Reunions & Musicals

It truly is a small world:

It never ceases to amaze me that even living half way around the world, I still run into people I know from my past. About a month ago I was at the Warehouse and two girls from the UK came in to volunteer for the week. Upon meeting them I realized that one of the gals had been at a conference at my church in Tacoma 3 years ago and I had been paired up to pray with her a few times. We had kept in contact a bit after that initial meeting, but over the years lost touch...now she was here...in front of me...in Cape Town. Then about two weeks ago a large group from Atlanta, GA came in to volunteer one morning. After our morning prayer meeting a man named John Hambrick from the group approached me and asked if I had ever lived in London...I said yes, and then he asked me my name...well turns out he was my youth group leader my freshman and sophomore year of high school...I had even babysat his kids. It had been 12 years since I had last seen him! He is now a pastor in Atlanta and his church has a partnership with a church here in Cape Town. Such a small world.

I have also been blessed to connect with the Barker family (Aaron & Rhonda and their 3 precious children) from my former church in Tacoma (Aaron was the worship pastor). Their son Jacob was one of my former preschool students too. They are currently staying in Cape Town for a YWAM training school and I have enjoyed showing them around the city.

Somerset West:

This last weekend I went out of town to Somerset West, only a 45min drive away, to stay with my housemate's mum Charmain Plummer. She was a gracious host and we even had goodie bags on our pillows! It was lovely to enjoy a new area and tour around. Highlights were visiting a country estate call Vergelegen...home of some of the oldest trees in the Cape. Also, Charmain is an incredible piano player and had books of my favorite musicals...so I was in heaven singing as she played for nearly an hour: Fiddler on the Roof, Sound of Music, Guys and Dolls, West Side Story & Brigadoon. Theater is in my blood and I'm sure some day I will return to the stage at some point...just don't quite know when. While singing at one point I had to stop quite unexpectedly to hold back tears...I was singing through Fiddler on the Roof and got to the song Far From the Home I Love...well I began to sing the opening lyrics, “How can I hope to make you understand – why I do – what I do – Why I must travel to a distant land – Far from the home I love”...I was instantly chocked up with tears streaming down my face...for this was me, this was my story...I have felt these emotions...loving my home and family, yet also going to where I feel called...ahhhh, the unexpected things that make us cry!

Pictures of the Glorious Trees:

September Happenings

August has quickly disappeared and as September settles into the Cape...signs of Spring begin to peek out everywhere...wildflowers, baby ducks and rain! So much has happened in the last few weeks, so here are a few highlights:

New housemate, New flat:

On the 17^th of August I moved in with an incredible woman named Caroline Plummer (in the blue). Caroline goes to my church and is one of my former housemate's (Linda) best friends. She is a school teacher and has a lovely flat literally across from the rugby stadium in an area called Newlands. It was definitely a change for me at first, as I had always lived in Lansdowne with my lovely 'Queenbess' ladies...but with a dear friend moving into my room while I was home for the summer, I needed to place to stay for a month...or longer. I am loving the fact that I can walk in my new neighborhood and enjoying a more central area! Each Thursday morning I now walk 10 minutes to the SACS Preschool where I volunteer. Caroline and I are enjoying walking, cooking and watching movies together...and just enjoying a new companionship!

4 Boys and a Long Weekend:

From September 4^th through the 9^th, I had the privilege of staying with 4 incredible young men, named Oliver (15), Max (13), Joe (10), & Will (8)...while their parents went away for a long weekend. Needless to say it was a busy schedule of four school runs a day, sports activities, birthday parties, sleepovers and all the other events that mothers graciously deal with. The boys were fantastic and we really had fun together. I played dozens of games of table tennis (ping pong), Clue & Monopoly...watched fun movies and even hiked in Newlands Forest. We also had great conversations about God and I shared some of the stories of how he miraculously provides for me. Oh, and I even introduced them to a great American breakfast...French Toast & Bacon with lots of syrup!

Deeper Levels of Forgiveness:

Jesus continues to take me deeper in my relationships with my 'family' at the Warehouse. Two weeks ago we had a powerful week of telling our life stories to each other. With 24 full time staff members and 5 full time volunteers, it was a lot of sitting and listening! We were given 20min to share about our upbringing, family history and whatever we could fit into that short amount of time. It was an extremely powerful and emotional week for me, as Jesus continues to break my heart for this country and the ongoing pain surrounding the injustices of Apartheid. It is hard to write about all God is doing in this area, as I feel as if I am still processing. He is doing a deep work within me and I am humbled to learn so much from my family here.

Back to Children's Ministry

Since last June, when I joined my church Khanysia, I have been anxious to get involved with their expanding children's ministry on Sunday mornings. However, over the last year I have been sensing the Lord's desire for me to take a break...the wait to get involved also had to do with learning to be in a season of 'being' and not 'doing'. My world revolved around ministering to kids in the States and I know Jesus needed to show me this past year that my significance is found fully in him and not in the roles I am used to playing. I have also been refreshed by consistently being with the adults for a season and making deep friendships with my peers.

A year ago, Khanysia had to build a tent outside their main church building to house the expanding number of kids flooding in each Sunday. Today, over two hundred 3-12 year olds pile in for worship, teaching & sweets. Most of these children walk from the neighboring communities by themselves or with siblings. As you can imagine most Sundays are what I call “controlled chaos.” What amazes me is that the majority of the leaders are youths themselves, probably between the ages of 13-19. These young men and women have amazing servant hearts and incredible amounts of energy! Needless to say, I often feel quite 'old' as I stand in the back or sit amongst the little ones...but to be honest, that is what my heart loves best!

I am very thankful there are no hidden cameras in the tent. These kids love to dance and worship! They are obsessed with all the Hillsong Kids music and have learned very complex hip hop dances to go along with these songs. Each week, a group of teenagers strut their moves up on stage and these little kids have no problems following along...but me, ahhhh, I am always a step behind and normally stepping on some little girl's feet. I have already half jokingly chatted with a friend at church about some private dance lessons to catch up! My ongoing nightmare now is that the kids will be asked to sing and perform during the adult service...this happens every few months and usually the leaders dance alongside them in front of the entire church! I will keep you posted!

Last week I had a laugh when I helped out with the 6 year olds for the first time. Most of them speak very limited English so when I talk with them I must use a translator. The story told from the front that morning was on Ruth and I noticed that the teenager who spoke used no visuals and quickly mumbled the story that went completely over these little one's heads. So, once I had a circle of just the 6 year olds I thought it would be a good idea to recap. I was trying to get the concept into the kids head that Ruth did not return to her homeland, but went with Miriam to a different location. So I started telling the story in terms of Ruth being from the 'Western Cape' and Miriam from the 'Eastern Cape' (these are different regions in South Africa)...I thought I was smart but soon feared that the little ones now believed that South Africa was the location of the bible story...oh, well...whatever works right? Then as I went on to tell the story I was caught by the complexities before me...death, moving, bitterness, gleaning, kinsman redeemers & sleeping on the threshing floor at a tipsy man's feet...I couldn't translate all this! My story abruptly ended as I said she met a guy named Boaz, got married and lived happily ever after...the end.