New Directions

Goodbye Ocean View

Life this past week has been like a rollercoaster of uncertainty. Our outreach group had been preparing for India, when our plans were suddenly changed. We began our week by visiting the Indian Consulate here in South Africa, had finished our prerequisites for our visas and believed we were all ready to go.  We got a phone call a couple days later saying our visas were denied due to the fact that we were on a volunteer visa in South Africa and not applying for our actual visa in America. So after trying a couple other routes we decided not to press our luck and choose a different location. I don’t quite remember how Nepal came up as an option, but one of our team members mentioned it and with only a week left before our plane took off, we transferred locations. There were a lot of details that came behind this decision; it actually was a weeklong process and a hectic one at that. When you have been preparing for a certain people group, praying for the outreach, and getting your mind wrapped around going to a certain area and then all the sudden a week before you leave, visas get denied, you now have no location for outreach, and the limited funds people had that were spent on the plane ticket and visa fees were going to be lost, life becomes a little crazy. 

However, it was still amazing to see what God did. He brought our team together in a way we never imagined and taught us so many lessons this past week. He taught us the importance of coming together as a team in prayer and hearing His voice. We prayed a fasted many meals together and the final day when we would find out if we were going to India or not, my friend Amanda and I spent a couple of hours at the beach just praying and talking together. We had gone to Kommetjie Beach, which is one of the best surfing spots in the area, and normally when I walk there the waves are rather large. However this particular morning the sea was completely flat and peaceful, there were no waves. It was the first time I had ever seen an ocean like that. We were just filled with this indescribable peace, knowing that no matter where we go or what we do it was all in God’s hands. About five minutes later our leader called and told us that India would not grant us our visas. This time though we just prayed and began asking where He was sending us instead. Then Nepal came up. The great thing about going to Nepal was that we wouldn’t lose the plane tickets and to get a visa all we had to do was get off the plane and we could get our visas there. So our team came together, laid out the different options and began praying about the new location. Some of the other options were Zanzibar, Zambia, Botswana, other areas in South Africa, or Zimbabwe. In addition to a new location, one of the girls gave us a word of knowledge about following the elephant, sounds different, but as we looked into it more we found out that elephants make their own paths. Our theme word steamed from that, which is “unchartered.” As we prayed and the Into Africa team prayed we all had this sense of peace about us going to Nepal, so we changed our tickets and are now preparing for Nepal. I think the most exciting part for me is the unknown. We don’t really know where we are staying or exactly what our ministry is going to do, but I cannot wait to see where the Lord leads us. During our prayer time over the week, we were also taught about the importance about fasting and really hearing the Lord. It was so awesome to hear direction and to see Him work as He directed our footsteps. I cannot wait to share what the Lord does in Nepal. I am so excited to meet the people and learn a completely new culture. Please pray for our team as we head into this new area! We fly out on Sunday and are headed to Khatmandu, Nepal

In other news we finished up our teaching last week and have been just preparing for outreach. We said all of our final goodbyes to people in Ocean View and had a goodbye party at Blou Berg Beach, one of the best views of Table Mountain and Cape Town. I really enjoyed our team and getting to know them. Each person brought a new dynamic to the team and we worked so well together. I am really thankful I have gotten to spend the past two months with them. Most of all of our other free time has been spent preparing for outreach and purchasing things we need for our trip, along with vaccinations and other necessities.

Adventersome

Cape Point

Do you ever feel the urge to try something new? Just to go out on a limb and change something, for example a new hairstyle. That was this week’s newest adventure. I had been looking for a way to really grasp the African culture without leaving permanent ramifications. A big hairstyle for the African women is braids, so I figured that was what I was going to go for. It produces culture, but doesn’t permanently damage my hair and they can come out whenever I choose.  So the process began. The braids took about ten hours to put in, over the period of a week. When I first finished them and looked in the mirror, I freaked out. I have never had this intense of hairstyle and let me tell you it was rather shocking and carried many moments of doubt. After I got over the initial shock and stopped trying to take them out, I began liking them and then people I had never met began giving me compliments. It was so funny, I was at an ostrich farm and a guy came up and asked me if he could take a picture with me because of my hair. It also opened up conversation with so many people. When we went into Ocean View this past week, so many of the kids ran up to me and immediately wanted to play with my hair and many of the women came up to me and I was able to make new friends. It was like a blessing in disguise. I really learned a lot about the different cultures this week and realized if you try something new or try to learn something a culture can teach you, people really appreciate your efforts. I am not saying if you move to completely dive into everything the other culture does, but be smart have fun and try something new, you might be surprised.

Ostrich Farm

In other news this past week we had a lady from Youth with a Mission (YWAM) come and speak on studying the Bible and the importance of the Holy Spirit and the relationship that is important to carry with Him. It was a really interesting class and to me it opened up so many doors to really experiencing Christ and having a deep personal relationship with Him. In Ocean View it was our last outreach and we were saying goodbye to friends before we head out to our different outreaches. However, we made some new friends as well. Some of my fellow students who are planning on staying in Ocean View permanently made many new connections in the Rastafarian community and in a section of Ocean View called Mountain View and they had some incredible stories about the people really desiring to hear about Christ and really opened up to God. It was amazing. We said goodbye and had the people held a braai for us. The hardest goodbye for me was saying goodbye to Maria. We went and prayed with her for her son, then we just spent time talking with her. She is an amazing woman her love and trust for God is incredible. I thank God we got to meet her. It was a huge blessing. All in all it was a really good week just to say goodbye and begin preparing for our next phase.

Yes the camel bit me...

We also had a fun week exploring an ostrich farm and riding camels. We decided to take Saturday and go explore a little bit. We stopped by Imhoff Farm, a farmer’s market, and they had camel riding! So we went for a little ride, then headed on to Cape Point. Our next destination was an ostrich farm to see if we could ride ostriches. However, we couldn’t but we had fun just walking around and looking at the animals. After we returned home my friend Nokhutula and I went to the Waterfront where we just spent time together. It was a really fun and relaxing day. India is just around the corner we leave in a little less than two weeks and I cannot wait, all we are waiting for is our visas! God is so good and I cannot wait to see where He takes me next!

Precious Moments

Simon's Town

Sometimes life feels like a revolving door, people come in for a short time then leave, experiences, emotions, and adventures rotate through, and then all your left with is the memories. Looking back over this past week I began to realize how fast time goes. I have been blessed to make many new friends throughout the various communities I have been in. But in reality many of my new acquaintances I may never see again after I return home. Thinking about this it made me question why I even met them. What is the purpose of meeting all these people just to see them rotate into your life then out? I have been so blessed over the weeks meeting so many different people, learning about various cultures, and developing numerous friendships with people in All Nations and Ocean View. Next week is our last week in the community; I cannot believe it is already time to begin transitioning into our next phase of CPx. I will be leaving behind the friends I made in Ocean View and I do not know when I will be able to talk with them again. I know this all sounds sad, but it is a reality I have begun to grasp. As I was thinking about this, I then began reflecting on the joyous times of the relationships, all the encouragements people have given and mainly what God has showed me through the different relationships and the numerous lessons He has taught me through the people. It has been such a blessing to get to know everyone in South Africa, I can’t wait to see where God takes them in life. It also reminded me to really grasp every moment you have, because you don’t know how long you have with them. So this past week was really a week of reflection and growth, remembering the good times and hoping the best future for all the friends you made. Time is short, grasp every moment of it, no matter where you are at.  

African Penguin

On a happier note, this past week in class and Ocean View was fantastic! We had an awesome speaker from a different Africa country come and speak with us. (I am leaving names and countries out for safety precautions.) The speaker is an incredible man of God and has experienced God in so many different ways. In the stories he shared it showed the class how much peace he had, despite the extremely difficult situations he was forced into. One of my favorite quotes he gave us was, “the darkest hours are always right before the dawn.”  He faced death so many times for his faith, but remained in Christ and due to his dedication many people came to know the Lord. All in all it was an amazing week of teaching on obeying the Lord and seeking His will for what He has for you, it was great. In Ocean View this past week many people were inside due to the cold and rainy whether conditions, which forced us inside as well, but we still made new friends and got to hear their stories! On Sunday outreach the weather was better so we were able to spend a good amount of time walking through the community and visiting friends and doing different Bible studies with them. This past week was a good week for teaching and outreach!

To finish out the week, we had a relaxing weekend. We were allotted four hours to spend in prayer and answering some reflection questions from the week. I decided to go to Simon’s Town, a beautiful place along the coast. I spent my time walking along the coast and through the town. I saw the cutest penguins on the Boulder Beach. All in all it was a great day just seeing a different part of Cape Town and spending time outside of the everyday normal. This past week was a week to remember of class and outreach. Now looking forward to preparing for India!

Coke & Nik Nak's

Cape Town Stadium

If you are ever faced with the challenge of having to catch and hold twelve kids attention for ten minutes, coke and chips, with a lot of enthusiasm, works every time.  During class this past week we were learning about telling the gospel story, which is relating creation, the rebellion, sacrifice, Christ’s return, and the Great Commission into a story, all the while with holding using Christian terms and in addition telling it as a story a person can relate to. It was rather challenging I must admit, but creativity and excitement was on our side. Before the teachers dismissed us from class they told us to try and tell five different people in the community within an hours time and return to share what happened. My friend Katrina and I were partners and we set out not a clue in mind in who we were going to talk to. However, as we walked across the street we saw a bunch of boys playing soccer in the field and the ideas hit both of us at once; share with twelve boys, so we only told the story once, plus kids are always the most fun people to talk to about this, and we could make it really enjoyable by relating it to soccer, a sport neither Katrina nor I have ever played, nor knew anything about. What could go wrong? As we walked up to them they just kept on playing their game and completely ignored us. I mean I would have done the same thing if I were having fun playing a game and some strangers wanted to tell me a story. We retreated, then came up with a plan B, run into the nearest Pick N’ Pay, buy 15 cokes, not the normal size but the big size, along with Cheeto like snacks called Nik Naks. It worked. We walked out onto the field and said, “anybody want a coke?” and suddenly a group of loving boys turned into a determined stampede. We finally quieted them down and were able to share with them our God story. It was probably the funniest thing we have done. As I told you we don’t know much about soccer so relating it to them was difficult, but we made it through. The kids seemed to enjoy it and later they were waving frantically at us saying hello. Yes, maybe they wanted more Cokes and Nik Nak’s, but in the end we were able to share a God story and hopefully it planted a seed in these young boys lives.

Other than our exciting story telling, we had a fun week filled with inspirational teaching and good times in Ocean View. Floyd McClung, the founder of All Nations, spoke with us this week on discipleship. It was an amazing class; Floyd’s classes are always so inspirational and encouraging. Other class times included: preparing for India, developing different methods of sharing Christ such as sharing a God story or peace reason, and a special class with social justice leader on Ocean View culture and the social injustices. In Ocean View the crime rate is high and the saddest part of it all is that to the people it is normal. The stories he told were heart wrenching and so sad. For example, it is normal for a child to be raped or molested before the age 10. In an elementary classroom setting more than 75% of the kids have been sexually abused. Hearing these statistics just made me cringe inside, I couldn’t believe it, but it is a reality that these people deal with everyday. I really began understanding the Ocean View culture this past week and it made me all the more determined to show these people love and hopefully give them the hope of Jesus. He is the one who will help them get out of the gruesome cycle of abuse. So please continue to pray for the Ocean View people that this abuse will be stopped.

On a lighter note, visiting Ocean View was an extreme pleasure this week! On Thursday we began our morning with our simple church then headed into the community.  This past Thursday was unique due to the fact that the schools were off for a public holiday and all the buildings were closed. So instead of dancing this week we just visited different friends and walked through the community meeting new people. Then we ended our day with talking to a warden in training for a local prison. It was interesting to hear the perspective of a warden about the prison life.  On Sunday, when we returned to Ocean View we started the morning with the lively bunch of guys, which is always a joy, then headed down to the park to play with the kids. We finished the day by walking through Ocean View just giving encouragement to others and praying. I can’t believe I am here in Ocean View for only two more weeks. It saddens me as our time is coming to end here in our community, these people have made such an impact in my life, I know I am going to miss them dearly.

The ending to our week was a rather exciting one. I went to my first professional soccer game at Cape Town Stadium, the home of the 2010 World Cup. After a relaxing morning we drove into Cape Town and grabbed some delicious dinner at the Eastern Bazaar then headed to the stadium. It is an awesome stadium the design is so awesome! The game was the most exciting sporting experience I had. The South African fans are dedicated! We partook in African dancing which more than 80% of the crowd was doing, the wave and the entire stadium took part, and just the overall supportive vibe the crowd gave. It was so much fun! I got to use a vuvuzuela for the first time too.  To top it all off South Africa won so the rejoicing after was even more exciting! The experience was great and the memories made with friends were even better!

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed!

New Experiences

The Rasta Camp

If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you go? What draws you to that place? I hope you have a place you want to travel to, because there is so much to see and so many rewards in exploring different cultures and meeting people outside of your normal society. I would encourage you to one day try and venture there, especially if God placed a certain area on your heart. The reason I ask this question is because over these past few weeks that question has been asked to me multiple different times, but in a slightly different context. In All Nations the program looks like this: you have twelve weeks of training, three or four of the days goes to a classroom training and two days go to a local outreach in the community, with one day off. However, after the twelve weeks a group of about six people head to a different part of world to begin sharing the gospel on their own, so to complete the program you have to have a location to go to. Luckily, All Nations makes it a little easier on us by giving options to choose from. The options this year were Kenya, India, Malawi, Botswana, and Madagascar.  All of which carry different cultures, people, challenges, and different experiences with the Lord.  Well, if you don’t the location I am headed to this year is Dharmsala, India! When they announced where we were going in class, I literally was bouncing out of my chair.  Originally, India hadn’t been an option for outreach so I had never really thought about going there, but over the past weeks I had been hearing so many different and exciting stories about what the Lord was doing there, I began developing this desire to go. Consequently, when they told us that India had become a option, I had no doubt in my mind that was where I wanted to go. I couldn’t tell my parents fast enough, hoping they would agree, which they did (I think). =) If ya’ll don’t mind, prayer is greatly appreciated for this.  Different obstacles for some of the team have risen up in preparing for India such as waiting for funds to come in, visa difficulties, etc. So please pray for the team and that all these details can get worked through as quickly and painlessly as possible. I can’t wait to share with you guys what the Lord is doing in India, thank you so much for the support and encouragement you guys have shown me even in just reading my blog!

The Fly Zapper

Playing Games in Ocean View

           

What I love so much about God is you can never get enough and He is always teaching you something new. I learned so much about God this week in my adventures in Ocean View and the lessons taught in class. I have to say God became that much more real to me this week in one of our walks around Ocean View. I had one of the coolest experiences in making a new friend this week. About two weeks ago when we had our weekly prayer meeting God gave me this picture of an elderly woman. At first I was like okay, just a coincidence, but on Monday she became a reality to me. One of my friends and I were walking around Ocean View just praying and we decided to take a new route, which is always fun especially when you don’t really know where you are. Well, as we were walking this same woman who I had seen two weeks before in our prayer time walked out of her house. It was like déjà vu, I stopped and before I realized what was going on I was walking up to her. We began talking and got to know one another. Maria was her name and after getting to know her a little more she invited us into her home. Now Maria loves to garden and her home is filled with plants plus she has one of the most flourishing gardens in the community. Maria then walked us through her garden and told us about her life, how Christ delivered her from alcoholism, and her family. Her story was life changing and she asked us to pray for her family. She then explained that she had been struggling the night before with wanting alcohol and she needed an encouragement not to go back. She told us her encouragement had been us coming to see her. In addition, at the end of our visit she blessed me with the most beautiful plant. This plant had been with her since the day she quit drinking, which was thirty-six years prior to our meeting. We have gone back twice since Monday and next week we are going to help her garden. Gardening with her is such a blessing to me because its like a little piece of home and it helps with the homesickness. Another highlight of Ocean View this past week was the poike (sounds like porkie) we had with Usher in the Rasta camp. He had gone fishing earlier in the week and spoiled us with the delicacy of crayfish. As we boiled the crayfish, rice, and veg over an open fire in his backyard we got to know his life and his own experiences with Christ.  Spending time with these different people was very encouraging; I can’t wait to continue to spend more time with them.

Cooking over an open fire

Crayfish

   Life in Africa is an adventure and everyday I am learning something new. God is stretching me in so many ways especially over this past week. My life would not be the same without Him. I cannot wait to see what this next week holds!