My Last Sunday

As predicted, yesterday was a tough day. I woke up to the rain pouring down outside. What a gloomy day to say goodbye to everyone. Even though Kwa Zulu-Natal needs rain really badly, it just reminded me of big crocodile tears coming down from the sky. I heard it has been raining back at home as well.

When we got up to the church, there were not very many people there. The rain really makes it hard for everyone to get around and with no transportation, the walk is very difficult. It was ok though. The church was dark and the sound of the rain was popping off the tin roof throughout the entire service. It kind of just made you want to be quiet and still and just listen. Maybe that is why God brought the rain- so we could just listen. It was so hard to see Jabulani, a grown man, get up and openly weep in front of the church as he said goodbye to me from the church. I was so moved that the words that were coming out of his mouth were for me. Liz. Just Liz- 22, young, unknowing, and ordinary. At that moment all I could think about was the words to the song, "How Great is Our God."

How GREAT is our God.

Sing with me how GREAT is our God.

And all will see how GREAT,

How GREAT is our God.

Seriously, can we measure his greatness? Never properly, but we can generalize the enormity of it in human measurements by the things He has done for us that we could never do on our own. I thought back to one year ago when I was in the Outer Banks sitting in church with my aunt and cousins. I genuinely heard the voice of God for the first time in my life. It has never been more clear, but He said to me simply, "Go." I knew then I must go. My reaction was, "Where? When? How? What?" From that moment, I had the burden of his calling on my heart. I was restless, anxious, nervous, impatient. To think about that moment then and to look at where I am now truly shows how great He really is. The moment I knew I was coming to Africa, I felt that burden lift. That is how I knew in my heart I was supposed to be coming here. I tried to tell the people of the church that, and I hope maybe it came out like that. I just wanted them to know how lucky I felt to be there; to be the one God called; to be the one who experienced their unyielding love; to show them He is great. Before I left, they all placed their hands on me and prayed over me. Wow. I have never had that done for me before. I cannot even try to start to describe that feeling except that it feels like Christmas. It feels like everyone is offering only me gifts, and no one else is getting them, just giving them to me.

Can I tell you how selfless they are? Ana (the lady that Mission decided to build a house for and in the picture I posted) and I formed quite a bond the last couple of times I have been with her. It all kind of started when I was with Bridgette at Ana's house. That was the day we were basically rolling with laughter because Ana "demonstrated" that I was her real daughter. I guess it just sounds bad if I don't just tell you what she does. She simply pushes up her breasts and that means, "You are my real daughter." It is basically a huge joke and every time we see each other, we do that. It is kind of the equivalent to a secret handshake to us, but more hilarious. Sorry if that is weird, but I guess you have to be here to understand the humor. haha. Anyways! So she had on a beautiful pink and white scarf yesterday at church. It was extremely cold there then. As we were all standing there about to leave, she comes over and wraps that scarf around me. You know, this lady has nothing, and gives everything. She has taken in so many orphans, has cared for them, and given herself to her community. They have nothing and then they give what little they have. You really have to feel so small and shameful of yourself when you think of it!

We went over to Jabulani's last night, but I decided it couldn't be the last time we say goodbye. Fikile has gone to Empangeni this morning but on our way to Durban, we are going to stop and say our last goodbyes. I hate all the sadness. Today will be the day I say goodbye to everyone here, except Swazi. We took her back to school early this morning and that was the last time I will get to see her. I don't think it has quite hit me yet. She wrote me the sweetest card. I want to brag on her writing and English a little bit by showing you what she wrote. This is what it said:

Lizzy-

Thank you for being our teacher at school and you are so beautiful to me. I love you Lizzy and I know that you love me and may God bless you. You do know that I love you so much because you love me. And, I want to ask you to remember your song grade 7 sang for you ("We love you with the love of the Lord"). You'll be missing me and I'll be missing you.

Swazi just turned 9 years old. Isn't it amazing? A little over a year ago, she could barely speak English. I am was so proud of her every time I would look over her shoulder in class and read her sentences. I will miss her so much!

Well, tomorrow we head out to Durban. I can hardly believe it. Didn't I just arrive a couple of days ago? It feels so short, but it also feels like I also have a full heart and that is evidence that I have been here far longer than a couple of days. I want to encourage you to see the world. Think outside "the box." Meet new people. Form relationships that you wouldn't normally form. See that God isn't as focused on one place as you thought He was. It will truly open your eyes to so many things. If you get the chance, and if you have a desire to do something like that, just do it. Go. I don't think I could ever stop doing that.

His plan for our journey truly is like the open sea: visually endless, deep, mysterious, adventurous, exciting, stormy, glassy, wavy, windy, peaceful, quiet, and far-reaching. Now that I have set sail, I have a hard time seeing my boat docking ashore in once place for awhile. Let Him be the one to blow wind into your sails. If we let Him, He will provide direction and lead us. Like Delmar says in the movie, O Brother Whereart Thou?, "Come on in boys, the water is fine."

Last Week at School

I apologize that I am just now updating the last week. There has been so much to happen since the last time I wrote. The countdown until leaving SA is 4 days. Seems like I just got here yesterday.

I will start with last Saturday. I was so thankful for that night. Forman came back up to Hluhluwe for the weekend and he, Jordan, and Jabulani held an all men's bible study in one of the rooms in Jabulani's new house that is being built. I heard that went wonderful. But while that was going on, there were some pretty cool things happening on a different end. Since we were outcasts for the night, Fikile, Zenhle, and I hung out in the rondoval. We just all sat around enjoying each other's company and joking around about we didn't want to hang out with the men anyways. Fikile had worked all day though, and she ended up going to bed. Zenhle and I just ended up singing through an entire cd full of praise songs. Afterwards, we just began talking and she showed me some pictures that she kept with her. First, let me say a little bit about Zenhle. She is Nelesiwe's older sister and lives with Jabulani and Fikile so that she can help with the clinic. She has been taking classes to receive certification for HIV and AIDS counseling. She ALWAYS has a smile on her face, has such a gentle and kind nature, and she loves to sing. So, we were talking and I quickly came to find out she had lost a brother and a sister. One passed away from disease and her brother was shot to death. Also, she had just recently been a victim of a horrific act of violence, which had happened only 4 months prior. Her and her boyfriend were traveling home at night along the road when someone came up to rob them. They shot and killed her boyfriend right before her eyes then knocked her unconscious with the barrel of the gun. She still has a little bit of memory loss and sometimes cannot mentally understand it. I was knocked back with how unaware I was because her bright personality overshadows such a horrible incident. I could hardly believe that someone who loves God so with such piety could have just been going through all this. She revealed to me how much she trusts God though. Amazing. Trying to imagine myself in her shoes made me first think of anger. I would be quick to anger, but she is trusting in the Lord although she has gone through such a tough time. I was so thankful that we could talk in that way and I could really get to know her more. I think we both found comfort in confiding in each other. God continuously is reminding me to not take what I have for granted- I do it all the time.

Monday was Swazi's birthday. Oh my how she was spoiled. I don't even want to imagine my own children's birthdays one day. I could have bought out an entire kids clothing line for her. We checked her out of the hostel so she could come and open her presents, then we went over to Jabulani's and had some cake. We spent some time there in his new house just talking about how fast everything has flown. It was just so rewarding to hear Jabulani say that he feels my presence has greatly affected Swazi's english. I basically have forced her to converse with me and with confidence. We also talked about how great it would be for the children of the church to have the opportunity to have Bible School every holiday they were out for school. It was such a good opportunity for them. Jabulani said I should just fly back every holiday here. haha. I can't believe how close I have grown to that family. I have made such strong friendships with Fikile and Zenhle. Fikile has to be one of the most hilarious people ever. Zenhle the sweetest. Then Jabulani. He is like a Father to me. I cannot describe how he has taken me in and been such an encourager. Swazi. Well we all know she is the little sister I never had. She is spoile to stinkin death. Sometimes I cannot believe how advanced I feel in my relationship with her and Noxolo. I feel like I have known them for years.

Sorry again this blog is so long. You may need to take a break. haha. Tuesday night, I was invited home to spend the evening and night with the pre-kindergarten teacher at my school, Saartjie. She is around 28 and is the teacher I have been doing PE for everyday. Her and her husband live about 30 minutes west in a Game Reserve in Mkhuze. What a beautiful ride to her house! How cool would it be to have a backyard as a game reserve? Amazing. I had the pleasure of spending the evening with Saartjie, her 14 month old, Jacu (say it like Yaku), Saartjie's husband, and his mother. What great people! I had the best evening talking with them and eating dinner with them. Saartjie's husband took us for a quick ride around the reserve in his truck. We saw a little bit of wildlife and I got to see the tomato farm that he also manages including working for the Game Park. They have a beautiful farm house. The next morning, as we were riding down her driveway going to school, and an antelope ran out in front of us! Ok, there was another what I like to call "Africa-checks." It is kind of like a reality check but it just reminds me I am definitely far from home. Basically- I sometimes forget I am in South Africa and those things quickly remind me. It was no deer, it was an antelope. Amazing, eh? Another Africa-check happened about 10 minutes later when I saw the most amazing sunrise come up from behind the mountains on the trip back to school. I don't have to chance to see it much in Hluhluwe, but that morning I was graced with the brightest, most orange sunrise I had ever seen. Those things I will miss. The sun, the moon, the stars, the clouds, the landscapes. I was just so thankful for how welcoming the teachers like her were to me on this trip. I really have enjoyed getting to know the teachers. Yet again, two different worlds. The Zulus and the Afrikaans. Yet, I fit along well with both.

Wednesday: What a sweet, sweet day!!!! One of my favorites. So, originally, I was supposed to go along with the 2nd grade on a game drive at Bonamanzi Game Park. That fell through the morning we were about to leave. Here we had all these disappointed 2nd graders. Somehow, the teacher worked it out that we could go to this cat farm called Endomeni. I am so so so glad we went there instead. When I say cats, I don't mean a sweet little domestic cats. I mean cheetahs, lynx, wildcats, and servals! WOW. What an amazing time we all had. We got to go in all of the cages (except the cheetahs') and pet them. Our guide's name was Uncle Dumasani and he was so wonderful. Thankfully, they let us come for free. It would have cost us an arm and a leg to do something like that at home. Anyways, I was just in shock at how close we got to be. Then, the last thing we saw were the cheetahs. Those are the most majestic, beautiful animals. There were three of them in separate enclosures. Two of them we saw super super super close. The other we got to see run. Now talk about a breath-taking sight. To see that cheetah run from one end of the enclosure to the other (not even close to full speed)- absolutely awesome. I could talk about those cats forever, so I will stop there.

Thursday was my day to say goodbye to most everyone at the school. It was so sad!!!!! I was definitely drained and exhausted by the end of the day because I feel like hugged every last person in that school. haha. I received so many beautiful letters and gifts that I felt so so undeserving of it all. I told them all at break that they showed me love that they didn't even have to. They loved me just because. That is amazing to me. After the children sang to me, I kind of got a little emotional because it just hit me how lucky I was to be in that place. What a chance of a lifetime, and it was me getting it. I cannot express how some of their words touched me that day. You wouldn't believe how some are so ahead of their time. To feel that cared about my people you have only known in a short period of time is really special. It was all genuine to me. I can honestly say that a number of the teachers really were amazing mentors and helped me grow in my faith. They opened up my eyes to think things that I would not think about on my own. Those things right there- that is what this trip was about to me. Relationships. Friendships. Building those and knowing it is all because of God. I feel more certain that I was sent here to simply build those relationships. I love that my purpose took on that role.

That night the 6th graders organized what they called a "Sockie" or a dance. It was for 4-7 and I felt like I hopped in a time machine back to the 80's with the music. It was either 80's sounding or techno music. I still had a blast with all of them. I brought my laptop and plugged it up through the sound system so we could do the Shackles dance. Funny, so many of them already knew it because some of the other girls from Bible School and the 2nd graders who learned it with me had been teaching the others. Amazing how things catch on. We always just had to do the Cha Cha Slide. I was thinking about breaking the Electric Slide out, but then I thought maybe they weren't ready for that yet. haha! Maybe next time. :-) I think this was also like the first time in the history of Zulu culture that girls were dancing with boys. We should have wrote that happening down. Those things just don't happen around here. But apparently, things tend to change when you blend two completely opposite cultures together. I love it that way. I love swirls. They are colorful!

Friday I traveled to Pongola with the Track and Field runners. Now talk about a gorgeous trip. We were heading in the direction towards Swaziland, so the terrain became more mountainous. It was so beautiful. I also got to see part of the Jozini Dam which is lined by lovely mountains and dark blue water. Monkeys sat along the road as we passed and I swear that just cracks me up. Yes, Africa check. The kids did incredibly well at what was basically a Track meet with 5 other primary schools. I tell you those kids can fly. I had fun getting them stretched, warmed up, and ready for their events. It made me miss running in Track meets myself (subtract the 3200m run. blah) and also coaching. I was so proud of all of them. It was a great end to a wonderful experience working with the Primary School. The goodbye at the hostel was tough. I am surprised a couple of them aren't sitting with me now attached to my leg still hugging me. haha. I think I got a trillion hugs. I tell you, if you want to feel famous for awhile, this is the place you should come. And it makes you feel like that good kind of famous; like you are really loved. Not the fake kind where it ends with your career.

We ended up driving to Tembe Elephant Park and stayed in the Lodge. I wish Bridgette would have been with us. That is where she worked for so long. It made me think of her. In the middle of the night, I woke up to a Bush baby walking on top of my tent. You should have seen the spider that was waiting on me when I first got there. Funny- I can't even freak out anymore. lol. So that was an awesome experience. We sat around the campfire and I got to talk to some of the other people staying there. They were from London. I love meeting new people from around the world. So cool. This morning, we woke up and went on the 6:30am game drive at Tembe. It was so cold! We didn't see much except Nyala, Impala, Kudou, Red Dika, and Weildabeasts until the ultimate animal came across our paths. The animal I had been hoping I would see the entire trip. It was a female lion. We didn't see her for very long, but we saw her about 30m away and man was she a sight. That made the whole drive worth it. Later after we had packed up, we went out on our own in the truck and went on an elephant hunt (not to literally hunt them). I had only seen one with the Mission group. We went to the Hide Camp and ended up seeing 6 there. They were huge! On our way out of the park, we met two along side of the road. I could not believe how close to the thing I was. It is actually a little scary. You know you aren't at the zoo. There is a fence, but the difference is, you are also on the inside of the fence with the wild animal. Pretty amazing.

Well, I kind of dread tomorrow because it is my last church service. It is going to be a sad and long day I am thinking. But, it would have to happen sooner or later. Better it happened short than never experiencing the wonderful trip at all! I am sure that my last blog entry will be coming up soon. :-( Time is just something we feel like we never have enough of.

Friday 7-24-09

This week was a great first week back at school! After slowly getting back into the swing of things, on Tuesday, I met with the principal about my responsibilities for the next two weeks. Since the time frame is shorter than planned, he decided I should teach different classes when needed, teach PE to the pre-kindergarten and kindergarten everyday, teach random PE to other classes when needed, and help coach the track runners for their competition in Pongola next Friday.

For most of the week I followed the second grade teacher around, Elma Bradenhorst. Swazi is actually in that class, so she had an extra set of eyes on her. I kind of feel like she is my kid, so whenever she would get called down, I shot her a look. haha! Although, she doesn't go by Swazi at school. Her real name is Bongeka, so I am constantly catching myself when I have to call her name in class. I really enjoyed working closely with Elma. She is a wonderful, loving, gentle, caring, and insightful teacher. It is amazing how she can do bible school and bible lessons with the children every day. That is something we cannot easily do in school at home. Not to mention she has the best set up with only 17 children in her class. Those children really do love the Lord! You should hear them pray- and they are only 8-10 years old! I got to teach a couple of lessons with them this week and Swazi and I ended up teaching her class "Shackles." Swazi also decided to teach them "God is so good." Working with the children this week really made me miss my students back at home. I am so excited to start back school! I also took the second graders out for some PE activities and we played Hospital Tag, Red Light- Green Light, and did some relays. They loved it!

Working with the Pre-K has been going pretty good as well. I have them for a little over half an hour each day and we have been working on locomotor skills, social interactions, and playing games. All of the games I have introduced are brand new to them, so it has been fun watching them enjoy the games. However, it does take them quite a while longer to catch on. I played a game called "Animal Tag" where one team tries to guess what animal the other team is acting out. When they guess correctly, the guessing team chases the acting team to the other end of the field. I love playing this game with my students at home. My animal idea box had quite a different make-up than my list that I usually use. Here, I got to give them animals to act out like giraffes, zebras, elephants, and lions.

On Wednesday, I got to teach a class the principal usually teaches; Religious Studies, grade 7. He told me they were on the topic of relationships, but they had only covered family relationships. He kind of insinuated he wanted me to hit on "those" kinds of relationships, but not in the serious way of boyfriend-girlfriend. I ended talking about all relationships- those with the opposite sex and those with close friends. It was mainly just about them surrounding themselves with the right people; those who are positive influences. I really had such a good time with them! At the end I was trying to pull a discussion out of them. I told them I must have been boring. They kept saying, "No Miss! No Miss!" haha. I think it was probably an awkward conversation. Noxolo was in that class and at one point they were picking at her about a boy in the class, Lindo, who is like the typical popular, smooth-talking machine. Cute as can be though. I keep telling her she better not be boy crazy or I will get her. After we talked, I had brought my guitar, so we sang some songs together. I knew they knew, "Lean on Me" because I had heard them singing it in choir. We ended singing lots of songs together, and man, I just had a blast with them. I love that age.

Later on in the day on Wednesday, I ended up teaching an Afrikaan class. No, sorry to disappoint, but I did not speak in Afrikaan. Thankfully they understand English! It was a life skills class and only had about 7 students. I got to speak on road and driving safety. Let us not question at whether I was qualified to teach on that subject especially under the circumstances that we drive on the complete opposite side of the road! haha. No, it went great as well and they were very insightful. It was different, because all the students were white! It is amazing how that seemed like such a change to me. I guess I will be in shock again when I go back to school at home in a couple of weeks.

All summer long, I have been enjoying the fact that I have no vehicle (with the exception of Jordan's vehicle) to drive around and be lazy (it is the same feeling with having no cell phone). After school, I will go and walk around town or either run if I am exercising. Most of the time, I will run inside the school grounds around the field. Anyways, I was walking after school Wednesday and met Lucky (cool name, huh?) walking on the road. He works at the hotel and I met him and his brother, Sidah, through Jordan. They are super nice guys and coach the boys soccer team that Jordan got jerseys for. They have their first game Saturday. Lucky and I ended up walking to Jordan's house and one of his friends came over from the hotel. We all just hung out, talked, and they grilled out. It was nice just to have a different conversation. Lucky and Jordan ended up having a rapping battle. Talk about interesting. I think Jordan had an unfair advantage because his English came easier, obviously. It was hilarious!

Yesterday, I got to start helping coach the Athletics which consists of the sprinters, long-distance runners, long jumpers, high jumpers, and pole-vaulters. I helped with race starts with the sprinters. Sadly, I think I introduced most of them to the idea of stretching and warming up. We did some famous Larry Honeycutt agilities. The English teacher I followed before the Holiday also helped. She actually was very knowledgeable. I found out her husband had been a South African sprinting champion back in the day. No wonder!!! Anyways, I will get to go with them to Pongola next Friday for their Athletic competition.

Today was another awesome day! I traveled with the school's singing choir to a big competition with surrounding rural Zulu schools. It was held in Mtubatuba. I knew it was going to be a great experience, but I tell you, I have never heard so many beautiful voices......coming from children! They have the moves as well. The competition had all these different categories (including a category where females "model" without tops on- cultural thing). Anyways, the category we were in was called Afro without instrument. All they had were their voices and percussion from their feet. There was also a spiritual singing, gospel, creative poetry, all male choir, and afro with an instrument category. Some of the outfits were so cool. They were the traditional Zulu outfits. If you could hear how low some of those boys sing! Unbelievable! I am not sure what place the choir got because we left before the results. I was so proud of them, though.

Tomorrow, the boys' soccer team plays in the morning at 9. I have been hounding them about when they are going to play for awhile. I am excited I finally get to watch! Forman will also be coming back from Durban and I am pretty sure we will have revival again tomorrow night. I can hardly believe I only have a week and a half left! Insane! I will get some pictures from the competition today on here soon. :)

7-19-09 Continued

I know I have already posted a blog earlier this morning, but more exciting things have happened since then that I felt like I needed to write yet again.

I am not sure if I mentioned that we had Revival last night up at the church, but we went up there last night for a couple of hours and had a nice, relatively short (in Zulu time) service. Forman delivered the message for everyone and I think it was a great challenge to us all. One thing I love about his messages is that he engrains the idea that it isn't all about us. It is all about others.

This morning, we got up to the church around 12:30 and everyone was pretty much already there. The kids and I practiced the dance really quickly, but they really didn't need it because they all pretty much remembered it. They finally got to perform it in church today and I was just so proud. They did so well! Hopefully soon, I can get the video of them doing it on here so everyone can check it out. Let me tell you that today was the longest church service yet. We got home around 4:30 and the sun has pretty much started to set on me. I feel like I just woke up! I was SO hungry when I got back that Forman and I made a burger run. haha. Anyways, today in church the kids did their dance and I got the chance to brag on the children a bit about how proud everyone should be of them. It is kind of a cultural thing for adults to not really involved in children's activities and developmental ideas. Kids/teenagers are not taken as seriously as they should be. Let's just say that there isn't near enough time put in on working with the rural children in churches and communities. So, I was just so excited that I could tell the church how impressive those kids were and just how hard they worked on their dance. Also, I wanted them to realize that those kids could have done a number of things on their holiday break from school, but they decided to come to Bible School and worship God. That is awesome.

Another great thing that happened this morning was that the plumber for Jabulani's house gave his life to Christ this morning in church. He is only 22 and unbelievably talented. Jordan said he does a better job than many work jobs done back at home. Not to mention he is a super nice guy. We were all happy to see him come up today. Another girl visiting the church also came up when Forman gave the invitation.

Pakamile (a girl who has TB and had spent time in Fikile and Jabulani's clinic) was at church today. She looked so sick and coughed a good bit of the service. She had been staying in the clinic where Fikile and Zenhle had been taking care of her. Apparently, there was an issue involving the trifling mother and now Pakamile is back at home when she really needs to be at the clinic. I am not sure if I wrote about it one night, but when the group from Mission was up, we all went over to Jabulani's one night for a Zulu dinner and bonfire. Pakamile was staying at the clinic then and we brought her outside to sit in front of the fire. I am not sure how to describe it, but we were all standing there singing and praying, etc. when I got the strangest urge to just touch her. It was the weirdest thing, but somehow I felt like if I could touch her, I might heal her. I am sure that sounds crazy and believe me, I did not really know what to do. So I kind of bit back the urge for awhile, but the next thing I knew, Jabulani asked everyone to lay hands on Pakamile and pray for her right then. Then I knew I couldn't refrain any longer and God was saying, "Well fine then, if you won't do it yourself, I will make everyone do it." As we laid hands on her, I just touched her leg and wept because I was so overwhelmed by the longing to heal all of her sickness. So today at church, Jabulani called her again to the front of the church where some of the elders, Forman, and I came up to lay hands on her. She just sat there coughing and weeping. I had my hand on her shoulder and I promise I could feel every bone in her shoulder; she was frightfully skinny. I know her time is limited, but again I felt the urge to want to heal her. This time, the entire church joined in and everyone was simultaneously praying for her healing. I cannot say whether she will be physically healed, but I sure want it for her. I also just hope she received some comfort and peace in those moments this morning. I can't begin to imagine what her life must be like and the things she must go through at such a young age. I really hope she comes back to stay at the clinic.

That is one of the things I forget about when I am over here. The horrible and truthful reality of disease and sickness. It is so easy to forget with all the surrounding happiness, but today was an instant reminder of the struggles that do go on here. If you are reading this, will you please just say a quick prayer for Pakamile? Doesn't having to be anything extensive, I just want to believe in that prayer truly does have power. I know it does. Thank you for that! :-)

Well, again, I begin back school tomorrow. I am excited that I got a chance to know the children more of the church community, but I am also excited that I will be able to get to know the kids from school a little more over the next couple of weeks. I am curious to see what the Principal has in store for me. I still am not sure what he will have me doing. The suspense may make for an interesting week. I hope you will have a great week yourself, for those reading. Thank you for just taking time to care. Gosh, it just means so much to me and I cannot express my appreciativeness. Cheers from S.A!!!!

Sunday 7-19-09

It is Sunday morning here in Hluhluwe and we will be leaving for church shortly, but I thought I would go ahead and update things a little. The kids from Bible School and I will finally get to perform the "Shackles" dance today; which makes me uncontrollably excited!

Bridgette came down this past week and spent about 4 days with us. I hated to see her go on Friday because it was just so great having her to talk to about everything to. We worked on updating her resume because she is trying to get a job here at the Hluhluwe Hotel. Hopefully she can move here in the next month or two. They'd be crazy not to take her as intelligent and well put together as she is. I've learned that those very qualities that someone at home would be eagerly looking for in a possible job contestant are things that discourage employers from hiring here because of intimidation and the fact they would have to pay them more for being over-qualified. Ridiculous. Both Bridgette and I talked about where we see ourselves going, but I think between the both of us, we have fears of missing opportunities and the fact that time flies by so fast that we are afraid we will run out of time to accomplish what we desire. As silly as it sounds, we both talked about how it stinks growing up and she (at 26) calls herself old. Ha! That is just how ambitious she is, feeling like she is almost too late for success. I think we are just similar in feeling like time flies like sand in an hour glass and we are so up in arms about not missing one single chance to fulfill the things in life we've always dreamed about. I think we both came to the conclusion, though, that it is never too late for anything.

Strangely, after we had sat outside talking about those worries, Jordan had drove to Durban that day to pick up Forman and he came back with a DVD of a message from Francis Chan on worry and anxiousness. We watched it together and I thought, "Wow, what a depressing way I look at things sometimes." The verse he used was Phillipians 4:4-

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice.

I was so glad I heard his words because it just immediately made me realize I should change my perspective on the way I pursue my own life and just go about my dad. I shouldn't worry! I should have excitement about living about respond to situations appropriately (as the chapter goes on to say). About anything. And I know it seems so unrealistic in the eyes of a normal person, but what Pastor Chan goes on to say about the criticism of this idea is that we need to get a grip on reality and that our time here is short and this is not our actual Home. What is there to worry about when all this is temporary anyway? God will listen to our prayers but we should pray using thanks! Maybe this doesn't make sense to you, I just have really been focusing on waking up and saying, "I want be positive today and just have joy that is from God." I think that ultimately will have an effect on people.

One day this past week, we all went up to Ana's house (the lady the mission group decided to build a house for and the lady who has an alternate site for Jabulani's church). Jordan was trying to get the measurements for the house and Bridgette and I just spent time laughing and joking with Ana and her girls. Needless to say, that was definitely a female talk, but had us rolling laughing. I just so enjoy times like those.

Yesterday, I had another one of those opportunities when Forman first got here. Forman, Jabulani and I just sat around for a couple of hours talking about different aspects of the bible and Christian life and how it all relates to each other. Well, mostly it was Jabulani and Forman who discussed things, but I just enjoyed being a sponge and taking it all in. I have found that it is better for me to be like that over here because what a great learning experience it has all been for me. I know I still hold very little knowledge about it all, but I know I have grown in my faith for sure since I have been here. I just enjoy listening and soaking up every bit of understanding about coming closer to Him. I keep on learning, keep on growing.

This week has just been a nice end to my holiday. I begin school back tomorrow at the Primary School. Time sure does fly here.

Well, I will update this more after church, but I am off!

July 7, 2009

Have you ever been to a place that was so surprisingly fascinating to you, that you felt like you yourself made the discovery that this place existed in the world and no one else had a clue it was there? Well that place for me was Mozambique. I had my own ideas about what it might be like, but the reality of it was no where close to my images. SO cool!!!! Ok, so as soon as we passed the border, I noticed right away there were no roads. Well, there were roads... that were made of sand. Thick, get-stuck sand. Only 4x4 vehicles venture into Mozambique (unless you are nuts and think you will make it with anything else). Only sand roads take you to places in Moz. You say, where is the main road? Well, you happen to be on it bumping along, fish-tailing and what not, all the while wondering where the heck you are going- there are no signs. That place was a dirt-biker/off-road junkie's dream. 

We went to stay with Nic and his wife, Claire, and their two sons, Chris and Tim. I had such a relaxing and peaceful time with them all! Not to mention, we had a blast on the beach and just had such enjoyable conversations. They have a great place right on the beach and for some reason, whenever I sit in front of an ocean, it is an immediate reaction for me to greet God. Just imagine an African ocean! They live in a little town called Pontaduoro, and is such an awesome little place. Turns out, it is quite a vacation place for some people. I also found out when I got there, that it is a Portuguese-speaking country. How crazy to see signs that resemble Spanish in Africa! Anyways, the town had some neat little restaurants, shops, and houses. The architecture of houses was amazing because of the Portuguese influence. Unlike SA, it was completely safe for us to walk down the roads at night and not have to worry about a thing. Yesterday, we went to visit an orphanage ran by a lady named Annette, which was about 30 minutes away. There we got some awesome Christmas cards and saw what her orphanage was about. People like that truly amaze me and how loyal they are to God's calling. She gives her life for these children, and I imagine rarely has time for just herself. I just got the feel, in the short time we were there, that she was extremely gentle, but had a great and fun-loving personality. 

I was so lucky to get to spend some time on the beach and experience the beautiful surroundings of mountains, oceans, and a lovely blend of culture all in one place. I realized that I could totally live in a place like that! The easy going, free-flowing attitudes of the people make me smile. 

Unfortunately, we will have to wait until next Sunday before the kids get to do their Shackles dance. Jabulani decided to meet with the church today about a serious situation that has been taking place here recently. The reality of things is, it isn't always roses. It always isn't hands raised-hugging-people coming to Christ-people sharing God's love-situations. There are bad things that take place here as well. It is important for us to see that though. That is life- Africa, America, or wherever; we will always experience adversity in some form or fashion. So, before we left Nic's we had a nice little worship service at his house. Now I feel so rejuvenated and just clean-feeling! Not the kind of clean feeling a shower can give you, though! :-) 

Well, Bridgette is coming to Hluhluwe tomorrow and I am SOOOOO excited to see her! I have missed her a lot since we parted ways in Durban along with the Mission church group. She is one of those people who can put a smile on your face without even saying anything to you, necessarily. I think she must have one of those infectious personalities. I am pretty sure she is one of easiest people to converse with as well. She is just lovely. Well, I am off to bed. Those Mozambiquan waves have lulled me into a lazy/tired feeling mood. Til' next time! 

Wednesday- July 8, 2009

So, I am excited to tell you about this week! We started Bible School at Jabulani's church this past Monday and today was our third day. It is supposed to start every morning at 8 and go to about 12 or 1, but let's face it: We are in South Africa and they have their own idea about time. So if you say, "Let's start at 8," it translates (psychologically) as 9ish. I love that they flow that way though. It is like, hey! We will get there when we get there! So anyways, we are focusing on that ANYTHING is possible as long as we have God on our side. Today was my favorite day so far, though. I took the verse Phillipians 4:13 and focused on "strength." I read the story that Jesus told about the two men who built houses; one built his on rock, they other built his on shifting sand. I love that story because it beautifully symbolizes our relationship with God and how we make it through good and bad times. If we build our foundations on Him, even when things get tough, we can withstand the storms, because we are strong in Him. I also love the way a rock symbolizes strength. When I think about setting my mind to something, or making something possible, I just always think of being strong. So, for our arts and craft, we all went and found a rock outside and they decorated it with paint. You know you, I definitely have never possessed the gift of public speaking and it mostly terrifies me. Especially from a preaching type stand point. But, it was amazing to feel the words flowing from my mouth today when I was speaking to those kids. It was like, I was so sure in my heart about things, that I didn't have to think twice about what to say. It was a refreshing feeling!

One of my favorite aspects about Bible School is that I have been teaching the older children a dance to the song "Shackles" by Mary Mary. The song basically says that God takes the shackles off our feet and hands so we can dance. I talked to Ronny briefly today about it. We sing that song at Mission and it is a very soulful song. At home, it would be quite a sight for us to literally dance to that song. Ronny asked me if he should dance to it next time they sing it? I told him that he should (even though it might taint his reputation a bit). It doesn't make much since that we are singing a song about how we want to dance, but we are not dancing at all. Anyways, the kids dance to the chorus, then during the verses, they are acting out the words. I am so excited about it because they are going to get to do it this Sunday. Man, I wish I could post the video of it on here! haha. It is awesome! If you get a chance, look up the song, "Shackles" on YouTube. You will totally want to dance to it.

I am continuously in awe at how those kids just let me come in and they accept me. What did I do to deserve their attention and affection? I think they are starting to get used to me a little more. Bless their hearts, you should have seen their blank stares and deer-in-the-headlights looks at first. They were SO shy. I told myself, the goofier I act, the better things will get for us. Well, you know, being goofy is like second nature to me. Playing games always helps as well. Today, I discovered they have all these neat little sing-song type games where they all stand in a circle. They did all of them for me today where they are saying/singing a clever phrase and clapping while the person in the middle has to go and pass it on to someone in the circle. They had about 10 different songs. One of them consisted of the person in the middle going up to another and saying/singing, "I love you, S0 & So, but the problem with you is _______." They are so clever! It amazes me all the fun they easily create for themselves.

Another amazing thing is how their voices quickly fill the entire church. Like there isn't a single inch on the wall that doesn't get touched by the music. Jordan suggested the simple song, "God is so good." One would think, what a song that lacks. You would quickly change your mind after hearing them sing it. It completely changed my feelings about the "child" song. How they bring it to life!

Another thing I want to say is how often I am reminded of my own insufficient ability to always do things that are pleasing to God. We fail others, we fail ourselves, yet we are continuously awarded second chances by the one who gave us the ULTIMATE chance of a lifetime in exchange for His son's life. I just want to say how truly thankful I am that I am allowed to be here in this place feeling more love than I deserve to feel. Even when I feel like running away in the opposite direction, He is quick to bring me back. Kind of reminds me of all the goats that roam around here. If you drove down any Hluhluwe road, you would know what I am talking about. Even though they wander and wander, somehow they always find their way back home. I promise it is almost impossible to be far away from God in this place! I think it is because there aren't many places that don't feel like home to me. Goodnight!