Named after the patron saint of sailors, St Francis Bay was first discovered in 1575 by the Portuguese. It sits along a beautiful stretch of coastline that is lapped by the warm Indian Ocean and, as I understand it, is a famous haunt for surfers. We are living in Cape St. Francis and “Seal Point” is just down the street from us – a spot supposedly well known for its “sick right hand break point” whatever that is. At this time I do not expect I will be doing much surfing but I'm not ruling it out.
Our focus this month is a partnership with “Volunteer in South Africa. The organization has ministries all over South Africa but we've been asked to focus on the children of this small fishing village slash retirement community slash surfing mecca come summer. Their mission statement is anchored in Luke 4:18 and our part will be infusing hope into the lives of little ones. Teaching in the classrooms during the day and then facilitating soccer and net ball camps in the afternoon our charge is to love on these little ones and give them a glimpse of Jesus.
We popped into a class yesterday for a quick visit and the following observation was made by a local volunteer, “I am surprised they greeted you all with hugs. These are kids of fishermen. Their daddies are out fishing for three weeks at a time and then at home for one week. In the time they are one land they are often found at the tavern drinking away the wage they've made. Domestic abuse is common here so I find it interesting that the children were so quick to hug you – that is not a normal part of their home life.”
While her comment made me sad it fed a conclusion I have had repeatedly of late. The intuition of children (and animals) should not be underestimated. Jesus said, “Let the little ones come unto me.” Seems they can see His presence in a life even if we sometimes cannot.
It is Saturday here so we have the next two days to recover from jet lag and get our bearings before we dive in. I've attached a photo from my walk this morning. Lovely as it is here an important point to note is that Internet is not readily available on the cape. I would ask for your patience with updates and assure you the inconsistency is not because I am out battling a rip tide but rather I just wasn't able to find a walking buddy into town.
Five Sense Show Down (initial reactions on my first few days in South Africa):
1) Sight – There are the coolest purple trees here, or rather, in Joberg and along our bus ride to the cape. They appear to have disappeared from the landscape on the cape so as soon as I find another one I'll capture a pic and upload it so you can take in its loveliness.
2) Sound – Our bus ride was offset with 14 hours of Afrikan chatter and, oddly enough, worship music. Yep, worship music, it was cool.
3) Smell – Fresh air and salt water goodness!
4) Taste – To my complete delight we had spaghetti for dinner last night, I had oatmeal for breakfast this morning and an apple and peanut butter for snack. I am in my element folks… we even found hummus and veggies at the mini mart; whoop whoop!
5) Touch – After what felt like days of travel the touch that stands out in my mind was the cozy goodness of bed last night. It was pouring rain outside and I was able to lay down (which was huge) and snuggle into my sleeping bag for a solid nights sleep. So, so heavenly!
