Adventures WorldRace SethBarnes Sponsorship Giving

| by archiveworldraceblogs

In December, my team had the opportunity to work with Victory4All in Jeffreys Bay, South Africa, a small tourist and surfer town on the east coast. Victory4All is a community center and organization linked to a mother church,Victory Christian, further inland. Jeffreys Bay is a city that mostly survives on holiday tourism, year round surfers, and the Billabong Pro surfing tournament in the winter (usually June). The town is part beachside rentals, surfing and adventure stores, and public housing townships: stretches of homes and stores built from shipping containers, plywood, and canvas, usually without running water and limited electricity. 

 
These townships are where Victory4All mostly worked. We spent the first two weeks in December hosting a VBS-like morning camp for kids who lived in these townships, 2 of the closest named Ocean View and Oliver Town. We would walk through the townships collecting kids, then lead them in games, dances, and hand out lunch and sweets before sending them on their way in the early afternoon. We got to work with some awesome staff volunteers, local young adults who grew up in the church we worked with. 
 

What surprised me most about about the month was the incredible example of the staff. Many of them hailed from the townships on the outskirts of town, and I was always shocked by their energy and positivity, no matter how early in the morning it was. I felt like I was at camp again, surrounded by people who loved God and couldn’t stop talking about it, who woke up every morning ready to be around kids, ready to serve however they needed to. It was awesome! It didn’t matter where they came from. It didn’t matter how much education they had. It didn’t matter how many years they had been a Christian. They were on fire for God. They loved every second of fellowship, and they inspired me in so many ways throughout the month. Even though I was only a tourist in their city, even though I couldn’t truly understand their backgrounds and experiences in South Africa, they still welcomed me and showed me an incredible example of God’s love and acceptance. 

 
South Africa was a month of rest and new beginnings. My new team began our journey together and got to spend Christmas with out amazing hosts, whose hospitality and love was absolutley out of this world. As we left Jeffreys Bay and our hosts, Lyndon and Anthea, I was overwhelmed with just how much they had done for us this month, how much South Africa had reminded me of home, and just how much I was going to miss this place.