A Week in the Life of Bryna!

I do not have a 9 to 5 job, nor a predictable week schedule…but I am blessed with daily adventures that often come as pleasant surprises! I thought I would give you a little taste into my life here by sharing with you my last week and the random activities, events and relationships that sporadically fill up my calendar here.

Saturday, May 9th:
Woke up in my friend Christy Wheeler’s flat (we had had a movie/sleep over night). It was a relaxing morning and I ended up journaling for over an hour some of the heart issues that Jesus is revealing to me at the moment. At about 10:00 we drove down to Sea Point and took a nice long walk in the sunshine. I then hurried home by 1:00 to get ready for a lunch that my housemates and I were hosting for about five other women. Around 5:00 the guests had gone and I relaxed a bit before heading out to babysit my pastor’s two children. While the kids slept I watched the latest BBC version of Sense and Sensibility…one of my favorites.

Sunday, May 10th:
Left early for church to pick up a few people on the way. Church supposedly starts at 10:00, but one never quite knows when the service will start…hey its Africa! After church Susie came home with me for lunch. It was a surprisingly warm, 78 degree winter day so like most Cape Townians we were going to take advantage of it! We ended up driving down to the beach in Muzinburg and went for an hour and half long walk on the beach with our feet cooling in the sea. We had a good heart to heart chat. After, we splurged a bit and got cappuccinos and ice cream…a perfect treat on a sunny beach day. Later that night I curled up in bed with my housemate Caroline and we watched 4 episodes of The Office…we are officially addicted to this show! South Africa is a season behind so we only still making our way though Season 4.

Monday, May 11th:
Up early for house prayer. Then to Warehouse by 8:30 for morning prayers there. We were all challenged to believe the Lord for big things this week…mine was to believe for continual financial provision! Spent some time in the morning putting together clothing packs and organizing the ‘threshing floor’. From 2:30 to 4 joined the mom’s group and played with the many children, and chatted with the mums that come in weekly. Home for some personal time before our house dinner (with Caroline, Rene and Linda…we meet each Monday night to eat and connect). That night I shared what the Lord has been doing in my heart over the weekend…was stretched and blessed by my vulnerability with these women.

Tuesday, May 12th:
Up early for prayers again…and then prayers at the Warehouse at 8:30 too. Tuesdays are teaching days at the WH and my group was looking at the power of blessings and how we can strategically pray prayers of blessing over each other. After, was apart of an hour long prayer time for a staff member. Then after lunch I headed home for some admin and reading time. At 4:30 I drove to Tambo Village to tutor Simpamandela. I was about to leave at 6 but his mother said she made a special meal for me…we had yummy fried bread…that was filled with chicken liver! Yes I managed to eat it all (two of them), and a first for me too! I ended up staying until 7:30 just chatting and laughing with this dear family.

Wednesday, May 13th:
Morning prayers with housemates and then worship at the Warehouse at 8:30. After, left with Lara for Khayelitsha Preschool. Typical morning of playing with the kids, but at around 11 one of the teachers asked if I could help them do some errands. They have never asked before, but since I had a car I was happy to help and go on an adventure. Myself, one of teachers and one of the cooks piled into my little car (still running on its Styrofoam part!)…and drove to another nursery/preschool to get another cook. All four of us then went to the Khayelitsha Shoprite, and I will say that I was the only white face in the entire store! I did get lots of glances and puzzled looks. After buying all the weekly supplies for the school meals, we drove to a shack not too far away where we bought some fresh vegetables. Then back to each of the preschools to unload. I was thankful to see the other preschool and am interested to get involved there later on this year. Back at the school I joined the other teachers for a satisfying lunch of chicken and rice.

Thursday, May 14th:
Leave at 7:45 to head to SACS school. Head teacher Camilla is at a funeral so I was asked to assist Tina, her assistant, for the day. Had a great time with the boys and the other teachers, my relationships with them all continues to grow. On my way home I stopped by and visited Liesl, Eliza and Vivian Stewart and joined them for lunch and some catch up time. Back home to read and reflect! Later called a friend in the States on skype.

Friday, May 15th:
Slept in, we don’t pray as a house on Friday mornings. The winter rain was pouring outside so my walking plans got canceled and I spent the morning in my PJs bundled up and pottering around the house, organizing and writing to friends. At 2:30 I left with Caroline, Zandille from church and her 4 year old son to Glen Carin for the Sweet Home Farm girl’s camp. One of the ministries at the WH is a girl’s youth group at the Sweet Home Farm (an informal settlement) and this weekend was their first ever camp. The teenage girls were so excited! I was asked to come along for a night and help in the kitchen! It was great fun to be back in a camp mode and we made hot dogs and fries for that first night. I bonded the most with my new 4 year old buddy! The rain came down hard and we had an unsettled night in our cabins…gotta love those bunk beds with snorers and sleep talkers!

Saturday, May 16th:
Up at 6:30 to help with breakfast! Then ran errands with Caroline…the rain came down hard in true South African fashion…in unison with the wind I always feel like I am experiencing a hurricane! Back home by the afternoon to quickly get glamorous for the 2:00 wedding of Gary & Louie Hartwig at Christ Church Kenilworth. She is on staff at the WH. At about 5:00 Caroline and I went to a cozy bar and sipped a much needed glass of red wine after a busy 24 hours!

Dreaming of an Ideal City

It is often fun to dream and envision the places in which we live different from how they currently are. A few weeks ago I was driving out to Khayelitsha with Susie and Lara from the Warehouse and asked them the question: “What would you do if safety were not an issue in Cape Town?”…it immediately got my mind thinking and I wanted to share some of my thoughts to that question.

First of all, if safety were not an issue…I would be living in the townships…living within the communities that I work with during the day! Specifically I would love to be in Tambo Village for this is the neighborhood that my church is in. Despite the poverty and the hardships these townships face…what they do have is rich community and relationships. I live in a somewhat middle class area in Cape Town. Not extremely rich, but definitely not poor either. I am not complaining at all…for our two story house even has a pool! But this house is safely hidden behind…a locked door, a security gate, a high cement wall, a remote controlled gate for our cars…plus a security system that gets put on even if we pop out for a quick errand. I know my neighbors, in the sense that I recognize their faces, or their voices as I can hear them over our back garden wall…but I don’t know them. Partly this is my fault as I haven’t really taken the time to chat with them if we happen to cross paths while driving into our secured properties before locking our doors. In the townships it is different…there are no fences and no gates. People walk to and from each others houses…children play in the streets and often leave for a few hours to play and the parents know exactly where they are. In my ideal Cape Town I would desire to live in a community where I could sit outside my home and chat with my neighbors, playing with the kids as they walked by…and not even worry about security issues!

As I sit here thinking about neighborhoods I reminisce the special season I had on Hilltop in Tacoma, WA. It was a clear call from Jesus to move into the very neighborhood of the families that I was ministering to at the time. I loved just being on Ainsworth St. I loved the summer days of coming home from work and sipping a glass of wine on my porch, chatting with the neighbors coming back from work. Dozens of kids would flock to my house and we would paint each others toe nails, sip lemonade or play ball out front. The Lord had called me to that community and I felt fully present there and so often alive.

I am challenged writing this today on how I can continue to build a community around me here in Cape Town…despite the current security, racial and social barriers that stand in my way.

Another thing I would do in an entirely safe city is walk anywhere and everywhere, at any time of day! Oh how I miss London for that aspect. I am not a runner, nor a gym girl…but I love to walk and miss that daily exercise! People do walk here, don’t get me wrong and most people have to for cars are a luxury. But it is not always safe to walk anywhere I want and by myself. As in most cities around the world, one needs to be wise and know where they are going and what they are carrying.

One of my favorite times to walk in London was at dusk, just as the sun was going down. As I wondered through my Fulham neighborhood, I could glace into the homes that hadn’t yet shut their front drapes. I felt like a detective in that 5 second glance into their sitting rooms…wondering who they were and what were they like (and looking at their beautiful paintings on the walls). I don’t walk around my neighborhood here and even though its relatively safe during the day light hours…it is not very scenic and beautiful. When I have the time I have started to drive down to Sea Point, an area near the city center. In line with its name, Sea Point is on the water and has a lovely promenade that stretches over a mile. It id a very populated area was push chairs, runners, families and dog walkers. When I do get the chance to stroll down there I breath in the sea air and pray while I walk…it has been a real joy.

In conclusion to these thoughts, I realize that there is no ideal location, neighborhood or community. Unfortunately the sin of this world is in every city I have ever lived. Crime, division and hate come to steal our peace of mind and relationships with one another. I am thankful I have a God who watches out for me…keeping me safe and giving me a conscience to listen to…but I am also challenged to be willing to break out of my own patterns…patters of fear and protection, that may hinder me from experiencing more of Jesus in this city he has called me to!