10 Thousand Miles Away

It is almost 10 thousand miles from San Diego to Cape Town. That is pretty far. 


We are finishing up our semester this week. Actually, tomorrow is when everyone is is leaving on a plane to go back to the states (I am staying a week later).  So it has finally come time to say goodbye to everyone :( It is going to be the hardest part of this whole trip.  I have realized how close I have become with this group.  We are truly a family and I am going to miss each one of them so much.  We are the only ones who understand what we all went through these past 4 months, and that is going to be one of the hardest things about going home and being separated from everyone. But I am so excited to go home right now and I wish I could hop on the plane with everyone else. 9 more days and I will be back in the states and reunited with the fam!! 


My friend shared with me a Jason Mraz song the other day that so perfectly fit all the emotions flying around right now.  


These are the lyrics:
93 million miles from the sun
People get ready, get ready
Cause here it comes, it's a light
A beautiful light, over the horizon
Into our eyes
Oh, my my how beautiful
Oh my beautiful mother
She told me, son in life you're gonna go far
If you do it right, you'll love where you are
Just know, wherever you go
You can always come home

240 thousand miles from the moon
We've come a long way to belong here
To share this view of the night
A glorious night
Over the horizon is another bright sky
Oh my my how beautiful, oh my irrefutable father
He told me, son sometimes it may seem dark
But the absence of the light is a necessary part
Just know, you're never alone, you can always come back home

You can always come back

Every road is a slippery slope
But there is always a hand that you can hold on to
Looking deeper through the telescope
You can see that your home's inside of you

Just know, that wherever you go, no you're never alone, you will always get back home

93 million miles from the sun
People get ready, get ready
Cause here it comes, it's a light
A beautiful light, over the horizon
Into our eyes


And my parents just sent me a verse that was really encouraging :) 


"And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen." I
Peter 5:10 

More Cape Town Adventures

My time is Cape Town has been so amazing and packed full of activities! This past Sunday some friends and I went into the city to go to a dutch reform church where the former Archbishop Desmond Tutu was supposed to speak because we knew this was a one in a lifetime opportunity.  We thought we would not make it in because we were running a little late and we were sure the church would be packed.  But to our surprise we got to the church about 10 minutes before the service started and the church was only about half full. The setting was a little more formal than we are all used to as we struggled to open the pew doors and find a seat, but we finally made it! I'm sure the message was great, but unfortunately is was all in Afrikaans so we didn't understand a word of it, but it was still really cool! And afterwards we actually got to meet him and get a picture with him which was so crazy! If you don't know much about Desmond Tutu, you definitely should do some research because he is an amazing man with a really cool story, but basically, he played a pivotal role in ending the Apartheid. And now he is considered the "moral conscious" of South Africa. I still cannot believe that I got to meet him!! It would kind of be like meeting Martin Luther King Jr. in America.


On Tuesday we had a tour of the peninsula where we went out on a boat to seal island, drove around the gorgeous coast, saw penguins at Boulder's Beach, and went to the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point (the most south-western point and the the most south-eastern point of Africa). It was so beautiful and a really relaxing day.  On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays we have classes in the morning and then we have the afternoons free. This week after school I have visited Muizenberg and Simon's Town, two beach towns close by. 


Coming up soon is shark cage diving this saturday!! I am soo excited!! I have been watching many youtube videos to get pumped up! Hopefully after this I won't be too scared to swim in the ocean! And then we have our last few days of orientation for re-entry into the states! AHHH!!! I am still staying an extra week longer but I cannot believe this whole thing is coming to an end!  I don't want to leave this amazing country but I am excited to see everyone from home again! 

Home Stays and Table Mountain!

This past weekend was spent with our home stay families. On Saturday they took us past an ostrich farm where we fed them through the fence.  And then we went to Boulder's beach where they have the penguins! Penguins... in South Africa! It was really fun! We walked along the trail where they come up and lay their eggs. Then on Sunday we went to church with our family. It was a Pentecostal church and it was very different from most of the churched I have experiences. It was very small- I think only about 30 people including all the children.  After worship, the next hour or so people from the congregation came up to speak just what was on their hearts or a message they wanted to share with the church. It was really cool and made it feel more community based instead of just one person speaking at everyone. Then the pastor (also our Grandma) came up and also spoke her message. Me and Yvette also had a little surprise- they asked us to come up and speak too! We were taken off guard a little but managed to say a couple of words :) After church we went to Ma's house for lunch and had a feast! She cooked so much food for us and then we passed out on the "coma couch", as they call it. It definitely lived up to it's name :) After a long nap we went for a walk on the beach with our family.  


On Monday we were reunited with everyone for class. I didn't realize how much I missed everyone after only 2 days of being apart! I don't know how I will survive this summer! We had class at the Bible Institute of South Africa in Kalk Bay.  It is a beautiful campus that overlooks the ocean. John Wallace (the president of APU and basically celebrity), was also there! He spoke for our chapel. After class we explored around Kalk Bay, had lunch, and then walked back to Fish Hoek to relax for the rest of the day. 


The next day we hiked Table Mountain! It is the beautiful backdrop to the city of Cape Town and recently named one of the 7 wonders of the world!! The hike was pretty tough and extremely steep but we made it! It took my group about 1. 5 hours.  But, of course, the second we reached the top we made the wrong turn.  Instead of turning left to the cable cars and restaurant (a 15 walk), we turned right going to the whole other side of the mountain! It took us on a 1.5 hour detour! Woops! It made for a great adventure and story! We eventually made it back the right way and caught up to everyone else. The view from the top was spectacular! (when the dense fog was not in the way). Some of us took the cable cars down, that was also a beautiful view! But the 2 minute ride down made our long hike up seem like nothing! 

View from Table Mountain

Today we had class again and John Wallace even brought us doughnuts!! We had lunch at a little place on the bay and I had my first ever fish and chips! I really liked it! And they were only R20, which is only $2.50! The rest of the day has just been relaxing and then later will we get picked up to go back to our home stays :) 

Travel Week

I finally made it to Cape Town!! Our last three weeks will be spent here finishing our last class, living at the Bed & Breakfast, and staying with our home-stay families.  We had five days of travel before we got here, which was so much fun!! It was like spring break for us.  One of the best weeks here in South Africa!

Last Saturday we left AE, which was really sad because it has been my home for the past three months. It was hard to leave all of that behind. We all prayed together and then got onto our buses for the longest leg of our travel- a 9 hr. bus ride! I love car rides so it was great for me! On the bus we watched movies, listen to music, and attempted to play a game of Monopoly Deal. We finally got to our beachfront hotel around dinnertime.  After dinner we walked down to the beach and it was so beautiful! The tide would go our so far you could run out towards the water forever until you actually hit it.  Also, there was a lightening storm and a strong but hot wind! It felt like a heater was blowing on you. It was a great first day, just hanging out with friends walking long the beach.  In the morning before we left it was Easter and so we also went to a sunrise service right on the beach! It was a great experience!

The second day we drove 5 more hours to Port Elizabeth and stayed at another hotel, again right on the beach! I seriously felt like I was on a really nice vacation- and I get to spend it with all of my friends.  Port Elizabeth is such a cute little town! We went out for lunch and dinner to some cute restaurants by the shore and had amazing food! The rest fo the day we walked around the shore and the pier. It was just a fun and carefree day!

The third day of travel week was bungee jump day!!  It was such a great experience! I felt like I was flying! I have never felt so free…..

HAHA just kidding mom and dad!

I actually didn’t go because I couldn’t risk it with the screws in my hips. Bummer. But it was so much fun to watch all my friends go! They all had so much fun! It looked like a blast!

That day we drove to Carmel, the last place we would stay during travel week.  We stayed at a Christian Conference Center that was on a beautiful campus.  It was located up on a cliff/mountain and you could see the ocean from my chalet. I had four other roommates and we put all of our beds together to make one big marriage bed.  It was lots of fun! The first thing we did when we got there was hike down to the beach.  The hike was about 25 minutes down and 45 minutes up. We got to the beach and it was this gorgeous little cove.  It was unbelievable! That night we all bonded over watching TV in the lounge room. It was so much fun! We haven’t watched TV since January! There was also a yellow lab staying on the campus named Zack that reminded me of Boomer! I was so excited and gave him lots of lovings!

The next day was possibly one of the best days of the whole semester! Two of my roommates and I decided to wake up early and go on a hike down to the beach for sunrise. We left at 5:30 and when we arrived at the cove, we were the only ones at the beach.  It was breath taking! The sunrise was so spectacular! It was amazing to watch it rise over the ocean and it lit up the sky pink. My friend Ashlyn and I also decided to get in the water. It was the most thrilling and exhilarating experiences swimming in this beautiful cove that we had all to ourselves! I was on cloud 9!!! I cannot begin to explain how happy I was at that moment. It was so surreal. And to top it all of, we ended up getting a ride back with the speaker who was staying at the conference center for Easter weekend, so we didn’t even have to hike back up.  It was truly the best morning ever. The rest of the day I never even got tired and was just pumped up and ready to take on the day.  That day we also went on the Cango Caves tour. I went on the adventure tour where there were some really tight spaces we had to fit through.  One was called The Devil’s Chimney where we had to climb straight up through a small tunnel. Another one is called the Post Box and the opening we had to crawl through was only 27 cm tall! After the cave tours we went to a small zoo where we had the chance to do animal encounters.  I chose to pet and play with the 3 month old baby white tigers!! It was so much fun and one even sucked on our fingers! It was an amazing experience and I am so glad I was able to do it! We drove back to Carmel that evening where we stayed for one more night.

The next day we arrived in Cape Town!! Driving in was so beautiful!! We are staying in a small little town outside of the city called Fish Hoek.  The Bed and Breakfast we are at is only a five-minute walk from the beach! It’s heaven! WE are here for the next three weeks but half the time we are doing home stays, which is where I am now. Our first day in Cape Town we did a walking tour of the city.  The architecture of some of the buildings were beautiful and most people said it reminded them of San Francisco. We also walked down to the waterfront and that was really fun. Our second day we had all free so I went to the beach in the morning and then about 20 of us went to go see the premiere of the Hunger Games (well, South Africa’s premiere)! As I said before a lot of our group had read the books together this semester so it was so much fun to see it all together!

Now I am staying with my home stay family, which is great, and I will fill you on more later!  My mom is named Althea and her husband Rueben.  They have three wonderful kids named Simone, 14, Joshua, 9, and Hannah, 2.  I am also staying with my friend Yvette. We live in a township called Ocean’s View that is about 10 minutes away from our B&B and is all coloured people.  They are so welcoming and I really feel at home with them!

Sorry this post is so long! It has been a big week! Our internet is not very good here either so I will try to keep this updated as much as possible. This means that I also might not be able to post pictures until I get home! 

Goodbyes :(

I am sorry it has been so long since my last update. I have sat down with my computer several times in the last week getting ready to blog, but I seriously just didn't know what to write. I don't know how to summarize what I have been feeling/experiencing/learning during my time at RivLife.  It has been an emotional whirlwind and it is a lot to absorb in only a couple of weeks. I am still trying to comprehend everything myself. Today was our last day of service sites and leaving was a lot harder than I could have ever imagined. Almost our whole team was in tears as we were giving our last hugs and goodbyes to the kids we have had the blessed opportunity to hang out with and love on. I didn't realize how much of my heart these kids had a hold of until today.  They are all so special to me, more than I can ever explain.  One of the sweetest moments today was with a kid who had been really violent in the beginning, but has slowly opened up and become more loving and gentle. He gave me a huge hug and said, "I will always remember you. I will always love you." That didn't make it any easier to leave! Goodbyes are so hard. All I have left is the comfort that God is holding every one of those kids in his sovereign hands and also the amazing memories I have with them. And those will never leave me. 


Just to catch up on last week, on Tuesday me and my friend Michelle (who also wants to be an Occupational Therapist) got to visit the Disabled Center that is located on RivLife's grounds. They were all adults and most of them had cerebral palsy, polio, handicaps from injuries, and other things.  We just got to sit down and talk with them and learn about their stories. Disabled people in South Africa, as in most third world countries, are looked down upon and not given any help or support. Most of the men there were single and all they wanted was a wife who loves them for who they were, but it is kind of a lost cause.  Still, one of the guys that I talked to the most was telling me he doesn't let his disability (polio) get in the way of anything he does. He even taught me some ballroom dances! Working with these people made me so pumped up for my career path and motivates me to get through all of those terrible science classes! 


We went to the HIV/AIDS support group again on Tues/Thurs and made jewelry with them.  We also had the opportunity to go to the Gogo (grandma) support group at Nomvulu's house.  Nomvulu is an amazing woman who works at RivLife as the cook for the drop in center, but she also has her own creche in her home, runs the Gogo support group, and has a soup kitchen at her house for kids in the community. And she is HIV+. She does so much for her community and is really inspiring! She also made Zulu bread for us which was delicious! 


This past week we also finished our project in the creche. We deep cleaned the whole place (which was desperately needed), washed the sheets, replaced the mattresses, and painted a big chalkboard on the wall with a verse above it- Colossians 3:14 "Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony". It has been great to see the progress and the creche has really transformed! 


This whole experience has really changed me and opened my eyes and my heart to many different things. The time has flown by and I can't believe it is over.  Now we have to say goodbye to African Enterprise and Pietermaritzburg too as we leave for Cape Town this weekend. Only 4 more weeks of the semester!! I am going to miss South Africa so much!! <3 

I am Responsible

In light of service sights almost being over: 

Brooke Fraser-Albertine 

I am sitting still
I think of Angelique
Her mothers voice over me
And the bullets in the wall where it fell silent
And on a thousandth hill, I think of Albertine
There in her eyes what I don't see with my own
Rwanda

Now that I have seen, I am responsible
Faith without deeds is dead
Now that I have held you in my own arms, I cannot let go till you are

I am on a plane across a distant sea
But I carry you in me
And the dust on, the dust on, the dust on my feet
Rwanda

I will tell the world, I will tell them where I've been
I will keep my word
I will tell them Albertine

I am on a stage, a thousand eyes on me
I will tell them, Albertine
I will tell them, Albertine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXApy0IegKs&ob=av2e

...

God I Look to You

This week we continued service sites! I am loving it more and more each day if that is possible :) I don't even know how to summarize this past week so here is a little taste of what has been going on. 

• At the HIV/AIDS support group we did crafts with them! We made jewelry, friendship bracelets, and some of them sewed and knitted. 
• On Wednesday we got to visit the Drakensberg Boy's Choir. It is the #1 children's choir in the world! They were amazing and I am so glad I got to experience that. We also had a huge lightening and thunder storm that night!  It was the craziest lightening I have ever seen! Sometimes it would light up the whole sky pink or green. 
• One of the girls at the creche has open sores all over her body.  It is so sad because her mom won't take her to the clinic, she will only take her to the sangoma (Zulu medicine man) and that is obviously not working. 
• There is a boy at the creche, who we have given the nickname of Chunks. His is so cute and chubby and he seriously has the same facial expression all day, so we work really hard to try and make him smile :)
• The nurses came to our site to do their community project.  They taught the kids how to wash their hands properly and how to brush their teeth. 
• Another little girl at the creche is so precious and once you get her singing a song she never stops! It is so cute!
• When we brought our cameras the kids LOVED it and they run up to you shouting "shoot me! shoot me!" haha 
• Friday was our last day working at the creche because the kids have 2 weeks off of school now for easter break. It was very bittersweet. We had a great day with the kids, but it was so hard saying goodbye :(

It is crazy that we only have 2 more weeks of service sites. I feel like so much has happened in such a short time already. These kids and the women we work with are so inspiring.  Many times when I am playing with the kids I forget where they come from and what they deal with everyday- parents with HIV/AIDS, abusive parents, absent parents, having HIV/AIDS themselves, living in a small mud house, or getting only one meal a day. All I can give to them is my love, but there are times when even that doesn't feel like enough. I know this experience is going to be challenging- physically, mentally, and spiritually. Please keep me and my team in your prayers. We need strength and wisdom to get through these next few weeks. And personally for me, I am needing to constantly remind myself that it is not through my hands and my power that this work is being accomplished, but it is God working through me. 

Some song lyrics that have been on my heart lately and my prayer for the next 2 weeks:

God I look to you, I won't be overwhelmed

Give me vision to see things like you do

God I look to you, You're where my help comes from

Give me wisdom; You know just what to do. 

_____________________________________

Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me you heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see

RivLife!

This past Thursday we started Service Sites! I am at RivLife which is located in the township of Cinderella. Their main focus is with the HIV/AIDS community and those affect by that (like children).  When we got there we split up into smaller groups to do different tasks.  My group first went to an HIV/AIDS support group at a community center nearby (the community center looked more like an abandoned house than anything else).  We met with 7 other women, varying in ages, that have been diagnosed as HIV+.  From the outside, they do not look sick at all, and some of them have been HIV+ for over 9 years. And their attitudes do not reflect this either- they are full of life and joy.


We all introduced ourselves and got to know a little bit about everyone.  Then we asked them a few questions about what it is like to be HIV+ and what is the hardest part about it.  One woman said it was really hard in the community because a lot of people do not believe she is HIV+ because she looks so healthy.  For a long time the government of SA denied that AIDS even existed. It was kept in secret for awhile and people were ashamed of it and would often leave their towns to go get tested.  It is becoming more and more acceptable now, but there are still many problems. For example, the sangomas (witch doctors/medicine mans) use to tell everyone that the cure for AIDS was having sex with a virgin.  This obviously made the problem worse. And eventually the lie spread that one had to have sex with an infant to cure their disease.  It is a very sad truth and shows the ignorance of this disease in SA, which has the highest population of people with HIV/AIDS than any other country.  Also, many of the men refuse to get tested. Now, one of the biggest problems is Sugar Daddies. Poverty is so horrible and devastating that young women will trade sex for a man to provide her with food and clothing.  It is so hard to hear these things and even harder to actually see the women who are affected by this. But I can see how helpful this support group is for these women- it is a safe place where they can be encouraged by others who are going through similar things as them.


The women in the group then started to ask us some questions too. The one that stood out the most to me was when a woman asked us if we were afraid of them.  This made my heart break because this is how they see themselves- diseased and untouchable- but all we want to do is love on them! So we all got up and hugged them! It was a touching moment. For the rest of the time there we sang songs and danced, and they showed us some of the crafts they do.  I loved my time we spent with them!


After lunch we went back to the main site and worked at the creche- the daycare. The kids are so adorable! But by the end of the day I was covered in dirt, snot, and pee. We play with them out on the lawn and playground and when the kids have to go to the bathroom they literally just drop their pants right there and go! It is definitely not something I am used to!


Near the end of the day we go to the dropping center across the road which is where the older kids come to hang out after school. It was fun to hang out and converse with them.  They were a little shy the first day but the second day we played net ball with them which was a blast! It is like ultimate frisbee but with basketball. And when we left the second day they were all giving us tons of hugs! It was great :) I really love working at my service site and I think it is the perfect fit for me! As Reg said before, I probably won't change SA while I am here, but SA will definitely change me.


Yesterday (Sat) we had a beach day at Durban! We went to the market first and then headed to the beach.  It was a really windy day and the waves were HUGE but I still enjoyed it very much! I think they were the biggest waves I have ever been in- it was kind of scary but exciting at the same time. Then in the evening we went to a rugby game!! That was so much fun!! The Sharks were playing (Durban's team) against the Reds (I have no clue where they are from).  I didn't really understand the game before but it is INTENSE and hilarious at times.  And they don't wear any pads or helmets! I highly recommend watching a game if you get the chance! It is really cool!!

Photos from Safari Week

Safari Week!

The past week has been packed full of fun adventures, good times with friends, and new experiences! We had just finished finals for most of our classes and so we had our semester break. Our cohort was split up into 2 groups- one half went to safari for the first two days while the others stayed back and did other activities and then we switched. I had safari first!! It was so amazing! I have always dreamed of going on a safari as a kid but NEVER thought I would actually be able to go on one. 


We left early Wednesday morning and had a 4 hour car ride to the Hluhluwe Imfolozi Game Park. When we arrived around noon we got into 3 different vehicles (which look like typical "safari" jeeps!). We had a 1/2 day out in the park and saw a lot of animals!! Impala, Wildebeest, rhinos, giraffes, kudu, zebras, buffalos, and elephants!! My favorite were the elephants!! They were so amazing! At first they were pretty far up the hill but then three of them came down right next to our car and played in the mud pit! They were so big and beautiful!! We even got to see one tear down a tree with his trunk! 


During the night we stayed at a camp site in tents. But, these are not your normal pop up tents. They are huge canvas tents that have 2 beds, a dresser, and it has a indoor/outdoor bathroom attached to it.  It was so nice! Also, the camp only has a fence to keep out elephants so other animals walk through the camp at night, mostly hyenas. But one night we heard that some lions came through the camp! After the sun set we weren't allowed to leave our tents until the cars came right outside to pick us up. It was quite the adventure! 


The second day we went out for 12 hours! I loved being in the car driving through the gorgeous landscape with he wind blowing! We went up to breakfast at a place called Hilltop that looked over all the beautiful scenery. The food was amazing! One of the exciting parts of that day was when we stopped to watch these rhinos right in front of us, then one stared at us for a long time then started to mock charge us!! Reg, our driver, sped up REALLY fast and then the rhino stopped! My favorite part was seeing a breeding herd of elephants walk right in front of our car! There was around 15 of them! And there were babies too!! They were so cute and precious!!! And they had the clumsiest and cutest little walk/run! It looked exactly like the baby in the elephant in the The Jungle Book!


We slept over one more night at the camp and then had a half day out in the park until noon. It was such a bummer we didn't get to see any big cats! We always missed them by a few minutes! But I still had an amazing time!!! 


We then switched with the other safari group and went back to AE on Friday. On Saturday we planned a trip to a little camp site by a river.  We had a braai (an Afrikaans barbecue) and went cliff jumping!!! I was so scared at first! It took me a while to gain the courage to jump, but I finally did and it was so exhilarating!


Sunday was our last day of adventure and we went zip lining in Karkloof! It was so much fun! There were 8 different slides and the longest one is 170 meters! We had the most amazing view going down, the beautiful African jungle below us! I just cant believe how blessed I am to experience all of these things! And to top it off, my psych professor took the 5 of us out to dinner that night! It was a so much fun and lots of laughing! 


Today we had to come back to real life. We are starting up service sites this week, but we also have a new class called Principles and Practice of Community Engagement. We have it for 8 hours during the day!! But it is actually not too bad because our professor is amazing!! I mentioned him before in the beginning, but his name is Francis Njoroge.  He is from Kenya and is famous worldwide for being a project coordinator for missions.  He does participatory surveys and evaluations for relief and mission organizations to make sure they are being successful and actually benefiting the people. He quoted a Catholic bishop, Dom Helder Camara- 

"May all of us who are involved in peaceful struggles for human promotion bear this in mind always; it is good that our hands help the flight of the poor, but may we never dare to take the place of their wings" 

His focus is really on empowering the people in the community so that they can grow and sustain themselves after "the whites" have left. He said the biggest cancer in Africa is dependency. They don't learn how to use the resources that are available to them all around. It is our job to encourage them to stretch their wings but we should not take the place of their wings. So much wisdom and it is only the first day!! 


We also had a great chapel today! A South African who has summited the highest mountain in every continent told us some of his stories. He started out as a videographer and got the chance once to go to the base came at Mt. Everest to take some shots.  He went back to South Africa after but was really inspired and motivated to climb Everest. So a FEW MONTHS later he went with a team and summited Everest!! That was the first mountain he had ever climbed... Everest! With barely any training! Now he has climbed all of the highest peaks in the world and also works as the camera man on the trips. It was so cool to hear what he had to share. 


I will be posting pictures soon of safari, cliff jumping, and zip lining! 

Purple Hair and Finals

I have had a great weekend! Despite the fact that it is the weekend before finals :/ 
Friday night me and a bunch of other girls got together to bleach and dye our hair purple! Now I have a little purple streak in the back of my hair! It is my first time doing anything to my hair and I love it! I'm sure my mom does too hahaha


Most of Saturday was spent writing my term paper for Human Growth and Development, but I am finally finished! It was also my friend Michelle's birthday so we had a themed dinner (dressed up as little kids) and then a talent show and dance party! It was a lot of fun! I had a late night staying up and hanging out with friends in the spare 'oom (the extra room in our chalet where nobody lives, so we all use it as a hang out/homework/skype room, referencing the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe). I just love everybody here! I have met so many great people and love getting to know everyone better :) 


Today, for a Zulu experience, we all learned how to play african drums and other percussion instruments! Then in the evening my D-group went out for dinner to a burger place! It has been so long since I have had a good burger! It was delicious and now I am in a food coma (which is really preventing me from getting any studying done- so I decided to blog instead). 


This week we have finals for most of our classes and then we go on Safari!! I cannot wait!! I have wanted to go on an African safari since forever ago!! It is a dream come true! There is a cyclone coming through KwaZulu Natal right now but hopefully we will have good weather and will be able to see lots of animals! 

A Sample of Pictures from Lesotho!

Lesotho

I had the most epic adventure this weekend! For my Human Growth class we went to the country of Lesotho. We left early Saturday morning, but it turned out our professor was really sick, so he sent two of friends to go with us along with Baba Phillip too. The drive was about a total of 4 hours long. We drove through the Drakensburg Mountains again and it was beautiful! We then arrived at Sani Pass where we went through customs and then had to change vehicles because the rest of the way has to be in a four wheel drive. So we all piled into the back of a Land Rover with our driver Roger. We squeezed in with our luggage and laid down on the mattress. The road was really bumpy and winding! Mom, you would not have been able to survive! It was really high and scary! It was only 5 miles but it took 40 minutes to get to the top! We then arrived at the Lesotho border- I now have four more stamps on my passport! 


We dropped off our luggage at the backpacker's lodge and stopped at the pub, Sani Top Chalet, really quick to get a drink before we headed off for our horseback riding trek. It is the highest pub in Africa! 2874 meters above sea level! After that we went to go meet our Lesotho horses and our guide George. We all hopped on and took off! There were 7 of us including George- Kaitlin, Alex, Roseanna, Michael, Baba, and me! 


The view was beautiful! And we had wonderful weather (until the thunder and lighting storms and hail came on our way back). It was so surreal to be riding through this gorgeous country with nothing but mountains surrounding us.  Every   hour or so we would come upon a flock of sheep and their shepherd.  It was so different than anything I have ever seen, the way the Basotho people live. The Basotho men wear these big wool blankets for clothing to keep them warm in the cold weather.  We also got to know George a little better on our trip too. He is 23 years old and has been riding since he was a kid, and doing tours for the past 7 years. He lost both of his parents when he was younger and now he lives with his brother. He has his own herd of sheep too. He is also one of the only people in the village who can speak English. He enjoyed our misery very much as we complained about our sore butts, and made our horses go even faster! 


One of my favorite moments of the day was when we reached this valley and my horse started to gallop and sprint. I felt like I was going to fall off and die, but at the same time it was so magical.  I looked to my side and my friend Alex was riding right next to me.  I just let out big scream! I couldn't have been any happier at that moment. My heart was smiling! This is living :) Surrounded by God's majestic creation. This will definitely be a memory that I will never forget. 


We finally arrived at the highest point in southern Africa (the highest point south of Kilimanjaro) after 4 long hours! It was beautiful to look at all the mountains below us. There was also about 10 Basotho men up at the top. They thought we were hilarious and they loved taking pictures with us! My friend Kaitlin even got a marriage proposal! He said he had a lot of sheep, goats, and cattle, so he should be able to marry her. It was great to interact with these guys while Baba and George translated for us. We had to return soon though because we were losing daylight and needed to be back for dinner. By that time, another 4 hours on a horse did not sound good to me.  Every part of my body was so sore! On the way back there was one point were we were all just crying/laughing at all of our misery! It was definitely a bonding time! We tried to sing some songs to keep our minds off of the pain! Also, because we were behind schedule George made us go really fast which hurt even more. But, we did get to see a gorgeous sunset while horseback riding! We all made it! With only a few injuries! 8 hours of riding on horseback! And it was definitely worth it! 


We came back right in time for dinner and ate at the pub. We met some really cool people there from all over.  There was one big group that was training to climb Mt. Everest soon! Roger was also the owner of the pub.  He told us before that most people don't make it past 9 PM but we were determined to make it to midnight for Alex's 20th birthday the next day.  But, after that horseback ride we  knew we couldn't make it.  We were exhausted, sore, and nauseous (I swear all my organs are jumbled inside right now).  


In the morning we went up to breakfast where we got the whole pub to sing Happy Birthday to Alex.  Then George took us on a tour of the village. We visited one women in her hut and learned more about their day to day life. We even got to try a sip of Lesotho beer! George also took us to see how they take the sheep wool and turn it into yarn and then knit it into hats. I got to buy one of the beanies they made! And somehow we got into a conversation with George about giving him a lock of our hair. He said he could get a lot of money for it. So what the heck- Kaitlin, Alex, and I cut of a piece of our hair and gave it to him. (We checked before to make sure this wasn't some marriage ritual) haha 


We did some souvenir shopping and then headed back down the mountain. The bumpy ride was way more painful on the way back! We passed the border again and were back in South Africa. The trip was so memorable but way too short! I have so many great memories and loved meeting all the people there! It was a once in a lifetime experience. I will definitely be feeling it in my muscles and in my butt for a long time...


Look on FB for pictures coming up!

Service Sites and UBI

Yesterday we found out what service sites we will be at!! I got RivLife!! My first choice!  I feel so blessed and totally reassured that it is where I am supposed to be. My two really good friends here are on the same team as me too! And some people who I haven't gotten to know as well so it will be really great! 


Today we went to Union Bible Institute (UBI) for our intercultural communications class where our professor teaches at.  We sang a Zulu song accompanied with awesome dance moves during their chapel.  I think they really enjoyed it! We then got to hang out with the students and got to know each other better. We also played games like net ball and soccer. It was a really fun day and cool to interact with South Africans our age. 


I just got back from star gazing at the volleyball courts on campus! It was amazing!! I have never seen so many beautiful stars! And I saw 3 shooting stars too! We all just laid on blankets/towels and talked as we looked up at the heavens. It was a great way to end the day :) 


Now I have to get some sleep for my big trip tomorrow! My Human Growth class is traveling to Lesotho which is another country landlocked by South Africa. It is all mountains and has the highest altitude in southern Africa! It is winter all year long there! They say it can be from 5-20 degrees F!! I will have to pack some warm clothes! And we get to go on a 6 hour horseback riding trek through the mountains led by the Basotho people!! I am so excited! And there are only 4 other people in my class so it will be a very small group! In less than 12 hrs I will be in another country! 

The More I Seek You

Time has been going by so fast here! I can't believe it has already been 5 weeks! Finals are coming up for me now too! So scary! But then we will be going on our safari and then service sites! I can't wait! We should find out soon where we are placed. 


Today I went out to lunch with my friends Yvette, Kate, and Leizel to a Thai food place.  It was delicious! Everyone is kind of getting sick of the food here so it's nice to eat out every once in awhile.  On campus, during every meal they serve meat... and lots of it.  Even at lunch we get a hot meal. I think at least five times (or more) a day we all talk about food and what we miss, which only makes us miss it more. It's not good. haha If you could please send me a bean and cheese burrito, that would be great! haha


Tonight we had a farewell party for one of the interns who works here, Ryno. He is around our age and always hangs out with us so it will be sad to see him leave. We had a Braai for dinner, which is an Afrikaans traditional barbecue.  It was a lot of fun! Not to mention our second class of the night was cancelled because of it!


I have also been learning how to play the ukelele! My friend and chalet-mate Yui is teaching me! I caught on quicker than I thought I would (as I am musically challenged in every other area of my life). I am really enjoying it and I hope I get better by the end of the semester! 


For my bible class we are now going over the Book of Acts. (Which is ironic because my mom is also going through Acts this spring with BSF). I am reading a commentary on the book that outlines the main themes of Acts. It has been really interesting and I think fits into what I have been experiencing here in South Africa. My eyes have definitely been open to different worship styles and the different ways God works in peoples lives.  It has been refreshing to see and I have learned so much form just witnessing other people worship God. I feel like our churches, especially in the western culture, are growing farther and farther apart from what the early church looked like. Even our lifestyles are radically different. It totally pumps me up and challenges me to have my life rooted in scripture and keep an open mind.  And to bring back to the states what I have seen here. I am also reading a book called 
The Irresistable Revolution: Living Life as an Ordinary Radical by Shane Claiborne. Reg recommended it to us and although I am only part way through I love it! It is a must read!! Shane has an amazing life story and a lot of wisdom to share.  He also references the early church in Acts a lot (ironic?? Maybe God is trying to tell me something). But I do have to warn you that it is really challenging and it will change you. So if you are content living a comfortable life, this book might shake your world a little bit.  It has mine.  Some of my favorite quotes so far: 

"When did we stop living Christianity and just start studying it"

"People do not get crucified for charity.  People are crucified for living out a love that disrupts the social order, that calls forth a new world"

"When I fed the hungry they called me a saint. When I asked why people are hungry, they called me a communist"

"Don't let the world steal your soul. Being a Christian is about choosing Jesus and deciding to do something incredibly daring with your life"

I can't wait to finish reading this book in my spare time! 

Here are some lyrics of a song we sang in chapel the other day too. I just love the imagery :) I can't get it out of my head. 

The more I seek you,

the more I find you.

The more I find you, 

the more I love you

I wanna sit at your feet

drink from the cup in your hand.

Lay back against you and breath, 

hear your heart beat

This love is so deep, 

it's more than I can stand.

I melt in your peace, it's overwhelming. 

Sangoma and the Battlefields

Sorry it has been so long since I have blogged! I have been really busy with school lately and everything else. Here are some highlights of the past week!

• For my Luke/Acts class we visited a Sangoma, which is a tradition medicine man/witch doctor.  It was really interesting. He had lots of mixed herbs and other concoctions that he claims can heal certain illness or problems.  One was used to make your special someone love you more if you mix an herb with some of your blood and urine and then put it in their food.... interesting. He also works in the spiritual realm and acts as a mediator to the ancestors.  He said he gets about 50 customers a week.  I am glad I was able to witness a part of traditional African religion.
• For Valentine's Day we had lots of activites planned. We were all paired up with a date for the day and we had a themed dinner: Would you love me if I wore this? There were some ridiculous outfits! 
• Ladies Night at Circus Circus!! For dessert I got Malva Pudding, which is so delicious! I can't wait to try and make it at home! It is like a dense spongey cake with a butterscotch sauce on top! 
• I am loving my D-group! The girls are so amazing! We just finished all of our life stories and it is great to know all of them on a deeper level. The community here has been wonderful :)
• This weekend we went away for 2 days to go visit battlefields. It was a lot less boring than I thought it would be :) Most of the information we have already learned in history class, so it was cool to be at the actual sites where it all happened.  The best part of the weekend was the lodge we stayed at in a town called Dundee! They had the best food and the rooms were really nice too! We had lots of bonding time, playing games and watching a movie :) Not to mention the 4 hour car drive there and back! 

This week I am looking forward to finding out my service site, and then going to Lesotho with my Human Growth class! And only 2 more weeks of these courses! Yayy! 

Send me your love! I would love to hear from everyone and how they are doing back in the states! 

Midnight Adventures and the Drakensberg Mountains

These past two days have been so spectacular! On Friday, Baba Phillip took about 15 people to the Bisley Valley Nature Reserve while everyone else was in class. We finally found an giraffe after a long time looking for them! Where could they possibly hide?? It was so beautiful and way cooler than seeing one in a zoo. Just us and the giraffe. We were able to  get really close and it just stood there (until it tried to kick one guy in our group!). But overall it was very peaceful :)


There is a huge Hunger Games craze going around our campus right now! I think at least half of our cohort is reading them! It's so much fun :) I read them over break with some friends. Our volleyball tournament was even Hunger Game themed with each team being from a certain district. Hopefully we will be able to see the movie together when it comes out this spring!


Then that night, after I had showered and gotten into bed, I heard some people talking outside my room and got up to see what was going on.  What else but a midnight slip and slide party?! I think yes! TIA!  So we went out and set it up in the dark and went for it! It was so much fun! Then we washed off in the waterfall and got some sleep before our field trip the next day.

Our trip was to the famous Drakensberg Mountains which are about 2 hours away from AE.  If I were to go anywhere in the world I would go there again! Everyone has to come here and see its beauty! I can't fully explain what it was like because I don't think that it would do it justice (not even my pictures do). But it was breathtaking, majestic, and completely surreal.  I am pretty sure they lied about filming Lord of the Rings in New Zealand, and it was actually filmed here :) I think every 2 minutes I was saying "Oh my gosh...Oh my gosh...Oh my...".  It was hard to take it all in.  I was so high on life! We got to see bushman cave paintings too which was really cool! I remember learning about similar paintings in Art History and it was neat to actually see them in person. On the way back down we got to play in the river too! So amazing! I am loving my time here and just soaking it all up!! :) 

Durban, RivLife, and other Adventures

Our trip to Durban on Saturday was amazing! We went to uShaka first and started with checking out the animals.  They had penguins, a really large aquarium, and a dolphin and seal show (but I didn't go see those).  Then we went on all of the water slides! It was so much fun! I haven't been to a water park in a long time! After lunch we headed to the beach right by the park and swam in the INDIAN ocean!! I loved it! The water was so warm and I just swam and body surfed for a couple hours.  Once we got home that night I was exhausted! 


On Monday we had a guest speaker for our History and Culture class named Michael Cassidy.  He is actually the founder of African Enterprise (where I am staying), and he had a big role in bringing peace after the end of the Apartheid and before the 1994 elections.  His story is really cool and one that probably 98% of the South African population don't know about. I bought his book if anyone is interested in hearing it! 


Today was such a good day! :) First we visited another service site called RivLife, and I fell in love with it!  They house children during the day, help them with their homework, play with them, etc. We got to meet some of the children and  they were so precious! They also go out into the communities to sew and do crafts with some of the women (totally my thing!).  Their main objective is to not give hand outs, but hand ups. To equip the people in the community so that they will eventually be able to sustain themselves. The director said what we could do here is very flexible and they will try and fit our skills. He also told us there was a building, not part of their ministry but very closely related to them, that helps with disabled people! He said that if anyone was interested in OT and related fields we could get a chance to help out there for a few days! I just felt like the whole time I was at RivLife God was tugging on my heart! This would be such an amazing opportunity. I would love to work here but I want to keep my mind open because only about 7-8 people will be able to work at this site. 


Then in the afternoon I went on a hike with my friends Yui, Kel, and Kenny. It was quite the adventure!  We had to climb over barbed wire and through grass and plants that were as tall as me. We arrived at these beautiful gardens and jungle-like greenery.  It was breathtaking! We also found an abandoned home. It was just one room and it had a bed, some old clothes, and shoes.  You could tell that no one had lived there for a while, but it was kind of eerie. We have been told that there were houses built in the hills for farmers but when they are abandoned they get burned down and vandalized, and homeless people sometimes come inhabit them.  We then decided to explore some more and found a man living in one of these houses hanging up some clothes on a clothesline.  He didn't speak any English so we talked to him with the VERY limited Zulu we know. We realized it was really hard to communicate with him and eventually said goodbye.  


One of the churches we go to has connect groups, which is like a bible study for college aged people.  It is located at one of the guy's houses and it was so much fun! There were probably around 30 kids that showed up! It was really crowded, but I loved meeting a bunch of South Africans my age.  They are so nice and friendly! We talked about the sermon on sunday- what is the importance of the cross to us.  We had a really good and insightful discussion. I am excited to go back and build relationships with these awesome people :)


Sorry for the LONG post! So much to catch up on! 

Miracles

Yesterday I had another Luke/Acts class with Reg and it was so good! We sped pretty fast through the first 19 chapters of Luke but I got so much insight on the passages. We started talking about miracles in our current times because Luke is chalk full of them. We asked "Why don't we seen miracles as often now?" The answer is simple. We have stopped expecting them. Now we rely so much on science and medical breakthroughs to solve all of our problems, but the truth is they can't fix everything. Reg told us of a few stories where he has directly seen miracles happen here in South Africa- the blind able to see again and the dying coming back to health.  Why can't we have that faith? The faith that God can do the impossible? I find that, at least for myself, I put God in my own box. I keep Him in the box of possible things, earthly things, and small prayers.  I need to learn to pray BIG.  Because nothing is to big for God. It reminds me of when Joshua was in battle and he prayed for the sun and moon to stop so he could have more daylight to finish.  And God answered that prayer! That just astounds me. I no longer want to keep God in my box.  I want to pray for MIRACLES.


After lunch that day we rolled out the big slip and slide! It was probably 50 ft. long! We laid out the tarp on the huge grass hill in front of the dining hall. It was so much fun! And luckily no injuries! At least no major ones :) We all woke up today very sore. 


That night we went out for dinner because it was all you can eat pizza at a restaurant in the mall! (As you have probably noticed, South Africa restaurants have lots of "special deal" nights, there is even one where women eat half off!).  Off course, the boys took this opportunity to have a food contest. The winner had 20 pieces! 


And, to not freak out my mom too much, I am working on homework :)  I have an exegetical paper due on Monday for my Luke/Acts class.  I picked the passage Luke 6:27-36 about loving your enemies.  I have really enjoyed writing the paper and reading commentaries on this scripture.  It has so much good content!


Tomorrow we are going to uShaka in Durban! It is like a mix of a water park, Sea World, and an aquarium.  I can't wait!