Laying a dung floor at Matlwang, Monday 24 October, Trip Day Four

This morning presented one of those opportunities which only comes around so often, but which is just what we hoped this trip might offer. We were able to roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty alongside our partners, in a thoroughly practical way: laying a dung floor in a new church build in a small rural community about an hour outside Ikageng, called Matlwang.

Tom, Ed and I left our house at 8.15am with Peter, our host, who had already collected Hannah and Holly from his sister’s house just a short walk away. We were all crammed into the car for the ride to the Cathedral, where Ros and Ruth, Helen and Millie joined us shortly after.

About eight members of the Tsogong Youth Fellowship had already gathered and we set off for Matlwang together in two minibuses, first along the highway, but then for the last half hour along dirt tracks and lanes. The Tsogong team included Miles, Serame, Boitumelo and Kentse who had first collected us from the airport on Saturday; plus Gadifele, Rorisang, Beautiful and Tshepo. Two adults from the Cathedral here also came along: Raini (who is hosting Helen and Millie) and Dikeledi.

When we got to our destination, we found four local Christians already hard at work – a man and three women. This year, the Anglican congregation in Matlwang has erected a small building, with stone walls and a corrugated iron roof to replace an earlier smaller structure made entirely of corrugated iron. It is a bigger space for worship, no doubt, but it must still be a squeeze for the 100-150 who gather there Sunday by Sunday.

Until this morning, there was just a dirt floor. They told us that that’s no good, when the congregation is singing and dancing: they kick up a great cloud of dust, which inhibits them!

When we arrived, the local team were busy mixing a sort of binding mixture of water, soil and dung. We stood around for a while, to begin with, unsure quite what level of involvement would be welcome from us. But within 30 minutes, we were fully engaged: mixing the stuff, loading a wheelbarrow, carting it into the building, emptying it onto the floor and then, with our bare hands, smoothing it like plaster on a wall. It dries within 24 hours, apparently, into a firm surface. We sang a bit as we worked, and inevitably made all the ‘pooh’ jokes we could think of, and stopped worrying about how dirty we were getting. By 12noon, we’d run out of mixture ingredients, and had to down tools, with about a quarter of the floorspace done.

We were then summoned inside by Raini for a song and a prayer, which felt like a proper dedication of our work. We prayed about God doing the building and about our being spiritual stones in the temple of God’s Spirit.

This was also the place we decided to photograph members of the group with the front page of the Lichfield Mercury (and Eddie, our mascot bear). It's probably the most remote community we will visit. We're hoping the Merc might publish the image with a story about the trip when we get back.

Then it was back into the minibuses for the return journey, desperately trying to get ourselves clean with babywipes and hand-sanitiser. The wise ones among us had brought a complete change of clothing, but most of us were having to make do. Lunch had been prepared for us at the Cathedral and after we’d eaten we took the chance to look inside the building. We’re now slowly gathering at Peter’s house, with the Tsogong fellowship, to sit by the pool and chat. It’s a shame that the sky has clouded over for the first time in the last three days.

Tonight we’re off to Klerksdorp for an evening meal, so this afternoon can be leisurely. It’s welcome after a hard morning’s exertion.