Hey y’all!! Hope you are all doing well! I love and miss you all so so much! I wanted to do something different for this post. I decided to keep a log of my week and let you all have an inside view of what my life looks like. So this is a compilation of my week and some of the amazing things God did last week!
Saturday 11/12 – WR Day 97
-Arrived in White River at the beautiful African School of Missions base!!
-Fell asleep attempting to write a blog…
-Woke up to the sound of screeching monkeys and the absolute terror when I realized they were trying to climb in through my dorm window!! I definitely learned the hard way how necessary it is to keep the windows closed!
-And to end the night… I met a GIANT cockroach in our dorm building! Literally the size of a golf ball!
Sunday 11/13 WR Day 98
-Woke up early and went for a walk/run around the base and praised the Lord for continuing to put air into my lungs!
-I attended my very first South African church! (Read my last blog if you want to hear more about this amazing, life-changing experience.)
-Met some awesome ladies at church and helped them clean dishes from lunch. We scrubbed and scrubbed and laughed and laughed until they were all clean and about halfway though one of the ladies, Lillian who was about 60 years old, said that she wanted me to be her daughter so now I have a South African mom..!
-We returned to the base and were able to spend some time resting and preparing for ministry which would start on Monday.
-I found the cutest little prayer room ever and spent some time in there as the rain fell and a few of my squamates played soccer in the rain.
-I ended my day with a great late night talk with my new team leader, Mallory.
Monday 11/14 WR Day 99
-We had our very first day of ministry at Iris Ministries! We are able to join them and help serve at one of their bases, Michael’s Children’s Village. At this ministry, there are multiple homes where foster kids live with a house mom. Some of these mom’s have over a handful of kids! It was such an honor to serve these ladies for a few hours. During the time we were there, some of us helped watch the kids, others cleaned around the base, others did crafts with the kids, and then we all danced, sang, played games, and even had a talent show!
-At the end of our time there, I got to go into one of the mom’s homes who has 6 young kids and help her with bath time! It was so fun and I had major flashbacks to my babysitting days!
Tuesday 11/14 WR Day100!!!!!!
-Woke up in amazement that I was on day 100 of this crazy, beautiful journey!
-We spent the morning with the leadership and listened to a few different breakout sessions that they had planned for us. These people flood us with wisdom and I am so grateful!
-As ladies of the squad, we all came together and had some time to fellowship. We all discussed how to empower each other and then ended our time so sweetly giving each other encouragement.
-We ended the night as a squad joining together in prayer over the next day of ministry and this beautiful country that we are living in!
Wednesday 11/15 WR Day 101
-We partnered again with Iris Ministries. This time, my ministry took place at their macadamia tree farm! The ministry has a field with hundreds of these trees planted in hopes that one day God will use these fruit to gain a profit. With the money, they plan to send their foster kids to trade school or university. At the farm, my job was to walk around the field, pick weeks, and pray over the trees. We all prayed that God would nourish them, give them enough water to thrive, and that they would bear great fruit one day! I never thought ministry would look like praying for trees but it was so great!
-Towards the end of our time at the base, we hung out with the kids after got home from school. This time, we played worship music and all were able to sing and be goofy together.
Thursday 11/16 WR Day 102
-We left for ministry at one of Iris’ other bases early in the morning. When we arrived, we spent the first half hour playing crazily with the preschoolers.
-We then joined up with their bible college students and had worship together. This worship session was so amazing and God touched my heart in such a beautiful way.
-Next, we went into the community in groups and were able to spread the good news and pray for healing. My group was able to pray for a woman with severe side effects from diabetes. When we got there, she couldn’t see clearly and her legs weren’t functioning well. As a group we prayed over her and told her about the comfort in Christ. Later that day, we received a call that she was no longer struggling with those side effects!
-We then made it back to the base and I met a new friend who taught me how to dance. Yes, I did my first dab this day…
-Lastly, I had the honor of sharing the gospel with the kids who came to the feeding program. (Thank you BYBC for preparing me for last minute children’s lessons!!)
Friday 11/18 WR Day 103
-I spent the morning alone resting after our busy week and then as a squad we debriefed the crazy, amazing things we had seen during the week.
-In the afternoon, we returned to work with the bible students. My group this time was able to lead a woman to Christ and then pray for her. We also prayed for two older christian women who were struggling with finances. Then we met and prayers over some kids. One of the kids that I made friends with had a lazy eye. As we played, I prayed and prayed that her eye would be healed and I will continue to pray. Please join me in praying for healing!
**Bonus Day, because this day was too amazing not to tell you about!**
Saturday 11/19 WR Day 104
Saturday morning I woke up right around sunrise at about 4:30 am. A few of my squamates, leaders, and I jumped into a van in great expectation of what we would see in Kruger National Park. Throughout our day we saw over twenty different animals! We saw herds of hippopotamus, ape buffalo, zebra, elephant, giraffe, a lone cheetah (first spotting of our guide in three years!!), white rhino, hyaena, wart hog, and two lions sleeping under a tree. The experience I had adventuring around this park was one I will never forget. I saw such intricate designs of God’s creation on this safari. It was the most beautiful things ever to see these animals interacting in their natural habitat. Also, I don’t think I will ever be able to go to a zoo again…
