The past few days have been great. I’ve started to settle in and have gotten used to some of the differences between South Africa and the USA. I’ve had a really good time hanging out at Sarah and Casey’s house. They are quite popular people, especially their 2 year old daughter, and kids are constantly coming around to play. It can get a bit overwhelming at times because not all the kids are the best listeners, but they all can be quite loveable once in awhile(just kidding). I do know one thing though; I have listed to one of Dora the Explorer’s songs like a million times already and I am going a little crazy lol! I have developed a “Siamese twin” which to be honest, I have no idea what her name is, but she likes to come around in the morning and jump all over me all the time and she asked if I could stay here forever so that was quite flattering.
I’ve seen my first legit African animal…a baboon! Baboons in Africa are like our deer I feel like. There are Baboon crossing signs on the roads and there are actually “Baboon watchers” who actually wave flags if they see a baboon crossing the street. Talk about an interesting job.
On Sunday we went to the Church next door for an 8am service (cold!). Sarah gave a great sermon about trusting God completely and how he isn’t done finishing our story. It was a great message to hear at the beginning of my journey and a message we can all connect with. It was especially effective for the people of Ocean View because they haven’t been dealt the easiest of hands and the message pointed out that God has you where he wants you to be for a purpose and that should inspire us all to keep going. If you give God all your hardships, he can use them for his glory. Sarah paralleled the message with Bethany Hamilton’s story. Bethany Hamilton was training to be a professional surfer when one day out in the water, her arm got bitten off by a shark. Of course she was frustrated, but she trusted in God and he made an inspirational story out of her misfortune. She still became a professional surfer, and she also brought the story of God’s love to millions of people worldwide. She wouldn’t have been able to do this if she still had two arms. So always remember, God isn’t finished with any of us yet. Later on in the day we went to Hillsong Church. There are a few Hillsong churches around the world (look it up!). We saw this really cool band play some good Christian songs with a bit of an African twist to it. I felt like this concert was a representation of South Africa. People of all colors and nationalities gathered together. There was so much energy and joy in the room. Despite some horrible conditions in this country there is hope and new life in its people. On a lighter note, the concert reminded me of an extreme Shaggy concert and I felt like I had the worst rhythm in the whole room lol!
On Monday I got to hangout and practice with the Ubuntu boys. It was quite fun, but made me feel so old. I thought I was all grownup when I was 12 like the age of these boys, but 12 sure is young! They were all a little squeamish around me –I’m sure they aren’t used to older American girls coming around all the time. This trait worked in my advantage recently when I bought a sim card for my phone. I think the cashier felt sorry for me being a stupid American (I didn’t even know my own address) and he gave me a sim card for roughly a quarter!
Tuesday was a special day in South Africa. It was Women’s Day. That’s right, Women’s Day –I can’t believe we don’t celebrate this in the US! Haha, but really it was a national holiday, kids were out of school (most were out of school on Monday as well) and even the grocery stores closed early. Apparently South Africa has a lot of national holidays – I can get used to that. Unfortunately, the boys in the community didn’t want to celebrate with me because they totally stole the beach ball I let them play with. I have faith that it will randomly show up in the next few days though.
More updates about my volunteer work and host family will be soon to come! Miss you all and hope you all are having a wonderful week!
Lots of Love,
Amanda
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