Moving Day

We made pretty good time to work, so I was a bit early. Soon after I was called because a young white man was looking for some clothes. I am often the one they call to deal with the homeless guys that come in, and often the white people as the only white staff person. Then again I can’t speak other South African languages fluently so there are a few clients I can’t assist, thought most speak English.

This guy was very gracious with the clothes assistance we could give and hoping to get into rehab. I spent a few minutes talking to him, because he was open and seemed pretty lonely.

Then I get back into the office to find everyone else there has mobilized and moving is in full force. So I jump in as well. We have been moving our office from the old building that was part of the old church manse (parsonage) into a new building on the other side of the church. I made the mistake of having heals on the first day our manager decided to take some things over.

Imagine a bunch of people carrying all sorts of office things on their own or in trips with two shopping carts. It was back and forth all day long and lots of questions of where everything goes. This may be South African of me, but I finally got a tea break, that I had missed the chance for before we started the moving.

We had a lot to do so didn’t want to take too many break. Finally when people took a chance for lunch, I just laid down under someone’s desk. They were buying food or getting food ready, and a bit applaud when I joined them and just ate my soup cold. I appreciated a few moments of being lazy.

I didn’t mind so much the weight of things, and it is always funny doing trips with shopping carts and the humors I work with. But I found a problem in the edges of things being so small that they put too much pressure in one spot of my hand.

And then what do you do when you have to pass the church moving stuff while a funeral is going on? I had serious dilemmas about this, but we tried to time things appropriately. As all the furniture was already outside. The guy from the funeral home stopped us at one point and said, “Pick ‘n Pay (one of the major grocery chains here) called me and wants their cart back.” Took me a second to realize he was making fun of us.

And somehow by our own manpower and “job creation” as everyone joked, we managed to move our offices ourselves. Which is the second organization I have now helped move offices since I have been here. But major difference in distance (one the same block, the other across the country.) But hopefully we will get all set up and more space will help everyone be able to have the resources to accomplish all we are trying to. Though I feel like everyone did a very good job of having to work onto of each other before, so we’ll see how all adjust.

(Day continued in next blog)