So the first day we got to South Africa we spent the afternoon on the corner of ))) and ____ in Muizenberg. That corner, little did we know then, would become a hotspot for us that afternoon and throughout the month. On that corner is @infinity, which is an internet cafe that actually has wi-fi, a small pharmacy where you can buy shampoo and snacks, and a little place called the Majestic Cafe, which happens to be the oldest and one of the best places to get some grub in Muizenberg. (You can get a HUGE box of fish & chips for R20 which is about $2 US and they have the best soft serve ice cream I have ever had.)
All in all on this particular afternoon we spent about five hours on the corner, waiting for our bus ride to our ministry site which was about 15 min away. It is amazing what can happen on a street corner in five hours when you invite Jesus into the picture. I had just met a lady named Nancy from Germany on the train ride there and ended up praying with her. She was an older woman who was in town for a teaching conference and as I told her I was from Utah she was intrigued. In the conversation that ensued I found out she had left the mormon church at a young age and had just recently started going back to church. After we got off the train we walked to the sidewalk and put our packs down and with the ocean in full view we couldn't help but walk down to the waves. Before we knew it we were swimming fully clothed in the Indian Ocean. After getting out we started walking a little further down and lo and behold I met a second Nancy from Germany. Strange I know. This second Nancy was a Christian missionary who was stationed in Muizenberg with her husband. They were working in prison ministry. God works in strange, mysterious, and awesome ways.
Anyway, after a short walk down the beach we ended up in front of the Majestic Cafe, taking pictures, talking and laughing. And the Lord just kept bringing us people to pray for and with. It was seriously awesome. There was a homeless woman who came up with her husband and asked for prayer. She got it, as well as one of my teammates shoes off her feet. I wasn't really a part of the conversation with her as I was playing my guitar but there were tears and smiles and stories being exchanged. Then, as night was falling and I was getting hungry this family pulled up right in front of us and offered us chocolate cake and chicken curry burritos right there on the street. It was delicious!! They decided to stay with us until our ride got there, offering us their jackets and their company.
From that afternoon I knew it was going to be an awesome month in South Africa and that we had arrived exactly when, where, and how God wanted us to. That corner will forever be imprinted in my brain as the corner where Jesus happened and lives were changed, and not just by the ice-cream. 🙂
