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.