Monday was my final full day at the College of the Transfiguration. That, though, makes it sound as though something different happened. It was a normal day. Eucharist in the early morning, classes, meals, etc. The only real change in pace for me was that in the afternoon my Formation Group and two others decided to have a volleyball tournament. Playing a sport with the COTT students was interesting. Rules and order are much less valued than in all my experience playing sports in the US. Though volleyball was being played, it seemed that chaos (which included lots of yelling and singing in a variety of languages) was the dominant experience.
That night, Therese and I went out to eat at Nando's and then went to the local movie theater. We ended up seeing "The Happening." I thought it was obvious and boring, but Therese seemed to enjoy it (probably because of the science at play - I recommend the book, "The Botany of Desire" for relevant reading).

Tuesday morning I finished my reflection paper for the Contextual Theology Programme. It was entirely reflective of my experiences, but I gave it a fantastic title - "'This Isn't Canterbury': A Reflection on Two Anglican/Episcopal Parishes on their Journey toward Acculturation." But it really is just a semi-structured flow of ideas. Which, by the way, is the purpose of the program.
That afternoon we went out to Mariya uMama weThemba ("Mary Mother of Hope" in isiXhosa) Monastery (Holy Cross) about 7K outside of Grahamstown. It is a wonderful place for retreats and the brothers are all wonderful. We arrived in time to unpack in our rooms (which consist of a bed, desk, and 2 chairs) and get to Vespers and then to dinner. While I'm thinking of it, here is the daily routine at the monastery:
6:00 AM - Vigils
7:15 - Breakfast (silent)
8:00 - Lauds and Eucharist
12:00 - Diurnum/Noonday prayers
12:30 - Lunch
5:30 - Vespers
6:30 - Dinner
and sometime after dinner - Compline
This schedule is important for keeping time for the following story:
When we got there, it was before Vespers and we could see a small fire burning in the brush opposite us on the other side of the valley. The fire department couldn't come right away because of other fires (it is very dry here). When they came they were able to stomp some of it out, but it was spreading down the hill into the valley. We went to Vespers and could see the fire through the windows. It was getting worse, but the fire people were there. It should be stated that the fire department had no hoses, this is not a resource outside of cities so they used pants on a stick to beat it out. By supper, a firetruck came to us and said they were going to light a safety fire to ensure we were fine. A good plan. By compline, looking out through the windows in chapel you'd think the whole valley was burning. But when we looked it seemed as though they had it under control and after a few hours of watching to our satisfaction, went to bed...

At about 12:20 at night, Therese came into my room to tell me "the fire is closer." I went out to take a look and the fire was now coming up the hill we were on and it was also coming from the side of the property threatening the chapel. I went down to talk to the brothers who were stunningly calm as the flames came up towards us. They had a few garden hoses (about one hose per two buildings) so after a bit, Therese got up Steve (about 12:40). He saw what we were looking at - the potential destruction of everything - and he and I went to wake up the others so they could pack before any panic scenario came into play. That was about 1:00 AM. After about a half hour or more of everyone examining the property and the terrible experience of flames being blown over the monks' residence, burning embers dropping from the sky on top of all of us, and smoke engulfing the whole area, we were gradually drafted to help. We (the six Contextual Theology students, Therese, a local priest staying the night, and the brothers) then formed a line with buckets and wet towels and ensured the fire didn't get to close from an approach without any hoses. I really don't know how to describe this experience. Panic, fear, anxiety, concern, and the strange humor that accompanies it; seeing nothing but fire around us (the fire eventually had us surrounded) and the spooky glow of the embers left in the valley seemed as though all we knew was coming to an end; and exhaustion and adrenaline and the sense of the ridiculous that we were literally all out there with wet towels.
Some time in the small hours of the morning, Therese cleaned and bandaged my feet. Since I had planned on going on a relaxing retreat, I only brought flip-flops which I wore out on the fire line. The result was that my feet had some cuts and I had some singed toes. The brothers felt comfortable enough to go to sleep, but the Americans stayed up to process what just happened for a while. Therese went back to bed. The fire had gone above us and was now threatening to come down on us from behind so we got a couple of buckets and went up there. It was in an inaccessible area so we just watched, defeated. Then the bells for Vigils were rung, so we went to chapel. After Vigils, we had a look at the ridge above us on fire and just had to let it go and trust that with the wind and short grass, it wouldn't pose much threat coming down the hill. After breakfast, I took a bath to scrub my cut, burned, and black feet and to let them relax in warm water. I skipped Lauds, after which two guys went and stomped out some little bits of flame that managed to get close to the guest house.
That morning, most of us managed to take little naps and the rest of our time at the monastery (until Friday at about 4:00 PM) was dominated by this experience and watching the fire continue to travel down this valley which we could see for miles. The monastery is fine, and from the opposite hill, one can see how the fire literally surrounded it, but never got it. I'd like to say it was because of us, but I doubt we actually accomplished that much. The brothers were all very calm and through all of this, never skipped their Daily Office obligations. The rest of the time there was more restful.
We returned to Grahamstown yesterday and had dinner at Isaias Chachine's house. He is the ethics lecturer at COTT. It was a nice dinner and he talked about how much "we" (Grahamstown, the Anglican Church in S. Africa, COTT, and Africa in general) need people like us to come. Not to do anything in particular, but to share stories, live together, and combat the ignorance of Westerners regarding Africa.
Today, Therese and I will start to pack and do laundry. Tomorrow is our last Sunday at the cathedral and we will have Evening Prayer at COTT followed by a final dinner at Janet Trisk's house. God willing, on Monday we will drive to Port Elizabeth, fly to Johannesburg, fly to Washington DC, fly to San Antonio, and arrive there sometime around 10:00 AM Tuesday.