Youth Week--Tzaneen

May 22-27 Youth Week in Tzaneen!

The Leadership Track got the opportunity to run a youth week in Tzaneen! We were hosted by an amazing church and we ran an "evening service" Monday thru Thursday. It was so cool!!

Sunday: We got up early to pack up and head out! There are a lot of us on the team so we had to take the combie plus two other vehicles. So, Anika, Lesinda, Kyler, and I rode with Franco in his car. It was such a fun road trip!! Once we got to Tzaneen, we went to the house we would stay at for the week. It was extremely nice to be able to stay all together! Pastor Johan took us to his church and explained what we would be doing for the week and debriefed us on some things. We got to attend their youth's Sunday evening service and connect with some of the teens. It was really cool! We introduced ourselves and shared a bit about YOYL, then they introduced themselves. That evening we had supper and Schalk and I did wash-up.

Monday: In the morning we split up into two teams that would visit two different schools to advertise for the youth week. My team went to Merensky High School. So we came up with a plan on what to present during their assembly. Kyler, TK, and I did a short little skit that covered all the info they would need. Before we actually presented at the assembly, we got to explore Merensky a little. It is such a beautiful school with farm plots all around. After we finished at the school, we went back to the church to plan for the evening. After lunch, we had free time so some people napped, and the rest of us watched a movie. Then we went to set up. We did each evening at Ben Vorster School Hall. For the first night, Schalk and I were MCs. It was tons of fun!! We had worship, did some ministry pieces, and then Franco preached. Afterwards, we had time to connect and pray with the youth. I met and prayed for some really amazing people!! Once we finished cleaning up, we got home and had dinner and chatted about the day over tea and coffee.

Tuesday: We had the morning free-ish, so we had "class". We got to discuss some stuff we had been taught in class the previous weeks and continue learning about Godly leadership. Then our hosts took us rock sliding!! It was SO fun!! We drove out to the spot and then hiked a little ways to some awesome spots to slide down! The water was stinkin' cold but it was so worth it! We had a braii lunch there and then headed back to get cleaned up for the evening. The program went a little more smoothly because we knew how everything would work. We still had worship, a ministry item, and then BK preached an awesome message! Afterwards, I got to continue connecting with some girls I had met Monday. It was such fun! And we got to stop at Mugg & Bean on the way home, so Lesinda and I got coffee and muffins to eat back at the house. We were both so tired, we kept falling asleep on the couch! But it was an amazing day of ministry and fun!

Wednesday: In the morning, we met up with the pastor at the church expecting to be put to work. Instead, they took us to the Couch House nougat factory!! We got to tour it and got a few free samples and enjoy the scenery outside. It was so fun! Then we went to a mall for a bit and then had lunch at Tuki's house. We played Scrabble and other board games, and just chilled. Then we got ready and headed to the school hall to go over some things before we began. We had a lot planned this evening but it all went well!! I got to preach this evening and it was such a cool experience!!

Thursday: We got to do one more tourist thing!! The pastor took us to a lion park! We got to see lions and tigers and bears...koati bears to be exact! It was tons of fun! Then the afternoon was free so I rested. The program in the evening was lots of fun! It was the last night so we did a lot of our dances and stuff which was a lot of fun. Cuan and Raquel even came to see us!! That was so amazing! Tuki preached and we got to minister and connect with all the students afterwards. Then we all went back to our house and hung out.

It was such an amazing experience to be part of! The best part was being able to apply what we have learned in our track. And to see everyone minster in their own unique way was a beautiful representation of how amazing our God is!!

So sorry that I'm just now getting to blog about this, but I'll do my best to catch up on the end of my year in South Africa!!


--sea'sadventures--

Tracks

This has been quite a week! We've already had one week of tracks, which are the specific "subject" we could choose. I am in the leadership track! This was our second week and it was awesome!!

Monday: We kind of got an off day, because we had just had our weekend outreach. So we went to devotions in the morning with everyone, and then had a little team debriefing. After that, a group of us went to The Grove Mall to go ice skating with Emile for his birthday. Some of us were great at ice skating, while others fell, and fell, and fell. Haha!! But it was such a fun experience! We finished up, and decided to eat lunch at Spur and then we watched the new Captain America movie. After that, seven of us squeezed into Emile's five seater car to head over to Waterglen to meet up with the rest of our team for team time ice cream! We got back to the house in time for supper and announcements. Then I led our flock time. In the last term, each member of the flock gets a chance to lead flock time. Because our flock is so small, Nonto and I will probably get to lead two. So for this week, I just got coloring pages for us and we relaxed with tea and coffee and chatted about our weekends and life in general. It was a great bonding time!! Then we had duties to finish the day.

Tuesday: The morning was a little different than usual. We typically have devotions, or worship, in the morning, but instead of singing songs like we usually do, we took a name out of a cup and spent time listening to what God said about that person. It was so sweet to receive and also give that encouragement. After that we had combined class with the Entrepenuership class. We discussed team building and development. Then we got to discuss with our outreach teams where we thought our team is. Then after class and after lunch, I spent the afternoon in Emmanuel house playing games and such. For fitness we ran down the road. Then at supper, Lesinda, Anika and I ate outside. It starting to get really cold at night though but we still enjoy eating outside. The evening was quite normal and it ended a lovely day.

Wednesday: Silent morning as usual, and our wisdom-filled Wednesday was about Proverbs 9:10 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom..." So we had time to contemplate that before Walk the Word. We then had a mini MAD Rave for leadership track. We will get to run a youth week so we had to come up with more ministry items. Once class was finished, I had lunch with Khetiwe and Lesinda at Cafe Andante. We chilled there until it was time for Life of Christ (our extra afternoon class, which is one of the subjects in the theology degree). The rest of the afternoon was very chilled and I had time to blog about the weekend outreach. After supper, Lesinda and I had coffee and then I started braiding her hair, and it started a braiding party in the lounge. I braided her hair as well as Stephan, Josh, Schalk, Anika, and Erin's hair. It was such a fun "family time".

Thursday: In the morning, before class, they announced where each team will be going for their three week international outreach. My team will be going to Bulembu, Swaziland!! Unfortunately, that is in the third term and I will already be back in Texas. But I know my team will have an impactful and beautiful time there! For class, we watched two teachings about self-leadership. Then we had chapel, and continued our study of Ephesians, and then had community lunch. Later that afternoon, some of the Korean students from last year FaceTimed me! It was so fun, even though the connection was bad, to connect with them and see them! I spent the evening studying Life of Christ and just chilling.

Friday: Plotties day! We cleaned the house but half-way through I had a meeting up at the church. I got my career direct results and Carin went over them with me. It basically explained my personality in black and white and where that will effect my career choice. Afterwards, we had a meeting in Emmanuel house for the off-weekend. Then a lot of people went home, but I stayed the whole weekend. I chilled with Khetiwe and Kimberly for a bit just having girl talk. Then I went with Natalie to her house to get some things for the Love Run, which a few YOYLers volunteered to help with. Then we got back in time for the volunteer meeting. The meeting went fairly quickly and they fed us too so that was a nice bonus! After the meeting, I hung out with some people until extremely late, especially considering I had to wake up at 4:30 in the morning for the Love Run. But it was totally worth it!! We had tons of laughs!

Saturday: I woke up extremely early, and got ready to help at the Love Run. Natalie, Justine, Kimberly and I went our respective places on the route. We were marshals, so we got to wave flags to let the runners know they were going the right way, and it was so fun to encourage them! Natalie and I were stationed along the section that was supposed to represent England, so we had tiaras and sashes. I think the runners really enjoyed it! Once we were released from our spot, we went to the start/finish and joined Robby, Dillon, Schalk, and Josh. It was cold and rainy all morning, and even though someone tripped me, we had TONS of fun! After we finished, we had lunch back at the house and we all chilled. Then we spent the afternoon just hanging out and chatting. Later, I went with a group of guys who were going to donate blood. I did not donate, but I tagged along. The place was actually closed, so we improvised and had quite an adventure! Once we got back home, I joined another group playing board games and such. It was such a fun day seeing everyone and getting to know people a little more.

Sunday: Morning service was great! And afterwards, Khetiwe picked some of us up to go eat lunch with her and her mom. We had such a fun afternoon!! Then we went to the evening service which was amazing as well! Connect was fun as well, we even ended up staying until they turned the lights out and "kicked us out". But I still ended up chatting with some of the same people back at the house until 11! It was a great day to kick start this next week!

--sea'sadventures--

Weekend Outreach: Sabie

This weekend was absolutely amazing!! We went on outreach to Sabie and it was everything we had expected it to be!

During MAD RAVE weeks and a few days before leaving, we took time to pray for Sabie and our team. We felt it would be a joy-filled outreach, and we would witness a miracle as well as see someone get saved, just to mention a few.

Friday: We packed up our stuff in the morning and began our epic road trip. It was about a four and a half hour ride to the Living Waters Church in Sabie. But the trip was awesome! We jammed out to music, played games, shared riddles, and just chatted. The church we stayed at, Living Waters, is beautiful! Pastor Hein and his wife Ronna are the youth pastors and they took care of us for the weekend. We pulled up in the afternoon, and unloaded a few things we needed immediately. The church has a log cabin vibe, and it is very cozy. We explored the church for a little while, then jumped back in the van to go get groceries we needed. Once we got back, we got ready for their youth service. We prayed together as a team and reviewed our plan for the evening. Then people started arriving. In total, the youth group had about 20+ students. I connected with a few girls really quickly. Once everyone was there, we played a few games outside. After that, Pastor Hein and the worship team led us in worship. Then we took over! Yolandi preached a message about being connected to God and it was amazing!! After she shared, Jean and Erin shared their testimonies that each related well to Yolandi's message. Then we had time to split up into small groups for discussion. Khetiwe, Erin, and I led a group of five young ladies. It was nice to have a smaller group to really connect with and discuss what our team's message was. Then we wrapped up and prayed for each other. One of the young ladies I got to know was really interested in YOYL, and we explained the program to her and she is excited about coming next year! After everyone left, we could finish unpacking the trailer and cooking supper. The guys slept in a loft area above where we had had the youth service, and the girls stayed in a room to the right, which was also where the kitchen was. We ate dinner together and had team "family" bonding time. And like we prayed for, we had tons of fun and laughter!! It really was neat to see everyone bond closer through out the rest of the weekend.

Saturday: We had a fairly early morning, because Hein and Ronna took us to a waterfall! We hiked around for a bit, and I got as close as I could to the waterfall. It was incredibly beautiful! After we had spent some time there, they took us to another one. This one had more of a garden area to explore. Then we headed back to clean up, in order to go minister at an Old Age Home. There were about five people who were there when we came, so we got to really chat with them about their life experiences. I got to chat with a very sweet lady who told me all about her amazing adventures and she gave me encouragement! We did a few of our funny skits, and then Tanaka and I shared our testimonies. We had lunch with them and then went on our way. Hein and Ronna took us to another waterfall in the afternoon! This waterfall was called Bridal Veil, and it was my favorite one. It was more of a hike to get there but it was amazing! There wasn't a lot of water falling, so we could climb down on the rocks and stand under it, and it was like a power shower. It. Was. Freezing. But I thoroughly enjoyed it! A group of us hiked up behind the waterfall too! Once we had finished there, we went back to the church to clean up and chill until we went to the hospital. At the hospital, the ladies and gents split up to go pray for people. Us ladies were well received by the patients in the ladies' ward, and the guys were able to talk with a man and he gave his heart to Christ! We also got to go into the maternity ward. There, was a premie baby we got to pray for. She was born at 27 weeks, and as we prayed for her, she opened her eyes a little, and then closed them when the last person said "Amen." It was a beautiful moment. Once we finished at the hospital, we came back and my team leader, Josh, and I prepared dinner. Jean had prepared a fire outside, so we all ate outside. It was such a fun time! We also had time in the evening to get into our groups to review and prepare for what we would do on Sunday. I was on the children's ministry team with DJ, Emile, Hendre, DeWaal, and Kefentse. We went over our dances, and prepared another skit for the kiddos. Then it was bed time, but of course, a few of us girls stayed up talking :)

Sunday: We had an early morning on Sunday! We wanted to make sure our things were packed, and out of the way before 7am so the staff wouldn't have to move around us. So we took care of that, and then got ready for the main service. We participated in worship with them, and then they introduced our team. The ladies did one of our ladies dance, and Khetiwe shared her testimony. It was Mother's Day and so we focused a little bit on that, and I saw some of the mothers were really touched by it. Then, Emile shared his testimony and we did another kid's dance for them. It was really fun! Then we took communion and then the youth, and kids were released so we went to our respective places to begin ministry. My team did more kiddies dances with the kiddos and they had tons of fun!! We ran around and jumped and danced to get their energy out so we could speak for a bit. DJ explained communion and then connected it to his message. When we finished that, we just entertained them until it was time to go. Once people began to leave, we helped clean up and we were even given some of the Mother's Day treats they had. We thanked Hein and Ronna for taking care of us for the weekend and then we packed in the van and headed to one last 'tourist' destination: God's Window. We hiked up and around there and had a lovely time to just chill before the road trip home. Then we headed home.

I definitely felt that our outreach was a success! Everyone really gelled well together as a team and we all worked together to accomplish our goal of reaching people and sharing God's heart for them. God worked in so many different ways in such a short amount of time, I really couldn't believe it. It is amazing at how much we got to experience and participate in in just three days! I am truly blessed to be a part of Team Two! I loved every minute of outreach and I enjoyed seeing my friends, now family, minister and step out of their comfort zones. I learned a lot about myself as well. God was with us every day and experiencing that, well it honestly leaves me speechless.

Thank you, to all y'all who were praying for me and my team!


--sea'sadventures--

MAD Rave

Well, it's almost time for weekend outreaches!! YEAH!! That means this week, we finished preparing our dramas and dances for these outreaches. We call it MAD (Make A Difference) Rave week.

Monday: For class, we split up into our teams to finalize everything we've prepared since last week. Then we presented it all to Raquel and she gave us constructive criticism. We also prepared our testimonies and throughout the week we shared them with each other. After class, I had a little meeting with Raquel then chilled for the remainder of the afternoon. I went to the Defending Your Faith class in the afternoon. We were in groups and we had discussions about the Tower of Babel. Afterwards, we had supper and then later, duties. It was a great start to the week!

Tuesday: We dubbed this day Tired Tuesday. Everyone was tired, probably from the combination of doing tons of stuff for MAD Rave and having tons of fun with our teams. In the morning, my team worked on our kiddies dances. Then after lunch we had team time where we began to share our testimonies with each other. I spent the afternoon hanging out with some of the girls and then reading a book. Fitness was cancelled because of rain!! And the evening was normal with supper and duties.

Wednesday: FREEDOM DAY! Yes, Wednesday was a public holiday. Because of this, we did not have class, so essentially, it was like a Saturday. I got up and went to ABBA house with Chandra. As always, it was a great time! When I got back, I spent the afternoon chilling and watching series. After supper, a group of us watched The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Then we finished the day of freedom with duties.

Thursday: Class was a little different than usual. We didn't split up into our teams, instead we presented the new things we came up with this week to everyone. It was a lot of fun to see and join in on the dances that other groups had come up with. We finished earlier than usual so we had free time until chapel. Natalie, Khetiwe and I hung out in Cafe Andante to write out a script for a drama we had thought of. It's a Dora the Explorer spin-off. Then we went to chapel, and afterwards we had community lunch. After lunch, I joined Letiwe time (time with Lesinda and Khetiwe). WE HAD SO MUCH FUN! We had some cake in the Cafe and then Raquel even joined us. Then we moved to her office for tea. On the way home, we sat on the hill for a bit to finish chatting. And we found a broken butterfly!! We named him Carl. Then we had house time before fitness. We sat in a big circle and told someone a compliment or what we enjoyed about that person. It was really nice to give and receive compliments. For fitness, a few of us girls joined the guys because our fitness leader wasn't there. Let's just say backwards lunges up a hill and then sprints are not my favorite thing to do, ever. Anyway, we had supper afterwards and it was a very chilled evening. I also re-introduced silent football to this new group of YOYLers and they LOVE it!

Friday: Plotties day! Today we focused on scrubbing the floors. In wash-up, we had to move the washing machine to scrub the floor, and it was NOT nice. It really was gross, but I am so thankful that the guys took care of it so I didn't have to. Other than that, plotties went very well. Then I had the afternoon free. In the evening, I went with the Noviskies and German volunteers from ABBA house to Ed's Diner. It was Jonas' last day working there so it was a little going away party. We had a great time and it's hard to believe that almost a year ago, we had all just met up with each other for the first time. Now it's almost time for me to come home, and for Janina and Laura to also return to Germany. But we've still got time.

Saturday: I slept in and when I woke up I went to Emmanuel house. We played more silent football, and hung out. Then I watched series for a bit until it was an acceptable time to call my parents. I also got to call Christy!! I can't believe she is getting married soon! We had a really nice time catching up and planning stuff. Then I had duties and afterwards, Lesinda and I had coffee and chatted until quiet time.

Sunday: The ONE:series began today!! All over Pretoria, churches are joining to preach the same message during the month of May. It is so amazing to be a part of this movement in South Africa!! After the service, Lesinda had her baptism!! We celebrated her funeral and her birthday! After that, Megon, Khetiwe and I got pizza and hung out in Emmanuel House. Then we had the evening service which was also amazing and is also following the ONE:series.

Next weekend, my team goes on its first weekend outreach! I am so excited to go to Sabie and minister there!! If you could keep my team in your prayers as we travel, I would appreciate it!

--sea'sadventures--

Sex, Dating, and Relating and MAD Rave

Well it’s been another busy two weeks, so let’s catch up again! 

April 11-17

Sex, Dating and Relating

Monday: This was the last day of holiday, but I was already back in the houses so I volunteered with Erin to go shopping for groceries for the house. Tuki and I rode back home in the back of the truck but it was fun! Then in the afternoon, I went to the Defending Your Faith (Apologetics) class. We discussed “Does God really exist?” and we practiced debating, so someone pretended to be an atheist and the other was the Christian. Later, everyone was slowly coming back to the houses so there was lots going on! I got de-briefed on wash-up duties, since this term I am wash-up leader! It’s tons of fun!! 

Tuesday: The first day back in class was great! I’ve already done this class at the end of last year, but it was amazing to go through it all again and have discussions with my flock leader Pearl and the other students. I spent the afternoon putting my stuff in my new cupboard because I had to change rooms this term. They switch up the room each term so we can get a chance to get to know everyone better. For fitness, the girls played softball. It was loads of fun! And then supper and duties as usual.

Wednesday: We began the day with silent morning, so we couldn’t speak until class. Then we got to class, and started Walk the Word on Exodus. Each week we will go through a book in the Bible and have discussions over it. I left a little early, because I had the opportunity to go with Chandra to Abba House! It was so lovely to visit there and love on the kiddos, and to catch up with the German volunteers! We went to lunch with them afterwards too. Then Chandra brought me back to the village after we stopped to get some groceries. I found Dr. Pepper so I got some :) 

I had a very chilled afternoon, and then Russell came to the houses to sell American candy for a school project. A lot of the students were really interested and they liked most of the candy! After supper, Lesinda and I went up to the hill and we chatted about our holidays and got to catch up. 

Thursday: Class was amazing and we wrapped up with talking about preparing for our futures. Then we had chapel and then community lunch. We will be going over the book of Ephesians each week in chapel and it’s been very nice so far! I had a chilled afternoon until fitness where we did a nice circuit workout. Then Russell came again to sell more candy! It was really fun to see people’s reactions to the American candy and I think he got some really good profit! After supper, I hung out in Emmanuel house for a bit until duties.

Friday: The first plotties after the holidays! We put on some music and then jammed while we worked in the wash-up area. After we were finished we had the afternoon free, and I didn’t do much. Then we had duties again that evening.

Saturday: A few of the YOYLers got up early(ish) to go volunteer for Storehouse, an organization through the church that provides clothes for those in need. So we went up to help sort clothes for winter. We had a lot of fun! And they gave us cute little snacks! In the afternoon, a group of us girls went to Crawdaddy’s for milkshakes. It was such a sweet time chatting with the ladies! We laughed a lot!! Then we came back and went to sit on the hill to enjoy the view of Pretoria. 

Sunday: Lesinda and I got to church earlier than usual, but it was nice. After church, Lesinda and I had lunch and then we went back up to the church grounds to read and just chill. Then we went and hung out in Emmanuel house for awhile. Then I went up to the church early because it was my volunteer team’s turn to serve! I was on the prayer team, and then after service I went to Connect. It was a fun time as usual!! 

April 18-24

MAD Rave

Monday: This was the beginning of MAD Rave!! We got put into our outreach teams and began working on outreach preparation. I am in Team 2!! We are a really great team, and we jumped right into planning a team drama and dances. After MAD Rave, I had Career Direct. It’s an assessment to tell you where you would work best. Then I went to Waterglen and then came back for Defending Your Faith. And then supper and duties as usual.

Tuesday: We worked on guys/girls pieces during MAD Rave. The girls on my team came up with a beautiful dance about making our hearts a home for Jesus. Later, we had to write out our testimonies and then took a YOYL picture in front of the house. Then Lesinda and I went to Waterglen, and on the way, I accidentally broke her shoe! Luckily there was a shoe repair place and it got fixed! I came back and read for a little bit, then had a PFT with Pearl and KerryAnn. Then we had fitness in the afternoon and then supper. After supper, we started a game of “spoons” in Emmanuel house. Then we had duties!

Wednesday: We continued with outreach prep during MAD Rave, and it was a normal Wednesday. After supper, I went to the seeking session and it was a very great time in God’s presence. 

Thursday: MAD Rave was finished for the week, and we had time before Chapel to go over our prepared pieces with our team. Chapel and community lunch we amazing. Then Lesinda, Anika, and I went to Waterglen and then we came back and put two couches together and just chilled, chatted and ate snacks. It was so nice to spend the whole afternoon laughing with them! The evening was normal and duties went well.

Friday: There were only a total of three people on the wash-up team for plotties, but we surprisingly got everything done on time! After lunch, Raquel came to check the rooms and then had a short meeting with Nonto and I about mid-year things. Then I had a bit of free time before we had team time in the afternoon. We just finalized some things about our team drama and kiddies dances. Then in the evening, we had flock time. Pearl shared an awesome spoken word, poem thing. Then we finished the day with duties!

Saturday: I woke up early, on the one day I can sleep in, and made biscuits and gravy! They were definitely worth it. Then I went up to the church property and found a nice tree to climb, I finished reading my book up in that tree. It was a very lovely morning to climb a tree! Then I got back and joined Lesinda, Nonto, DeWaal, Marco, George, and Kiall and we went to Menlyn. We ate Burger King (it was my first time to have BK in South Africa) and it was good! Then we watched the Jungle Book!! It was a ton of fun! When I got back, I sat outside with Anika, Schalk, and Wesley and we all talked about how we spent our Saturday and we laughed a lot! Then we had duties and after duties I got to chat with Chloe for a bit. 

Sunday: We had church in the morning which was nice, and afterwards, Anika and I shared an “apple-rose” pastry that her sister Bea made. It was baie lekker (very good)! Then I came home, and started another book. Some of the guys got the pool table out and spent the afternoon playing pool, which is quite entertaining to watch. Then it was time for the evening service which was amazing! At Connect, I got to catch up with Janina, Laura, and Jonas the German volunteers at Abba house. It always makes my heart so glad to see them at church! We had a fun time, then came back to the house for duties. Unfortunately, the power outlets had gone out that day, so the washing machine was full of water. We had to use bottles to get the water out, and it was quite an experience! 

It has been an amazing two weeks! I am absolutely loving this time of preparing for outreach and I can’t wait to go on our weekend outreaches! 

--sea'sadventures--

Cape Town & Port Elizabeth Vacation

Thanks to all y'all who have been patient with me as I catch up on my blogging. Instead of going through the usual day by day format that I normally do, I think I'll just put up a ton of my pictures and explain what we did and where.


This was our first day exploring all of Cape Town on the City Sightseeing Bus.

 These two pics are the Somerset Hospital in Cape Town. Yes, it looks like a castle! And the other is about the first heart transplant!

Here are Mom and Dad looking out over the Cape Point.

The Cape of Good Hope.

On Top of Table Mountain!

Mom and Dad in the Indian Ocean in Port Elizabeth

All the places in P.E. we explored on my birthday

And of course birthday dessert!

Tsitsikamma National Park

Above, all of us on the rocks of the shore at Tsitsikamma National park and to the right, an elephant that walked super close to us at the Addo Elephant Park!


















It was quite an amazing holiday and I am so thankful I got to share it with my parents! They really fell in love with the beautiful country of South Africa, and I'm sure they can tell you all about it :)



--sea'sadventures--

Understanding The Bible & Mid-Year Outreach

Wow! What a busy last few weeks it has been!! I apologize for not keeping up with my blog! So I will make up for it now. We've gotta go back to March, so let's time travel a little bit.

March 14-18

Monday: We started our class called Understanding the Bible. I really enjoy this class! After class, I had lunch and then chilled in the afternoon. I went to Waterglen with Megon and Chanel and we had so much fun! It started to rain a little bit and we headed back and Chanel and I went to Apologetics. It wasn't an actual class, just a start up for next term. So we got to ask questions that we have about religion and the Bible and in the next term they will cover those questions. In the evening we had our final house time for the term. We played games and hung out with each other. It was such a fun time and I am so thankful for these friends that have become my family!

Tuesday: Class was normal and it went by fairly quickly. Then I went to hang out with Rufaro for a bit. She led our 2014 O2 Network mission trip to Swaziland and I haven't gotten to see her much this term so it was so lovely to catch up with her! (She is doing well, and sends her love to y'all back in TX!) In the afternoon, the girls and guys split to have a quick meeting. We discussed the importance of friendship, and it was a nice chat. Then Lesinda and I hung out for awhile until fitness. After fitness, I had a PFT with Kerry. And that was about it for the day.

Afternoon naps outside. LOL. 

Wednesday: Before class started, a few people in charge of certain volunteer areas came to speak about where we can volunteer in the church. There are SO many different areas to volunteer, it's almost impossible to choose where to serve! Anyway, afterwards we had class as usual. Nothing much happened in the afternoon. That evening, we had our final flock time for the term. Kerry took us to the church and she had set up an Easter "Four Sections of the Cross" thing. It was an incredible visual of the importance of Easter. Kerry washed our feet, and then we wrote things on post-it notes and stuck them on the cross, and there was an empty "tomb" set up, then we had communion together. It was amazing!

Thursday: We talked about tracks and things we can do next term before class. Then we had class, and we were finished. We had to clean up our cupboards and rooms before the weekend, so I started that in the afternoon. Mainly, I started to pack for our Mid-year outreach. That evening, I was asked to be wash-up leader for next term, and of course I said yes! I'm super excited!

Friday: We did plotties in the morning and then had a meeting in the foyer hall about the holiday. Then we were finished! A lot of people went home right after the meeting, but Nonto and I went to Waterglen to get snacks for our road trip! Afterwards, I had to move my stuff over to Emmanuel house. Then I went to the Noviskie's house to see them before I left for outreach.

Me, Kerry, Raqeul, Nonto, and Cuan

March 19-28
Mid-Year Outreach -- Cape Town

Saturday: We woke up EARLY in order to leave at 4am. Yes. 4 in the morning. But we packed up the van and started driving, and driving, and driving. Let me quickly tell you about my team. As you know, Nonto and I are the only mid-years now, so it was us, our leader KerryAnn, and Cuan and Raquel (the directors of YOYL). Morne caught a lift with us to his home town, and Fred drove us. It took us all day to get to Bredasdorp, our first stop on our outreach. We spend Easter weekend here, and Fred and his family took good care of us. It was so cool to be in a small South African town!

Sunday: We went to church in the morning and then we got to go to Cape Agulhas, the southermost tip of Africa. We walked along the beach and even went up a lighthouse. Then we got to back Visser's home (a fellow YOYLers home that we got to stay at) and rested until a braii that evening with Fred's family. When we came back, Raquel, Nonto, and I stayed up and chatted until late. It was so nice, and we all got to know each other a little bit more just by spending time together.

Josh praying with his team at their touch rugby match

Monday: We packed up and made the trip to Cape Town. It was just about two hours away from Bredasdorp. On the way, we stopped at a beach near Hermanus, then found out that my house leader's touch rugby team made the finals in their tournament and so we got to go that. It was so fun! I honestly couldn't really tell what was happening but it was entertaining and fun to watch! Afterwards, we headed to where we would stay for the next few days. It was a nice, little apartment flat outside of Cape Town. We were right across from the beach and across the bay was Table Mountain, and Robben Island. After we settled in, we headed to get groceries for the week. When we got back, Raquel began making supper. It was delicious! We ate a bit late, so after that we chatted for awhile and then went to bed.

Nonto, myself, and Kerry on top of Table Mountain

Tuesday: We began the marketing part of our outreach. Our goal for the outreach was to go to schools and churches and connect with them and give them information about YOYL and hopefully get Hatfield connected with more places in the Western Cape. So we drove around to about five different churches in the morning to leave packets for them. Then we got to go to Groot Constantia vineyard in the afternoon. It is absolutely beautiful there! Then we drove on to Hout bay, which is also incredible! We walked around and put our feet in the (cold) water and saw some seals. Some where in between there we also had a picnic lunch at the Cecil Rhodes memorial.  Then we drove by Camps Bay on the way to Charly's Bakery. We had a delicious slice of cake there, and then went to St. George's Cathedral to hear a dramatic reading about the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. It was quite intriguing. Then we headed home. We nicknamed our flat "Jonah House" because we would only be there for a few days and it's a YOYL thing to name houses. So we got back to Jonah house and Raquel fixed another delicious dinner. It was a long and crazy day but it was so fun!

Mandela's cell

Wednesday: Wednesday was a purely tourist day. We got up early to catch our ferry boat out to Robben Island. We had to park fairly far away from the pier, so we had to run to catch our boat, but we got there in time! The island was remarkable. We got filled with tons of history and we saw where Nelson Mandela spent 17 years of his imprisonment. When we got back we had lunch on the Waterfront and then we had time to go to Table Mountain. Kerry, Nonto, and I went and it was so fun!! Those were the only things we did that day, but they each took up almost half a day so we had no time for anything else. We had a nice supper again! Jonah house was truly best with incredible food on our outreach.

Robben Island

Jonah house'a new pet penguin

Thursday: We began the morning with more marketing at schools. It was our last day in Cape Town so, we spent the afternoon in Simon's Town and we saw penguins on the beach!! That evening, we met up with a YOYL alumni's parents for dinner. They took us to the Eastern Food Bazaar and it was so cool! There was a variety of different options from Chinese, Indian, and other Eastern foods. It was amazing. The couple was very sweet and we had a great time with them! We came back to Jonah house and had tea and Cuan and Raquel told us YOYL stories from when they were students and leaders. It was so fun!

Table Mountain

Friday: We got up and we got to attend the Good Friday service at Hillsong! That was quite an amazing experience! Then we headed to Citrusdal, to Cuan's Uncle and Aunt's farm. His uncle and aunt are so sweet!! They showed us our rooms when we got there and then we got in the bakkie (truck) and drove around the farm. The farm is absolutely amazing. It's in a valley, so the landscape is gorgeous with the mountains in the background and citrus trees in the valley. We had supper, and then just chatted.

Saturday: Cuan's uncle and aunt let us sleep in a bit and then we all got up and went for a hike! We walked around and up the mountain. It was lots of fun because we basically just got to spend the whole time enjoying the scenery and chatting with each other. After we got back, we had lunch and then in the afternoon I learned how to ride a motor bike! It was tons of fun!! Once I finally got the hang of it, I drove around the farm and dam around the house. Then we ate dinner, and spent more time chatting.

Sunday: We went to church in the morning and got to see more of the town of Citrusdal. After we came back and ate lunch, Kerry and I watched a movie and then relaxed the rest of the evening. I think it was a very refreshing time to just spend with my team and get to know Cuan and Raquel better. And I know they enjoyed catching up with their family. So it wasn't a normal outreach, but it worked out and was a very incredible experience for us.

Monday: We got up early again to head out. My parents had arrived in Cape Town the evening before, so I was dropped off at their hotel and that was the end of my outreach and the beginning of vacation with my parents.

That's all I'll write for now, but I'll get around to talking about my holiday experience. I had an absolutely amazing time!! The Cape Town outreach will definitely be one of my many YOYL highlights. I am so thankful for the opportunity to go and see more of this wonderful country!

--sea'sadventures--

Baby "dropbox" at a church we visited

Nonto and I on top of the lighthouse