South Africa was…….different :)

For one – our team was blessed to have 2 new people join us! 

AIM has a mission trip called “Exposure,” and it is a trip that sends students interested in missions and/or the World Race to live with a team on the field for a month.  They experience everything we experience, and do everything we do.  Basically, they become part of the team.

 

These girls blessed me and our team this last month more than they’ll ever know.  Their wisdom and insight is beyond their years, and their ability to jump right into ministry and to the team blew my mind.  

Regarding the state of our team, however….let’s just say we have all been frustrated and things haven’t been easy the last few months.  And with the addition of these two girls, they had to jump right into the messiness (of life!).  Fortunately they had the boldness and courage to tell us all things we needed to hear – as individuals and as a team.

It was hard to see them go, for if I had it my way they’d be with us for the rest of the race!  Bahhh – I absolutely love these girls.

Another reason the month was different was because for our first week of ministry we all lived with FAMILIES!  Pairing off into twos, all of us were placed with a host family in Ocean View, Cape Town for a week, while helping out at preschools in the area.  The awesome family Katie and I were placed with were the Simons. 

Chad, Charlton, Sylvia, and Russel
 

Here are some things I learned about hospitality from that week:

• Hospitality looks like giving up your bed so that another can have a place to sleep.

• Hospitality looks like offering up EVERYTHING in your home…so when you say “make yourself at home,” you better mean every word of it.  

• Good stewardship is when one says “Everything I have belongs to the Lord, so it belongs to you, too.” 

• Hospitality is treating two new strangers in your home as daughters for the rest of your life.

• And really good hospitality is when one also says “I want every person who steps foot into this house to know they are a beloved child of God.”

And the list of hospitable-ness goes on!!!

We were told before heading to the host homes that “If you don’t want people to love you, then don’t go.”  Those people loved on us, spoiled us, and showed us tangible ways to show love to complete strangers.  

I am forever grateful for that family, and one of my prayers since then has been that I will live out the things I learned from them that week.

The final reason why month 7 in South Africa was different was because of our ministry the last two weeks in Cape Town.

Our team, along with two other teams, was placed at Fellowship Bible School.  

Most of the children at this school have Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and come from impoverished, abusive backgrounds.  Because of their lower test scores, most of them have been turned away from the public school system. 

This school has been a beacon of light to those kids, and it is doing amazing albeit very hard and draining work. The teachers, staff, and pastor have committed their lives to the children, and it was an honor to come and assist them in any way possible.

While some assisted with cleaning and administrative duties, others lead elective classes – dance, music, art, and soccer.  Here is yet another reason why this month was different – I was responsible for leading the dance class!

While I’m glad I was able to do something I absolutely love with the kids, many of whom were the most talented young dancers I’ve ever seen, there were some things that made it challenging:

• In order to maintain the teacher/student relationship, we weren’t allowed to pick up or play with the kids…which was vastly different in comparison to the previous 5 months.

• Having FAS made their attention span shorter than most children, which made it difficult to entertain/keep them busy for an hour.  Oh, and the color of our skin didn’t help that either. 

• The children would often act out in violence towards one another (or even us), many times due to no particular reason.  At times it would be so overwhelming that all the children had to be sent back to class early.  Read my teammate’s blog to get an idea what her first day was like!  (Click here)

• Trying to teach them about treating your body as a temple and how NOT to dance in an environment where they’ve probably never heard such things was also challenging.

To put it simply – it wasn’t easy.  Knowing their circumstances and rough background, though, made it all the more important to have patience with them and love on them.

So, here’s my month in South Africa in a nutshell.
It was good.
It was encouraging.
It was challenging.
It was different.

Be on the lookout on Facebook for more photos from life and ministry in South Africa!  Thanks for reading!