Dumela, beloveds.

Unbelievably, just weeks ago we were in Klerksdorp, South Africa with my sister Brenda and her family enjoying a delicious braai at their home; all afternoon, we sat outside holding hands, telling stories, and sharing laughter on the patio in their lovely backyard. It was so beautiful and sacred to be with Brenda and to meet some of her family, and I hold the warmth and light and sunshine from that day and that time together so close to my heart.

The lamb and pork and boerwors and chicken for the braai were flowing from the kitchen, and Leruo, Brenda and Steve’s son, was an expert on the grill. At some point before we ate, Brenda’s sister/cousin was introducing herself to James and as he said hello, she responded with dumela. She told us that dumela is a Sotho word used when greeting someone that means “good morning,” “good afternoon,” or “good evening” and that speaking it to someone is a sign of respect and affirmation. She shared that when someone says dumela to you, it is kind and custom to repeat it back to them.

So I start here with dumela, beloveds.

It has been years since I kept a blog, and truthfully, it feels a bit odd to be back in this space. Do people even blog anymore? Does anyone read them? I honestly have no idea, but as I’ve been going through photos from our trip and trying to put together a post with words and pictures to capture a bit of the magic of our time in South Africa, I’ve felt more and more certain that I have more to say about it all than could ever fit into an instagram caption. We saw and experienced so many beautiful, special, and sacred things while we were overseas, and I feel like I need a place to put them all that isn’t limited by character counts (or on a platform run by people whose choices seem to change with the direction of the wind, or money, or politics, or power.)

I’ll have much more to say about our time with Brenda and her beautiful family, but I couldn’t think of a more fitting way to begin (again).

Dumela.