my friend.

Kelsey has been here for four days now and we’ve had so much fun together, despite the freezing and rainy weather. I have felt more like myself than ever having her here. It almost feels like I’m home. She is so good at making things uncomplicated and relaxed. Today we took a long walk like we normally would do on the quad or around Bama’s campus…we talked and laughed about past memories and future plans. I’m so thankful for her friendship.

Tonight we’re going to my favorite restaurant Craft Trattoria for a late dinner. I’m so excited to share a meal with my favorite girls!

I still miss home, but for now…I’m okay.

back to work & visitors.

A seven hour meeting today ushered out our winter break and welcomed in our last semester in Durban. Classes start back on Monday and we have a leadership meeting on Saturday…there’s still so much to plan! We are praying that another STINT team will be here next year to fill our roles but as it stands there isn’t a team coming so, we are preparing our students to run the ministry without the help of interns. It’s going to be a very busy but fun semester!

I’m also having two visitors! I’m so unbelievably lucky! One of my very best friends, Kelsey, is getting here Saturday and is spending two weeks with me. I’m so excited she gets to be on campus for the beginning of the new semester- plus I’m taking her on a game drive one Saturday...hopefully we’ll see the “big 5”. I’m just really looking forward to staying up all night and talking!

"Without friends no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods."
- Artistotle

And then Brant arrives shortly after Kelsey leaves! I can’t believe he is actually getting to come visit…what a dream! All my friends are so eager to meet this mystery boy from America. It’s going to be so fun showing him my life in South Africa and having him be a part of it. I’ve missed him.

inspiration.

“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.”

T.S. Eliot

Isn’t it ironic that Eliot’s quote was at the top of the page in my notebook in which I was writing my ministry and personal goals for this next semester? I’m not sure if Eliot was referring to spiritual gains but he brings the always present question to my mind: Why not risk it all for the Kingdom? We gain everything by serving and worshiping the Lord! I’m so encouraged by this little bit of inspiration tonight.

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.”

Psalm 91:1

fun times.

I don’t think I mention enough how much fun it is living in South Africa with one of my best friends, Lauren. It’s still so bizarre to me how the Lord called us both on STINT in Durban. I couldn’t be more thankful for her friendship this year. She is home to me when I miss it the most….when I’m longing to be back in Alabama, she reminds me how precious our time here is.

One of my favorite things about our friendship is how we can talk about something for days, or even months and still not get tired of it. You’d think being with the same person 24/7 for a year, you would run out of things to talk about, but somehow we always find a way to amuse ourselves. There are so many things that happen in our regular day that would normally seem strange, but not here. Like the fact that we love freezing water in glasses to see the crystals it makes, or that we have a name for every living or non-living animal in our flat (a.k.a. Smith the snail that lives in our bathroom), or because we don’t have TV or unlimited internet we opt for snuggling up in a twin bed and watching a movie on our laptop, or that we (maybe just me) have random dance parties without music, or that we still don’t have resident passes and have to check in every time we enter our complex, or that our bathroom light has been out since we got here, and finally, my favorite, riding around in our car we’ve named “Dixie” with no radio except our iphone speaker! I think we’ve done a pretty good job of entertaining ourselves – I love our simple life!

I am so thankful for experiences of the past two weeks. Beginning with orphan camp... how my heart just breaks thinking about those precious little kids. In total there were around 150 kids ages 5-18. I was responsible for 10 sweet little five to nine year old girls. Even though they were too young to speak English, I can't explain how much fun I had with these girls. With the help of three college girl (Zulu) leaders from Crusade, we played "mom" all week. I loved learning from these college girls how this culture takes care of everyone so well. After getting the little girls ready for the day, we would all go eat breakfast with the rest of the kids from camp, then we had a morning session, arts and crafts, lunch, play time, afternoon session, dinner, bath time, and then finish with an evening session and worship. Bed time was different each night. Some nights they wanted me to tell them stories, other nights they wanted to brush my hair and walk around in my Frye boots. I just melt thinking about their innocent, playful smiles. It was the most amazing week ever! I feel like I have such a better understanding of the culture here and I definitely learned some more of the Zulu language...I can now successfully say "Do you need to use the bathroom?"

All my little girls and the student leaders

Bath time.

Ntombi wearing my boots. Luyanda posing for the camera.

























After orphan camp, the Slabbert's, our South African "family", took us on the most relaxing holiday in the Drakensburg Mountains where we stayed in a cozy little cabin, perfectly situated at the base of the mountain range. We warmed ourselves by the fire, cooked plenty of good food, and enjoyed the beauty and serenity of nature. The Lord has truly blessed us with such an amazingly generous family here in SA.

RTR.

I saw this cute picture on Etsy and wanted to share it with all my Bama people.

Hope you have a fantastic 4th of July!

on the go.

We're back home in Durban but only for today. We had the most amazing mid year retreat in Cape Town this past week! Thanks to Dave and the Port Elizabeth team for making it so fun and adventurous! We spent part of our time celebrating what the Lord has done on campus the past five months and planning how to finish our next six months strong, and the other part exploring Cape Town, cooking together, and getting plenty of relaxation time.

Tomorrow we are taking 150 orphans (ages 4-17) and 25 college student leaders on a four night camp where we will play games, teach Bible lessons, and love on the kids. I am so excited to see how the Lord is going to work in our hearts as we experience a completely different walk of life. I can't wait for this opportunity to serve and to learn so much more about the culture here!