It’s hard to believe that my World Race journey has come to an end! It feels like I was just getting on the plane to Guatemala for Month 1, and now I’m already back in the States.
Time flies, which maybe explains why it has taken me so long to pull a blog together about my last two months in Africa. Although it’s been awhile, those last two months on the Race were absolutely amazing, and so I still wanted to do a re-cap of my time there.
South Africa
Arriving in South Africa I knew it was going to be a great month, because our team was getting to live with a host family. Months in which our team has been paired with a host family have been some of my favorite on the Race. There is just something so special about being invited not only into someone’s home, but into someone’s family for an extended period of time.
(Hello Durban!)
For the month of October, Team Golden Girls was placed just outside of Durban, in an Indian community called Phoenix. Although apartheid was brought to an end in South Africa, the impact of the segregation is still very much seen today and we got to experience that first-hand living in Phoenix.
Our team’s task this month was helping a ministry called, Shepherd’s Heart. Since it was still a fairly new ministry, we spent the majority of the month doing work projects at the church. Two of the projects we worked on were painting murals in the Sunday school classrooms and adding laminent to the hallways to make the church more comfortable and inviting for the children. While we didn’t get to see the kids faces when they walked into their newly painted classrooms for the first time, we could imagine them based on their excitement as each child came up to thank us after our final Sunday at church.
(One of the paintings Team Golden Girls did in the Sunday school classroom)
(Another wall completed)
While we stayed busy with various projects throughout the month, I realized about halfway through, that it wasn’t about the projects we would complete, but the time that we would get to spend with our host family. The family had had a rough couple of years dealing with medical issues as well as losing their home in a storm 2 years back. They had been through a lot, and were still dealing with tough times, but lucky for us we got to be the ones to bring some additional joy to their home that month:)
It was our host mom’s birthday while we were there, so we decided to throw her a surprise Hollywood themed birthday party to celebrate. It was complete with a red carpet, photo booth, karaoke, dancing and all of her closest friends and family. She said it was the happiest she had been on her birthday since her sweet 16! It’s moments like that on the Race that I will always cherish.
(Bringing a taste of Hollywood to Africa)
Another special event from that month was getting to attend the church’s 34th anniversary service, which meant we all got to dress up in traditional Indian saris for the special occasion. I’ve never been so immersed in Indian culture, and from the saris to the biryani, I loved it all!
(Team Golden Girls in our saris)
(If walking in a sari wasn’t difficult enough, we also had to do it in the rain..)
I also had the best time bonding with the family’s son Christopher who is now 9-years old. From video games, to foosball competitions, to watching him dance like Michael Jackson, we had a blast. Just another reason saying goodbye was so hard.
(At the bus station)
And to top off an already amazing month, we got to camp out at Kruger National Park before heading to Swaziland.
(We spotted a mama and her baby out looking for breakfast)
Swaziland
The one down side to months spent with host families, and really one of the hardest parts of the Race overall, is having to say goodbye at the end of each month. I was not quite ready to leave South Africa at the end of October, but only because I no idea at that point how amazing our final month in Africa would be.
Since it was November, and therefore our last month on the Race, our whole squad of 43 racers was placed at a children’s home called El Shaddai. With so many of us, the ministry matched us each up with one child to be our buddy for the month.
So, let me introduce you to my buddy, Nick!
(That face)
Nick is 8-years old and so full of life and love. With so many kids at the orphanage, it wasn’t possible to get to know every single child’s name, but I’m pretty sure everyone on my squad knew who Nick was. He’s the kind of kid you just can’t help but love.
Nick, and his younger brother Kelvin, were abandoned by their mother at their home, leaving Nick with no other option but to crawl out of a window to inform a neighbor that he and his brother were alone. For a child that’s experienced such loss though, he exuded a joy for life that was very much contagious.
It really amazed me at how quickly we bonded. Who knew I would have so much in common with an 8-year old boy from Swaziland. He’s a fast runner, a fantastic baseball player, and has some sweet dance moves. He’s at such a fun age where he has his own unique personality, but not too old to fall asleep in my arms every time we had a movie night.
Nick and I would start our days together by going on 7am run down the main road that led to the orphanage, winding our way through the Swazi mountainside. It was the highlight of my day getting to run with him. Nick would run barefoot, and sometimes in jeans, and yet he’d always run fast. I’m pretty sure he had hidden rocket boosters that would kick in as he’d power past me going up the monstrous hills. It’s safe to say, Swaziland was a good month of training for me all thanks to Nick 🙂
(Morning runs with Nick were such a blessing!)
After our morning runs, we’d have to go our separate ways for breakfast, but then I would meet back up with him later in the morning for school. Nick was one of the few kids at El Shaddai who was selected for home school, so I would work with him during his classes and help him with the different projects he had. In the afternoons, depending on the day, I’d either go with him to gym class and watch the kids play baseball, or we’d get a little bit of free time to hang out. Whatever we were doing though, we’d always have fun.
(Hanging out after baseball practice)
(This kid has the best faces)
It’s been over two months since I left Swaziland, but I still miss having this sweet boy wrapped up in my arms. I couldn’t have dreamt of a better way to end this year of adventure!
I’m back in the States now and was so blessed to spend the holiday season with my family to end one amazing year. Thank you to everyone who made this year possible for me! This year brought me so much joy and happiness, along with challenges and hardships that ultimately pushed me out of my comfort zone and into a place of growth. While I don’t know what my next step will be just yet, I’m excited for it!
