Bringing Hope. Breaking Despair.

One thing about Capetown: the view at any given moment is stunning. Whether you’re looking from the Team House to the beach, from the mountains to the Team House, or from the city to the mountains, every scene is worthy of framing and hanging on your living room wall. But as I reflect on our four days of Holiday Camp, I think I speak for the whole team in saying that the smiling children we were blessed to serve this week are so much more beautiful than even the view from the Cape of Good Hope.

Thursday marked the end of our time at Capricorn and Overcome, and as we left the kids, each of our hearts melted, though some more than others, as evidenced by the tears shed (read: weeping) by a few of us. Perhaps more heart wrenching than leaving the kids was leaving the LSEs we had been working with all week. Every one of them carried through their communities a powerful story of dedication to the Lord and a love for the young generation. As Joanna wrote Wednesday night, the LSEs do this work 48 weeks a year. Tired as we are after only four days of their job, our respect level for the LSEs is through the roof.

After sleeping an extra hour Thursday night, we spent Friday learning more about the ministry and city we’ve been working with this week. In the morning we toured the four branches of Living Hope’s ministry (Living Way, Living Right, Living Care, and Living Grace). The locations we toured were more focused towards adults than the rest of our week had been, with rehabilitation, job training, and hospice care serving as the focuses of these ministries. Parents, this is when we all bought the cool picture frames made from reclaimed wood (from pallets or fences, for example). We also toured the “tunnels” (South African for greenhouses) in which men and women learn to make a living off of agriculture, vermiculture, and fish farming. Following a late lunch and a quick dip in the Atlantic, we visited Hout Bay Market, where disgusting juice, fine jewelry, and yuppies (South African for hipsters) abound.

Saturday started quite similarly to Friday evening with a trip to the Old Biscuit Mill, the market made especially for yuppies and overpriced products. However, the kudu breakfast burgers that Nicholas and I ordered were well worth the 65 rand we paid for each (South African for $6.50). Later, we hopped on the ferry to Robben Island to see one of the prisons Nelson Mandela stayed in during his 27-year incarceration throughout South Africa. The island itself has a lot of history aside from the prison, but walking the same paths as anti-Apartheid political radicals of the 20^th century held a unique significance. Although the struggle those leaders faced was very alien to us Americans, the conversation of native South Africans made it possible to feel the importance of the anti-Apartheid movement.

Lastly, we ate dinner at Marco’s African Restaurant. I think our time there will be some of the most memorable for several reasons, the first of which is probably the Smiley that Nicholas and Emma shared with the table. In case you didn’t know, the Smiley, a traditional African dish, is simply a sheep’s head served in a bowl. Nose, ears, eyes, and tongue are all included, and it holds a central place on the menu’s Starter section (note: I’m pretty sure the band at Marco’s played the melody from “Mary Had a Little Lamb” at one point…). After we ate, we danced with the members of the all-percussion band, who allowed Nick, Logan, and Annie to try out the marimba in front of a packed house.

With only part of a day remaining in South Africa, I think it’s safe to declare this vacation a success by all standards. I know no one is looking forward to the plane ride home, but considering all the love, beauty, and culture we’ve experienced on this trip, it will have been well worth it. We still have a trip to Table Mountain (the 8^th Wonder of the World) waiting for us tomorrow, so even though our time remaining is short, we have a lot left to see.

From the Mother City, with love,

Jeff 

Can I get a HOLLA for the Holiday Club?!

First of all, South Africa is amazing. Now that the cliché sentence is out of the way, I am going to tell you what we have been doing for the past 3 days. We have all been working with Living Hope at their Holiday and Teen Clubs, and I'm going to use this post to explain what exactly that means. There are two different places that we hold each club; Capricorn and Overcome. In the mornings, we all head to Capricorn to have a devotion with the Life Skill Educators. The LSE's are wonderful men and women who live in Capetown and help out with the Kid’s and Teen Clubs that occur 48 weeks out of the year. We have been so blessed to have the opportunity to meet the LSE’s on a personal level, and to see them work with the kids they know and love. After one of our Brookwood members leads a short devo in the morning, half of our group hops in Fransi’s flaming van and heads to Overcome. Although we are in different places, the work is similar. Kids from age one to age thirteen come around 9am to play games and learn about the Lord. We start off with some fun games to wake the kids up and get them somewhat tired…but they don’t get tired. They could honestly play all day long and love on us all day long, and we are having a blast with them. After some football (soccer) and tag, everyone gathers in a huge circle and says the Lord’s Prayer. We sing songs (both African and American), and perform skits, and do crafts. We also have a bible story time and discussion time afterwards. We then get the pleasure to feed the kids, then hang out a little longer before they head home. When all the kids have left, our half of the team heads back to Capricorn to pick up the other half, and we all go eat some lunch on the beach and grab a cup of coffee on our way out. When we leave lunch, the half of the group that was in Capricorn goes to Overcome, and those in Overcome go to Capricorn. Teen Club begins around 2pm, with kids ranging from thirteen to nineteen. This half of the day is really cool for us because the kids are closer to our age, so we can connect with them on a whole new level. It is crazy to think about the fact that we live in different conditions but have some of the same struggles. We start out Teen Club the same way we do Kid’s Club. Play some games, sing some songs…but instead of a different craft everyday, we hand out pipe cleaners and get creative. We share the same bible story with the teens, but in a more mature way. Then we discuss the story and answer some questions. We play games like football (soccer), shuffle your buns, and little Sally Walker. After passing out some food, we have a mini-rave…Capetown style. The kids head home after that and hug us goodbye. The Clubs are so great for the Cape. They bring fun to these kids who may not have parents or siblings to play with and have fun with, and they teach the sweet children about our Creator. Living Hope is a legit organization, and I have fallen in love with not only the organization itself, but also the LSE’s and the kids. It really is life-changing to see how joyful these kids are when they don’t have near as much stuff as you. It has made me a grateful person and it has humbled me in unimaginable ways. Caleb warned us that Africa would change us in some way or another, and he was so right. I think I might just stay here. Not sure if I can handle another British Airways English Breakfast anyways……….yikes.

Since You Last Saw Us...

Hello concerned parents and internet lurkers! I promise we're all alive; South Africa's incredible vistas and scrumptious food have lulled us into a relaxed state the past few days in which we have completely neglected our duties as responsible children to contact the outside world. I have the past four days to cover so buckle up, put your tray and seat into the upright position, and enjoy your flight with British Airways!
First stop: Atlanta (the least exciting place we've visited so far so let's fast forward nine hours.) We woke up to some quintessential fog in London. After donning our Hogwarts robes and best British accents, we hopped on the Tube. Upon our arrival in Leicester Square, we gobbled up some fish and chips then hit the town. We ran through the city at the rate of South African gale force winds (more on that later,) and hit all the highlights: Trafalgar, Big Ben, Parliament, the Eye, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, and Picadilly. Exhausted from our whirlwind sightseeing, the team zombie-walked back to the Tube and on to the airport. Next stop: Cape Town!
We landed in the Cape early in the morning and everybody's new best friend, our driver Frans, picked us up and drove us to the Team House, our home for the week. The Team House is situated on one of South Africa's the world's most stunning beaches, Noordhoek Beach. During a quick introduction by American expat Danielle who is the "house mom" (we're in good hands Mom, I promise,) it began to pour so we cancelled our outdoor adventures and opted for a ukelele concert headlined by myself, JoJo, and Emma. Once our tinny strumming wore on the team's last nerve, Frans took us to the Pick n' Pay, a local grocery store. The shopping spree came to an end; JoJo left with a pawpaw (go Google it!) and Jeff with a Springbok Rugby shirt. That night, we experienced our first meal cooked by the Team House cook Nadine, who is my new favorite person in the whole wide world. No worries moms, we are more than well-fed. Day One on the ground ended happily with Magnum bars and Nerts (you can Google those too!).
Yesterday we attended two church services, one at King of Kings Baptist and one at Massiphumelele Baptist. The first is very much like Brookwood Baptist. Just imagine going to Brookwood but everyone has cool accents. The second was the most unique service any of us had had the privilege of attending. We drove through streets lined with tin shanties and stray dogs and arrived at a nondescript white building. Chill-bump-inducing African voices emanated from the church. These voices would bless us for the next hour. It was the first time I'd truly realized we were in Africa (up till then, I'd honestly felt like I'd been in a more beautiful version of Northern California). After a lunch of bobotie on the waterfront in Simon's Town, we drove to see African penguins (which crack me up because they walk hilariously... some Japanese tourists gave me dirty looks for laughing at the awkward featherballs.) Next, we drove to the end of the world, literally... the Cape of Good Hope which is the southwestern most point on the African Continent. It was definitely one of the more breath-taking things we've seen since we've been here, besides the awesome kids we worked with today (yes, we actually do work, the first two days are meant for orientation.)
This morning, Day Three, we split into two teams that are doing the same work in two different locations. My team spent the morning in Capricorn, a Capetonian township fraught with gangsterism and drug abuse; two awful aspects of the community that the kids we met miraculously overcome with their joy and love. We helped lead VBS (Africa style) in Capricorn which involved soccer, dance-offs, a skit from Logan as King Solomon, and science projects with Dr. Caleb. After a coffee break at a super hipster place on the beach, the teams switched work sites and my team helped with what Living Hope calls Teen Club in Overcome, the township the other team worked in this morning. After games and songs, Emma and I shared our testimonies and we all talked to the teenagers. We got back around five and have spent the past hours playing the name game.  Which brings us to now, sitting up in my room with a view of the Atlantic and praying that the house doesn't cave in. It's storming and the winds are louder than the female members of our team (Emma included because she rocks the guitar and every instrument ever.) Good night from Cape Town! Or as they say here: goeie naand!

PS: I promise we will be posting pictures soon. The WiFi is slower here and we have so many awesome ones to choose from.