At this point in the trip, I am only able to get wifi on the weekends. This last Saturday when I arrived at our community partners’ home and connected to wifi my phone blew up with the same question over and over again, “How’s Africa?”
If only I had words to answer that question. I want to say, "Amazing! Incredible! Life-changing" but those answers aren’t big enough! I find myself at a constant loss for words in most situations here in South Africa. I wish to constantly be hugging and thanking every single person I meet, but I struggle with the fact that saying thank you just doesn’t express the gratitude I really feel. My everyday life here in this beautiful country is an absolute dream.
Every morning I wake up and head to the school in Olivenhoutbosch. I start out my day by helping out in a 1st-grade classroom. I get the chance to read stories, teach lessons, learn about their lives, and love them. When the afternoon comes around, my team and I meet up with the volunteers that run the after-school mentoring program for the kids who are not able to go home right after school. Together we do devotions and have the chance to hear each other's stories. The guys running the program are—for the lack of a better word—just awesome. They serve with their whole heart and it shows so much. The kids absolutely adore each and every one of them. I feel very blessed to be serving alongside them.
Following devotions, we head back outside to meet the kids as they’re getting let out of school. This is my favorite part of the day. The kids, without question, run up and greet each of us with hugs. We get to ask about their day, play soccer, or just hang out and get to know one another. This is where we started building relationships with the kids. Learning about their personalities, their likes and dislikes, their opinions, and what Jesus means to them has been the best part of this experience so far. Every day when we leave the school I feel so overcome with gratefulness and love.
These last 3 weeks I’ve been making a point to always remind myself what a privilege it is to be living this life.
This verse from Ephesians has weighed heavy on my heart: "By God’s grace and mighty power. I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News." (Ephesians 3:7)
Lucky for me God handpicked South Africa as my place to spread The Good News, and I am loving every minute of it. How incredible is it that God gives us this privilege that we are so far from worthy of? Every day I am learning more about Him and myself. Every day he shows me something new, and I wish I could write it down in words so you could see it as well. But I cannot put it into words, so I will do my best to reflect the changes he’s making in me here and when I head home.
SO, Africa is too good to put into words. All I can say is I am blessed, grateful, and overcome with love. I wish time would slow down so I could avoid the dreaded goodbyes for as long as possible. But as for right now I am soaking in every minute of beauty and heartbreak and taking in every lesson God is teaching me.
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