I spent Month 4 in White River, South Africa. The women on the squad worked at Manna Christian Fellowship Church, while the men were in Botswana. I dabbled in the sound system, gardening, and a lot of grocery shopping! I absolutely loved it at Manna, and loved living in a tent for a month! These are 4 things that really stood out for me in month4!
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I have officially joined ‘Run Club’. And those of you who know me really well, you know this is huge. I hate running, but what I honestly hate about running is the feeling of not being in shape for this running bit. I don’t like to admit to myself that I’m not good enough. Running became something that reminded me of my lowest self-esteem. Until now. God gave me this body, specifically for me. It’s a different body type than my brothers, something that has bothered me for a long time in my life. My body is different for a reason. God knows that reason, and I’m working towards finding that out. Since Run Club, I have gotten out of bed at 6am (praise in that too!) and run. I have worked up to running a mile and a half, without walking. But more importantly, I am growing confidence in my body’s abilities. I am using what God has given me, and not letting it go to waste!
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Christmas Parties in Africa are quite possibly one of the coolest things ever! I was able to join ‘Children in Distress’ workers, Tjerk, Johannes, and Promise to Cho Cho Cho. This is one of the 9 sites that CID supports, and celebrate Christmas with a giant party. We arrived with a wonderful greeting committee lining the entrance to where Promise grew up at. We met Mama Rose, and shuffled into where 300+ kids were sitting, waiting for us. We had a giant dance party, then fun with an inflatable bounce house. I had kids copycat my every move, and every noise I made in the dirt yard in front of the church. It didn’t matter that it was the heat of the day in South Africa, sun bearing down, my heart was with these cute kids. I could’ve been out in the yard for hours, dancing and been plain silly with a group of kids. I couldn’t even ask these children their names, with the language barrier, but they have a special place in my heart.
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The MAC is where it’s at. Conversations were honest and so encouraging. The power team of Rosie, Stefanie, Andrea, Haley and I was formed on those hot days in the MAC (Manna Activity Center). We spent our time painting the walls of this building, spending time jamming out to music. The MAC is the place where you can say anything, and have what we call ‘whale talks’. We can go deep in our conversations, and trust who we are being vulnerable with.
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Kruger National Park gave me a nickname of “Safari Barbie”. One of the privileges of working our tails off throughout the week is our adventure day. While in South Africa, it would have been a sin for us not to visit Kruger National Park. Sheena, our host’s daughter, specifically said it was her absolute favorite thing, and seeing the Big 5 throughout the park. So obviously we had to go. Now I joke that I grew up in a zoo, but I think my brothers would agree. My amazing parents took my brothers and I to so many zoos growing up that it was only natural that I love animals. I am also that racer who packed a pair of binoculars on the off chance I would be able to do some sightseeing. So my love of animals, Africa and blonde hair created “Safari Barbie”.
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