Here is a brief report on my recent trip to South Africa to visit Fr. Dermot Roache. As you may recall he was ordained in December of 2007.

I had to be at the airport in Newark around 8:45 am on Tuesday the 6th of Jan. From there I flew to Atlanta and had an hour at the airport before departing for Johannesburg. The flight from Atlanta to Dakar, Senegal was about 8 hours. We were on the ground for about an hour and then on to Johannesburg, traveling another 8 hours. I finally arrived in Johannesburg around 5:20 pm on Wed. the 7th of Jan. It was a long trip and I was not able to get much sleep. The time difference between Tenafly and Johannesburg is 8 hours. So after 25 hours of travel I was ready for some sleep.

The temperature there was almost 90 degrees and it was a nice change from the freezing weather that we were experiencing here in Tenafly. I was met by Frs. Dermot and Ishmael (African District SMA) and drove the 2 hours to our SMA house which is about 30 minutes outside Rustenburg. Rustenburg is one of the fastest growing cities in the world just now.

The sun was coming up early there, around 5:15 and I was usually up at day break. I did sleep with a fan on all night, a relief from 3 blankets that I was using here, it was quite an adjustment. There is running water and electricity which made the visit pleasant. Thursday I went into Rustenburg with Fr. Dermot to get a few things that I forgot and just to get a feel for the place. There are malls not unlike our own. And the prices were not that high for many of the goods. The exchange rate was almost 10 rand to the dollar. I had to get an adaptor for the electrical appliances that I brought. It is a different then any one I knew (see picture page 3). Dermot was buying things to be fixing up his house in Sesobe. He was planning to move up there on a more permanent basis just after I left.

We traveled to Sesobe on Friday. It took about 5 hours to get there. Most of the roads were excellent and the last 20 miles were dirt but overall in good condition.

Sesobe is an interesting place with a history to it. The first bishop of Rustenburg lived there in a very simple house. He was the pastor in the parish before and when he became bishop decide to stay there. He was greatly loved by the people there and even today he is held in high esteem by the people of the area. The town has one small shop and has recently got a gas station. The population seems to be around 2000, a rough estimate. The Catholic Church is the only church in the entire village.

Dermot will be living with Fr. Freddie Warner (an Irish SMA priest) who has been in the area for over 10 years now and greatly enjoys his work. He is fluent in the language, which is a source of encouragement to Dermot. Dermot has done a good deal in learning the local language, Swana, and says mass in it as well as preaches. There are a number of other SMA priests up in the area (the upper northwest corner of South Africa) who are working together. It looks very good and there is a lot of energy there. There is also a community of local sisters who have there novitiate there as well although they have no novices at present. They are helpful to Dermot in learning the correct use of the language.

The Church is relatively young there. Although present for many years it was largely inactive for a long time. The First SMAs went there in the 1870’s but stayed only a short time. The history of the country is unique and so the challenges that the church will be facing are going to be different. We will continue to pray that the faith does grow there and God becomes a real need for them.