Candy, Family, and God

When David, our landlord, told us that the trip was over Easter weekend I cringed a little bit. If I were to go this would be the first year that I would miss not only Easter mass but Holy Thursday and Good Friday as well. I tentatively put my name on the sign up sheet and decided to talk to my parents about what they thought I should do. The response was exactly what I expected. "God can find you anywhere. When is the next time you will be able to go to Namibia?" So, I packed my backpack, grabbed my sleeping bag, and I was off.

I spent my Easter weekend, from Thursday April 21 through Monday April 25, camping under the stars and rafting down the Orange River, the river that forms the border between South Africa and Namibia. The area that the river runs through is desert for miles and miles with the only vegetation on the banks of the river and from there rocky, sandy mountains are all that the eye can see. We spent our days rafting down the river and hiking up mountains and our nights sitting around a camp fire talking or laying in our sleeping bags staring up at the stars. This is where I spent one of the most holy days of the liturgical year, Easter. This is where I found God.

To me, Easter usually means three things: candy, family, and God. When I signed up to go to Namibia I figured that each of those things would be lacking this year, but I was sorely mistaken. In fact, I had an abundance of all three. 

Candy

The day before I left Cape Town a box appeared on our dining room table with my name on it. I always love getting mail, but I especially love mail here. It thrills me to know that when I open a box the last person to see and touch the things inside was one of my parents. I have come to realize that it is those little things in life that make me the most happy. Inside, the box was filled with a couple of things that I had asked for as well as loads of candy and plastic Easter eggs. My parents know how much I love our annual Easter egg hunt, so they sent it to me in South Africa. As I packed my backpack later that night with only the bare essentials I stuck a package of Peachie O's at the bottom and was thankful for how much my parents love me, especially when it is shown through the little things. 

Family

My family and friends help me to form and practice my faith in the ways that I do. It is during Lent and Easter when I begin to remember and understand why these people are so close to me. I thought I was going to struggle on Easter because of this. I convinced myself that instead of being a joyous day of celebration I would spend Easter feeling sad that I wasn't at home with my friends and family. That was not the case.  The longer that I am in South Africa, living in a house of twenty people, reflecting on my life here, with every conversation my love for my housemates grows. This weekend was a perfect example of that. As I rowed down the Orange River on Easter morning with Madeline singing Ben Sollee in my ear behind me, I realized that these people have become my family in South Africa. They may not know everything about me, but they are the only ones who will ever know what it meant to be in South Africa with me. These are the ones who know me here. After saying grace at dinner at base camp, I looked around the table and felt at home. 

God

I love the tradition of the Catholic church, but that is not where my faith stops. My biggest goal in life is to find God in everything that I come across. People who are homeless and people who make millions. Sprawling cities and acres of vacant fields. Churches and slums. I came a little closer to accomplishing that goal on Easter Sunday. Looking out over the water and the mountains I found God in the beauty that surrounded me and the feeling of complete comfort that I felt. How could a place so breathtaking and peaceful not be a place where God resides? Although my Easter wasn't spent in a church or with my family, I found the presence of God in the nature that surrounded me and with the people who I have grown to love.

Although my Easter turned out to be quite unconventional when compared to years past, I would not have changed anything. Back in Cape Town I am sore, a little bit sun burned, and overwhelmed with love for God and family, where ever they might be in the world.