This month my team and I are partnered with Beam Africa. This organization helps adults get the training they need to get a stable job in the future. It was originally planned that we would come in and help them catch up on office work and help with anything else around the building that needed to be done. We came in with the mindset that we were going to serve our host more than she served us.
Back story:
Our squad stayed on her property on New Year’s Eve during one of our longer travel days!! Which made it super fun going into this month because we already knew her and their organizations needs.
When Steve (my new team) arrived back we were greeted by a Gap Year team who was having their debrief at Beam Africa. This was such a sweet gift to our team because we got to start ministry a few days later so we could pour into and love all of the Gap year teams. Gap Year is a shorter version of The World Race that is for young adults ages 18-20 who are looking to serve God before they decide what to do next in their life’s. I was totally inspired by their faith and commitment to serve. If it was my choice I would have followed them to Thailand for their next month just to hear more of their stories and spend more time with them all. One thing that God is continuing to reveal to me is that I have a passion for the youth and that I want to support and grow them as much as possible.
While they were there our host told us what our ministry this month would be….feeding baby flamingos. That’s right. We’ve been feeding baby flamingos.
Currently, most of South Africa is in a drought and it is devastating the animal kingdoms in the area. One of the animals taking a huge hit is flamingos. Mother flamingos would lay their eggs then have to go find water and would completely desert their young. The government had to step in and collect all of the eggs to disperse them through the country if there was going to be any hope of saving the next generation of flamingos. The eggs/babies were sent to houses, sanctuaries, and other properties around South Africa to be cared for by local wildlife experts. The goal- make sure as many babies survive so they can be released back into the wild at the end of May.
Well they need a lot of people to help with taking care of the babies and the volunteers who have been helping haven’t been reliable enough to make sure feedings would get done in a timely manner. Cue us. Our team arrives each day to help with anything that needs to be done to prep the food. This can look like cutting fish, peelings hard boiled eggs, or even blending all of the food. Then when it’s time for the feeding we gear up and feed each baby one by one.
Usually this is a lot of work and can be very exhausting for just the time we are there. But there are people there who do this constantly and are expected to until they release the birds. Steve recognized that these men and women are bone-tired and so desperate for anything to help get then through the next few weeks. We have made it our own goal to share the gospel with them and fill up their cup as much as we can in the few weeks we can be there to help them. Some of the women on the team have made awesome relationships with the workers and we have been able to see the fruit of their relationships as the days pass.
Personally, I was processing a lot of changes and emotional hardships at the beginning of the month so I opted to stay and work at the office most days. This has given me so much freedom to process, have alone time, and just ask God a ton of questions. This month has been such a good month for me to take time to refresh and get ready for the next big transition phase of the race!
Erika, our host, knew how much we all needed a break so she gave us a Friday off of ministry so that we could have a weekend getaway as a team. Steve got to go to Durban, the East coast of Africa. It just so happened to fall on our halfway mark of the Race so it lovingly got the name, Halfway Holiday! The first night we rented a cabin on the beach then had a nice team dinner late that night. A few of us woke up early to watch the sunrise and go cage diving with sharks! It was one of the best experiences of my life and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a great adventure. After the dive our driver came to pick us up and drive us to a different hotel. We then got to spend time at the pool, eat good food, and relax for the rest of the weekend before making our way back to Pretoria for our last week of ministry.
Next week, our squad will meet up for an Awakening. This is an event that happens when multiple squads are overlapped in one country for ministry. Our squad will have a weekend with a different Gap Year squad where we will camp out, have worship, and different sessions (mini sermons) given to us by multiple members of both squads. This is another great opportunity for the older squad to give advice and wisdom to the younger generation of Christians.
The day after the Awakening, O squad will begin our 60 hour travel day to Nicaragua! Plus side to an international travel day is that we get a 14 hour layover in NYC where we get to sleep in a hotel room, eat American food, and explore the city!! We would love it if you could pray for our travel, the workers/volunteers at Beam Africa and the flamingo sanctuary, the flamingos, the drought, and the transitions that come with moving onto a new continent.
