Well we finally made it! The time that I have been waiting for, praying for, fundraising for, packing for, thinking about, talking about, and getting ready to embark on is HAPPENING.
75 hours of travel to get to South Africa but it was all worth it. We have already been here two weeks but it has felt like we have been here two months and like we got here yesterday all at the same time. So much has happened between the day I left America and this moment I am writing you all in a log cabin with the sunshine beaming on me through the window.
One of my biggest goals for the race was to not let time pass me by and to soak every little moment in. Which brought me to my second goal of trying to blog more than just once a week. I have been soaking every little moment in and my journal is filled with small details of everything that is happening but I have obviously been bad about blogging considering this is my first one. We are getting there though! Only can go up from here, right?
I have so many stories I want to share with you. I wish I could give you a call and tell you each individually what I am seeing, the ways I am growing, and how God is teaching me something new every day I have been here. But for now, I will give you an overview of what my first two weeks have been like here in South Africa.
First off, we are staying in the sweetest little surfer town of Jeffery’s Bay. The beach is magnificent on its own but then sprinkled in the town are local restaurants, coffee shops, bookstores, and boutiques. Luckily we have had plenty of chances to spend time in town roaming around and trying out local favorites. Even though we have been here only a short amount of time, we already have our favorite hangout spots we go to in our free time. Coffee and Bible study at First Light anyone?
We are staying in a log cabin here in town with one other team making it 11 girls in one confined space. Beautiful and difficult all at once. This little Mission House has quickly become home over cooked meals, late night chats, early morning quiet times, sharing two bathrooms, sharing two rooms, sharing bunk beds, sharing space, working together, playing together, praying together, and lots. of. laughs.
There was no shortage on waiting to get things movin’ and groovin’ which we shortly realize when the day after our arrival we turned around and took a three hour drive up the mountains to volunteer at one of the longest and most rigorous mountain biking competitions in the world; Trans Baviaans. Man what a truly beautiful weekend. We set up, took the racers times, gave out hot soup and refreshing drinks, and cheered them on in their (what I think is impossible) race. The racers were so friendly and curious as to why a bunch of Americans were helping out with such a thing. They joked about us going on a mission trip to go feed the hungry in Africa but in actuality they were the hungry Africans we were feeding at the top of this mountain on a bike race. We were thrilled to give them a little replenishment and a whole lot of love to get them through the next part.
The ministry we have been working with has been my absolute favorite part about being here. The first week my team got to help out at an afterschool program called Beats and Books that teaches kids how to play instruments, helps them with homework, and is a spiritually stimulating environment. Watching the kids worship with the instrument they are learning how to play was the most life giving experience. It brought so much joy to my heart getting to watch people of all different ages, backgrounds, and nationalities brining all their gifts to praise the one true and universal King of Kings. I couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear the whole time. After, we learned some dances and man did these kids have some rhythm! I am not the best dancer on this earth but it didn’t matter. We just let go and dance for the Lord. How freeing. How beautiful.
This last week our two teams switched ministries. The other team now got to help at the after-school program and my team served food at the soup kitchen in the squatter camp. I didn’t think I could love anything more than Beats and Books but man I got wrecked at the soup kitchen. This ministry holds a very special spot in my heart and I want to honor that so I will be writing specific blogs about my time at the camp and what God has showed me through my time there with the kids we have served and loved. But in short, we get to walk around this impoverished area and pick up kids and bring them to our makeshift soup kitchen to give them nourishment and play with them until our cheeks hurt from laughing so much and our bodies ache from being a human jungle gym. I never have experience so much joy in my life being with these little kiddos. A broken place with so much love to give and receive. These kids love hard and I am dreading the day I have to say bye to them.
Outside of our given ministry, I have met so many special people here in South Africa. From our hosts, church community, cab drivers, baristas, waiters, and teachers this place have become a little home for my team and I. Every day I learn about 20 new things about myself. When people say the race is hard it’s not in the ways you would think. The struggles come in the little moments. Some with others and some come when you are faced to look at your own self in the mirror. It’s hard and beautiful all at the same time. With every struggle comes a greater beauty on the other side. It’s tough and it’s raw and it’s real. So much happens in such a small amount of time but there is also so much journey to be had.
Praying hard and haven’t forgot about y’all don’t you worry.
Until next blog!
Much love,
Sky
