Another week has passed in South Africa! Right now, I am typing this on Word, sitting in Steers, a fast food joint similar to Jack in the Box in the US. Me, Cnorm, Katie G, and Ashton are running errands with Ben to get stuff together for our trip to the Northern Cape. It begins tomorrow at 7:15 AM sharp! And will take about 6 hours to get there…we are going to do Vacation Bible School with Afrikaans and Tswana speaking children in a township there. But rest assured, our team will be safely staying in a guesthouse nearby. Every day the camp will be from 9-12, it sounds to me much like a 3 hour clubhouse session every day. Im pretty nervous about all the community that’s going to be goin down, just seems overwhelming (we are going with some people from the local church CO partners with in Pretoria) and its supposed to be much colder there than it is in Pretoria L. We will be there from Saturday to Saturday, so please pray!
Speaking of the weather outside being frightful (which it is only in the mornings and nights), Ive been in the Christmas spirit, playing some Amy Grant and Mariah Carey for my quiet times. Tis the Season! It reminds me of October here, or Novemeber at times. During the day though, it is amazing weather. It has only sprinkled once one morning, but it was sunny the rest of the day. This past week, we have been sanding and staining the windows, doors, and banisters of the Miedema’s house. The days were long and sometimes hard, but the weather was perfect, hot enough for shorts and t shirts. Today was our Sabbath- but because of all the stuff that we have to get, Im here. It was fun running errands, we went to a Christian Book store that was so cool, and a place like Sam’s Club to get snacks J Some people went to the market, but I chose not to because it was in Joburg, and I absolutely hate the drive there. There will definitely be another trip sometime this summer, so I will probably get to go.
On another note, prepare yourself: the flu AND throw ups are running their course in the CCP. So far, two people have had the throwups and 2 people potentially have the flu L So please please pray that I would not catch it. I cant think of anything more miserable than getting the flu or throw ups, especially not being at home or being hours away at the northern cape.
The last week here has been good overall, as usual, I have been learning what it means to die to myself. For example, I have not straightened my hair since the JWC. Now that may not seem like death, but I also haven’t even been allowed to use my hair dryer for the last 3 days. Okay, Im really only half joking-I am really am learning about suffering, and do often feel poor and weak in character here. Pray that I would be patient and trust in the Lord for His provision here and for His plan for my life. Until next time, I will leave you with some positives/negatives :}
Plus:
-have really gotten to have good conversations with some people on the team
-had choc cake with choc icing for Bens birthday!
-really have grown to love the 3 girls that I live with
Minus:
-had a dance party last night on the spot, and of course I didn’t participate, but it brought up some issues with my identity and who I am
-Im really scared of getting the flu
-I haven’t been able to go to the gym but a few times
that’s it for now :}
Friday, June 27, 2008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
life in south africa!
Well i have been in south africa for 2 weeks now, but it feels like 2 months. So far i feel very comfortable at the Golden Eagle Guesthouse, our comfy MtV crib. :) Today is my sabbath, and i got to do one of my favorite things- sit outside on the balcony and chat with Em!!!
This week for the first time I have felt homesick and really out of control- God is teaching me alot about how much i want to handpick my life and have control myself, about how much i love comfort, and about how selfish I am. Even though we dont even have it bad here, some comforts that i have had to give up have really stretched me and made me see how much i really depend on things that are beautiful in my eyes to satisfy me. for example, it is depressing to me that there are no gorgeous suburbs or shooping centers here.
So last week we went to the JWC, like our ATL here, from sunday to friday. It was at a camp, defintitely not the hotels at our atl, but beautuiful. The good thing was that it wasnt as cold at all as the jwc last year!! Overall, the whole experience taught me alot about myself and about how much i rely on muyself in ministry and not God. I really got to know my ministry partner, Ashton better!! But it was a hard week for me, just feeling far from God at times and striving to realte to the girls in my room from the res was very hard.
this week I have felt somewhat tired of not being able to be independent, but I am content in the Lord here..I feel like He is revealing enough of Himself to me, but I also am still struggling with the reality of God. I am excited to be doing some labor at Paula and Haileys house this week ( they are on staff) and to be back together with the team. I love our team :)
Here are somehighlights of this week:
-hiking up a beautiful gorge with Christine and Brittni
-getting to share my testimony with Lesh ( a girl in Jasmyn Res in my room)
-hanging out with Ashton!
-going out to dinner at cafe 41
-praising God in all different languages at the JWC
-praying for the students at the JWC
now for some hard things
-feeling stretched thin
-had a couple breakdowns
-missing em
-had to fix toilets like 5 times
-sometimes seeing the end of CCp as the end
I will write sometime this week maybe, we have the net at our house :)
This week for the first time I have felt homesick and really out of control- God is teaching me alot about how much i want to handpick my life and have control myself, about how much i love comfort, and about how selfish I am. Even though we dont even have it bad here, some comforts that i have had to give up have really stretched me and made me see how much i really depend on things that are beautiful in my eyes to satisfy me. for example, it is depressing to me that there are no gorgeous suburbs or shooping centers here.
So last week we went to the JWC, like our ATL here, from sunday to friday. It was at a camp, defintitely not the hotels at our atl, but beautuiful. The good thing was that it wasnt as cold at all as the jwc last year!! Overall, the whole experience taught me alot about myself and about how much i rely on muyself in ministry and not God. I really got to know my ministry partner, Ashton better!! But it was a hard week for me, just feeling far from God at times and striving to realte to the girls in my room from the res was very hard.
this week I have felt somewhat tired of not being able to be independent, but I am content in the Lord here..I feel like He is revealing enough of Himself to me, but I also am still struggling with the reality of God. I am excited to be doing some labor at Paula and Haileys house this week ( they are on staff) and to be back together with the team. I love our team :)
Here are somehighlights of this week:
-hiking up a beautiful gorge with Christine and Brittni
-getting to share my testimony with Lesh ( a girl in Jasmyn Res in my room)
-hanging out with Ashton!
-going out to dinner at cafe 41
-praising God in all different languages at the JWC
-praying for the students at the JWC
now for some hard things
-feeling stretched thin
-had a couple breakdowns
-missing em
-had to fix toilets like 5 times
-sometimes seeing the end of CCp as the end
I will write sometime this week maybe, we have the net at our house :)
Saturday, June 14, 2008
were here!!!!
well were here!!!
this is going to be short cuz Im at an internet cafe and only have about 10 minutes left!!!
We made it safely to South Africa! After the awful bumpy plane ride ( i felt so out of control-the most I have ever felt) we landed in SA a week ago today. It feels like a month.
I am writing so that you know that God has been faithful-not only in providing for my physical needs, but emotionally as well. I actually like some of the food here, and we have been able to go to some fun places like menlyn mall (kind of reminds me of charlotte nc) and pic n pay :)
it is def different here than in the us-the toilets dont flush alot and we have had the electricity go out a couple of times.
some things that have been hard for me are my trusting in the Lord and fear here. I feel unsafe, esp when we are drving. And I have not had internet access at the house, but it should be fixed soon!
I am in the same dorm that em was in and my ministry partner is ashton!! i am so excited to go to the dorms and share! And i am learning so much about Jesus here- I want to continue to grown in my identity in Christ and really be willing to do anything for HIs sake. I have seen alot of my self focus here as well.
We are going to teh JWC, like ATL this week, so maybe i will write next week!
here are somethings i love ab SA so far:
the accents!
the beautiful palm trees
our team :)
the lack of humidity
my awesome roomies! christine ashton and sara b
having long quiet times
thats it for now!!!
this is going to be short cuz Im at an internet cafe and only have about 10 minutes left!!!
We made it safely to South Africa! After the awful bumpy plane ride ( i felt so out of control-the most I have ever felt) we landed in SA a week ago today. It feels like a month.
I am writing so that you know that God has been faithful-not only in providing for my physical needs, but emotionally as well. I actually like some of the food here, and we have been able to go to some fun places like menlyn mall (kind of reminds me of charlotte nc) and pic n pay :)
it is def different here than in the us-the toilets dont flush alot and we have had the electricity go out a couple of times.
some things that have been hard for me are my trusting in the Lord and fear here. I feel unsafe, esp when we are drving. And I have not had internet access at the house, but it should be fixed soon!
I am in the same dorm that em was in and my ministry partner is ashton!! i am so excited to go to the dorms and share! And i am learning so much about Jesus here- I want to continue to grown in my identity in Christ and really be willing to do anything for HIs sake. I have seen alot of my self focus here as well.
We are going to teh JWC, like ATL this week, so maybe i will write next week!
here are somethings i love ab SA so far:
the accents!
the beautiful palm trees
our team :)
the lack of humidity
my awesome roomies! christine ashton and sara b
having long quiet times
thats it for now!!!
Friday, June 6, 2008
its about that time...
its about that time.
its friday night, 12:40 AM-I am sitting here in the hotel applying for a job at western carolina, where hopefully (if a get a job!) i will be volunteering with CO next year. How funny it is that I would be applying for a job right before I leave?
Well, tonight I got to have dinner with the whole fam at one of my fav places to eat- it was bittersweet. I think Emily is having alot of responsibility thrown on her at once, then Im here, the fam is here, all that makes is hard to find balance..then we went to the project social, and I wasnt feeling it. All the fun and cheer didnt sink in, I was thinking, tomorrow Ill be gone, this isnt reality yet, all that kinda stuff. But tonight we got back and had family time, a time the whole ccp team gets together and is real with eachother. It made tomorrow alot easier knowing how other people share the same fears and stuff as me.
Right now i am anxious, just want to be there safe. I dont want to get a nosebleed, and I def dont want to crash...so pray for safety!!!!
Getting up at 6:50 is going to be hard...oh yeah, thanks to josh b., he gave me half a suitcase and I was about 2 pounds under in each!!!! :)
its friday night, 12:40 AM-I am sitting here in the hotel applying for a job at western carolina, where hopefully (if a get a job!) i will be volunteering with CO next year. How funny it is that I would be applying for a job right before I leave?
Well, tonight I got to have dinner with the whole fam at one of my fav places to eat- it was bittersweet. I think Emily is having alot of responsibility thrown on her at once, then Im here, the fam is here, all that makes is hard to find balance..then we went to the project social, and I wasnt feeling it. All the fun and cheer didnt sink in, I was thinking, tomorrow Ill be gone, this isnt reality yet, all that kinda stuff. But tonight we got back and had family time, a time the whole ccp team gets together and is real with eachother. It made tomorrow alot easier knowing how other people share the same fears and stuff as me.
Right now i am anxious, just want to be there safe. I dont want to get a nosebleed, and I def dont want to crash...so pray for safety!!!!
Getting up at 6:50 is going to be hard...oh yeah, thanks to josh b., he gave me half a suitcase and I was about 2 pounds under in each!!!! :)
Thursday, June 5, 2008
In Myrtle Beach...
Well, I decided to start a blog for my time in South Africa! I think it would be cool to really jot down some things that I am doing, what God is teaching me, how things are going, etc. :)
So here I sit. Today is thursday, June 5, and compared to most of my recent days, its pretty relaxing. I'm in a perfect location-on the balcony at our hotel, in the shade, 16 floors up looking out to the beach. It is beautiful! I love summer time and the beach, so Im thankful I get to experience a few days of fun in the sun. Looking out at how far the waters stretch and change from green to deep blue really makes me think of Gods glory and His awesome creation. People look like little toothpicks on the beach, especially compared to the vastness of the sea-I think someday we will all understand just how small we really are. Its cool that we can rejoice and experience Gods creation while here on earth :)
Right now I am feeling alot of different emotions about going to South Africa on Saturday-fear, anticipation, excitement, weariness, to name a few. Its been good to be at Myrtle Beach at the Lp for the past few days, especially just getting to fellowship with alot of students that are going to be room leaders at the Lp this summer. I felt really comfortable there, which is always a fear for me, but honestly, I feel pretty comfortable with most of our CCP team now. Thats one thing that I really want to grow in this summer- identity in Jesus alone!! I am free from the chains of this world, the things that once bound me so tightly arent even relevant, but I struggle to feel freedom in my identity, my personality, gifts, and alot of junk that goes along with that.
The theme for this summer is The End- and of course, the end is Jesus. Were studying colossians, which I have already started and am really really excited about!! I think it will be chalenging for me though, becuase I know that in my heart, I often make other things ends. One thing that stuck with me last night was something Jamie Lightcap said- "as soon as we take our gaze of of Christ our lives go from peace to chaos." How true that is in my own life! I think I trick myself into thinking that one shift of my heart wont change anything, which is so wrong, because those desires lead to sin and sin to death.
Here are a few things you could pray for me this weekend:
good time with the fam (they will be here thurs and fri!)
trust in Christ above myself
calmness and peace on the plane
and some great time with Jesus
Tonight and tomorrow Im going to get to spend some time with mom and dad and kasey, maybe even emily for a bit. Im really excited!! i love my family so much :) Then we will go to the Lp social on friday night, and leave bright and early saturday to go to the airport. I think we have alot of travel time, I know its 18 hrs there!!! But I downloaded 2 episodes of nicktoons old cartonns (doug & as told by ginger) and if you know me, youu know that I love them! So hopefully I will be sleeping, listening to my ipod, and reading, and talking to people...oh yeah, and I am nervous about getting a nose bleed. Hope that wont happen!!
well thats all for now!!! thanks to jrook aka suspender, i have some awesome new tunes to help tell myself the Truth and spur me on :)
So here I sit. Today is thursday, June 5, and compared to most of my recent days, its pretty relaxing. I'm in a perfect location-on the balcony at our hotel, in the shade, 16 floors up looking out to the beach. It is beautiful! I love summer time and the beach, so Im thankful I get to experience a few days of fun in the sun. Looking out at how far the waters stretch and change from green to deep blue really makes me think of Gods glory and His awesome creation. People look like little toothpicks on the beach, especially compared to the vastness of the sea-I think someday we will all understand just how small we really are. Its cool that we can rejoice and experience Gods creation while here on earth :)
Right now I am feeling alot of different emotions about going to South Africa on Saturday-fear, anticipation, excitement, weariness, to name a few. Its been good to be at Myrtle Beach at the Lp for the past few days, especially just getting to fellowship with alot of students that are going to be room leaders at the Lp this summer. I felt really comfortable there, which is always a fear for me, but honestly, I feel pretty comfortable with most of our CCP team now. Thats one thing that I really want to grow in this summer- identity in Jesus alone!! I am free from the chains of this world, the things that once bound me so tightly arent even relevant, but I struggle to feel freedom in my identity, my personality, gifts, and alot of junk that goes along with that.
The theme for this summer is The End- and of course, the end is Jesus. Were studying colossians, which I have already started and am really really excited about!! I think it will be chalenging for me though, becuase I know that in my heart, I often make other things ends. One thing that stuck with me last night was something Jamie Lightcap said- "as soon as we take our gaze of of Christ our lives go from peace to chaos." How true that is in my own life! I think I trick myself into thinking that one shift of my heart wont change anything, which is so wrong, because those desires lead to sin and sin to death.
Here are a few things you could pray for me this weekend:
good time with the fam (they will be here thurs and fri!)
trust in Christ above myself
calmness and peace on the plane
and some great time with Jesus
Tonight and tomorrow Im going to get to spend some time with mom and dad and kasey, maybe even emily for a bit. Im really excited!! i love my family so much :) Then we will go to the Lp social on friday night, and leave bright and early saturday to go to the airport. I think we have alot of travel time, I know its 18 hrs there!!! But I downloaded 2 episodes of nicktoons old cartonns (doug & as told by ginger) and if you know me, youu know that I love them! So hopefully I will be sleeping, listening to my ipod, and reading, and talking to people...oh yeah, and I am nervous about getting a nose bleed. Hope that wont happen!!
well thats all for now!!! thanks to jrook aka suspender, i have some awesome new tunes to help tell myself the Truth and spur me on :)
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