We have arrived in South Africa!! It only took us 5 days to get from Targu-Mures, Romania to our current ministry city in Plettenburg Bay. We took trains, busses, taxis, and airplanes to get here. We slept in on trains, in train stations, on busses, hostels, and my favorite: In a 5 star hotel in Qatar!
Our airline paid for us to stay there because we had an 8 hour layover. We had a FULL buffet of food at 1:00 in the morning. We had refreshments in our rooms. And we also had breakfast “to go” in the morning. I felt like a jet setter for a night… It made me realize how much God blesses us. I could have never had afforded to stay there, but Daddy made it happen… And in the Race!
Once we arrived in our city, we were taken to our farm where we are camping. We set up tents, cooked dinner over the fire, and got a good nights sleep. Ministry starts on Monday, but for the first couple of days, our contact has encouraged us to enjoy South Africa and relax.
So with her permission to “let our hair down”, we did! Last night, Mandy took us to the beach town where we danced, laughed, and just enjoyed the beach night life. Also, I may have had my favorite memory from the race so far…
We had about and hour before the taxi was coming to pick us up, so we (Ashley, Jenna, Lauren, and myself) decided to walk down to the beach for a night walk. On the way there, we thought it would be completely appropriate to skinny dip in the ocean. So, leaving out the details, we left our clothes by the rocks and make a 300 foot dash to the ocean. Skinny dipping + streaking + South African ocean = Best memory in the Race to date. I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time.
Of course, because we are in Africa and nothing happens as it should, our taxi driver never came. So, we ended up begging a police officer to take us home in the back of his cop car. We flew down the highway, lights a flashin’, and arrived at our farm, where we paid the cop off… Again, South Africa for you.
To quote my contact this month, “Christians can have fun, yeah?”. God has shown and taught me a lot about enjoying his blessings and not feeling “guilty” about the things that He gives us. I take the good from His hands, and I take the hard times too. It’s like that song, “I will praise Him when the streams of abundance flow, and when I’m found in the dessert place”.
Where ever you are: in the States, South Africa, or any other part of the world, let your hair down, and enjoy His love and blessings today. Do something fun, smile, laugh (a lot) and look for ways to love others. Love you all!
Grace and Peace,
Kaitlyn
Pictures to come… Not working for some reason… That reason is probably Africa.
