This morning we went to our first church service in Cape Town. After the service I ran into a little old woman in the bathroom. She started talking to me, but I could not figure out what she way saying due to her thick South African accent. I heard something about a hole in the ground in Madagascar (I assumed she was talking about using a squatty potty while in Madagascar) so I politely nodded like I understood and laughed along with her. Then she said a few more things that I did not understand and finally something about praying for us so I graciously smiled and said thank you. I wanted to continue our “conversation” but since I could not understand anything she was saying, I quickly grabbed a World Racer to save me.
That evening, we split up into groups of two to move in with a family for the following week. The pastor of the church dropped me and Mikayla off at sister Fisher’s house. He said she is a widow and is quite shy. Since I wasn’t very excited about living with a family without Sarah (she’s the one who does all the talking while I get to hide in the corner and be shy) I was happy to hear this woman wasn’t going to overwhelm me with conversation.
So we entered the house, put our things in our room and began to talk to Sister Fisher. After a bit of conversation I asked if she attended the church we went to that morning. She said yes. Then I foolishly asked if she was there that morning. She quietly laughed and said, “yes, I was wearing a hat and a scarf wrapped around my neck.” Then it hit me. She was the woman I snuck away from at church that morning. I did not recognize her at all. Oops. So in order to try and save myself I quickly said, “That’s right! You were all bundled up from the cold.” My dad always tells me you only get one first impression and if mine was dumbfoundedly smiling and nodding, I may be in for a long week.
Fortunately, sister Fisher is a sweet older woman full of love and joy and I’m pretty sure I’m already forgiven for the church incident. Our first night here, we had dinner, did the dishes, and sat and watched a gospel choir concert on tv. It was quite wonderful. The best part was seeing sister Fisher laugh every time the bass guitarist had a solo. Every night since then we watch her favorite Soapie “7 De Laan.”
To our surprise, during the week, she has a woman from the church come to cook and clean for her. This means we have someone who cooks our meals and washes our dishes (don’t worry, I always offer to help). So I definitely cannot complain about that! Thus far, it’s been a wonderful experience living with Mikayla, sister Fisher, and her grandson when he decides to pop in.
Fortunately, without all the background noise, I can understand most of what she says, but I think there will always be some moments where I just smile and nod.
