Those who can accept change gracefully and adapt to novel situations with an elegant flare of enthusiasm and no anxiety are either mythological creatures or completely lying. There is no easy and perfect solution to acclimate to new living conditions, nor is there a magic formula to turn the uncomfortable into a joyous moment. It’s freaking hard. But, the rough and unwanted can quickly change perspectives and create the biggest blessings out of the smallest of situations. I couldn’t be more thrilled to be in East London, South Africa, and as I sit here writing this blog in a wonderful apartment with some of the coolest, God-loving, and uplifting girls ever on my team, I honestly couldn’t be happier and more excited for the month that lies ahead.
So, if you haven’t figured this out already, I am safe and sound in East London, South Africa. Just for kicks and giggles, I’ll tell you in detail how I got here: first we left from Atlanta the morning of July 1, flew to Chicago, had a 7 hour layover, then flew on a 13 hour flight to Dubai, had a 4 hour layover, then flew on an 8 hour flight to Johannesburg, then waited in the bus station for 12 hours, after which we spent 15 hours on a bus until we arrived on the morning of July 4 at our beautiful and long-awaited destination. My teammates and I were definitely towards the end of our ropes, running on little sleep, and it made me really re-evaluate why I am doing the World Race. Again (for the millionth time), I am not going into this expecting months of comfort. But still, it’s hard to know that I am willingly stepping into almost a year of hard situations. As I was beginning to break (and felt more irritable than a dog with a cone of shame around its head), God began to hit my team and I with awesome blessings. First of all, our host, Dawn, and her fiancé, Ryan, picked us up and couldn’t have possibly been nicer or more welcoming. They drove us to where we are staying this week: a nice apartment owned by a beautiful family (who we can’t wait to meet and thank) with warm showers and beds- we were totally not expecting that. Then, she told us we had the day off to rest and shower (something we all needed to do, as our fumes of stink were certainly becoming a fire hazard). We met our lovely neighbors, Ethne and Bebe, who have been so kind and welcoming- Bebe drove us to the beach in his pick-up truck, and then we came back to the apartment where Ethne had coffee and cake prepared for us (so much for roughing it). We also met one of our other neighbors, Sasandra, who was so kind and talked with us for a while and came to the beach with us. On top of all of that, we had a South African brie that night, which is essentially a BBQ, and it was delicious. They had cupcakes with American flag holders, and it was so kind of them to celebrate an American holiday with us. We had a team of 20 Americans from New York join us at the brie, as they are here for a week holding a VBS, and they are very kind and excited to be here for their missions trip.
So, this week, we are holding a holiday club, which is essentially VBS, with the kids from Hope School who are currently on break. There are about 150 kids in the program, and I am already in love with many after only a couple of days. We are teaching them about Jesus and doing fun activities with them that the New York teams planned and organized- it has been such a blessing to have the opportunity to join them in this venture. My heart has already been broken by their stories: most of them have HIV-AIDS, many of them have been raped or sexually abused, many live in homes with inconsistent meals, physical abuse, and impoverished circumstances, and yet still they are sweet children with bright smiles on their faces. Though they have experienced more in their lives of 7 or 8 years than I have in 22 (and probably ever will until I die), they accept every blessing with immense gratitude and carry a perspective that is inspiring and shaming to the way that so many of us live within our circumstances of excess and “blessings.” They crave affection, and within a second of meeting them, they were all over me wanting hugs and kisses.
After this week, my team of 7 will be going to Lesotho for a week with the local church here, First City Baptist Church. Everyone has told us time and time again that the experience will be life changing, beautiful, very very cold, and heart-wrenching. We will see extreme poverty, and there my team and I will be more roughing it- which certainly won’t be an issue as we somberly recognize that we will only be sleeping in the cold for a week while the kids and families are inadequately clothed and living there indefinitely. To blatantly see pain and suffering and react with such violent sadness is something I hope to never lose- I pray that I never become de-sensitized, even after 11 months of witnessing it. The Father’s heart is so incredibly drawn to His children, all of them, and even though it breaks my heart to see such agony, I know that His reaction is 10 million times more intense than my own.
Amidst all of this, I could not be more excited to be apart of a team with 6 amazing and inspiring women of the Lord. I feel like I have known them my entire life, and we haven’t even been here for a week. They are servants, loving, peaceful, and all things amazing- they motivate me to love the Lord more and more every day. They are constantly uplifting, whether its through our new water challenge (drinking more water to stay hydrated), sweet worship time, lots of praying together, doing Insanity (makes me want to kill Sean T), or through their constant hilarious actions and beautiful perspectives that keep me smiling. Overall, it has been amazing so far.
We’ve had a few hiccups, like when we were scolded in the bus station for sleeping (apparently not allowed to crawl into our sleeping bags on the floor to get warm and catch a snooze), our laundry won’t dry because of the humidity (it has been air drying for 3 days and smells worse that before we washed it- we’re trying to figure that one out), and we have no clue how to say many of the kids’ names that involve tongue clicks (I can’t even properly pronounce the name of the language itself). Also, sidenote- I don’t have great wifi and it’s rare when I have it all, so I’m not sure when I will be able to post again or have great contact with people.
Prayer requests would be: that we bless our hosts well, that we show God’s love to everyone we encounter, and for the health of all of my teammates (as many are not feeling super well right now). Also, for our missions trip to Lesotho next week- that God works in us as well as in those with whom we come into contact.
