Offering contributions for car rides—a cultural difference?

As mentioned previously on this blog, I bought a car back in January of this year. It is a bright red Toyota Vitz, which has served me well, especially in reaching with greater expediency the distant reaches of our English and Chinese territory. The car’s fuel economy was probably better in its younger years (it’s 16 years old), but that could no doubt be said of us humans, yours truly included.

However, there is an observation I would like to make—and would welcome any comments from the readership of this blog, which may be international (to some extent) in scope.

I take the car out, on average, four days a week in the ministry. It has been a real help, when you consider the time saved and what can be accomplished. But operating a car is expensive in Africa. Gas (petrol) is twice the cost of what it is in the U.S. So, when giving others in the congregation rides, I notice that rarely does anyone offer a contribution.

On two occasions, when conducting the meeting for field service, I pointed out what was stated in the March 1996 Kingdom Ministry, “Question Box,” about the appropriateness of offering to contribute for transportation provided by others in the ministry. I said that being in a foreign-language congregation or group naturally entails higher transportation costs. Unlike publishers in local-language congregations who walk everywhere in their close-by territory, we end up taking buses, taxis, and motorcycles more often. So, when someone gives us a ride, would it not be a loving gesture, as the Kingdom Ministry mentions, to offer a contribution to the driver?

Well, after these meetings for service, nothing changed. Hardly anyone offered to contribute for rides. Okay, operating my car is certainly not ‘breaking the bank.’ Yet, it is a considerable expense. And the publishers and pioneers take public transportation all the time, every day, so it is not as though they are destitute. (If you are in the English congregation, presumably you have ‘counted the cost’ of serving here in the first place.) They could offer to a car driver after a day in the ministry what they would have normally paid to take public transportation. But this is not happening.

Then, the thought occurred to me that possibly this may be due to a cultural difference. Back home, in the U.S., when I was in the Chinese congregation—and our territory was very large, the entire city of Sacramento—it was almost a standard thing to offer a contribution to a driver. It need not be large, but it nevertheless is a gesture of appreciation.

But, here in Rwanda, I had an experience recently that may explain the difference. I was picked up at the airport at 1:00 a.m. by a brother (and three others) in his car. Of course, I had asked the brother to do this for me in advance. But when I tried to give him some money to cover his expense—and because he had to come get me in the middle of the night—he refused to accept it. He, and the others, said that it would be uncomfortable to accept money in this situation because it would be as though I was ‘paying’ him for the service. And since we are friends, he wanted to help me out—and who pays a friend for a favor?

So, is there a cultural difference? Or maybe—picking someone up at an airport is a one-shot deal, but giving someone rides regularly in service are two different situations?

Readers of this post, what is your observation on this?

South Africa (Durban)

After a great experience in Johannesburg, Bethel, and Ukutula Game Reserve, it was now time to board a bus for the 8-hour trip to Durban, a city on the coast of the Indian Ocean.

I arrived in the evening of August 26, and was picked up by a brother, Wayne, who was to be my host. I knew Wayne because he has come several times to Rwanda as part of his work. He is in a long line of Indian immigrants to South Africa, Durban in particular, which by the way is the city with the largest number of ethnic Indians outside of India.

Here is a list of things I did or places I visited over the next week:

aquarium, bird park, golf driving range, timeshare resort, water park, bowling

Oh, we also attended meetings at the Phoenix East Congregation and participated in the invitation campaign for the regional convention, to be held in mid-September. I saw the stadium where the convention would take place. It was located very close to the beach. Yes, the Indian Ocean!

Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban

Umhlanga Beach, Durban

Was the water warm, you may ask? Actually, South Africa was just at the tail end of winter, so the water was a bit cool (20 degrees Celsius). When you first get in the water, it feels chilly, but after moving around you get used to it. It is definitely not as cold as the ocean off Northern California.

I stayed with Wayne and his mom and three younger brothers. We ate plenty of seafood and Indian food, not surprisingly, including this dish called "Bunny Chow" at a restaurant. It consists of curried lamb tucked inside a cube of bread. You eat it with your hands. Mmm!

Then, on the first weekend of September, we went to a timeshare resort on the South Coast, about two hours from Durban.

Finally, on September 4, I returned to Johannesburg for the flight back to Rwanda.

Exciting trip!

South Africa (Johannesburg, Ukutula Game Reserve)

I survived South Africa!

First, on August 20, I flew into Johannesburg, via Kampala (Entebbe) and Nairobi, starting in the middle of the night, and over a period of 15 hours. Pretty exhausting! Flying from Kigali to Johannesburg nonstop normally takes about 3½ hours, but of course this is the more expensive option. Have to watch that budget!

Anyway, upon landing I noticed how cold Johannesburg was. Daytime temperatures were between 10 and 15 degrees (Celsius), something unheard of in Kigali. South Africa is coming out of winter and entering spring. And of course, I had no jacket, no sweater. (All of my cold weather clothing is in the U.S.)

I was picked up by Patrick, a Rwandan brother who used to be in our congregation, and two other brothers who had just finished the last day of their regional convention. I was then dropped off at the flat where I was to stay for the next few days. This two-bedroom flat is occupied by Patrick's younger brother Colin as well as five Congolese guys (all Witnesses), most of whom are students at the University of Johannesburg. The university is conveniently across the street, but there are other areas of the campus further away.

Patrick and I went to town one day and looked around. Johannesburg is just a big city, in fact, the financial capital of South Africa, and not much to see from a tourist's point of view, so my main objectives were essentially to (1) change money, (2) buy a South African SIM card and a memory card for my new smartphone, and (3) avoid getting kidnapped. Ha! Just joking, although Johannesburg, despite having the reputation for being the carjacking capital of the world, is probably no worse than any other major city; you just have to be careful at all times.

Though my flatmates were pretty busy most of the time with their studies, we did spend some time in the evenings, talking as well as eating fufu and whole fried fish with tomato sauce. Though the Congolese are not particularly enamored of Johannesburg, they seemed to have adjusted to the lifestyle and the cold weather, and certainly the economic opportunities are much better in South Africa than in their native country.

On August 23, I hired an Uber car to get to Cedar Lodge, where I was to meet my American friend Jerry and his wife and two daughters, who had just come from the Mozambique branch dedication. Also in our group were another couple from the U.S. and a couple from Mozambique Bethel. Between the two nights of our stay at Cedar Lodge, we planned a visit to the South Africa branch. (Though I visited the branch 10 years ago, much of it has completely changed; in fact, they just had a dedication in April due to the enlarged printery.)

Sound wave of the name "Jehovah" spoken in English (wall decoration)

We met one of the animators of the Caleb/Sophia videos. He is originally from South Africa, served in Patterson for a year along with his wife, and then returned to South Africa after they had a child. He gave up a well-paying job and took up farming (something he never dreamed of doing) as part-time work to support his family while commuting to Bethel as an animator. What we didn't realize is that no one animator works on an entire video, because it would take too long and we wouldn't be getting the videos as quickly. Instead, each animator, wherever in the world, is assigned a small fraction of a video. Then, all the parts are put together to create the final product.

I must say, the South Africa Bethel tour is seriously high-tech, with all kinds of videos in multiple languages and hands-on displays, not to mention the elevated, window views of the printery, shipping, and laundry departments. I haven't yet been to Warwick (but probably next year), so the big question is, how does the U.S. Bethel tour compare?

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On August 25, we headed for Ukutula Game Reserve and Lion Park, northwest of Pretoria, where you can see lions, cheetahs, hyenas, and other animals. What an amazing experience! This reserve, interestingly enough, is owned by a Witness family, consisting of a couple and their grown children. They explicitly state that the reserve does not approve of hunting. It has been established for conservation and research purposes. There is a laboratory in the Conservation Center where research is done and biological samples stored for study and testing.

Our guide said that in the past, maybe 50-100 years ago, 70% of lions were killed by hunters. Nowadays, 70% of lions are dying of a disease called "bovine tuberculosis (TB)."
It afflicts cows, which then transmit the TB to other animals. There are only three kinds of animals that are immune to bovine TB, one of which is the hyena. (Hyenas can eat virtually anything and never get sick. How is this possible?) So, research is underway to determine how to create a vaccine that will save lions in the wild.

What is really unforgettable at the reserve, however, is the activity known as "Walking With Lions." Twice a day they take four male lions out for a walk (like you might do with your dog, sort of). It takes about an hour, and on the way the lions get to take a drink and also get fed dead chickens, which they can swallow in one gulp even while perched in a tree!

As tourists, we get to walk with them, only a few meters behind! The guides give you a stick and add that if you place it in front of you with one end on the ground, the lions know they are not to cross it. By the way, these lions are only 2-3 years old; once they pass that age, you can't walk with them anymore. And in the wild, the stick trick doesn't work, unfortunately.

So, how often in your life do you get a chance to have your picture taken with lions in the background? No barriers, no fences, nothing to keep you from being their next meal. OK, it's a bit scary at first, but these guides seem to have everything under control, and they boast of never having had any casualties. Yes, it was a small taste of paradise!

We were also able to get up close to four lion cubs, yes, even to pet them!

And yes, even, pet cheetahs!

By the way, there are two male cheetahs they allow you to touch. (And they are very specific about where you can touch them: head is OK, back is OK, but not the underside.) One of them is named Fast and the other is Furious. Between the two, Furious (the one in the video) has the nicer disposition, according to our guide.

Did you know there are only about 5,000 cheetahs left in the world?

So I would highly recommend visiting this game reserve. By the way, if you are a pioneer, they give you a 50% discount!

Next up: Durban, South Africa