Hi, everyone! I haven’t posted any pictures since month two in Nicaragua, so I figured it was time for a little update. Here are some of my favorite pictures from Panama, Lesotho, Swaziland, and South Africa. Enjoy!
Panama
The picture on the left is on the beach that we were living near in Las Lajas, Panama. That was our house dog Rex. On the right is Pastor Gonzalez. He was friends with our ministry host, so we got to interact with him usually on the weekends. He didn’t speak any English, but he was one of the most Spirit-filled men I have ever met. He was so friendly and personable. He would tell us stories of what Jesus had done in his life, crying tears of joy. One of my teammates Kasie hurt her foot that month, so he came up to her, motioning to her foot, wanting to give her a foot massage to relieve her pain. We were all cracking up laughing as he squirted Equine Muscle Rub lotion on her foot to help rub out the knots. This picture is the night we left Panama. He stopped us in the truck as we were leaving to pray over us.
The top picture is from a waterfall hike that we went on in Boquete, Panama. It was absolutely beautiful! The bottom picture was taken at Oma, which is an indigenous reservation that we would do ministry at. The conditions here were very poor. This pictures shows a classroom where we would sing, teach English, and do crafts with the kids. The desks were falling apart, there was trash everywhere, and chickens running around, but the kids were very engaged.
Lesotho
Top left: We did village ministry this month. This type of hut would be your typical style house in the villages. No electricity, no running water, small one room house with a dirt floor. Top right: The clouds in Lesotho were so beautiful. Fat, white, and fluffy! Bottom right: These were some kids that lived in the village that followed us around for the day as we were visiting houses. Bottom right: This was Grandma Agnes. She lived in the house in the top left picture. She didn’t speak any English, but that didn’t stop our whole team from creating a relationship and falling in love with her. We would sing to her and entertain her by trying to read out of her Lesothan bible. I will never forget how her laugh sounded and how she would giggle with excitement every time she saw us coming up to the house to visit her.
Top left: This was a waterfall we went to. We hiked through mountains and farmlands to get there. Top right: This is Portia. She was our translator for village ministry. She is also Agnes’s granddaughter. She was such a sweet, friendly, charismatic soul. Bottom left: Striking a pose after a hard day of manual labor. Bottom right: The sunrises in Lesotho were gorgeous. Definitely my favorite view to wake up to.
Swaziland
We saw some real, wild lions when we went on a safari! These were the preschoolers that we played around with all month. They were absolutely crazy, but I miss them!
South Africa
We went to Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa our last weekend. These pictures are some of the amazing views that we had from the top and hiking down the mountain. We rode a gondola to the top, thankfully.
Top left: One of my squadmates Jess got baptized in the ocean in Jeffrey’s Bay. I was so excited for her! Top right: These were a couple of the kids I got to teach violin to for the month. Bottom left: These are some of the kids that we worked with for the ministry, Beats & Books. We had such a fun time with them, teaching them music, playing games, and helping with reading and homework. Lots of tears when we left 🙁 Bottom right: This is my teammate, Elyssa, showing the Beats & Books kids how she worships the Lord through dance.
I hope this helps bring my journey to life a little more for those of you at home. I can’t wait to post some pictures from Asia. It is so great here!
