South Africa

I can't believe I've been in Africa an entire month! After surviving 2 nights in a row on an airplane, we arrived in the port city of Durban, South Africa.  A 4 hour bus ride took us to Winterton and to the YWAM base near the Drakensberg Mountains where we finished the final two weeks of our training. These two weeks were an amazing opportunity to meet local Zulu people as well as learn more about the culture here.  We also had time to continue team building within our group and experience life together as we lived in close quarters and completed several work projects.

The view outside our house. South Africa is beautiful!

The local school had 70 kids in a classroom, so we cleaned and painted 2 extra rooms to help alleviate the crowding.

Another school where we did some cement work and painting to fix the preschool building.

In addition to several work projects, we had the privilege to join in with 2 organizations who provide home healthcare  to people in the townships and villages.  A large percentage of the population is HIV positive and has TB. Local women walk miles a day to visit people who may not be able to come to town to visit a clinic.

The pictures below shows one of the villages we visited and Sindy, the caregiver who let us come along with her on her visits.

Sindy, Bethany, and me walking through the village

We worked with Tandi to make packages of food to be delivered to clinic patients. HIV patients need food to take their medicine with, so the clinic provides rice, beans, salt, sugar, soup mix, and tea. 

One of the highlights for me was the day we ran into some kids after school who needed help with their math homework.  Of course I was delighted to help! The next day even more kids showed up so I had an impromptu math class.

Photo credit: Katie Keegan

Another highlight for me was all the animals!  Although there were fences, you were just as likely to see cows, goats, chickens, horses, and sheep outside the fences as inside.  I especially enjoyed playing with the sheep!

And there were several dogs who lived at the YWAM base.  Of course they were not as cute as Sophie, but they were just a cuddly!

Here are some beautiful pictures from a short hike we took one evening. I am lucky to have some friends who are amazing photographers!

Photo Credit: Katie Keegan 

My roommates in Winterton were Rachel from the UK and Bronnie from New Zealand. They taught me fabulous new words like "gobsmacked," which means to be astonished or overwhelmed. They kept me laughing even when I couldn't sleep because of jet lag or when it was freezing cold because there was no heat!

After spending almost 2 months together, our team was incredibly close. I thank the Lord for each person and how He used them in my life this summer!