11 people I lived with:
Team Firebreathers
1. Mary Brinen
5. Leann Wright
Team Rejoice:
6. Kelsie Biven
7. Alison Scott
9. Danica Cotov
10. Mandy Kearns
Squad Leader:
11. Jackelyn Mead
11 things I ate:
1. Bunny chow – ground beef with frozen veggies on a fat cake (basically fried dough)
2. Leg of lamb – our host made a ton of meat for Christmas dinner
3. Pork chops and sausage at a Braai (BBQ)
4. Awesome steak at California dreamin in Durban debrief
5. Cowboy food – baked beans with potatoes and sausage? over white rice
6. Donuts (zebra = milk and dark chocolate and caramel drizzle)
7. Cupcakes (for a birthday party)
8. Ice cream (hand scooped)
9. Cheese grillers ( hot dogs with cheese inside)
10. Cornflakes
11. Peanut butter and jelly (world race staples)
11 things I did:
1. Experienced ‘load shedding,’ scheduled power outages to help conserve energy. Happens 1-2 times a day for 2-4 hours at a time
2. Made 100+ sandwiches for our Holiday VBS ministry kids
3. Created a Christmas music video with all the girls in our house
4. Celebrated Corrinne and Kate’s 22nd birthday
5. Spent more time on/ at the beach than I ever have in my life (Bootsie I’m coming to Florida to visit 😉 )
6. Sand boarded – snowboarding but on sand
7. Surfing!!!! I’ve always wanted to learn and it was as awesome as I thought it would be!!!
8. Went to a substance abuse support group my hosts led. It is to help keep young men off drugs and the streets and keep them in school. Most of their mothers come to the group as well.
9. Got to see the Men’s International 7s tournament. The USA lost pretty horribly to South Africa in round one
10. Played soccer with our ministry kids and broke my toenail scoring a goal
11. Celebrated Christmas overseas with family I have only known since May, and some from December 5th
11 things I learned
1. Some of the Xhosa and Afrikaans language (Xhosa has lots of clicks)
2. You must wear sunscreen in South Africa
3. Even if the restaurant is called ‘The Mexican,’ it is not as good as Leal’s
4. Handmade Christmas decorations (garland, snowflakes, trees and ornaments) are just as pretty as store bought ones and even more special
5. Just cause the store says it’s a factory outlet, doesn’t mean things are cheap
6. Timed power outages aka load shedding is a real thing
7. When people go on holiday (vacation) they take up to 3 weeks off (and flee to the beaches at Christmas.)
8. Sometimes the tide comes in very quickly and you will get taken out/ soaked in your jeans.
9. Even after the Apartheid, racism is still prevalent
10. God is faithful. I had to visit the Dr and was really worried about the cost. I hadn’t really talked to anyone back home about needing to go because I didn’t want people to worry. The same week I visited the Dr a VERY good friend of mine felt led to donate personal money to me and it more than covered my Dr visit, lab and medicine.
11. It is really freeing to start the new year by ‘breaking’ off old chains
