazing pile and we began to sort out where it would all go. Both Val and Cathy were overwhelmed by all that had been donated and there is still some money raised by others to use. Two schools will be getting books, papers, pens and sports equipment. A pre-school creche will have some toys, games and craft equipment. The Palliative Care Project will have some medical supplies as well as clothes, toiletries and games to give to those they feel are in need, including some that we hope will be given as Chrismtas gifts. When we distribute the food tomorrow we will be taking some t-shirts and sweets to give to children. In addition there is some money to buy additional stuff including musical instruments and other equipment and resources needed.

Today has given us a flavour of the town and the project and shown us some of the challenges that the workers here face trying to help those in need.

OUR JOURNEY

It was wet and dark at 7.00am on Saturday morning as we began to assemble at Truro Bus Station with coffee in hand. However everyone was excited and slightly nervous at the thought of what lay ahead in the next two weeks. Bishop Tim prayed for us and then it was time to get on the coach. There were a few tears from parents and then we were on our way.

31 hours later after five and three quarter hours on a coach, four and a half hours at Heathrow, ten and a half hours in the air, two and a half hours at Johannesburg Airport another hour in the air to Durban and then two and a quarter hours in which we met our guide, transferred our luggage and picked up our minibus before the final drive of five hours, we arrived in Cedarville!!

We are staying with the two nurses who run the project here, Val is hosting Hannah, Lydia, Kate, Tom, Mike, David and Claire whilst Cathy is hosting Megan, Holly, Emily, Yasmin, Rose and Sarah.

It was Kate's 18th birthday, so we sang her Happy Birthday on the plane and gave her a small present, we also got the Pilot to mention it over the tannoy! (She was slightly embarrassed). We all ate together at Val's house where we again celebrated Kate's Birthday and watched her struggle to blow out everlasting candles on her cake.

Then we turned in to our beds and all slept very well!

THE PILGRIMS HAVE SAFELY ARRIVED

Firstly may I apologise for not blogging sooner, but I was experiencing difficulties logging on at home so have come into work. So here goes:-

Everyone gathering at Truro Bus Station at 7.15 on Saturday morning. Bishop Tim was there to meet the group and prayed with them before they departed. A copy of his prayer is below:-

Our brother Jesus, you set our feet upon the way and sometimes

where you lead we do not like or understand.

Bless us with courage where the way is fraught with dread or danger;

Bless us with graceful meetings where the way is lonely;

Bless us with good companions where the way demands a common cause;

Bless us with night vision where we travel in the dark, keen hearing

where we have not sight, to hear the reassuring sounds of fellow travellers,

Bless us with humour - we cannot travel lightly weighed down with gravity;

Bless us with humility to learn from those around us;

Bless us with decisiveness where we must move with speed;

Bless us with lazy moments, to stretch and rest and savour;

Bless us with love, given and received;

And bless us with your presence, even when we know it in your absence.

Lead us into exile,

Until we find that on the road is where you are,

And where you are is going home.

Bless us, lead us, love us, bring us home

Bearing the gospel of life.

On Saturday at 5.33 I received the first text from Sarah to say:-

We've made it to Heathrow, all well but tired. We're just about
to make our way to the departure gate and looking forward to a sleep!
David has barely stopped talking!

I don't know what she means by that last sentence! Anway tonight I received the next text at 7.00 to say:-

We've arrived, found our guide, picked up the minibus and arrived in Cederville. All well but tired! We celebrated Kate's 18th with a present and cake. Love to all at home.

As soon as I hear any more news, I will let you all know.

Meet the Pilgrims 10 - Yasmin

Another person who has not given a short profile to be uploaded to this blog is Yasmin. Yasmin comes from Perranporth and is an active member of the youth work being led by one of our leaders Claire.

On our overnight preparation session Yasmin scared us all by being scarily bright and cheerful first thing in the morning. She did later admit to this being unusual, but this retraction may need to be treated with caution. Also at that session Yasmin was appointed keeper of Trevor and at our last preparation session she assured us that Trevor is fit and well.

On her application form Yasmin said that she would like to be part of this pilgrimage not just for the experience but because she wished 'to help a cause close to her heart'.

Meet the Leaders 3 - David

David hasn't actually given us anything to put on this blog, but the following is possibly true. The picture shows David doing what he loves the most, which is talking. When he's not busy doing that he is priest for parishes of Boscoppa and Treverbyn.


Ever since David's first visit to Umzimvubu he has actively promoted the link and undertaking many fund and awareness raising initiatives across the Diocese.

This will be David's third visit to Umzimvubu and he has been instrumental in arranging our placement and some of the visits to other projects that we will be undertaking.

Positive Light

One of the first opportunities to tell everyone of our pilgrimage, will be at the World AIDS day service at Truro Cathedral. The service called Positive Light is being held on Advent Sunday, 29th November at 2pm and will also feature a Gospel Choir and input from CMS and Truro Methodist church. We hope to have a good representation from among the pilgrims, so please put the date in your diary and we look forward to seeing you.

Play and Sport Equipment

It was great fun here in the office on Wednesday as various parcels arrived containing the play and sport equipment that we will be taking with us to Umzimvubu. Thanks to some fantastic fundraising efforts we have purchased a parachute and accessory pack, skipping ropes and loads of different types of balls - footballs, playground balls, tennis balls etc including some oddly shaped balls that bounce all over the place. The aim is to use these whilst we are there so that we can play with the children that we meet and then to gift them to the local primary and secondary school when we leave.

At our final meeting last weekend we also saw some of the other gifts that people have been buying or been given. There is a lot of school equipment paper/pens/rubbers/rulers/geometry sets etc, some medical stuff, craft bits and so on. It was really lovely to see so much stuff and to know how gratefully it will be received. A couple of schools from Cornwall are also supplying some school stuff for us to take and we have also been promised some t-shirts from the Diocese and a local company.

Our next challenges are to pack it all up so that we can take it over between us, as well as think of a variety of gifts for our hosts, so that they don't end up with 13 tea towels!

But thank you so much to all who have been so generous, during our time we will ask what other items the project/school or Diocese needs and seek to use any surplus money that has been raised.

The pictures are of the extremely cute teddy bear and pig bean bags that form part of the parachute accessory pack.

Meet the Leaders 2 - Sarah

I'm the Diocesan Youth Officer and a year ago this pilgrimage seemed like a brilliant idea, now as it rapidly approaches..... I've been in Cornwall now for fifteen months having previously worked in youth work projects around the country, I am really enjoying my time here and have been helped in this by
meeting and marrying my now husband Matthew! When I get a moment I like nothing more than to curl up and read a book, however, these have been rather few and far between of late.

This trip to Umzimvubu is exciting for many reasons, not least that it is the first time a group of young pe0ple will be going. I know that we will all see and experience new things and I hope for myself and others that it really will be a life changing event. I'm sure that we will be inspired by the faith of those we meet, most of whom will hae so little but despite their circumstances have a really strong faith. As a leader I am obviously hoping the whole event will run smoothly and be hassle free, so please remember us in your prayers and I hope that we ill have some amazing stories to tell on our return.

Meet the Leaders 1 - Claire

'If you thought these young people were going on their own - now is your chance to meet the leaders. Firstly Claire ....'

Hello, I'm Claire, a youth worker working for the Activate Youth Project in Perranporth and St Agnes. I have lived in Cornwall for the past four years. This will be my fifth time to Africa. I am really looking forward to meeting the people from Umzimvubu, sharing life with them, sharing faith, encouraging and helping, being chalenged and learning and spending time with the team.

Meet the Pilgrims 9 - Mike

Now we hear from the second male member of the team.

My name is Michael and i'm 17 years old. I live in Lanlivery and currently attend St Austell College, where i am studying: 1) English Language 2) English Literature 3) Politics 4) Law.
My hobbies include reading playing sports and going out with my friends. Also i am a youth leader at the 'Friday Knights' Youth Club at luxulyan church where i help entertain the children through reading stories, playing games and arts & crafts.

On the trip i hope to improve my knowledge of how people survive in a developing country and how children get through each day without the comfort of their parents and also to see what could be done in this country to help install running water and give people proper houses so that they can enjoy thier lives and not just live from day to day worrying about food, water and allow them free medical treatment.

Meet the Pilgrims 8 - Rose

Now a chance for Rose to say a little bit about herself...

Hi I'm Rose and I live in Falmouth; I have just completed my GCSE's and am about to enter my first year at Truro College. I feel very lucky to be included in the group of Pilgrims that are going to Umzimvubu and I hope that the trip will provide me with a valuable life experience, it will also be my first long haul flight! I am looking forward to the opportunity to learn about another culture that will enable me to grow both, as a person and in my faith; the experience of being in a land that remains poor economically but so rich spiritually will, I am sure give me a great insight and inspiration in many ways.

My parish church is St Budock at Budock Water near Falmouth, as a parish have we supported Umzimvubu for many years and have been lucky enough to host special visitors from Umzimvubu, who inspired me greatly with their great charisma providing wonderful worship and preaching.

I am, personally very interested in music and look forward to observing the African worship and perhaps to bring back some exciting and inspiring ideas! I am involved in worship music at Budock and love to sing, I help occasionally with the Junior Church and run the Fair Trade sales and promotion. I also love to organise events and outreach activities and am currently partaking in a part time 'Music Events Management' course at Tremough. Other hobbies I enjoy are swimming, sewing, art, drama and am a a member of local theatre companies, I am a member of the Cornwall Youth Choir which rehearses and performs at the Cathedral, I love being with people and meeting new friends, I am also a member of Youth Synod.

I look forward to being able to return to Cornwall after the Pilgrimage and share with my church and community my experiences, and hopefully lots of photographs. My church family have been an amazing support to me during the fundraising activities and I have been overwhelmed at the great kindness and enthusiasm shown to me for our Pilgrimage. I wanted to be able to do a special activity myself to raise funds not only for my trip but for our church campaign for the respite centre, I have produced a compilation music CD called 'And so it Goes' featuring young Cornish musicians, and have sourced some incredible talent ranging from the Truro Cathedral Choral Scholars and Cornwall Youth Choir to 'The Hitchcock Rules' with an impressive acoustic rock song called 'Cancun'. The choirs and artists have all generously donated the tracks, this has been greatly appreciated. And the sales have been very successful and copies going worldwide!

Also a very kind member of our congregation has organised a special concert with her friends from the community for my Umzimvubu funds this is to be held on October 22nd at 7.30pm in St Budock Church, please do come if you can it promises to be very good, with some very talented and experienced musicians.

... and she even managed to plug her latest fundraising event!

Meet the Pilgrims 7 - Tom

In case you thought we had no men coming on this pilgrimage allow Tom to introduce himself...

I'm Tom, I'm seventeen and I view this as a chance to experience what few people are able to. My main goal is to help with anything I can in South Africa, my view is that if I can make one persons life better for one day, the hard work will be worth it.

Currently I am studyingA levels of PE, Drama and Law as well as an AS in Philosophy. In my spare time I enjoy anything to do with music (of any kind) as well as sport and local theatre companies such as Open Road Theatre Company and Cornwall Youth Theatre Company.

So what dramatic inspiration will the team get from Tom?

Meet the Pilgrims 6 - Kate

Now it's Kate's turn to say hello...

My name is Katherine although I prefer being called Kate. I come from all over, Bristol, Essex, Gloucestershire and now Cornwall. I am currently at college in my second year doing a Creative and Media Diploma and A2 film studies. From my courses you can probably tell my interests. I love watching films, talking about films and making them with my friends.

From making the documentry whilst we are in Umzimvubu I hope I can show others and myself through it, the situation there and create a better understanding of it.

As mentioned above Kate will be filming us while we are in Umzimvubu for a college project. We hope to be able to use the film when feeding back to interested people and to promote the link with Umzimvubu.

Trevor

Just a word or two to introduce Trevor.

Trevor is a fish shaped oven glove that we found at St Paul's. He was immediately adopted by the team and given the name Trevor the Trout. It was suggested that he sould be our team mascot and Pat from the Church very kindly (?) allowed the young people to take him.

Yasmin took him home to look after him until we leave...

Preparation Days

The past weekend saw most of the team arriving at St Paul's, Upton Cross for our latest preparation session. The church had recently extended its hall to include a new kitchen and toilet. We would pay for our stay by helping with some of the decorating and clearing some of the graveyard.

The Friday night went quite quickly as we set up and then walked a prayer Labyrinth and then played a card game where we competed over presents. And then it was time to go to bed, so as airbeds were blown up and sleeping bags unrolled we took turns to use the toilet and washbasin. It took nearly an hour. But then again we were mainly girls!

The next morning we showed our true colours as some took a long time to wake up and others were alarmingly bouncy!

David arrived and then, starting as he meant to go on, began talking. Soon after a couple of the church members arrived to show us what to do and we began to work.

There was a car boot sale across the way that meant that lots of people were asking us about what we were doing and in many ways we wished we'd known about this as we'd have organised a stall to help with our promotion and fundraising.

After lunch we then went on a walk to the Cheesewring, it was rather windy but we had a good time and saw lots of wildlife.

Once we returned to Upton Cross there was time for a cup of tea and an update, before we all went our separate ways. Our next, and final, preparation session will be on October 10th, two weeks before we leave.

Meet the Pilgrims 5 - Megan

Now here is Megan to tell us a little bit about herself...

Hello, My name is Megan and I feel that I’m quite a lively, churppy kind of person, I live in Probus, and am member of Probus Parish Church. In Church I play my flute in our family service along with a few other youngsters. At the moment I am at Truro College, just starting my second year, I am studying English Lit and Lang, Illustration and Graphics, Drama and Psychology. At the end of my A levels I would really like to become a Primary school teacher or do something Arty.
My main hobbies are performing, whether that’s Drama, singing or dance I enjoy them all, I also love working with children, painting and any outdoor sports.

I am extremely exited about going to Umzimvubu in October, I am really interested in seeing the different lifestyle that they have and looking at there totally different culture. Getting the opportunity to also help and hope to make a small difference would hopefully be a life changing experience for me. I look forward to bringing back all I learn and then share it with the people in my Parish and my friends and family.

And again Megan provided a photograph.

Meet the Pilgrims 4 - Lydia

And now it's time to meet Lydia...

Hello! My name is Lydia and I live in Saltash and am a member of St. Stephens by Saltash parish church. I help with running the Sunday School and play the viola or recorder in the church music group at our family services. I've just completed my GCSEs at Stover School, Newton Abbot with results much better than I had expected! In September I am going on to do my A Levels in Geography, Biology, english Language and Religious Studies at Saltash Community School. My hobbies include Guiding and palying my musical instruments. I have a hamster called Krenza which means 'peace' in Cornish.
I've had an amazing summer, I went to an international jamboree in Iceland with Girl Guiding South West England and then in August went to Sri Lanka with my family. Going to Umzimvubu in October will make my year even more exciting as it will be a completely new experience, meeting Christians who live in different cultures and helping them over the two weeks. I look forward to being able to share my experiences from from South Africa with my church and the local community.

Thanks Lydia and thank you for your photograph.

Meet the Pilgrims 3 - Hannah

And now it's time to meet Hannah...

Hi, I'm Hannah, I come from Newlyn near Penzance. I am currently studying at Truro College and am about to start my second year of A levels in English, World Development, Drama and Psychology. I have many hobbies including reading, walking, singing, acting and cooking. My interets mainly revolve around children and animals. At home I have three pets: Shep the border collie, and Basil and Sky Blue the rabbits. I am involved in St Peter's Church in Newlyn, where I do reading and acolyting. I also help at a holiday club in the truro area associated with the parish church in Tregony.

From my experience in Umzimvubu I hope to gain a better knowledge of impoverished countries and how other people live. I also hope to be able to make an impact and do some good work to assist the people there. This should enable me to decide if this is something I would like to do in the future.

We now have a lovely photo of Hannah for you...

Meet the Pilgrims 2 - Emily

The second to return their profile was Emily...

Hi, my name is Emily and I live in Carbis Bay. I've recently graduated from Aberystwyth where I studied International Politics and the Third World. This is really where my interests lie being particularly interested in current affairs and Gender Issues.
In my spare time I enjoy cooking, craft and playing lacrosse.
I think our pilgrimage will be an eye opening experience. I hope that through our trip we will be able to come back and share a unique perspective which will benefit us, our churches and communities.

I hope to get a slightly better picture of Emily soon.

Meet the Pilgrims 1 - Holly

Each member of the team has been asked to write a short profile about themselves so that any followers of this blog can get to know us a bit. The first to return their profile was Holly...

I live in Perranwell Station and go to Truro High School for Girls where I will be entering the lower 6th form there this September. For my AS Levels I will be doing History, French, Maths and Chemistry. In my free time I like to cook and I also do drama and sing in the church choir as well as doing the reading in church as part of a rota.
Although my experience in Umzimvubu will be challenging I hope it will teach me to over come my own fears and teach me how to work better as part of a team. It will be an opportunity to help people who have so little.

Unfortunately we don't have a photo of Holly yet put will put one up when we do.

Fundraising

As part of their preparation for the Pilgrimage the young people have been asked to raise at least £500, this represents approximately half the cost of the flight/transport/accomodation/food per person.
To date the young people (Pilgrims) have come up with some creative ways of raising the money from sponsored activities through to making and selling music CD's. In between we've had car washing, cream teas, table top sales, car boots (a lot of bedroom clearing has gone on!), filling in hippopotamus outlines with silver coins, grant applications and begging letters. And it all seems to be working. Any surplus money, once costs have been covered, will be used to take gifts to the people we will be with and for many the most practical thing we can offer is food, which we will be buying out there.
So to the Pilgrims, keep going you're doing really well and to those who are supporting them - be generous!!

Introducing the Pilgrimage

How do you start a new blog?
What words of wisdom do you impart?
What standard are you setting?
The pressure...

If this works and can be linked across, then this will be the blog for the Youth Pilgrimage to Umzimvubu in October this year. A group of young people from the Diocese of Truro are preparing for this trip to our link Diocese, Umzimvubu, in South Africa.
The link has been established for a few years now, with clergy and school heads from Truro visiting their counterparts in South Africa. Now it is felt that the time is right for some young people to go.
During our 2 week visit we will mainly be based in a town called Cedarville where we will be doing some practical work at an AIDS/HIV project there. For the young people from Cornwall this will be a fantastic opportunity to experience a different culture and to learn from their experiences.
To date the young people have been selected and have begun the preperation by spending some time getting to know each other and undertaking some team building. In addition the young people have been busy fundraising towards the costs of the trip, with some interesting and novel ways emerging!
The next time together will be in early September where an overnight stay in a church hall should encourge more team bonding, there will also be an opportunity to put their practical work skills to the test!