Two women from Carlyle are back home after spending nearly two weeks serving communities in South Africa, an experience they describe as challenging, eye‑opening, and deeply rewarding.
Krista Meisner and Debbie Kirchofer recently returned from Durban, South Africa, where they took part in a short‑term mission trip supporting children and women in the Quarry Heights community.
The pair worked out of two community centres located near local schools, providing food for children before and after school, leading after‑school programs, and supporting skills‑training initiatives.
Supporting children and families in Durban
“We were there for about two weeks,” Meisner said. “The centres focus on feeding programs for the kids, as well as skills training for the adults in the community.”
Their work included helping prepare meals, supporting structured programs for children, and assisting women as they learned practical skills designed to help support their families.
The women say the programs are community‑driven and rely on local leadership to make long‑term change possible.
Travel challenges and an unexpected Easter abroad
The trip wasn’t originally planned over Easter, but several flight cancellations forced last‑minute changes. Their original travel route through Qatar was cancelled multiple times due to the ongoing international conflict, eventually requiring them to change airlines and travel routes entirely.
Despite the disruption, the new travel schedule allowed Meisner and Kirchofer to take part in Easter activities with the local community.
On Good Friday, the women helped distribute donated Easter chocolates and handed out dresses made and donated by women from Wawota, Saskatchewan. “That was really special,” Meisner said. “Being able to bring something from home and share it with the kids meant a lot.”
Sharing skills and learning together
Kirchofer, who works in a quilting shop and has extensive experience sewing and crocheting, spent much of her time assisting with textile projects alongside local women.
Much of the work took place inside a shipping container in intense heat, combined with the added challenge of a language barrier. “Sometimes they wouldn’t quite understand what I was asking,” Kirchofer said. “I’d have to show them again, but once it clicked, they picked it up quickly.”
By the end of the sessions, the women had learned how to crochet slippers. “They did a fantastic job,” Meisner added.
Cultural contrasts and powerful moments
For Kirchofer, the trip marked her first visit to South Africa, and she says the everyday sights were a major culture shift. “Seeing chickens running through the streets, narrow roads, and people parking wherever they can was very different,” she said. “We even saw a goat riding in the back of a truck.”
The heat was another adjustment. Daytime temperatures hovered around 30 degrees Celsius, with humidity making it feel closer to the mid‑30s. “The humidity really hits you,” Meisner said. “Some of the workspaces were easily over 40 degrees inside.”
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Joy, faith, and gratitude
One of the most meaningful parts of the trip was witnessing the joy of the local community, particularly the women who prepare daily meals for children attending after‑school programs. “They would just break into song while cooking,” Kirchofer said. “They have so little, but they’re so joyful. It was incredibly moving.”
Meisner says that joy remains one of the most powerful takeaways from her time in South Africa. “They find gratitude in the smallest things,” she said. “There’s a lot we can learn from that.”
The women also helped coordinate maintenance work at one of the centres, hiring a local tradesperson, someone Meisner had known during her previous years serving as a missionary, to repair the kitchen floor and complete other upgrades.
Sharing the experience at home
Meisner and Kirchofer will share more about their experience with the church congregation in Carlyle this weekend.
They say the trip reinforced important lessons about gratitude, service, and supporting communities in sustainable ways. “We’re humbled to have been able to go,” Meisner said. “And we’ll continue supporting the work there however we can from here.”
