Guys! 74 hours of travel later and we finally made it to Jeffrey’s Bay. Hopped on a flight, had a 15-hour layover in Boston. Hopped on another flight, had another layover in Qatar. We arrived in Johannesburg, and sat in their airport for 7 hours before hopping on a 16-hour overnight bus to Port Elizabeth, where our new friends picked us up and drove us to J-Bay. I tell you what. We. We’re. Exhausted. After a day of rest, our new ministry hosts drove us up a mountain, where we camped for 2 nights serving soup and coffee to cyclists. These people were riding 150 miles, non-stop, up these humongous mountains! I had never seen such a thing. We worked hard, and just laughed with these people as we practiced our Afrikaans with them and they graciously went with it.
One of the girls on my team celebrated her 22nd birthday, so we sat around the campfire and ate s’mores. It felt just like home, even when our new friends sang Happy Birthday in Afrikaans.
I completely saw God this week. At first, I felt very uneasy—with all of the goodbyes, travel, and bustling. The whole concept of leaving people I loved unnerved me. It didn’t start to feel right until after arriving in J-Bay. The community here is small and connected. Everyone has a kindred spirit. We hosted house church Sunday and met wonderful people. The gorgeous mountains were more stunning than I could’ve ever imagined. It felt good to be disconnected from technology and more in touch with the people around me. I saw God in every biker’s face. The way they were so warm and welcoming, even after cycling for hours up a mountain. I am truly amazed.
Monday, Tribe of Judah goes to help at a Christian women’s conference for the week and the weekend, while Blondtourage goes back to help with the last round of cyclers. Once the two events are over, we begin ministry at the neatest school I’ve ever encountered. God is good, and I can’t wait to see where this month leads us.
