In Ukraine, we were busy… kind of.
But South Africa has been nonstop action since we stepped off of our 18-hour bus ride from Johannesburg. Teams Veracity and Radiant arrived to freezing cold rain after we'd been told we were staying in our tents this month. Luckily we got to set up our sleeping bags in a glorified cement barn with just enough space for 14 girls and their packs. (We're living on a guava farm. The smell is amazing.)
That night, our 12-hour shift rotation at the baby homes began. We have a constant rotation of 4 girls working at homes where babies are cared for while their adoptions are processed.
The next day, we headed out to a squatter camp and talked to some of the folks that live there. For many of them, this was the first time missionaries came to listen to them and not just talk at them. I scoured the place looking for ways that we could help, little things that needed attention. I checked out the camp's water taps and they were all leaking. Next time, they were fixed.
When the children overcame their shyness, they were ready to play and laugh and for this little girl, rest.
Later that night we were out on the town after spending a few hours in prayer about where we needed to go. Next thing I knew, we were walking through a casino where all the visions the Lord gave us were revealed, even really strange ones that I wasn't actually expecting to see. This is the place where I realized I'm much more afraid of God's plans for me than I thought.
In the later hours, we met a girl. She was working on a corner in town, in the rain. This first time we met her, she kept a safe distance. The next night we saw her, she was quick to tell us she wanted to get out of this work and to be able to spend time with her family. My heart leapt when she sent us a text that read "angels sent from heaven."
Early the next morning, most of the girls piled onto a tractor and drove out into the guava fields while I stayed back with my teammate, Kacie, to sort and bag guavas for shipping. I didn't get to go out and pick guavas until the following week, after I purchased my rain boots.
Other things from the past couple weeks include:
Picking guavas to eat that same day
Chopping more vegetables than I think I'll ever see in one place
Hanging out with African penguins
Yoga on the beach
Making videos
And getting to know and love the members of Team Radiant! 🙂
And as of June 22, we are HALF WAY through the Race!!! Check out our video (below) dedicated to our half way mark 🙂 Enjoy!
