Hello From South Africa!

For those of you who don’t know, I am in Grabouw, South Africa volunteering with a non-profit Christian organization called the VIllage of Hope and will be here a minimum of six months.  I arrived on January 29th after over 24 hours of travel. Boy am I glad to be off that plane! It was such a long flight! But it wasn’t too bad because on the longest flight (approx. 19 hours long) I didn’t have anyone sitting next to me so I could stretch out a bit! The bad news of the trip is that my luggage was left in DC! So I didn’t actually have my things until I had been here about a day and a half, which wasn’t too bad. I was picked up at the airport on time and taken back to the farm, about a 45 minute drive. When I got to the farm, everyone was sound asleep. 

squatter camp, aka Iraq

The next few days was filled with tagging along with anyone that was going anywhere. I was able to go on a couple drives through the closest township, called Rooidaka (meaning red roof in Afrikaans).  The purpose of driving through there was to pick up a few local teenagers to bring them back to the farm for a sports meeting. When I say “pick up a few” I mean four kids in the backseat and about 6-8 in the bed of the truck! It was a fun and crowded experience. While on that drive I was able to see what these townships look like. Let me start by saying there are townships (or informal settlements) and there are squatter camps. Before I came here I thought they were different names for the same thing, but actually, townships are tiny dirt lots with fences around them, but are basically little houses. They aren’t all well made or made out of good material, but they seemed a step above squatter camps. I was told that townships were built when apartheid was ending and they are very similar to the reservations that were built for the Native Americans. But the squatter camps are even worse, they are basically little shacks with no electricity and no running water, made out of wood and old scraps of material. I drove through both of these places. It’s very strange to me to be able to drive through a place like this, with iPhone in hand to snap a few pictures, and realize how different I am than them. It’s a strange feeling driving through with my clean, semi-new clothes and seeing how little they have. But I don’t think I could ever really understand or put myself in their shoes. But then again, I'll be here six months and people do change. Another thing I observed on that drive (and enjoyed very much) was hearing the children and women call out as we drove by, “Tim, Tim!!” Tim (along with his wife, Maz) is the director of Village of Hope and was driving the truck that day. They all know him there and it’s sweet to see the relationships he has built over the five years he has been here. He truly loves these people and has such a big heart for them.

In addition to the children from the townships, there are the children staying at the Village of Hope. They currently have enough room for nine children, but only have three at the moment because next week they will begin construction all over the farm to build more volunteer housing and to expand the children’s unit in order to accommodate more children in the future. When I arrived there were five children, but since then two have been placed in another home in hopes of a better chance of adoption. But the three children here are very precious and I am really looking forward to knowing them. Also because of the construction, I will be moving out of the volunteer house to the other side of the farm to live with Tim and Maz! I am excited for that because it will be less like dorm living and more like living with a family or with roommates. I love that because it’s more relational and comforting.

                

view from my bedroom window

So far I am enjoying my time here. I am desperately homesick, but that is to be expected when you move to a foreign country by yourself. But everyone here is very kind to me and very inclusive. Tim and Maz have already invited me to a couple different things, one being a bible study at their church, which I went to. I think I will like it here very much. I know the Lord has brought me here and I want to make the most out of my six months here. I know that God will use this experience to make me more like Him, and I am so excited for that!

I want to thank everyone for all the support I have received, not only before I left, but since I have been here! My facebook page has been exploding with people telling me they are praying for me and are excited for me! I cannot express how that makes me feel! I am alone here, but somehow I don’t feel alone, especially since technology keeps me connected with everyone instantly. I will try to keep everyone updated with what God is doing and how you can be praying for me.

Things to Pray For:

• Homesickness: Pray that my homesickness won’t be a distraction from what God is doing here, but that it would encourage me to stay connected to those I love.
• For courage to step out of my discomfort and do the things I wouldn’t necessarily do back home; i.e. pray out loud in groups and teach bible studies to the children in the communities.
• Pray that I develop strong relationships here, with the people of VoH and the children in the townships in our regular outreach clubs.
• Pray that I find a good church to attend.