Your hands that shape the WORLD

Yesterday I again had the opportunity to go to Liziel and Reagan’s church and it was such an amazing service.  Every song that we sang had so much feeling and emotion tucked into it that it becomes so much easier to worship. As I looked around the church I saw so many different people. All of which were throwing up their hands in complete awe of the Lord.  There were Blacks, Colored, Whites and Indians, and every person was joined together in the love of Jesus Christ.  It was a beautiful thing, and I noticed that it is something I never see at my home church.  The church I go to at home in mainly White, but I fully believe that that is not what God wants His church to look like.  And the way we worship should be out of true, deep emotion.  A church should be a place to join together with different people, no matter the race or culture, to worship the God we ALL love.  
Being at this church has opened me up to so many things that I have never seen before, and at first it scared me, but has brought up so many good questions in my mind.  Different may be a hard thing to get used to but as I sang, I noticed in front of me, a young colored boy.  His mother was holding him and he was gently resting his head on her shoulder. He looked up at me and I saw that he had Down Syndrome.  I immediately thought about my Aunt Liz back and home; her loving spirit and great ability to make me laugh and that is when I realized the people here in Africa are no different from me.  We are constantly afraid of the differences in people that we never even take the opportunity to look at our similarities, to appreciate.  Yesterday God really showed me that there are no differences because we are all His beloved.  Whether some people worship in Africa and others worship in the United States, it makes no difference.  We are all people longing to love the Lord and no one has the right to judge another’s heart. 

I having been waiting for something to change me here in Africa, fearing that I will miss it, but at church was an amazing opportunity for me.  It is small things like that that I feel will constantly move me throughout my semester here and I am so thankful for them!

Sanibonani!

Sawibona! Igama lami uAlly! 

Today was the fourth day of classes, and in that time I can officially say I have learned a new language.  Tonight I had my fourth Zulu class and I feel like a pro, but I will never underestimate this clicking language again! It is the hardest class I have ever taken.  Zulu is everything that English is not, but I am getting the hang of it and I could not be more excited!

Not much has happened since classes have started.  Campus is beautiful everyday and homework haunts us as we play.  Today I did nothing but Zulu class, journal, read and tan.  I can't believe that this is my life and I am beyond blessed to be living it! As much as we complain, we really have no homework.  We fill our days with about an hour or two of studying and homework and the rest is filled with volleyball, hiking, swimming, and playing in waterfalls. Rough huh? I almost can't believe that I have time throughout my day to sit and just reflect.  I wish life back on the California campus was like this, because honestly who needs all that stress? 

Even though we are not taking the most demanding classes, we are being bombarded with culture shock and information.  We may not be in a classroom all day, but we are definitely learning.  There is so much about this country we have been learning just by taking those hikes and talking to people.  It is an interesting life style that continuously engages me.  Not only are we learning about our surroundings, but about each other.  I am so blessed to be here with some amazing people.  We are constantly learning and growing by listening and talking with each other.  My peers are so encouraging, and I have not been here one day in which I wasn't searching for something more.  

We are all here to figure this country out, to try new things and to grow and become more aware.  Together I can already tell that we are going to have some great adventures, whether it's conversing with the local Zulus when getting lost in the jungle, having the boys chase a lizard out of your room with a garbage can or simply waking up early to do our devotional.  I cannot wait to see the changes that are going to come upon each and every one of us.  None of us are sure what we are waiting for, whether it will be large or small, but I know none of us will return to the States the same.  

Unbelievable

As I’m sitting on the porch listening to the birds and the hot wind rustle through the trees, I can tell you none of this seems real.  I know that before I left I said that it wouldn’t hit me until I was on the plane, but to be honest I am here and it still hasn’t hit me.  It’s overwhelming to think that I am surrounded by all this beauty and opportunities all the time!  I wake up in the morning having to remind myself that I am in Africa.  I am constantly worried about not having enough time to experience everything this place has to offer, yet I know that 14 weeks is a long time.  I just don’t want to miss out on anything. 

It is hard to explain how amazing this place is to others, and I feel like the only people who will truly understand are those who I am sharing this amazing experience with.  Africa is nothing like I expected it to be yet I am not disappointed one bit.  It has truly surpassed anything I could have imagined. There is a peace here, that is found even though this country is still dripping from its effect of the apartheid. 

God has blessed me so much with this amazing opportunity and I am beyond thankful for it! They have told us multiple times that this semester is going to change us.  I do not know what that change will look like, but I hope that whatever I experience here will stick with me for the rest of my life. I hope that the things I see and the things I hear will impact me to change the way I’ve been living for the better.  All I know is that this semester is going to be exciting, trying, tiring, but most of all unbelievable!

Lazy Sunday

Today was the perfect Sunday.  We started off the morning by going to a local church that some of our RA's attend and it was quite different than church in the US.  The service was about 3 hours long, and about 2 and a half hours of it was worship!  The people were so full of hope and praise that it truly felt unlike any church I've ever been to.  It didn't feel as stiff or forced as church feels at home.  People were able to literally rejoice in the worship, it was so amazing and powerful!  It will be hard to go home and look at church the same way, when this congregation doesn't even have a building they seem almost ten times more thankful than my church and they show it!  After church we made a quick stop at good, old McDonald's for a little taste of home.  

When we returned to campus, we had some down time and were able to play in the pool at the foot of one of the waterfalls here on campus.  It is amazing to have such beauty constantly available right outside my door.  We ate a delicious lunch and headed to the game reserve 5 minutes down the road.  Little did we know we were about to embark on a true African safari.  We ended up spotting monkeys, very large insects and zebras!  It was truly amazing to see them standing right in front of us, no fences or enclosures.  They were absolutely beautiful and loved the attention of all the cameras.  

After the game reserve, we had class orientation and that is when it hit us... school starts tomorrow.  It's crazy to think that we are going to have to buckle down and study in this beautiful environment, it may be near impossible.  When they loaded up our arms with books, it became real.  Though, it will be hard, I am excited to learn more about this country in it's culture and history.  

Another great thing about this place is that we take two hours a day, in the morning and at night, for tea time.  We pour ourselves cups of hot tea, eat a bunch of sweets and take the time to talk and enjoy each other.  It demonstrates the beauty of Africa.  I find it so much easier to enjoy life here when I'm not surrounded by the fast pace world of home.  It can be so distracting there and there is never enough time to just sit and enjoy life.  I hope my time here only allows me to grow in my relationships with the friends I am making here and my relationship with God.  

So far I can already see why I was called to this place, and I cannot wait to see what else the Lord has in store for me!

This Is Africa

Just wanted to update to tell everyone I am here and safe! Because we have limited internet time here at the hotel in Johannesburg I cannot write much, but promise to fill in the details later! Tomorrow we are flying to Durban, which is about a 1 hour flight, and then a 2 hour drive to campus! I am so excited to get there but have loved my time here as well! I will write more when the internet is not so limited!

Is this real life?

I cannot believe that in literally three hours I am leaving the US for 4 months! My group will be leaving at 3:15 am to head to Washington DC and then into Africa. Please keep all 50 of us in prayer as we travel without a leader and get us safely to Johannesburg. I am not sure when I will next have Internet, but I am as nervous as I will ever be and as excited as I will ever be!

24 Hours

In 24 hours I will be preparing to leave for the trip of a lifetime. To be honest the feeling will only set in when that first plane takes flight. I've been thinking a lot about what it's going to be like, even look like, but I really have no idea. I'm going blindly into this trip, but I know that the expierence that this trip holds is nothing far from amazing. I got asked over and over again before I left for this trip what I thought it was going to be like, and I've realized I can't even imagine. That realization haunted me at first. For those of you that know me, I am a very organized and well planned person, but not now. As I get closer and closer to the trip I realize that that is the beauty of it all. I don't know all the details and I won't until I get there, but I've learned nothing is better than trusting the Lord and being completely in awe of the day to day miracles He works into our lives.

So here is to the beauty of the unknown and unexpected, I know you won't let me down.

Following

This song describes my life right now perfectly.  In one week I will be making my way to the beautiful country of Africa for one, whole semester! To tell you the truth the reality of it has yet to really hit me.  I have been home now for about a month, and am loving the comfort of home.  It is a place where I am most relaxed and I hate leaving it.  So this is where I am, I'm being pulled between the comfort of my home and the excitement of the adventure that lies ahead!  

This weekend I was able to see my dad and grandma, for the last time until I return.  It finally set in, and I realized I would not see the people I love the most until May.  I found myself crying as I dropped my dad off at the train station.  Goodbyes are always hard, especially when they are said to the ones you love the most.  As I drove home with the tears filling up my eyes (pathetic, I know), I realized I was looking at this with the wrong perspective.  I turned on this song and realized this semester is nothing to cry about.  Sure, it's far and sure, it's long, but I am going to Africa for a reason.

I was lucky enough to be accepted into a group of 35 students, including my close friends, to embark on the most amazing adventure of our lives.  I am going to experience things that no one has been able to experience before. And I am going to form relationships with people who are going to teach me so much about life.  This trip is going to be epic and I know what I experience in Africa will change my life forever.

And this is all part of the journey.  Leaving the place you love and are familiar with, to follow the paths the Lord has set in front of you.  No one said it would be easy, but no one said it wouldn't be worth it in the end.  So here is to the next semester, a semester where I stop leading myself and follow wherever the Lord takes me!