Just a Taste

Ohhhhh my goodness. Where to start?! I am in Africaaaa! That simple fact alone has been blowing my mind on a daily basis. It is now 9:00 am on Friday morning, my team arrived in Capetown last Wednesday night. The adventure here was exactly just that, an adventure. But because I had great people to be around and somethin fantastic waiting at the finish line for me, I found my way. From the airport, we drove 3 hours to a very small city called Lamberts Bay- known as the lobster capital of Africa. Too bad it's not lobster season!! However, we did have a meal cooked for us that included a huge crawfish in my plate (he was looking at me while I was eating him..creepy!!) as well as some type of silvery scaled fish. If you know my appetite, you know that seafood and I have never agreed. But that night, I found an exception! For the first time, I actually liked it! I am hoping that this will continue through our time here in South Africa because fish is so prominent here along the coast.

For our first few days here, we stayed at a hotel for our training. The view from our back patio was unbelievable! A gorgeous whitish-grey sandy beach lead into the pacific ocean and was bordered by a row of palm trees. Paradise. One thing that did throw me off, however, was the temperature. It's winter here! It gets very cold at night, and there is no source of heat in any of the homes, hotels, or buildings since their winter is so short. Compared to a Colorado winter, it's nothing- so I have learned to manage well. Hein Van Wyk is our community partner during our stay not only in SA, but Mozambique and Lesotho as well. He is definitely a man after the Lord. He and his family have changed a lot in their life to accommodate the needs for the Immersion team coming down. He has specially picked out every city, host family, church, and organization that we will have the wonderful opportunity of partnering with. During our training time, we had great times of fellowship with Hein's family as well as Yan and Enid who run the beautiful hotel we stayed at. We learned a lot about the South African culture as well as ways to look at the poverty we will face in the next five months. There is beauty in brokenness, that is for sure. You know the song.. You make beautiful things, you make beautiful things out of the dust? I LOVE that song. It is so true to this beautiful place I am surrounded by.. And my heart as well. The tune is constantly stuck in my head.
I really have to go, even though I want to keep writing and writing about the experiences I have had so far, but I will find time to write again very soon. I am itching to tell you more about the things I've seen and the people I have met. Blessings to you.

GO USA! .. And South Africa :) cheering for you too.


A sunset view from our hotel room's porch.
Ok, sorry. I had to add the picture of the bird. We found it walking along the beach. Nasty!! Haha..