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.