Here we are, in our final month of the race in South Africa! South Africa is one of, if not THE most beautiful countries I’ve ever been to. You have the mountains, the ocean, rolling hills, flat plains, and everything in between here and the weather is amazing! South Africa is currently in one of their worst droughts ever so even here in Capetown, you have to monitor your water usage very carefully. They get light rain showers every now and then but not enough to sustain them.
My squad traveled about 6 hours by bus from Swaziland to Durban where my team then had to take a 16 hour bus to the beautiful Jeffrey’s Bay where we would be for the month. Jeffrey’s Bay is a small, very laid back little town right on the ocean. It’s the 2nd biggest surf spot in the world and is where Billabong (surf company) holds surf competitions yearly.
We were with first time hosts this month who were absolutely incredible to us and provided us a wonderful month to end the race on and transition home. Our hosts were Hannes and Mari Bekker who have a 5 year old son, Heinrich. Hannes’s brother, Roelof, has worked with World Race teams in the past with a different host and was able to help set them up with us.They were literally incredible. They are so proud of the beauty of their country and made sure they showed us around every free moment we had! We got the opportunity to visit a lion park where we saw lions, giraffes, zebras, and a few other animals. They also took us to a secluded lagoon and cave for the afternoon after church!
The first few days we were there, we went to the hotel restaurant Mari manages and helped her cook and cater for a bridal shower. After that, we were all split up doing different things for the remainder of our time. Sarah and I had the opportunity to work at the Healthy Mom & Baby Clinic that Hannes and Mari’s church runs. We helped run the clinic’s clothing shop while the lady who usually runs it was out for holiday. Every morning, the staff starts their day off with a time of prayer, devotion, and worship. It was a wonderful way for us to begin our days with them! Quinn and Anna Beth have a huge heart for horses and lucky for them, we lived right next door to a huge horse farm where they got to spend the month helping groom and maintain the horses while also leading trail rides for people. Lastly, Lindsey, Allison, and Hannah worked with a small organization called Beats and Books for the month. This organization is located in one of the townships (poverty stricken neighborhoods) and invites illiterate children to come everyday for music lessons and to learn to read! Several of us finished ministry a day early so we got to go help Global Challenge paint a team house they were trying to finish for the team that would be coming in in the next 2 days. Global Challenge and AIM (org WR is through) actually used to be one big organization until they split so Global Challenge is almost a mirror image of the World Race except the South Africa version! There was a team that just returned home from their 10 month journey and they were going to be coming back together at this house for a few days of debrief so it was really cool for us to be a tiny part of preparing for their return just like we’re about to experience!
Our hosts decided they wanted to take us down to Capetown for a few days once we finished out ministry so we headed out Thursday morning, stayed the night in Mossel Bay at Hannes’s parents house where Sarah and I actually went cage diving with great white sharks! It was mind blowingly incredible!!! Afterwards we finished our trip down to Capetown where we still are currently, just the 7 of us as our hosts returned home yesterday. These last couple of days have been really great because it’s allowed our team to just spend time together and hang out as friends and be tourists together. We were able to visit Boulder Beach where African penguins live, we got to see Table Mountain (which is one of the new 7 world wonders) and Lion’s Head mountain, we got to visit Truth Coffee Cafe which is rated the best coffee shop in the world, and we also got to attend the Hillsong Church which was so awesome!
We are currently sitting at the airport waiting to fly to Durban where we will join the rest of our squad for our FINAL debrief before we head back to America on Sunday! Only 5 more days. I can’t put in to words how I feel about this season coming to an end. All the things I’ve seen and experienced this year. The ways the Lord has grown me and the things he’s allowed me to be apart of and experience. I am excited for the next season of my life though however that looks and for whatever it is the Lord has for me.
