Written on February 20th, 2016
Back in Cape Town. We left Lesotho on January 26th – twelve guys in two old vans. We began having trouble with one of the vans, known as the Harvester’s van, around 12:00 AM. Waited for 45 minutes on a cool summer’s night in the Lesotho while the drivers poured an absurd amount of water and antifreeze into the van. Kept driving. At 2:00 AM, the Harvester’s van gave out and we pulled over to the side of the road. Proceeded to say goodbye to the driver of the Harvester’s van and pack twelve guys with their packs and 5 guitars into a Toyota van the size of a VW Vanagon. Traveled three more hours to the Lesotho/South Africa border. Ditched that van. Crossed border. Waited three hours for another van. Drive twelve hours to Port Elizabeth, South Africa to debrief the previous two months and rest up a bit.
Debrief was very refreshing. It is always a pleasure to see the squad, but I really enjoyed seeing the new relationships that had formed between myself and all the other guys on my squad during ministry. I like those guys a lot. Here is debrief in a few words: McDonalds, sunburn, girls, cold water, skateboard, encouraging, JJ, Pop Collar, indoor soccer, calendar, tacos, Ron, spaghetti, Leonardo’s, good talks, shaving, inspiring, Yesha reunion, clarifying, surfing, and banana/blueberry pancake lunch.
Left debrief on the morning of February 1st and arrived back in Cape Town eleven hours later. After sorting out rooms again (nine girls spent the month of January here), we began to sort out the month. After talking with many different individuals and some trial and error, we managed to get a spot teaching at an understaffed elementary school. At Westlake Primary, I have a few different responsibilities, one of which is Life Matters, a program that provides one on one tutoring to children who are struggling learning the English language, as many students come from different areas of Africa where English is not the first language. Through a mix of phonics games, reading exercises, and creative writing, we help the kids get back on track in their studies. The men (I am one of the men) also have a cool opportunity to be a positive male figure in a child’s life, which many of these children are lacking. I also spend my time helping out my friend and teammate, Rye Donohue, in a 2nd grade classroom. Rye and I have been providing children one on one help, giving them different life skills assessments, and helping out the teacher in the classroom any other way we can.
There is a rotation for the three teams that I live with between Westlake Primary and an afterschool program for the children in the Westlake community. Here, we help the kids catch up on their homework, play games, sing songs, act out skits, and do anything else that captivates a child’s attention. Super fun kids who have really taking a liking to us. It has been a huge pleasure to spend a bit of time doing ministry with just my team.
Fly out of Cape Town to Nicaragua on March 3rd. Cape Town, Dubai, NYC, Panama City, and finally Managua. That is going to be a lot of hours.
Running a half marathon tomorrow.
Jack Sentz
