Embracing “the Other” through the BWA VISA INFORMATION

Visitors to South Africa require a valid passport. Passport holders from more than 80 countries can travel to South Africa without a visa. It is important to check before travel plans are finalized for visa eligibility. Information regarding visas can be obtained from a travel agent or the South Africa Embassy or Consular representative in your area. Passports should have at least two completely empty pages, otherwise entry may be denied. Passports must be valid for at least six months after the intended date of departure from South Africa. Visas cannot be obtained on arrival. More visa information can be obtained from the following site: http://www.home-affairs.gov.za/ index.php/applying-for-sa-visa. The BWA issues an invitation letter upon registration for the congress. A letter of invitation is not a commitment to provide financial support. To ensure participation, apply for a visa well in advance of the event.

ACCOMMODATION AND RESERVATIONS

Hotel accommodations can be reserved in Durban through Turners Conferences. All rates quoted on the hotel booking form are in South African Rand and are per room and per night. Breakfast and service taxes are included. Most hotels are in close proximity to the International Convention Centre Durban.

Rio 1960

When I was growing up in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC, in the 1950s and 1960s, I lived in a very uniform world. There was virtually no racial, ethnic or religious diversity in my ele- mentary school, except for one Jewish family. Everybody I played with, learned with and worshipped with looked similar to me.

During those same years, our national press demonized some nations of the world as “Reds.” We lived in constant fear of the Soviets, and their even scarier neighbors the “Red Chinese.” The events of the Cuban Missile Crisis only exacerbated those fears. I remember the regular bomb drills we had at school, where a special alarm would go off and we would all file into the hallways and crouch along the walls with our heads buried in our arms. Did anybody actually think that would protect us from a nuclear bomb? Yet we practiced it, month after month. In other words, I grew up in a context in which the “other” was unseen, untouched and very scary. At the same time, my father was very involved with the Baptist World Alliance. He had made his commitment to ministry at the World Congress in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1939. One of his favorite parts about being located in the Washington area was the proximity of the BWA offices and his ability to be actively involved in its work. When a generous donor made it possible for him to attend the World Congress in Rio de Janeiro in 1960, we all waved him off with excitement and amazement at the places he would be seeing with his own eyes.

During those same years, my father was delighted to occasionally serve as a host for guests visiting the BWA. It was not unusual for me to give up my room and sleep on the floor of my sisters’ room while a person from another country or another part of this country slept in my bed. And that’s where my mind and my heart began to grow and stretch. Sometimes the guests Russian Baptists were involved in the Baptist World Alliance from its early days. Delegates from Russia to the 1911 Congress in Philadelphia, USA, are pictured below.

Philadelphia 1911

CONGRESS NOTES