How it’s been so far!

WE’RE IN SOUTH AFRICA!! It’s so crazy that we’ve finally made it. All the packing, preparation, training, and traveling has all been worth it. It’s been three and a half weeks now since we first arrived to training camp. Training in Georgia was such a blast and tought me so much about myself and understanding why I felt the calling from God to come to Africa. Training covered everything we needed to know, all the way from evangelism to house visits and knowing how to act in much different cultures. Those two weeks brought our team of 18 people so close and I’m so thankful for every individual I get to serve on the field with. The hiking we got to do was so fun and beautiful along with the worship and messages that really impacted me. We had two and a half days of flying and layovers and then we finally arrived in Jefferey’s Bay on Monday, September 16th. Even though it can be a dangerous area, it’s also such a beautiful part of Africa we are in. We can always see the beach and the weather here is unlike anything I’ve felt. The first week here we got to help at an after school program called Beats & Books where we got the opportunity to teach these students guitar, piano, and worship with them. We got to play soccer, do Bible studies, and teach them some school subjects too. Getting to just show love of Jesus and be present with some of these kids who haven’t been shown it before impacted me as much as it did them. We got the chance to do house visits for the families of the students and bring them fresh fruit, and prayer. It was so crazy to see what just a little bit of hope from prayer can do in someone’s heart. On the adventure side of things we’ve been able to visit the beautiful surf town of Jefferey’s bay very often. The shops, beach, and atmosphere of this place is so cool to me. We also got the chance to jump off the worlds highest bungee jump, Bloukrans Bungee Jump, along the Eastern Cape of South Africa. That was one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever gotten to be apart of and would do it again in an instant. There’s so much more we get to do and I can’t wait to share about it as they come! Now that I’ve been here I’m so confident and happy with the decision of coming here. God has stuck with me through every high and low on this trip so far and is making things more clear to me as the trip goes on. I feel him so close and have already seen him work through our team and the people we’ve gotten the chance to meet in such powerful ways. I can’t wait to see all the other things he has in store for this trip unfold and how we works through our squad each day!!