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!