Bobbi's heading back to South Africa!

Badplaas, Mpumalanga, South Africa

2010-02-10T13:01:00.000+02:00

I've been in Badplaas, a small town about 3 hours east of Johnannesburg, for almost a month now. I'm settled and used to the routine now. I'm staying with five kids who have been orphaned and whose foster father had brain cancer and last week passed away. They are ages 10-15, two boys (twins)Sipho and Sihle, who just turned 13 and three girls, Jedidyah, 15, Queenie, 11 and Angel is 10. I am staying with them in the transition period between the foster home where they were and their likely new home.

Badplaas is a very beautiful area in the foothills of the Ndlumudlumu Hills. Every day I'm stunned by the view as we drive into town. I'm staying with the five kids on another family's farm. It is hoped they will become the new foster parents. They, Kerry and Wimpie, have two kids of their own, a 12 yr old son, Mickie and 15 yr old daughter, Michelle . All the children seem to get along well,especially the boys, who are practically inseparable.

Each day I go into town with them and assist at their school. Its a tiny Christian school. Then we go home, have lunch and do homework, then free time until supper, after supper the kids go to bed and I have a couple hours to unwind. I'm not sure how long I will be here, maybe until the end of March. Then I would like to visit a missionary friend in Botswana and then end up my time in Cape Town. I fly back to the States on April 28th. Just in time for my mother's birthday on the 30th!

Here are some pics.... me with all the kids except Michelle, after church last Sunday

Here's one of my favorite views here....

Here's a pic of the Christian school the kids attend...

Kids Club!!

2010-01-01T03:42:00.002+02:00

Mozambique! English class and ....

2009-10-22T21:13:00.007+02:00

So I've been in Mozambique for two and a half weeks and have been teaching now for 2 weeks and it has been interesting to say the least! My first day of classes, one student showed up!! The second class (I'm teaching a class during the week and then a class on Saturdays for those who can't come during the week) had 8 students by the end of class. So far the biggest challenge, aside from my lack of experience, is the differing levels of the students. Most are beginners, but a few speak pretty good English. It will be difficult to keep them engaged, since the lessons need to be pretty basic for the beginners. Here is a picture of some of my students, Sebastiao, Celso and Raimundo...Celso and Raimundo are two of the more advanced students....they are quite funny also... I was warned they may try to hijack my class sometimes! =:)

The students are quite eager though and I think even the intermediate students are enjoying the chance to speak more English. Outside of class, they don't have much opportunity to speak English, though it will apparently make it easier for them to get a good job if they speak English. The students are from a very poor area of Maputo and so don't have money to buy workbooks or dictionaries, so I'm going to try to raise money to buy them each an English/Portuguese dictionary. I think this will help them a lot. Especially if I can get them reading and writing, they will need the dictionary to expand their vocabulary.

This is a picture of Grace and Patrick Mulenga. I am staying with them in their home. Two of their daughters live with them also, Shula, who is Director of the Kutwanana Primary School they run at the church; and Twatasha, their youngest daughter, who is finishing up her last year of high school. They have two other children, Mumba, their only son, is attending college in Cape Town (he is how I came to know the rest of the family!) and Katongo, the middle daughter, is attending college in Nelspruit, a town in South Africa, not far from the Mozambique border.

I went to the primary school with Shula last Friday for their "End of Year" Party. On Thursday we had baked about 300 cookies and Shula got up Friday morning and baked cupcakes for them. It was a lot of fun! They played a couple games, then had their goodies, sang some songs, then had an awards ceremony. They kids had a ball...here's picture of Shula (in the middle), and her teachers..here are the kids eating their goody plate....here they are singing songs.....the school is now finished until next year, February, as it is summer here now. And yes, its getting hot...I purchased a fan earlier this week and I think it will be a life saver!!!

Back in Cape Town for a few weeks!

2009-10-06T16:12:00.004+02:00

So I've been back in Cape Town for three weeks and have been thoroughly enjoying myself!! I've met up with lots of friends and spent lots of time at the SOS Village. Its been so great seeing the kids again!! I leave in 2 days to go to Mozambique, so the time has come to a swift end, but here are some pics of what I've been up to...Here's a pic of the SOS Kindergarten Teachers.
And here are some pics of the kids at the SOS Village, I missed them so much!!

Here's me and my friend, Jason...and then me and Denzel... its been so great reconnecting with my SA family!

The summer has gone so fast!!!

2009-09-01T03:21:00.005+02:00

So, here's a sampling of the things I was up to this summer! When I first got back I was in training at my parent's ice cream store, the Korner Kremery. My parents were going to be gone for a week with my sister's kids, so sister and I had to run the store! It was an interesting week and sister and I decided we didn't want to take over the family business!!
I've worked there off and on throughout the summer, filling in when workers were sick and giving my dad a break for supper. I also got to spend some time with my nieces and nephew. Here's a pic from one of the days I was there and they were outside playing with their new squirt guns! Note I was safely inside the porch so I didn't get wet!!! =:) We also got to go to Adventureland for a day and I went with them to the County Fair, got to see Chaise's dance recital and piano recital...all things I missed my two years in Cape Town! I'll be back in Dec to go with the whole fam to Disney World for a week! Should be big fun!!!
I also got to meet up with a couple of past volunteers and our Centre Director (now the National Director for SA) from Cape Town, Rolf in Tennessee. He was here for a camp but we got to spend a couple days with him. It was a great reunion and I look forward to seeing Rolf again in Cape Town!Another fun reunion was when my friend, Isabel, came to visit. We met down in Cape Town; she was a vol from Germany and we happened to have the same birthday! So last year we met in Zambia and saw Victoria Falls together for our birthday. This year she and her husband came to the US to see his sister in Oklahoma and to do some site-seeing in the Seattle area. But she came and visited me the weekend of our birthday and we had a great time together. We toured the Capitol, Governor's mansion, went to the farmer's market, an I-Cubs game, drove around Amish areas and went to the Wash. Co Fair! And of course we got in some karaoke on our birthday and had some cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory!!! Yum! Isabel is now a fan as well!!!Finally, in August I went back to Kearney with my mom since my cousin, Bryan, was getting married and most of my uncles, aunts and cousins would be back! I hadn't seen any of them in three years! It was lots of fun. The pic above is of my mom and all her brothers and sister but one! It was a great time of visiting with family and doing some reminiscing with mom. We drove around Kearney and took pics of memorable places, like the farm where mom grew up, the country school she attended, her first apt, where she and my dad first lived after they got married, the hospital where I was born and we visited the cemetery to pay respects and to get more genealogical info.

Through all of this, I was also taking a certification course for teaching English. It was more difficult than I imagined. I haven't had to think about nouns, verbs, gerunds, etc in a long time! I'm excited to be going to Mozambique to teach English and also a little nervous! Please pray for me!

Its been a great summer, but I'm sad that I didn't get to see everyone I wanted to. I didn't get out to visit my buddies in Lincoln and I didn't get down to Kansas City to see my buddy, Mary. I miss you guys and promise I'll make it work out next time I'm back!! Love you all!

February- saying goodbye to SOS, Germany & Chicago!

2009-04-11T03:26:00.005+02:00

In February I had to say good bye to the kids at the SOS Children's Village - it was soooo hard!! I love these kids so much! Above is my friend Sarah, she's beautiful, sweet, smart and giving. I miss her immensely and hope I will be able to stay in touch...below are some of the kids posing by my car as I was getting ready to leave...neither of us really wanted me to go though!!
When I left Cape Town I flew to Germany where I toured around for a week visiting past volunteers who are all now good friends....a lot of fabulous reunions...first pic, me, Bao-Nhi, Feli and Edith in front of the dom in Cologne...Then here's me with Nina, Isabel and Caro at Nina's house in Schwabisch Hall...
Then, here's Theres, Birgit and Isabel posing with the giant teddy in front of a teddy bear store...And finally here's Steffi, Jessi and me goofing around while out shopping - gorgeous, eh?!

Then I flew into Chicago and stayed a few days with another past volunteer, Amy. And was joined by Gabe, Charlotte (visiting from Norway!) KT, here in this pic along with me and Amy. Lots of craziness and laughter!!

We had to show Charlotte the city, so here's a pic we took at what KT called "the bean" - I forget what the official name of it is, but I love the reflection of the city in it - too cool!! It was a really fabulous time! Then finally, I took the Amtrak back to Iowa and was greeted by my parents and my sister and her family! It was so great to see everyone!!

January - Youth Week & Botswana

2009-04-08T07:31:00.004+02:00

In January YFC South Africa always has a youth camp called Youth Week from the 3-9th. Usually most of the Cape Town YFC International Volunteers go. Everyone said how much fun it was so I decided I needed to check it out. We chartered a bus to take everyone from Cape Town, about 50, and the trip took 20 hours! It was pretty fun, though much of the time I felt pretty old...yea, obviously I've left my youth behind a lllloooonnnngggg time ago! =:) It was a lot of sports and a lot of worship followed by a speaker, twice a day...overall I had a good time... Then I got on the bus with the YFC group from Botswana and went back with them. Gabarone, the capitol of Botswana is only about 4 hours from Johannesburg so it was a much shorter ride than the ride back to Cape Town!Here is a picture of the YFC office in Mochudi, Botswana. This is where the bulk of YFC's ministry takes place in Botswana. Its about an hour from the capitol city. I also got to meet all the international volunteers currently in Botswana, this is a pic of them.Most importantly, I got to visit the Orphan day care YFC runs in Mochudi. My main task when I get back to Botswana is to get another one of these started in another area of Botswana. It will be a whole new challenge for me! It was a great visit...then I flew back to Cape Town to start saying good bye... =:(

December 2008

2009-04-06T22:25:00.003+02:00

In December, 12 of us volunteers and our project manager, Andre and his wife, Lindsay, decided to go on a road trip once school was out. So we rented a large van and headed out... ....we saw this lion at a wild life ranch and saw the Cango Caves in Oudtshoorn.... ...then headed to Knysna and checked out the lagoon... and the Big Tree (its BIG! =:) ....then we laid on the beach in Plettenberg Bay (also went to beaches in Jeffrey's Bay & Durban)then on to Port Elizabeth where we went to the Addo Elephant Park...here's me with the ellies! In Durban we also went to UShaka! Which is part Sea World, part water park, part mall...the water slides were a great way to beat the heat - it was very HOT in Durban!! Then we made the long trip home....took two days, driving about 11 hours a day... here's a pic of the whole group, minus Helen, who took the pic! We were home in time for Christmas but during the trip my wallet and cell phone were stolen so I wasn't so much in a festive mood.... pretty much stayed at home and took it easy.... saved what little cash I had....

Last day of school at the SOS KG!!

2008-12-26T18:33:00.003+02:00

So on the last day of school we had a beach themed Christmas party. First the kids donned their bathers (swimsuits to you Americans!) and ran through the sprinklers...or as Joanen did below, just stuck their heads right in the water!!! An excellent way to combat the heat! =:) When not running in the sprinklers, the kids all laid down on their towels. Then they put up the jumping castles and the kids all took their turns jumping around! Finally we went into the courtyard and had lunch - here's a pic of mielies we had (corn on the cob for us Americans!) ...and handed out presents that were donated by an area insurance company. Here's a pic of some of the girls opening their presents. I just love this last picture of Thulani, isn't she beautiful!!

who knew I liked sushi? .....and everyone knows I love dessert!!!

2008-11-11T22:18:00.004+02:00

So on Friday nights until 7pm they have half price sushi and drinks at Beluga, a fancy schmancy eatery downtown Cape Town. So one of our friends who loves sushi talked me and another vol, Natalie, into going there for sushi. I've only tried sushi one other time and thought it was pretty nasty, but at everyone's urging, I gave it another try, and, whadaya know? I liked it - a lot!!! Here's a pic of my Samuri rolls, salmon with avocado... I also had a banana kiwi daquiri...yum!
Then on a Saturday, Natalie and I went downtown to walk around and look at the market and some of the shops and we found this interesting place....Mr Pickwicks Deli - Splendid Deli Foods. Simply Silly Shakes. We had to give it a try.... so Natalie had the Hummingbird Cake.... and I had a brownie with ice cream....too yummy on a hot day!!!

Masquerade Party!!

2008-11-11T22:11:00.003+02:00

So the Blouberg volunteer house had a Masquerade Party just before Halloween (which they do not celebrate here!). You couldn't come in without a mask, if you didn't bring one, they'd provide one for you - most of them not very flattering!! It was big fun...here are a couple pics.... There weren't many choices at the stores, so Joana and I had the same mask!!! Cathleen and Jozien.....

More American-style!!!

2008-11-11T22:01:00.003+02:00

So I found the pics of "The Famous American Style Chocolate Chip Cookies" and "American Carmel Corn". Again, it just makes me laugh whenever I see these in the store - in Cape Town, South Africa!!! Both very good btw, gotta love American-style!!! =:)

Goodbye Edith!!

2008-11-11T21:52:00.003+02:00

Now, Edith just left last week, so I'm not so behind with her post!! She is also from Germany, seems we've been overrun with Germans lately!! =:)
She served in our Kangaroo Moms program at the Karl Bremer Hospital and then she and the girls started a new program at New Life Center, where women go to hide a pregnancy, then give up the baby for adoption. Apparently one of the "women" is only 11 years old!! Their aim here is to fellowship with and encourage these women.

Edith also served in the farm project, where the kids live in a small development where their parents work at the big, main farm. They live in pretty poor, unhygienic conditions. They are trying to find creative ways to teach them basic hygiene without offending them or their parents!

Edith was so sweet and seemed to always have a smile on her face! She was truly a joy to be around. We will greatly miss her! She is hoping to study to be a midwife back in Germany. God bless you in all you do, Edith!!

Goodbye Lea!!

2008-11-11T21:46:00.002+02:00

So Lea left in September and I'm just now getting around to updating! She was only here for 2 months and served in the Kylemore project, so I didn't get a chance to know her very well. But clearly she bonded with the kids and will be missed!! She is back home in Germany, but we joked that she was an American German because she'd spent enough time in the States that she had hardly any accent....many would guess she was from the US instead of Germany! I am sure God will use her great heart in mighty ways!! God bless, Lea!!

What makes me smile every day?!

2008-11-11T21:39:00.003+02:00

This is a picture of my front sun visors in my car. They are wire, beaded flowers that I buy from the guys selling stuff at the street lights (called "robots" here!). I started with just a couple but soon decided I would set a goal to have them going all the way across before I left...and, as you can see, I succeeded with several months to spare!!! They really do make me smile every day!!!

Habitat for Humanity build...

2008-11-11T21:24:00.003+02:00

A few days in July and then again in September, some of us volunteers assisted at a Habitat for Humanity build in the township of Mfuleni. The day I helped out we were putting up rafters for the roof, then finished the roof with tiles. I couldn't help snapping a pic of some kids in the street.... Here's a pic of me and one of our South African team members, Melany. Finishing the roof.... The happy homeowner, Ntsikelelo Mgaju and her daughter.

Ricardo - a short, wild life....

2008-10-25T21:45:00.003+02:00

Ricardo was one of the kids at the SOS Village. Wild and untamed is how I would describe him....He hung around with a group of boys who were always into trouble and on September 30th it caught up with him. The boys had climbed over a wall to escape the village, were running across a busy street when a car struck Ricardo, killing him instantly. And now I'm left wondering what could have been...

Here are my strongest memories of Ricardo:
At the KG: When I was volunteering at the kindergarten last year, I had many run-in's with Ricardo. We tried our best to make him stay in class and listen to the lessons, but he was always too antsy, he literally couldn't sit still! And if he did stay in the class he was generally disruptive and combative towards the other children. So much of the time he spent running around in the courtyard or helping the custodian, Uncle Andele. But the sweetest memory I have was when he graduated from kindergarten last year, he told one of our other volunteers to "Tell that guy (Denzel) that I graduated!" He was so proud and wanted someone to know!

When I would see Ricardo in the village in the evening, he was always in motion, running around, climbing things, he couldn't be bothered to come down and talk to us boring old people!! But at the same time he loved to go into the hall where we did a lifeskills program with the teenagers and wreak havoc! That is how most of us from YFC remember Ricardo. Running around, being disruptive, but impossible to catch to talk to, impossible to get him to stop for a moment and listen to you...

I don't know what his background was, all the kids at SOS have suffered from either abuse or neglect or both and have been sorely let down by the adults in their lives, he has 3 other siblings still living at the village.... I don't know how long Ricardo had lived at the village... I know his SOS mom worried about him and had trouble keeping tabs on him, try as she might... I always wondered about Ricardo myself... since he couldn't stay in class, how could he learn? And if he had no education, what was his future? To be honest, I thought without some sort of intervention, Ricardo would end up in jail. And so maybe God knew Ricardo was too wild for this world, he couldn't be tamed and he couldn't be forced to conform to society, so now he's at peace and I hope his soul is free.... I miss seeing Ricardo race past me at the village... and again, I can't help but wonder what might have been... I have nothing but love and memories of this wonderful, wild child...Ricardo

YFC General Assembly

2008-10-17T23:50:00.007+02:00

So YFC has a General Assembly (GA!) every 4 years and this year it was held at our training centre in Magaliesburg, South Africa (just outside of Johannesburg). Its the first time it has been held in Africa, so we really wanted to make a big impression on the rest of the YFC world! Here is one of my favorite pictures, taken at one of the evening sessions.....I love the colors and how the cross is illuminated....

This is the logo of GA....

So most of us volunteers in Cape Town went early to GA to help with getting everything ready and then we were "on duty" the whole week. The dates of GA were Sept 19-26th. Over 800 people were there from over 100 nations! It was truly amazing! I was part of the Admin team that had to get everyone registered and into rooms! No small feat, believe me! Here are some pics of registration and of me and Natalie at the Info Desk...

At the opening ceremony the worship band really got things off to a great start with incredible, spirited worship songs (the worship band is from Cape Town so I know most of them so it was cool to see them on stage and using their God-given talents!)

And we had some Zulu dancers to get everyone in "Africa mode"! It was a fabulous night....

But then every night was great! There were talks given every morning and evening. Because I was helping with admin, I missed most of the morning sessions, but luckily I didn't miss most of the evening sessions, because they were mostly given by Robert Gelinas. He's a pastor from Denver and to say he was phenomenal is an understatement!!! He gave 5 talks on being "People of the cross". In the most powerful message he gave he asked if we were willing to accept whatever "cup" God might have for us in our lives - referring to Mt 26:39 when Jesus said "...My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will but as you will." He asked us to think about what cup God may have placed in our lives and are we willing to accept it or will we run from it? One of the other speakers talked about how important it was in his life when as a teen, an older man in his church told him God had told him to pray for the young man, every day. And how that man had encouraged and stood up for him in the church. He challenged us all to ask God to show us one young person that we should pray for every day and to tell that young person we were praying for them and what a difference it could make in that person's life...I know who I'm praying for....will you also take the challenge?

All throughout the week there were special sessions for all the Young Leaders at the conference...almost 300 of them! It was the kickoff of a 2 year program these Young Leaders will be going through to equip them to go out in their countries and proclaim the gospel to other young people. On the last night we commissioned these young people...here's a pic....

It truly was an incredible week, so many great stories....but to be honest, this introverted girl was exhausted by the end of the week and anxious to get back to Cape Town and back to "normal life". So finally here are some pics of us waiting for the train and then on the train we took to and from Magaliesburg.

Here are some pics of my fellow YFC staff, me with Rolf's wife, Lizzie (Rolf is the National Director - formerly our Cape Town Centre Director) and then Rita, Rosa and Natalie....

It takes over 24 hours to get from Cape Town to Jo'burg, so we had lots of time for fun and games......

our favorites? Rummikub and Sequence!!! Lots of fun!

And finally a picture of the scenery going by - SNOW on the mountains and a beautiful lake in the valley below!! South Africa is truly so breathtaking!!

SOS Photo Shoot!

2008-09-14T18:08:00.005+02:00

The kids at SOS love to have the picture taken and then they will bug you for days until you print them out and bring them a copy! But I love them so much and can never have enough pics, so here's a small sampling....

American Style!!

2008-09-13T23:02:00.004+02:00

So here's a picture of an actual vendor at Canal Walk, the biggest mall in Cape Town - American Corn Dogs!! And they're so good and they remind me of the State Fair every time I have one! Not because I get corn dogs at the State Fair - cheesecake on a stick is more likely to grab my attention - but because I know there's the State Fair brand corn dogs...and so it makes me nostalgic! I also had taken a picture of the packaging touting "American-style chocolate chip cookies" and "American-style caramel corn" but I must have accidentally deleted them....its makes me laugh every time I see them!! It seems so funny to see packaging like that in Africa!! And they're both also very good, btw, gotta love American-style!! =:)

Goodbye Gabe!!

2008-09-13T22:35:00.003+02:00

All I can say about Gabe is he's an original! He does not fit into any box you could come up with for a guy from the US, Georgia, in particular. He has no plans to go to college. Brags about how he can't cook, how he can live off a few bucks a week for food - he ate more pizza here in Cape Town than I thought was possible. He had no desire to see any of the sites in Cape Town -one of the most beautiful cities in the world! He's perfectly happy to sit in front of his computer for hours playing his Star Wars game - or sitting on the ledge on the front of the house playing his guitar. And though he hates 80's music (which I love!), he scores huge points for liking Janis Joplin and classic rock! On a serious note, Gabe worked in our project at Vissershok Primary School and at SOS Children's Village, and when many of the vols left and it was just him and Jana, he really stepped up to the plate and took the lead...much to our suprise!!! The teens at SOS will really miss him! I had lots of fun reminiscing about old TV show theme songs with Gabe...our favorite to annoy fellow vols with....sing it with me, Gabe, sing it loud.... "Green Acres is the place to be....Farm livin is the life for me!...."

Goodbye Arjan!!

2008-09-13T22:26:00.002+02:00

So Arjan lived at the Kylemore house, so I didn't get to know him very well, but I know he is sorely missed in that community! He assimilated very quickly to the culture there and was involved on several levels. He taught lifeskills at the High School with one of our other vols, Rita. He led a nature club with some of the youth and he was a member of the soccer team in Kylemore - they called him Long Man because he's so tall! He has such an easy-going, fun-loving way about him that made him very approachable. It also helps that he is from Holland and since Dutch and Afrikaans (the "mother-tongue" of most of the colored community in South Africa) are quite similar, he could understand and communicate with them more easily. Here is a pic of him with Meno, one of our team members from last year who has come back to YFC to lead the Kylemore house. (Arjan is the white guy! =:) )

Goodbye Bao-Nhi!!!

2008-09-13T22:02:00.002+02:00

Bao-Nhi and I got to be very good friends the last few months she was here and I miss her already, very much!! She has such a huge heart and is always taking care of everyone! I told her she has the most heightened sense of responsibility of anyone I've ever met! You always knew you could count on Bao-Nhi to follow through if you asked her to do something.....not always true with many of the vols...at least not in any timely manner! =:) Bao-Nhi also had a great sense of humor and we just plain had fun together. I assisted her with the program with the younger kids at the SOS Childrens Village and I was always amazed at how well she could control the kids and how she commanded the respect - trust me - this is no easy task!!! I know all the kids at SOS miss her very much - as do I! Here's a pic of her with many of the regulars to our program! Goodbye, Bao-Nhi, I wish you a long, prosperous, joy-filled life! Love you much....

Goodbye Nina!!

2008-09-13T20:41:00.003+02:00

Nina left in mid August to go back home to Germany. She came to YFC Cape Town as a second visit, to be the leader of the Year of Your Life team that our office has every year. Unfortunately the year did not go as planned and Nina did not stay with the team, instead she moved to our Blouberg volunteer house in May. She then made the decision to return home in August in hopes that she would still be able to find a teaching job before school started in late September. Nina is also in a relationship with one of our staff members, Denzel, whom she met and kept in contact with the first time she was here with YFC as a volunteer. Denzel visited her in Germany in 2007 and then she made the decision to come back to South Africa to also give their relationship a chance to grow....and it did....though they are once again in different continents, they are still together and making the best of it...only time will tell where their relationship goes, but I for one am pulling for them, I think they're such a sweet couple. Here is a pic of them.... Nina, Denzel and I got to hang out a few times and I really enjoyed it, I also enjoyed the few times Nina and I hung out together and wish there had been more time for us to get to know each other. She is a good friend and I hope I will see her in February when I'm in Germany!

Karaoke Birthday!!!!

2008-07-22T16:59:00.005+02:00

So again this year we celebrated my birthday with karaoke!!! It was soooo much fun!!! My friend Isabel that I went to visit in Zambia flew back to Cape Town with me and we spent our birthday together! Yea, we have the same birthday, so last year when she was a volunteer she left right before our birthday, but we said it would be great to meet at Victoria Falls for our birthday next year, and our wish came true!!! So Isabel was there and fellow volunteer, Bao-Nhi, then we were joined by friends: the Skippers family, Mumba, Claudine and Edwina! Everyone humored me by singing and there was some dancing as well....a great time was had by all!!! Enjoy the pics!!!

Zambia and Victoria Falls!!!

2008-07-22T16:13:00.007+02:00

Oh, my friends, I am one of the most fortunate people on Earth!!! Earlier this month I went up to Zambia to meet one of our former volunteers to see the place she volunteered 2 years ago and then we went to see Victoria Falls - one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World!!! It was sooooooo awesome, incredible, beyond words!!! The pics just don't do it justice, but I will post them anyway!! First, here's a pic from the school we visited....when we left as many kids as possible piled into the back of the bakkie (truck for you Americans!) for a ride home!! Then here's a pic from the orphanage we visited, and my friend Isabel and the German couple we stayed with (she fed us very well!!! YUM!). Then some pics of the falls....like I said they don't do it justice!!! They call it the "smoke that thunders" because there's so much spray from the falls that its LOUD!! And as you can see, we're soaked! In certain parts you couldn't even see that well because there was so much spray from the falls, but it was so awesome, we really didn't want to leave!!!!

4th of July Celebration in Africa! Thanks Ma, for the decorations!!!!

2008-07-22T15:51:00.003+02:00

So we had a celebration here for the 4th of July, complete with hamburgers, hotdogs, brownies, chocolate chip cookies, a flag cake and sparklers!!! My mom sent me decorations so the place looked quite festive - as you can see, even the fish were patriotic that day!!!! Enjoy the pics!!!

Say it isn't so!!! Jana's leaving!!!

2008-07-22T14:13:00.002+02:00

Oh my word!! I can't believe my little Jana is leaving!! She's been here since August of last year and I told her she couldn't leave until I did, but alas, she left last Tuesday to go back to Germany! And worst of all, I screwed up my alarm clock and so it didn't go off and I missed saying goodbye to her at the airport! Ah, such a sad day!! Jana was part of the volunteer team that went to the Karl Bremer Hospital and did a program with the Kangaroo Mums and visited the kids in the pediatric ward. She also was part of the team at the SOS Children's Village. Jana was only 17 when she got here and I was amazed at her maturity and how well she adjusted to the culture here. Her English was not too good when she got here either, but within weeks she was speaking it fairly well. One of my favorite things about Jana is how excited she would get about learning new words or phrases! She'd say them over and over and they always sounded so much better with her accent! Jana had such a great vibe to her, she loved hip-hop dance and music so she always had a little groove going, but at the same time, she was so sweet, positive and happy most all the time - just a ray of sunshine!! I told her our world here would be a little less bright when she left and, yeah, its true.....miss you much Jana!!! Come back!!!!!

Goodbye Amy!!

2008-07-22T14:01:00.003+02:00

Amy also lived at the Kylemore house and volunteered at the Kindergarten/Creche. Again I know she will be sorely missed, her positive attitude, enthusiasm and great sense of humor made her a joy to be around. Amy is from England and for some reason was the target of many jokes from one of our American volunteers, Gabe. I was always amazed at how well she put up with his constant barrage of cracks against the English! He was always giving her a hard time! Here is a picture of her with one of the youth of Kylemore during one of their farewell parties....

Goodbye Charlotte!!

2008-07-22T13:37:00.003+02:00

I didn't get to know Charlotte real well because she lived at the Kylemore house, so I didn't see her as much. But that being said, I enjoyed Charlotte very much. She always seemed to be in a good mood, a smile on her face and so was just a pleasure to be around. She volunteered at the Kindergarten/Creche in Kylemore and I know they miss her very much!! Plus, there were always kids hanging around at the Kylemore house, so the volunteers got to the know the kids better than in Blouberg where the kids don't live near the house at all. So I know they miss Charlotte very much in Kylemore and we miss her smiling face here in the office as well! She was our first volunteer from Norway and I told her she must recruit more like her for us!! Here's a pic of her with some of the kids at the creche.

My flat!! Finally some pics!

2008-07-01T21:51:00.006+02:00

Hello, my friends! I realized as I looked through some old posts, that I never posted pics of my flat! I've been here 5 months now! So here are some pics for you....

Here's the front door and courtyard.....

then the lounge (living room) .....

and then the kitchen....

finally the bedroom...note built-in closets along the whole wall!!! I feel really blessed to be living here. Its quiet and peaceful and my landlords are great!!!

XENOPHOBIA!!!!

2008-06-16T15:55:00.003+02:00

This is a word I don't think I even had in my vocabulary before last month, but here's the official Webster's definition for those of you like me:

xenophobia: fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything that is strange or foreign

Yeah, so if you don't follow the International News, perhaps you don't know, but there were outbreaks of xenophobic violence last month in the townships here in South Africa. The local South Africans are angry that foreigners from countries such as Somalia, Nigeria and Zimbabwe have come to South Africa and taken their jobs and homes. So they acted out in violence. As a result some 50,000 people from other African countries were kicked out of their homes in the townships and are now refugees living in shelters scattered throughout the cities. There were an estimated 15-20,000 such refugees here in Cape Town. Our YFC volunteers helped serve breakfast and lunch at a church (His People) here in Cape Town that was housing some of the refugees for 3 weeks. Now they say most of the refugees have left the church because it wasn't an official shelter, so they've either moved to other shelters, moved back to their homes in the townships (the violence has ended for the most part) or they have went back to their home countries. There are still thousands in shelters, waiting on the government and UN to come up with a permanent solution for them. I read that most want to receive passage to other countries - not their home countries - such as France or Canada, but apparently the UN is giving them the options of returning to the townships or returning to their home countries, which I guess they aren't too thrilled about (I don't blame them!) so some have been staging hunger strikes to try to make their plight more widely known. I don't know what the future holds for them...please pray that God will guide them, the government and UN leaders and that God will turn the hearts of the people in the townships that perpetrated the violence, so it will again be a safe place for people to live!! Here are some pics our volunteers took at His People Church where they were volunteering.....

Goodbye Jonathan, Joni, Josh!!!

2008-06-16T15:46:00.004+02:00

Josh (thats what he decided we should call him in November, after 2 months of calling him Joni!) was one of the few people who lived in both of our volunteer houses; first Blouberg, Sept - Dec, then Kylemore, Feb-June! He first served at Vissershok Primary School, helping teach life skills in the 6th grade class. Then in Kylemore he helped teach life skills to the High School classes. He also helped coach volleyball in Kylemore. He was the only guy in the Blouberg house, surrounded by eight women!! This was quite a challenge for him, seriously, he struggled a lot and strived to make male friends whenever he could! We had several conversations where he expressed his struggle with how "girly" the girls in the house were! Poor guy!! In Kylemore there was one other guy, Arjan, so I think that was easier on him!! Here is a pic of him in the back of the bakkie (truck to you Americans!) and then with some of the kids from Vissershok on an outing to the beach! He will be much missed by all of us!!!

Goodbye KT!!

2008-06-16T15:18:00.005+02:00

So Katie actually hasn't left YFC South Africa, but she has left Cape Town...well more accurately, she left Kylemore! In May she decided to move to Knysna (5 hours from Cape Town) and serve with their Team there through the end of November. While living in Kylemore she volunteered at the Kindergarten and Creche there and also coached the girls soccer team. This was our first group of volunteers living in Kylemore and they were really welcomed in by the community. They all really enjoyed getting to know the kids, I think there were always kids at the house, so they got to know them in a way they aren't really able to in Cape Town. I know Katie is greatly missed and Knysna is lucky to have her! She will be back to Cape Town occasionally - I know she'll be here for July 4th, so us Americans are going to have a big celebration!! I'll try to update with some pics!! Here's a pic of Katie with some of the kids in Kylemore and a pic of us (and Amber) at Kirstenbosch for the Plush (Emelio, our Operations Manager is in the band) concert!!

Goodbye Danielle, Corine, Riette and Esther!!!

2008-06-15T19:37:00.003+02:00

Better known as the Dutch girls! These four all came to us from the same college in Holland. They were doing their last project before graduating. Danielle and Corine wrote a manual for our Pre- and Post- Abortion Counseling program. So they worked closely with Rosa, our Options Care Center program manager. They had to also visit the Karl Bremer Hospital, where the counseling takes place to do their research. But mostly they were in the office a lot, doing research and writing the manual. It was a lot of work, but they did a great job! Its so nice to have these manuals for our volunteers that come, so they have all the information they need at their fingertips! Riette and Esther were also doing their final project, only they did theirs at the SOS Children's Village where we do a life skills program, that frankly is quite a struggle for the volunteers. So Riette and Esther researched the village, the kids, the volunteers, etc and put together a training program that can be used when new vols come to give them the understanding and skills they need to effectively lead the life skills program at SOS. Again this was a very daunting task (and they are still working on it back in Holland) but I've read some of it and it's really spot on!! Good stuff that will be a huge asset to the program at SOS!! Heres a pic of all of them with Rolf and his wife Lizzie and one other vol, Debby.....they will all be missed!!!

Goodbye Amber!!!

2008-06-15T19:19:00.003+02:00

Oh my word!!!! My girl, Amber!!!! She lived with me the last 2 months she was here, so she and I got pretty close. We saw eye to eye on most things and just really had a good time hanging out. She actually left 2 months ago, so I'm just really tardy getting my site updated! Here in Cape Town she worked a lot in our office, trying to set up manuals for the SOS Village program and for Christian Union. She also did some brochures we could use for promotion and helped Emelio get our website set up. She is 27 so living in the house was a struggle for her as well, so we were kind of kindred spirits on a lot of things. We did a lot of stuff together, so I miss her immensely!!! She is joining MCYM, the military youth part of YFC, probably going to be in Italy to serve the military kids there. She has such a heart and passion for this work that I think she will be there for a long time! Right now she's back in the States doing some fundraising before heading to Europe, so I'm sure she'd appreciate if you said a quick prayer for her funding efforts - believe me - its not an easy task!!!! Anyway, here's a pic of Amber and I at my flat and then a pic of her with my little buddy, Joanen and another boy at SOS (lookin good with the braids!).....miss you so, so much Amber!!!!

Goodbye Theres!!!

2008-05-26T21:52:00.003+02:00

Theres!! I miss this girl a lot!!! She always had a smile and hug for me when I saw her. She has a huge heart for kids. When she first got here, she taught life skills to the 6th graders at Vissershok Primary School. Then in February, after Youth Week and Training, she joined the team going to Karl Bremer Hospital, serving the Kangaroo Moms and the pediatric ward. She also was part of the team going to the SOS Children's Village. I think she grew a lot in her time in Cape Town. She seems much more comfortable with who she is and what she wants to do in life. She came here thinking she wanted to be a teacher, but I believe now she is thinking more about social work or child advocacy! I think she would be great at either! Here's a pic, Theres is the one in the middle, one of our other vols, Christi, is on the left and then hopefully y'all still recognize me!!! Theres you will be much missed!!!

Goodbye Christi & Kirsten!!

2008-05-26T21:40:00.003+02:00

Ok, so I didn't get to know these two real well because they lived at the Kylemore house and they were only here for 2 months. However, I know that it was a meaningful time for them and am certain they had a big impact on the kids they served in Kylemore! They both volunteered at the creche (think day care/preschool) and kindergarten in Kylemore. And I believe Kirsten assisted with coaching the high school girl's soccer team. They were always a lot of fun to be around; great sense of humor and I think quite adventurous!! Here is a pic of them with one of the other vols, Josh - don't ask me what they're doing!!! =:)

Goodbye Debby!!

2008-05-26T18:47:00.000+02:00

Ok, so the goodbyes are hot and heavy now, we've said goodbye to 10 vols in the span of 2 weeks, so bear with me....there will be a lot of posts!!! So Debby got here last year in Sept and was my roommate for all of a week I think before I moved out to my first apt, but I remember thinking she was the sweetest thing! And after 7 months, my feelings haven't changed! She is so sweet! And passionate about God and the kids of Africa! She spent her first 3 months in Cape Town at the Blouberg house, then in January went to Youth Week and Training in Magaliesburg (close to Joburg) and when she came back to Cape Town she moved to the Kylemore house, about an hour from Cape Town. So I didn't see her a lot the last 3 months, but still she made me smile every time I did see her! Our talks were always serious and deep, which I loved! She really has great depth for only being 20 years old!! She wants to be a teacher and from what I can see, I think she will make an incredible teacher....her kids will be lucky to have a teacher like her! Here's a pic of her with just a couple of the kids she impacted!

Joanen to be released from the hospital!!

2008-05-20T16:17:00.000+02:00

Praise God my friends! Today they told me the miraculous news that Joanen will probably be released from the hospital today!! He has apparently recovered; they said they knew he was ready to come home when the nurses complained that he was answering their phone!! This is so amazing to me my friends! The doctors have still not discovered what was wrong with him and yet he is recovered enough to be released to go home! God has intervened, I have to think in large part to the many prayers going out on behalf of Joanen! I can't thank God or you, my friends, enough! I'll be sure give Joanen big hugs on your behalf when I see him and tell him about all the people who said prayers for him all over the world while he was sick!

Love and blessings!
Bobbi

Update on Joanen...

2008-05-18T22:25:00.000+02:00

Thank you to everyone for their prayers for Joanen! I was gone all weekend on a retreat (Walk to Emmaus if any of you have heard of it, it apparently started and is most represented in the States) but I managed to get a little of an update from the Principal at the SOS Village, and well, there's not really any change, he's still very critical and they still don't have a clue what's wrong with him...BUT they moved him to a different hospital, which the one teacher says she thinks is not good news...she thought the one he was at was the best hospital in town for kids, so no idea why they would move him!! Hopefully there will be more news tomorrow and I will let you know....I hope to go with one of the teachers to visit him tomorrow or Tuesday....Anyway, thanks again for your continued prayers, its so good to be the body of Christ!

Love and blessings,
Bobbi

URGENT PRAYER REQUEST FOR JOANEN!!!

2008-05-14T16:07:00.003+02:00

I have an urgent prayer request for one of the little guys from the SOS Children's Village, Joanen. He has fallen very ill and has been in the hospital since last Saturday. The doctors do not know what is wrong with him, and I really haven't gotten a very clear picture. I just know he slept all of last Friday, they took him to the doctor on Saturday and they immediately admitted him and began running tests and so far have not come to any conclusions. He is in critical condition and apparently doesn't recognize anyone, he just lays there almost lifeless. They have done CT scans and everything, but have come up empty. Please pray for him!

I've talked about him before in one of my prayer letters. He was found wandering the streets last year as his families shack had burnt down and his mother was no where to be found. He came to the village last May I believe. He is 8 years old, but is still in the Kindergarten class! The teachers suspect he has suffered from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. He has very little attention span, but has tons of energy, a ready smile and always a big hug for "Auntie Bobbi" every time I come to the KG! I love this little guy so much and it breaks my heart to think of him lying sick in the hospital! Here are a couple pics of him so you can put a face to your prayers.

I will keep you informed of his condition.....

Goodbye Amy!!

2008-04-06T13:30:00.003+02:00

Amy, Amy, Amy...what can I say about Amy? Well, for starters I just have to say that I love this girl so much!! We got to be really close friends, even though we weren't able to hang out that much. We had great conversations and were able to share our hearts with each other, which is so amazing considering the small amount of time we've known each other! I would also say she has a such a huge heart! I don't know how many times she said to me "that just breaks my heart" when talking about somebody else's situation; she really could feel deeply for other people's pain, an amazing gift! She also loved the kids so much! There were a couple kids at the SOS Village that I know a part of her wanted to take home with her! I know she intends to keep in touch with them as best she can. I'm sure they will never forget her!
She was always such a joy to be around, do you see that great big smile on her face in these pics? Yeah, that was pretty much always there! Great sense of humor and I loved how she would just break out in song! KT Tunstall's "Big Black Horse and a Cherry Tree" will always remind me of her....which reminds me I need to download it from Itunes! Anyway, Amy will be so missed! She teased me with saying she would come back to SA either this summer or next, so I pray that we will meet up again! Love you, miss you much, Ames!! Its not the same without you!!

Philip, the movie star!!

2008-04-02T21:54:00.003+02:00

Ok, so he's not a star in the movie, but my friend Philip was an extra in the movie, 10,000 BC. He's done commercials before, but this was his first big movie. He went with the group of us to see the movie and afterwards we were all telling him what a star he was and we were so honored to know him, etc, he was a little embarrassed about the attention, we had to really push to have him pose by the sign, but he eventually relented!! So study his face and go to the movie, towards the end he has three, yeah, three close-ups! It was sooo cool to see someone you know up on the big screen!! Philip - we're not worthy, we're not worthy!! =:)

Mary visits Africa!!

2008-04-02T21:26:00.005+02:00

So Mary Beiker came to visit me for 11 days and we had such an awesome time!! The first picture is of Mary and one of the kids from Christine Revell Childrens Home. We took two of the kids on an outing her first day here and it was so much fun!! She also went with me to the SOS Children's Village Kindergarten to meet the kids there as well. Then we embarked on non-stop site-seeing!! There's so much to do here and we had a packed itenerary!! We went up Table Mountain, down to Cape Point, went to the Waterfront, Kirstenbosch Gardens, travelled over to Knysna and Plettenberg Bay and went on a safari, fed elephants, saw penguins, had a spa day, went shopping at the market and at the mall! Saw a movie that had one of my friends here, Philip as an extra, he had 3 close-ups though! He went to the movie with us, so that was super cool! We ate tons of fabulous food.....it was just and incredible time!! The only negative was she chickened out on the bungy jump, but most of you are probably saying, "good for you, Mary!"

If this makes you jealous at all (and it should!) come on down!!! I love playing tour guide!!! If you want to see more pics from our adventures, you can check out her blog...... marybeiker.blogspot.com

Goodbye Jessi!!

2008-04-02T20:57:00.003+02:00

So Jessi left to go back to Germany on March 26th. She also will be much missed! She always had a great smile and fantastic sense of humor! She has great passion for kids! She also was part of the hospital programme with the Kangaroo Moms, went to the pediatric ward and volunteered at Ubuntu House. Then she went with us to the SOS Village two nights a week! There has always been a full volunteer house since she's been here and it seems they all feed off each others energy, so the house can be pretty crazy! (This is why Bobbi doesn't live there!!) You can see from the second picture that they get a little goofy with the camera sometimes....you wouldn't believe some of the random pics we have of these guys! Jessi was always loads of fun and up for just about anything! I will miss her so much!!! XOXO

Goodbye Gabe (Gabrielle)!!

2008-04-02T20:34:00.003+02:00

So Gabe, well, I called her Gabe because that's what she calls herself back home in the US and that's how I knew her before she came; then she gets here and we have a male vol named Gabe as well, so we were supposed to call her "Gabrielle", but I could never quite get there, so she's always Gabe to me......she was here less than 3 months, but its amazing how quickly you can get attached to people!! She left on March 22nd and is sorely missed! You can tell by her pics that she's high energy and lots of fun! She has such a passion for the kids! She took part in the Hospital programme with the Kangaroo Moms and kids in the pediatric ward. She also volunteered at the Ubuntu House, where infants awaiting adoption are cared for. Then she was also part of the team at the SOS Childrens Village. She was so much fun, had a great sense of humor, but then she also has great depth, I will miss conversations with her!! She's just an awesome woman of God!

Love and miss you much, Gabe!

Just for fun!!

2008-02-28T16:23:00.004+02:00

Ok, just for fun here's a post on some of the differences in South African English and the way we say things in the US.....I hope you get a kick out of it!!

In the US we say ------- In Cape Town they say....
trunk (as in a car) ------boot
hood (also of the car) -----bonnet
fries (ie french fries) ------chips
chips (ie potato or corn) ----crisps (though sometimes call these chips too?!)
cookies -------------------biscuits (they don't have what we call biscuits here, for instance, I used to love the biscuits at KFC back home, well at KFC here they just don't have them, and they don't have potato wedges either....just the chips (ie french fries)
you're welcome (after thank you) ---------pleasure!
soda or pop or soft drink ----------cool drink (ie coke, pepsi, etc)
diet coke or diet pepsi ---------coke light and pepsi light
to go (ie is your order for here or to go?) -----take away (is your order dine in or take away?)
barbeque ----------------braai
ground beef ----------------mince
what's up? or what's going on? -------------- howzit?
really? or for real? -------------is it? (Rolf says this is short for "is it true?")
right now ----------------now now
in a little bit ---------------just now
no way ------------------no ways (the "s" on the end just makes me giggle)
catsup or ketchup --------------tomato sauce
candy ----------------------sweets or sweeties
gas or gasoline ---------------petrol
gas station -----------------garage (though they don't do car repairs)

other funny differences...
- chili is not a soup here, its a sauce they would put over rice or pasta, but never serve in a bowl as a soup
- you can't buy a bag of chocolate chips, they come in small boxes or even smaller plastic containers, you'd have to buy several of them to equal a small bag of chocolate chips in the US
- here there's a South African tea called rooibos, so if you order tea, even at someones house, they ask if you want "normal or rooibos?" - normal being English tea
- you can't use your credit or debit card to pay for petrol, you have to use cash or they have gas cards
-all garages are full service, you don't fill up your own tank here, and you tip the guy who fills up your car....they will also check your oil and water levels and put in if you need...and usually wash your front and back windows
- at most shopping malls and tourist areas there is someone who will watch your car for you, you just either pay them at the beginning or tip them when you leave
- where there are parking garages, a machine issues you a ticket at the beginning, then when you leave, there are pay machines before you go to your car where you put in your ticket, it calculates how much you owe, then you put the money in the slots and it imprints your ticket and gives it back to you. Then when you drive out, there's another machine like the one that gave you the ticket that you slip your ticket into again and it moves the arm up so you can exit. Its a great system, I don't know why they don't use them in the US instead of having a person there at the end taking your money.....its much quicker and efficient

So that's all I can think of at the moment....I'll post more if I remember them....hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into the culture! =:)

developing at Christine Revell...

2008-02-25T23:30:00.003+02:00

Here are some more pics from Christine Revell Childrens Home. My favorite thing about volunteering here is that since I work with the infants through 18 month olds, you can see them develop practically right before your eyes!! When I got back after the holiday break, three of the boys who were still learning to walk before, were now running, not walking, running all over the place!! They now have actually moved them out of our room and to the next room with the 18 month to 3 year olds. So now we've got a couple more starting to walk and some starting to crawl. One of the boys, Ivan, could barely sit up on his own when I started in late Oct, now he's sitting up, crawling 90 miles an hour and starting to walk with our assistance! It so much fun to watch them discovering things, how some of the toys work, etc. I really enjoy my time at Christine Revell more and more....I'm getting to know some of the staff as well....enjoy the pics!

Goodbye Feli!!

2008-02-25T15:33:00.004+02:00

Feli just left this morning, and again, it was a hard goodbye. I started a count and she is the 18th volunteer to leave since I've been here! This is one of the hardest things about this program, you just get to know the volunteers and they leave you!! So she's on her way back home to Germany. We will miss her so much! She has such a giving heart! She volunteered her first two months here at Visshershok Primary School, where she and two others planned their own life skills lessons twice a week for the 6th grade class. These volunteers are just out of high school and they are planning lessons to teach in class! I think it was quite a challenge for them, but they pulled it off, and the kids loved it! Feli also had a heart for a group of "farm kids" that the volunteers have visited off and on for the last few years. Its a small settlement of families who work at the large main farm. They live in pretty poor and unhygienic conditions, but the kids love the volunteers coming out to visit them, its quite a treat! Feli and a couple other vols have taken some of them on several outings, to Table Mountain, the beach and ice skating. Feli also bought white t-shirts for all the kids and then showed them how to tie-dye them - such fun! Here are some pics of Feli with a kid at Vissershok, the tie-dye shirts hanging on the line and then Feli with the farm kids in their tie-dyed shirts. For the last month Feli has joined the hospital team that runs the program with the Kangaroo Mums and they volunteer at the pediatric ward. Feli is so creative and fun to be around, she was also very sporty, showing the boys a few moves on the soccer field....I think they were impressed! She will be soooo missed!

Goodbye Asher!!

2008-02-25T15:02:00.003+02:00

Ok, I have to say "I'm sorry" to Asher first up, as she has been gone since Dec 12th!! But my excuse is that I was already on my way home to the States, she left a day later, so I sort of spaced off, it wasn't the usual goodbye! But anyway, Asher left on Dec 12th, and she will be sorely missed! She is an awesome woman of God and she definitely left her imprint on YFC Cape Town. She basically pioneered the volunteer program at Karl Bremer Hospital. Previoulsy, only Rosa, our Options Care Center Director, had worked at Karl Bremer. But Asher got the ball rolling for our international volunteers to go in and do a program twice weekly with the Kangaroo Mums. These are women whose babies were premature and instead of placing the babies in incubators, they are strapped to their mothers 24/7! So the moms stay at the hospital for a couple months and are for the most part, bored to tears! Our volunteers go in twice a week and do a program with the moms. Sometimes they have a spa day, doing massages and manicures for the women. Sometimes they made bracelets, or cards, or watched a motivational movie and talked about it afterwards. The aim, I think, is to befriend the women and be of some support to them. Asher did all the groundwork and put together a manual for this program so that it is easily passed on to the next group of volunteers. The hospital was hesitant to allow us to come in because they had apparently had issues with previous Christian volunteers being too overbearing and pushy with their beliefs. Asher was undaunted by this obstacle, persevering, being careful in word and demeanor until the door was opened for us. She has such and upbeat, positive personality, she was really easy to be around. So heres a pic of Asher and some of the vols with the Kangaroo Moms. You are loved and missed, Asher!!

Back in SA!!! Sorry for the delay in posts!!!!

2008-02-11T15:29:00.000+02:00

Hello all my friends and how are you today?! (This is a variation of the greeting I get from all the kids at SOS Kindergarten each day I'm there...."Good morning, Auntie Bobbi and all my friends, and how are you today?!" They all say it in unison! Its so cute!! I missed it while I was gone!)

So I've been back in South Africa for a month now and I apologize that I'm just now getting around to putting in a post, but its been kinda hectic!! I know, excuses, excuses!! I had a fabulous time with my parents and niece, Nicole, while they were here, Jan 11 - 21st. We went to all the sites and had a blast! I'll upload some pics to my WalMart photo site soon, so check back!

Since they left I've been trying to get back into the routine at the projects and at the office. I've been back to the SOS KG and Christine Revell Children's Home for three weeks now. I really missed the kids so its great to be back! Today when I was at Christine Revell I held one of the infants for at least an hour and I loved it!! I soooooo love babies! Her name is Benni and she was born 3 months premature and was in the hospital for several months and has now been at CR for a couple weeks. She's so precious, she's 14 weeks old now, but given that she was 3 mos premature, its like she's really only 2 weeks old and that's about how big she is! But I loved holding her, she was so good, hardly cried at all, but she's got a bit of a cold, kept sneezing....say a little prayer for her, being a preemie, I think it will be harder for her to get over illnesses....

In other news, I had to move out of my flat before I left for the US as the apt had been sold and the new owner wanted to raise the rent, deposit, and make us sign a longer lease, to which we (Rita and I) said "no thanks!", so we had to move out! Rita then decided to move to one of our new projects, an hour outside Cape Town, so I had to find a place on my own! After much searching and anxiety, God lead me to the perfect place!!! Its a "granny flat" which means its a part of someones house, not part of a complex. The owners live in the other part of the house. Its a very cute place, good size, lots of closets....I love it! I'll try to post some pics soon! Its close to the volunteer house, the office and my church - Assembly of God, Table View. I've been mostly just attending this church the last few months and now I've joined a "Life Group", their name for small group Bible study and I've begun a class titled "Renewing your mind" so I'm starting to make connections there and it feels soooooo good! I've missed my small groups back home, so its nice to get into it here! It makes me feel more rooted here, which is nice. I've been thinking lately about what I will do next year, or more accurately, I've been wondering where God will lead me next year... back to the States? stay in Cape Town? go somewhere else in South Africa? another country? I'm really not sure so I'd appreciate your prayers for God's guidance! I hope all is going well for you back home!

Love and blessings to you all!!!

Merry Christmas, back in the USA!!

2008-01-03T05:15:00.000+02:00

So I've been back home in Iowa for 3 weeks now and I'm really enjoying the time to reconnect with friends and family! I've been to Des Moines, Lincoln and back home in Washington doing presentations at both my churches and eating out at lots of restaurants with friends! I spent Christmas at my sister's home in North Liberty and here's a pic of my nieces and nephew by their Christmas tree, right before opening presents!!I've also had lots of time to hang out with them as they were at my parents' home last weekend through New Year's Day. Here's a pic of them getting ready to go sledding with Grandpa!

Here's a pic outside my parents home after a fresh snowfall, the wind making visibility low!!

I head back to Cape Town on January 7th. My parents and oldest niece Nicole will be going back with me to check out the sites in the Cape Town area through Jan 21st. I'm excited to show them everything I love about Cape Town! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season!!

More pics from Christine Revell....

2007-12-05T14:34:00.000+02:00

Aren't they too cute!?!

American Thanksgiving in Cape Town!!!

2007-12-05T13:26:00.000+02:00

Ok, so I know Thanksgiving was a couple weeks ago now, but we had a huge celebration here in Cape Town at the volunteer house. We invited everyone we know and most came!! We had 40+ people in and out for an American Thanksgiving feast and then some American Football!!! We cooked 3 turkeys, 6 pies, tons of mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, corn, stuffing, squash...all the good stuff!!! A great time was had by all!!

A couple pics from Christine Revell!

2007-11-16T18:26:00.000+02:00

Here are a couple pictures from the Christine Revell Children's Home that I've been volunteering at for a month now. Its sort of difficult to take pics because we are always busy with the kids crawling all over - including all over us!! I feel like I'm their personal jungle gym some days!! They are so fun and precious!!! Enjoy the pics.....

My car!!!

2007-11-16T18:19:00.000+02:00

Praise God!!! I finally found a car!! I bought a 93' VW Citi Golf, its white, cute and clean! I'm so excited to have my own wheels! It's really necessary now that I have my own place and since I don't work in the same projects as the rest of the team. This makes it much easier for me to get to the two children's homes that I work in and back to the office without having to disrupt the regular volunteer projects. Here's a picture, we've affectionately named him "Jimmy".

Goodbye Caro!!

2007-11-16T17:59:00.000+02:00

Ok, so I've been slow in updating my blog lately, and Caro(lin) actually left a couple weeks ago, Oct 29th to be exact, but here's my homage to Caro. She started out on the International Volunteer team in August 2006, but then in January 2007, she joined the Khanya Lifeskills team, so when I got here she was no longer in the house, but the volunteers spent a decent amount of time with the Khanya team, so I got to know her a bit. I've talked about Khanya before, its a dance and drama team that is together for a year doing programs in various middle and high schools. So Caro was on the team this year as the only female and the only international member, the others 3 members were male and native South Africans. So it was quite an adjustment for Caro living with these guys and being submerged in their culture - quite a change from the volunteer house! But Caro handled it all with a smile and great attitude. She's probably one of the most positive people I've met! Always a complete joy to be around! She'll always have a special place in my heart because of how kind and gracious she was to me when I was struggling at the infamous "Kylemore hike" my first weekend here. She hardly knew me and I was a complete mess, but she was so sweet and gentle with me in my fragile state! It was also cool to watch her change over the course of the year, she seemed kind of quiet and reserved at first, but by the end, she was outspoken and strong and very capable of standing up for herself around those 3 guys! She's really quite a phenomenal woman! She'll be missed here in South Africa! Love ya, Caro!!

My new flat!!!

2007-10-23T14:59:00.000+02:00

I'm finally in my new flat!!! It's a 2-bedroom in a new complex in the suburb of Parklands. I have the place to myself until Nov 28th, when my buddy, Rita Usher arrives to share the place with me. She is also committed to be here for two years. So here are some pics... This is the apartment building, my flat is the one of the first floor right in front of the car pictured....

Here's the living room...I'm still hoping to get a rug for the floor and need to get stuff put up on the walls. Its nice tile floor throughout except for the bedrooms which are carpeted...Here's the kitchen, unlike the States, I had to buy the fridge (not pictured) and microwave...
Here is the bathroom...there's also a tiled stand-up shower in the corner....

And this is my bedroom, kinda small but it's got built-in closets that are nice, and I'm used to living in a small space. Its been so nice getting it all organized and I love having my own space instead of sharing with ten 19-22 yr olds!!!

South Africa - Rugby World Cup Champions!!!!

2007-10-22T16:00:00.000+02:00

k, so rugby is the most popular sport here in South Africa and Saturday night South Africa took on England in the World Cup finals and they won 15-6!! Needless to say people went nuts!! We went to Canal Walk, one of the big malls in Cape Town to watch the game and there was a big crowd there along with us. We ended up finding an empty spot on the floor to sit and watch the game on one of the big screens. Here's a pic of the crowd in the food court where the big screens are...it was madness when the game finished...and as I drove home there were people yelling and celebrating in the streets...so much fun to be a part of!!!

Christine Revell!!!!

2007-10-22T15:38:00.000+02:00

So today was my first day volunteering at Christine Revell Children's Home and I loved it!! I will be volunteering there on Monday and Wednesday mornings and will continue to volunteer at the SOS Kindergarten on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Christine Revell only has kids from ages 0-5yrs old, then they go to foster homes or another orphanage. They split the kids into 3 age groups, 0-18mos, 18-24mos and 2-5yrs and you have to pick one group to volunteer with. So I picked the 0-18mos group since I work with 3-6yr olds at SOS. So mainly we just play with the kids, try to give them stimulation to help them develop, etc. I really love babies so I loved it today. There are 11 kids at the crawling stage and then 4 infants. The days are fairly structured, so from 9-10am we are just playing/working with the kids, then at 10 they get their diapers (nappies) changed, then we feed them at 11am, then they pretty much all go down for a nap until 2pm. I haven't taken any pics yet but when I do I'll be sure to share a few with you...rest assured all the kids are adorable!!!!

Staff Conference!

2007-10-17T14:02:00.000+02:00

Hi, All, sorry for the lack of posts this month, its been kinda crazy here...I'll try to do better!!

Three weeks ago our whole group went to Magliesburg, just outside Johannesburg, for the annual YFC South Africa Staff Conference. The event was held at the training centre and it was so beautiful! Rolf, our Cape Town Centre Director, said the land was donated to YFC something like 20 years ago and it was just wilderness, no running water, electricity, but the National Director at the time had a vision and now 20 years later its so cool to see what that vision turned into! Here are some pics.....
This is what greets you as you arrive....so beautiful!!
This is part of the grounds and one of the conference buildings.....
and here are some of the vols from Cape Town at one of the training sessions, obviously enjoying themselves!! It was really a great time, from the 25 hour train ride, to the training session to the "fashion show" celebration at the end! It was cool to meet YFC workers from all over South Africa....the Centre Director in George is an American who has been in South Africa for 30 years! I can't imagine!!

SOS Kindergarten "Market Day"

2007-09-21T12:44:00.000+02:00

This week they had "Market Day" at the SOS Kindergarten, where the kids pay in R7.50 (just over $1) and then they went around and "bought" things at the different "shops" set up. I worked a shop "selling" magnets, stickers, rulers and balloons. There were also shops "selling" chips, pancakes, popcorn, a soft toy, a borewors roll, juice, etc. The kids all got stuff from each shop and then enjoyed all their goodies....the day is designed to teach them that things cost money and when they go into shops they have to pay for what they want. They also played music as the kids love to show off their dance moves!! They had donations from some businesses and also had a women from ActII bring popcorn and juice for the kids and a couple ladies drove up in the Red Bull car...a car that is not only painted like a can of Red Bull, its got a huge Red Bull can attached to the back of the car!! They gave each of us workers a free can of Red Bull to help get us through the crazy day!! A great time was had by all!!

Manenberg Tour!

2007-09-19T17:24:00.000+02:00

Last week the whole team went on a tour of Manenberg, a poor area of Cape Town, it's not really a township, but it is certainly a disadvantaged area. As we walked along on the tour and listened to the different people talk, it was interesting how the issues they deal with in this community are so similar to the issues facing our inner cities in the US. Drugs, gangs, unemployment, minimal education....it was great to see the programs they have going to try to combat these issues. The organization that gave us the tour is called SelfHelp Manenberg, they aren't waiting for the government or more privileged people to come "rescue" them - they are taking the initiative themselves and doing something about it! They have various training programs going to assist the people get skills required to get a job. They train the people and also assist them in finding employment. They served us a meal made by some of the people in the catering and hospitality programs. Once they finish the programme they are assisted in finding jobs at hotels and the like. Here are pictures from the tour....first pictures along the street of the shacks built in front of apartment buildings, we visited one family who has a little convenience store in the front room of their house. They sell coffee and sugar in little baggies that residents can buy for 1 rand (14 cents!)....a picture of kids hanging out along the road....a picture from the church we visited where they talked a lot about the gang activity that has plagued the area the last 30 years but has been better lately, the house the church is in used to be a hub of gang activity but the leader became a Christian and gave the house to the church....the last picture is of a man who is a former gang member and has now also become a Christian and runs this fruit stand, he had a sign hanging that said "no Jesus, no life...know Jesus, know life!"

Grandparents Concert at SOS Kindergarten!

2007-09-13T17:37:00.000+02:00

Sept 12th was the annual Grandparents Concert for the kids at the SOS Children's Village Kindergarten. I got to help them with the concert, both in terms of getting ready, practices and so on, and then with keeping the kids organized for the actual concert. It was crazy, but a lot of fun! Of course the kids are soooo cute!! Here are some pics for you.... This is a pic of some of the kids singing "10 little monkey's jumping in the trees" song...Here's a pic of some of the kids singing the "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear" song....Here's a pic of some of the kids singing "The Little Brown Jug" song....And finally here's a pic of two of our budding actors in the play "The Old Man". Matthew is "the old man" and Alex is playing the "magical, golden fish"! All the kids were so precious!!!

Goodbye Nathan!!

2007-09-13T17:03:00.000+02:00

Nathan also left on Sept 5th. He was our first "local" international volunteer as he is from the Johannesburg area. His family is friends with our Centre Director, Rolf, and he was looking for a volunteer opportunity for a couple months before going to college. He was quite the character! Here's a pic of him that we call "surfer dude" since he tried his hand at surfing while he was here. It was nice getting to know about another area of South Africa. Jo'burg is pretty different from Cape Town, so it was cool hearing his stories and how his life is different there. We'll miss his humor and openness to anything! He'll be going to school for graphic design and from what I've seen I think he will be very succesful! Here's another pic of him with two of our other vols when they climbed Table Mountain.....

Goodbye Vanessa!!

2007-09-13T16:22:00.000+02:00

Vanessa left on Sept 5th, she'd only been here for 5 weeks but she left an indelible impression on all of us! She wants to be a teacher and so she was part of the team that taught lifeskills at the 6th grade class at Vissershok Primary School. She was also a leader on the Christian Union team. It was on this team that I really saw her shine. I'd watch her and the other leader, Nathan, prepare and it was clear they put a lot of time and thought into their lessons. Then I went down one of the days to take some pictures and in the small group she was leading, the two young girls started fighting in Afrikaans and finally the one girl started crying. I felt that Vanessa really handled this situtation well....stayed calm and gently kept asking what the girls were talking about until they finally confessed that the one girl had threatened to have the other beat up if she did not share in the group! Vanessa took the one girl aside and talked to her privately about how to treat others and how much words can hurt other people. She then had her come back to the group and apologize to the other girl. It was a really stressful situation, but I felt like she really handled it well, especially for a 19 yr old with not much experience! Vanessa was also great fun around the house and had a great balance of being serious sometimes and crazy silly other times. The above pic shows her silly side. She's also in the pic on my main blog page...We truly miss her lots and are praying for her future plans to study as we are sure she will be an awesome teacher!!

My friend Joanen!

2007-08-17T14:24:00.001+02:00

This is a picture of me with my friend, Joanen, from the SOS Children's Village. He's been at the village for a few months now and has totally captured my heart. He always has a huge smile for me when I arrive each day at the SOS Kindergarten. I don't know a lot about his story, but do know that he was abandoned by his parents and was found wandering the streets on his own...at 5 years old!! When the kindergarten teacher had a meeting with his SOS mom she said the first time she put lotion on him he kind of freaked out because he had never experienced the sensation of lotion on his skin! I can't imagine what his life has been like before coming to SOS! He's so affectionate, hugs all the time for me and the teachers. Earlier this week his teacher had to leave the premises to buy bread since we didn't get our delivery and Joanen was so concerned about where she was going and was she coming back?! He stared after her car for a long time and I literally had to drag him back to the classroom, all the while assuring him that "Yes, Teacher Liz will be back. She's just fetching the bread for snack!" I think this only worked because he loves snack time...he can never get enough to eat, so we surmise that he did not get enough to eat in the past and doesn't trust that his future will have plenty to eat, so he's eating as much as he can now!! He's so tiny, he looks like he's maybe 4, yet the teachers say he is actually 6 years old. They also suspect by his facial features that he suffered from fetal alcohol syndrome. He also has no attention span and can't sit still for even a few minutes, which is troublesome as to how much he learns. And you try to discipline him and he just flashes his huge smile and its hard to be firm with him! Oh he's so precious my friends! Please pray for his future, that he'll get along well at the Village and that he will take advantage of the opportunities the Village offers as far as schooling that would not even be possible if he lived in a township.

Goodbye Anna!!

2007-08-17T14:11:00.000+02:00

On August 14th we said goodbye to Anna. She is from Oregon and had been here in Cape Town for 2 1/2 months and we will miss her immensely!! That's one of the amazing things about this program is how quickly you can build relationships with people! I was always amazed by Anna's passion, energy, openness, bubbliness, and just her willingness to try anything! Sometimes I was so envious of her ability to always know what to say and to always be so witty! She also loved to dance and she would break into a little jig at most anytime - so much fun! She was even game enough to sing a song karaoke for her first time on my birthday!! Thanks for everything you gave to the program and to me personally, Anna! God bless your life!!

Goodbye UK Team!!

2007-08-17T14:01:00.000+02:00

We were blessed to have a team of six women from the U.K. come for three weeks from late July to the middle of August. They were here to do a program daily on community in a high school and to learn more about life and culture in South Africa. They stayed with us at the volunteer house, so our concerns that there would only be a couple of us in the house at the end of July and early August were unfounded!! We had a full house!! Lots of noise and chaos and lots of fun! They were a great group and we all had a really great time getting to know them. They left on Aug 12th and they have left a huge void in their wake!! I'm sure God has great things in store for each of these fabulous ladies!!
Thank you to Judy, Naomi, Emma, Helen, Corrie and Bess for enriching our lives!!

Feeding program at Vissershok Primary School

2007-08-01T17:14:00.000+02:00

We have partnered with an organization called The Said Foundation to do a Feeding Program at the Vissershok Primary School. This is the school where we also teach twice a week. The Said Foundation has been trying to provide hot food for the kids twice a week, but they needed more help. They saw us coming to the school as well so decided to ask if we would be willing to assist them. So we have a least one volunteer go there to assist in preparing and serving the food on Monday and Fridays. I have been going the last few weeks and its so awesome to be able to help provide something so important for the kids. For some of them this is the only meal they will receive!! We also assist by picking up donated food on some Thursday nights and on Saturdays. The Woolworths grocery store donates the food and sometimes they donate odd things the kids won't eat so sometimes they let us have that stuff, so we've gotten things like sushi and cambert cheese - perks for helping out!! Here are some pics from the program.

Goodbye Alicia!!

2007-08-01T16:59:00.000+02:00

On July 31st we said goodbye to Alicia as she went back home to New York! She and I got to be really good friends in the 3 months she was here and I hated to see her go!! She and I did several activities just the two of us, which I will always remember fondly - like going to Cape Point, checking out Grandwest Casino and Entertainment Complex (we didn't do any gambling, but checked out all the other stuff - good food, ice skating rink and cinema), introducing her to my favorite movie, Casablanca, going to His People on Sunday nights....good times!! Here's a pic of us on the Cape Point trip. I'll miss you, Alicia! I know we'll keep in touch and we will see each other again, hopefully in December!! Thanks again for the Easy Mac!! You're the coolest!! =:)

Goodbye Jonny!!

2007-08-01T16:29:00.001+02:00

So on July 30th we said goodbye to Jonny, as he went back home to England. He has been here in Cape Town since early January. He's the last person to leave that was here when I got here, so I was very sad to see him go!! He's an amazing young man and I can't believe how well he handled being the only male volunteer in a house full of women!! He obviously hung out with Denzel, our project manager, a lot, but for the most part he was the only guy and he handled it like a champ! He's very funny, energetic, adventurous and easy-going! All the kids LOVED Jonny! Whenever we went to the SOS Village the kids were always yelling his name and climbing all over him! My fondest memories of Jonny are from our Namibia trip and from the notorious (to me!) Kylemore hike, where Jonny literally dragged me up the mountain!! I truly would not have made if not for his help!! "Thanks Jonny!"

It was always tough to get a serious pic of Jonny, so the first pic is vintage Jonny, then the second is the two of us at the Cuban restaurant the night before he left. I know God has great plans for you, Jonny! I will miss you lots and I hope we meet again!!

Happy Birthday!! Karaoke style!!

2007-08-01T16:16:00.001+02:00

So my 38th birthday was on July 18th and it was such a good day!! It was a Wednesday, so I went to the SOS Children's Village Kindergarten as usual and the kids sang "Happy Birthday" to me, in English and in Afrikaans! Then in the office they had not one, but two cakes for me!! Yum! Then I got home and the girls had baked another cake for me!! Wow, I've never had so much cake in one day!! Then the best part, they took me out to a pub doing karaoke!!! I love karaoke so much and had been dropping hints about it for awhile, but no one seemed too interested. But they blindfolded me and drove me there as a surprise. It was sooo much fun! I sang two songs on my own, then all us girls got up and sang "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!" and then the two guys in our group got up and sang "I'm Too Sexy!", it was hilarious! Then one of the other volunteers, Anna, got up and did her first karaoke solo, she did great, it was so much fun! Here's a pic of us girls singing at the top of our lungs!!

Musings on self-absorption...

2007-07-17T16:00:00.000+02:00

I was recently reading the book "Blue Like Jazz" by Donald Miller. In it he remarks that all of the problems in the world could be solved if we were all less self-absorbed. This seems like quite a claim, but then when I think about my own life, I think that a lot of my so-called struggles are due to self-absorption, or are at least made worse by it! I have struggled to live in a house full of 19-21 year olds - always comparing myself to them and feeling like an old, fat lump on a log. But then I realize its all just me being self-absorbed and that comparing myself to others is just a scheme of the devil! Its such an easy trap for me to fall into though! Then this Monday evening we were doing our usual program at the SOS Childrens Village, but the Khanya team couldn't be with us, and it seems we just had no confidence in our own abilities...to control the kids, to plan the lesson...we seemed defeated before we even got there and of course it went badly!! I hope we learned from it, but I'm not sure....I know we were comparing ourselves to the Khanya team and feeling inadequate but again I think this is the devil whispering lies in our ears! Then, Rolf, our Centre Director, did a talk with us and talked about how we as Christians so many times just live in survival mode, just trying to get through life instead of living the abundant, victorious lives Jesus bought for us on the cross! The whole time he was talking I kept thinking "That's me!! That's me!!" I don't know how many times I prayed to God to just get me through this day, or that program...just living in survival mode! Why? And why do I feel inadequate all the time when the Bible promises that God will equip us for whatever we face? Again, I think self-absorption rears its ugly head...its always all about me and how I'm feeling! Hopefully now that I've recognized this pattern I can counteract it by adjusting my attitude and remembering God's promises.....something tells me this will be a lifelong battle!!

Goodbye Kate!!!!

2007-07-16T12:38:00.001+02:00

Saturday we said goodbye to Kate as she flew back home to England. She is such a vibrant personality! She will be sorely missed in the house! She could always make us laugh. And she liked to cook, so we were always the beneficiaries of her culinary skills! She was also the planner for most of our parties!! Kate, what will we do without you?!?! This is a picture of Kate and I at the VBS in Belhar, she and I were the floaters so we hung out together most of the week...I miss you lots, Katie!!! Much love to you!!

VBS - More Than Conquerors!!

2007-07-10T14:38:00.000+02:00

Last week we led a Vacation Bible School at the Belhar Church of the Nazarene. This is the same church we do the Youth Group activities on Friday nights, so it was an opportunity for us to get to know the youth even more and also to meet the younger kids. This was one of the challenges though, we had kids ranging for 4yrs old to 25! We recognized by the second day that we needed to separate the younger kids, so one of the volunteers took the younger kids and played with them out in the yard. Another challenge was that the kids didn’t show up on time, so we always started late, which meant we never got all our planned activities in. Everyday we were scrambling a bit and rearranging the activities and determining which ones we would cut, which we would leave in. But we persevered and by the end of the week we were going pretty smoothly! Our theme for the week was “… More than conquerors…” from Romans 8:37. Below is a short rundown of each day and some pics….

The yellow tribe doing their flag!
Day One: Olympics

We put the kids in tribes for the week, they were given a bandana in their tribe color, had to come up with a tribe name and design a flag for their tribe. Then we held our version of Olympics. We had a sack race, egg toss, get team in square, three-legged race, etc. Our original thought was to have competitions every day and keep track of points and have a winning tribe at the end of the week, but we had different kids each day and one of the tribes was mostly little kids, so it didn’t really work out, so we scrapped the points at mid week.

Olympics!
Day Two: Are You Free?

To start the day, we took away freedoms from some of the kids, some couldn’t talk, some couldn’t see, some couldn’t use their legs. Then we showed them a short movie we’d made asking people on the streets “Are you free?”, then they had to do an obstacle course as a tribe while some members still didn’t have their freedoms, so they tribe had to help them through. So if they couldn’t see someone had to guide them, if they couldn’t walk, someone had to carry them. Then we gave them their freedoms back. Then we did the Sin Chair skit and had them talk about freedom in their tribes and write a Freedom Speech, which they then read to the entire group. We ended with a challenge for them to really think about freedom in their lives and what areas they need Jesus to help them overcome.

The Sin Chair Skit!

Day Three: Fear and Trust

In their tribes they talked about fear, what they fear, who they fear and why; and trust, who do they trust, who should they trust, why? Then they did several activities, such as the Trust Fall and the Trust Run and they had to come up with a War Cry for their tribe and present it to the whole group. Then we held our version of Fear Factor. They had to make a sandwich with all kinds of gross ingredients that they thought the person next to them had to eat. But once they’d made the sandwich, we told them they had to eat it themselves! We had a relay where they had to plunge their face in water, then run down to then other end of the hall and put their face in a pan of flour to find a sweet in it. Every member of the tribe had to take part in this race. Then a member from each tribe had to put their feet in a bucket of gross stuff (spaghetti, oats and water) and then drink a cup of an unknown red liquid. Finally, one member of each tribe had to eat a plate of delicacies as fast as they could, the plate consisted of a whole hot pepper, capers and a herring! We had the throw up bucket at the ready! It was lots of fun! We ended the day with messages on both fear and trust, that Jesus can help them conquer their fears and that He is trustworthy and will never let us down.

Fear Factor!!

Day Four: Puzzled and Choices

We started off the day playing some games to get them ready for the day, then each tribe had to make a shield to represent their tribe and what they learned so far. Then we gave each tribe a puzzle they had to try to piece together, they had to make 5 arrows out the pieces they were given. Then they talked about how it felt being confused and having to try to solve it within a group. We made parallels to life and how it can be confusing also. Then we had the older kids go into the sanctuary and one of our volunteers led them in an exercise. They had to sit by themselves, close their eyes and just think through each question he asked them. He asked them to think about their lives, what were the best times, what were the worst times. Then he ended with the message that they have the choice in life to let life beat them down or to overcome. That much of what happens in their future depends on what choices they are making today. Then finally we ended with the "Change Your Choice!" game show. We had different volunteers from the audience come up and choose from 3 different boxes. The audience is also yelling out what box they think they should choose. Then once they've seen the prize, they decide if they want to keep it or change their choice. Again the audience is yelling out what they think they should do. Then we debriefed the games and ended the day.The red tribe doing their shield!

Day 5: Persecution

We started off the day with a game, then we went into the sanctuary to watch a short movie titled "Beyond the Gates of Splendor" about the 5 missionaries who were martyred in Equador in the 1950's and their wives who stayed with the tribe that had murdered their husbands and who taught them the gospel - breaking the cycle of violence that had plagued the tribe. Then we got into our tribes and talked about persecution, what it is, who is persecuted, etc. Then they were given a real-life scenario of persecution and had to do a skit on it and present it to the group. They all did a fantastic job! Then we ended the day with the Capture the Flag game. Where each tribe has a different tribes flag and they have to try to get theirs back but at the same time keep the other tribe from stealing theirs back. If you get tagged on the enemy's side you have to go to jail and your other tribe members have to come get you out. The green tribe doing their skit!!

Friday Night - Dance Party!!

We had a dance party for the teenagers to celebrate the week. We had a great turnout and everyone had a great time! It was cool to see how they dance!

Sunday - speak at the church service

They asked us to speak at the church service on Sunday to tell the congregation about the VBS week. So another group from YFC, a worship group called Khanisa, came and lead worship songs. Then several of us got up and talked about YFC, what the international volunteers do here in Cape Town and what the Lifeskills Dance team does (they also joined us for the whole week). Then one of us got up and talked about the themes for each day and we ended with a slide show of pics from the whole week.

Things didn't always go as we planned, but I think we all learned that its not about us and our plans, but its all about God and His plans! Once we surrendered the way we thought it should go, things immediately improved and the week turned out great! God is good all the time - All the time God is good!!

Goodbye Isabel!!!

2007-07-10T14:32:00.000+02:00

Ok, the goodbyes are coming fast and furious now! On July 9^th we said goodbye to another German volunteer, Isabel! The group is getting so small, there are only 5 of us left in the house at the moment! Here's a pic of Isabel and I at the Cuban restaurant we went to for Tina's last day.

Isabel, we will miss you – your passion, your sense of humor, your craziness and your seriousness! And our house and office is so organized now – Thank you! You are a good friend! So cool that we share the same birthday! I’ll be praying that we can spend our birthday at Victoria Falls next year! Take care and keep in touch!! Love ya!

Goodbye Birgit!!!

2007-07-10T14:26:00.001+02:00

On July 3^rd we said goodbye to another German volunteer, Birgit. We will miss her so much! She has such a soft heart and a compassion for the kids! She was also very outspoken (I think this is a German trait!) this helped us a lot in the house and with the programs, we will miss her honesty! I will miss her sensitivity and gentleness of spirit the most! Here's a pic of Birgit and I when we went to the Waterfront to listen to a Jazz band.
I hope we meet again! Love you, Birgit!

Goodbye Steffi!!!!

2007-07-10T14:10:00.000+02:00

On June 27^th we said goodbye to Steffi as she flew back home to Germany. We’ll miss her a lot in the house. She had lots of energy, loved to dance and rap! She was also our spiritual leader and she was great in this capacity – such depth and openness! Steffi was also great with the kids; she had such passion for telling them about Jesus! Here's a pic of Steffi at the dunes in Namibia, a trip neither Steffi or I will ever forget!! I’m sure the Lord has great plans for you, Steffi! Keep in touch – love ya lots!

Christian Union

2007-06-26T14:04:00.000+02:00

Christian Union is the name for a new program the volunteers have started with kids from the Vissershok Primary School. They started it with 8 kids from the 5th and 6th grades. They meet twice a week and go through the basics of the Christian faith with them. It runs for the same period of time as a quarter in the school year. So they are just finishing with the first group of kids this week and will start with a new group of kids after the 2 week break in July. They use a variety of methods to teach; skits, songs, stories, brainstorming, small groups....and they usually give them a challenge at the end of the day that they follow up on the next meeting. Here is a sampling of some the things they covered:

God - who He is, what His character is, etc.
Jesus - birth, ministry, death
the Holy Spirit
how to pray

I haven't taken part in this session's Christian Union, as we only need 4 volunteers at a time doing the program and I don't work at the Vissershok School. But I did take part in one of the skits they did on prayer. I think its a great program. It gives the volunteers more time to get to know the kids and to go deeper into what the Christian faith is and how to live it out in their lives. Tomorrow is their last meeting and they are having a party - giving them certificates of completion and Bibles, that one of us has sponsored for them. I know the volunteers very much enjoyed putting together the program and carrying it out with the kids. This is a picture of the first class with the four volunteers who ended the program with them....

Belhar Youth Group

2007-06-20T14:36:00.000+02:00

Last Friday night we met with the Youth Group at Belhar Church of the Nazarene. They have asked us to assist them in making their youth group stronger and more appealing to the youth in that neighborhood. This first night we just played a bunch of games with them and did some introductions to start getting to know each other. This Friday we are doing a program on encouragement. We will be using games and small group activities to talk to them about the importance of encouraging others. How the Bible can encourage us and it commands us to build up others and not hurt them or tear them down. We have a couple activities to help them practice giving encouragement and will challenge them to look for ways to encourage others around them going forward. Here are some pics from last weeks meeting...some of the pics didn't come out very well, but you can see we are having fun!

Choices and Consequences....

2007-06-08T14:39:00.000+02:00

Sunday, June 3rd, was a "Youth Day" at the churches around South Africa. So one of the churches in town asked us to come and lead a program titled "Choices and Consequences" during their church service. It was so much fun! We started off with a funny ice-breaker where we introduced each other, but had a glass of water that we pretended to drink from and then spit it back out, then we introduced the person next to us and gave them the glass to also take a drink! The congregation really thought we were drinking the water the last person had spit out! We actually had water in our mouths already and only pretended to drink....it didn't have any symbolism but was just a way to get the congregation loosened up...they thought it was pretty hilarious! Here's a pic of us lined up for our intros, that's my hand on the right of the pic as I did the greeting and started the introductions.
Then we acted like we all had different ideas of what we were doing next; one person started saying "ok, now we are going to do a skit." then someone else says "I thought we were doing a dance", I said "I thought we were going to sing a song!", someone else said "I thought we were going camping!" We were all speaking over top each other, then one of us said "Hey, guys! Stop it! What are you doing?" then went on to explain that we all have to make choices every day and obviously we have problems making decisions as a group, and sometimes its hard to make the right choice and we can be confused, etc... Then we did a game show titled "Change Your Choice" where we took volunteers from the audience and they had to choose between 3 boxes that had prizes in them. Some prizes were good, some bad and some just strange! The audience could participate, yelling out which box they thought the person should choose. After they see what prize they got, they then have a decision to make of whether to keep their prize or "change their choice" and pick a different prize, again the audience is yelling out what they think the person should do. The aim of the game was just to get them thinking about choices and how sometimes we are pressured into making a choice by others, but it is us who have to live with the consequence of the choice we make, not the other people. Here's a picture of Kate, one of our volunteers from England, who was emcee of the game...
Then Alicia, a new volunteer from the States , got up and delivered the message. She used the story where Joshua had to choose whether to follow what God told him to do about taking the city of Jericho - walking around the city for 6 days, then the last day walking around 7 times and then shouting and the city walls would fall- surely the people had to think this idea was crazy! But Joshua knew God was faithful and would do what he promised, so they followed God's orders and the city walls fell! We also have to decide every day whom we will follow with the choices we make. She shared some of her testimony about times when she prayed to God about a decision she had to make and how we sometimes don't want to listen to or do what God is telling us, but we will always find in the end, following God will lead to life, doing it on our own leads to heartache, disappointment, etc. However, even when we make bad choices, God is still with us, will redeem us and through Him we can turn our lives around. Below is a pic of Alicia speaking.....
Lastly, we went through the memory verse for the day, portions of Joshua 24: 15-17...but we had portions of the verse on 7 different cards and we stood up in the incorrect order and had kids come up and try to get us in the correct order - "If you decide it is a bad thing to worship God, then choose a god you'd rather serve....as for us, we'll worship God!" Then we had the congregation repeat it with us a couple times. We finished with a prayer. We stood at the door to greet people as they left and they were very gracious and thankful to us for coming. After the service they invited us to stay for treats with the kids. It was really cool to spend a little time with them, again they were so thankful we came and they invited us to do a camp with them in September, hopefully that will happen! It was a great experience, we enjoyed it as much as they did.....here's a pic of the congregation......

Goodbye Tina!!!

2007-06-07T10:39:00.000+02:00

So this is Tina and I at the airport. She was one of my closest friends in the house. She left to go back home to Germany on June 1st. It again was so hard to say goodbye! I told her I think she was the person in the house whom I was most like in terms of temperament and personality. We had lots of fun together - lots of great memories that I will always cherish!! Tina & I both hope we can do some travelling together in the future! Miss you lots, Tina!!

Knysna, Plettenberg Bay and bungy jumping!!!

2007-05-22T17:05:00.000+02:00

Four of us decided to travel to Knysna, a 5 hour drive from Cape Town, for the weekend and it was so awesome! I can't tell you how beautiful every place I have been in Africa has been and Knysna and Plettenberg Bay were no different! One of the main reasons we went was because the world's highest commercial bungy jump from bridge is 75 km from Knysna and 3 of us wanted to do it....it was sooooo crazy!!! Here's a pic of the bridge....I can't believe, looking back, that I did it! I had already made up my mind that I was doing it, so it wasn't hard to do it and I was glad that I went first!! The official measurement is that it's 216 metre jump! The first free-fall was scary, wild, insane!! Then you rebound back up and free-fall again, I enjoyed this one a little better because I knew the bungy was going to hold, then it feels like you are just hanging there waiting for the guy to come get you and take you back to the top....it was so cool and I'm so glad I did it....here's a pic of me as I left the ledge!

Then we went to Monkeyland and saw a few monkeys, the bungy jump was expensive by South Africa standards, so we decided to not pay for the tour at Monkeyland since there were 3 monkeys just walking around the main complex that you could go to for free!

Then we drove to Plettenberg Bay, had lunch, then headed down to the beach for a little while. It was so beautiful! Such a pretty little town! Here's a pic from the beach....

Then we went to the Knysna Elephant Park and paid to go in a feed the elephants and touch them. We got to have pictures taken with the elephants, so it was very cool! Check it out....

Then finally, we ended the day watching the sunset at The Heads in Knysna. Knysna is located in a bay that is almost completely enclosed by two land masses jutting out that are referred to as "The Heads". Again, it was absolutely beautiful!! Here's a pic of Knysna taken from one side of "The Heads".

Then on Sunday we took the long way back to Cape Town by way of Cape Agulhus, the southernmost point of Africa! We took the opportunity to have our pictures taken by the sign stating it's the southernmost point as well as the point where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet. It was cold and windy on Sunday so we didn't stop long. It took 8 hours to get back to Cape Town and we were quite exhausted! It was a great weekend though!! I can't believe all of God's creation that I have been blessed to witness since I've gotten here to South Africa! If any of you have the means, come on down and visit, you won't be disappointed!!!

Goodbye Canada....We'll Miss You!!

2007-05-07T14:45:00.000+02:00

Tuesday, May 1, the three Canadian volunteers, Sarah, Jen and Jodi (in order of pic at left), left to go back home. It was a sad day! We all had such a good time together; it is really difficult when someone leaves! Everything at the house seems so different! I realized I have 2 more years of this process...the coming and going of volunteers, leaving me behind.....it was a sobering thought! Anyway, this is a pic from their last evening in Cape Town..... I think great things are ahead of all three of them!!! Go, Girls!!

Ubuntu House!

2007-05-07T14:11:00.000+02:00

Last Monday was a School Holiday here in Cape Town, so three of us volunteers decided to take the opportunity to go to Ubuntu House on our own on Monday. It was so awesome!! It's a house where the family has turned their upstairs level into a safe place for newborn babies that have been given up for adoption to live until their adoptions go through. There were six babies there, which the workers said was an unusually small number, there have been as many as 16 there at a time!! We just assisted the workers by caring for the babies that were crying and feeding them. It was so fun to hold the babies! The baby I held they call "Mr President" because he always has a serious look on his face! I am proud to say I had him smiling several times! We took some pics, but the workers said we couldn't take pics of their faces for privacy reasons, only the backs of their heads. I would like to go there on a more regular basis, but need to work out a set schedule first!

SOS Kindergarten and Creche

2007-04-25T15:36:00.000+02:00

Okay, so I've been volunteering at the SOS Children's Village Kindergarten and Creche (pre-school) for 2 weeks now and I'm really enjoying it!! I am there on Monday and Wednesday mornings from 9 - 12. For the most part I am just assisting the teachers with the activities, however, twice I've been able to work one on one with a several kids who are behind and I loved it! I hope to do more of this as the teachers have their hands full just getting the whole class through each lesson and don't have much time for one on one time. I have also been able to read books to them on two occasions. It's a challenge keeping up with the energy of these 3-6 year olds! Plus many of the kids have been through so much in their young lives. The teacher was telling me one of the kids has been living at the Village (meaning he was orphaned or abandoned) since he was 6 months old and last year his SOS Mom retired, so he has already lost 2 moms and he is now only 4! The kids attend for 3 years so there is a class for each year and I have visited the two older classes. Above are pictures of a couple of the kids in the classes. I'll keep you updated with more stories and pics as time goes by. Please pray for these kids!

Breakthrough Camp for Youth

2007-04-22T16:51:00.000+02:00

Thursday evening and Friday morning the whole team went to a southern suburb of Cape Town called Strandfontein to do a program at Breakthrough Camp - a 10 day camp for youth ages 14 - 25 who are addicted to drugs or alcohol. It was an awesome experience! It's a Christian camp so the kids are learning to deal with their addictions by giving their lives to Jesus. Our program on Thursday night was titled "Are You Free?". We asked them to think about freedom in their lives and to look at what areas they are slaves to sin and can't break free without asking Jesus into their lives. We showed a short video, did a skit and one of our volunteers shared testimony. We then had an open worship time, where they could choose to quietly read, draw, chat with someone, write out their prayer requests and read other's requests and pray for them and we gave them a red ribbon they could nail to a wooden cross - signifying they were giving some issue or sin in their lives to Jesus - the next morning we had replaced the red ribbons with white ribbon - Jesus had washed their sins away with His blood. It was really meaningful to the kids. At the end we also gave them a sheet of paper to write out their confessions on and then we took them outside and burned them, just to show that once we confess and ask forgiveness the sin is gone.

On Friday the program was titled "Puzzled" and just dealt with the confusion we feel sometimes about what we should do with our lives. So the activites were designed to show that God has a plan for our lives and when we are puzzled or confused on what to do we can turn to Him, that He loves us and wants to show us a better way of living. The kids really opened up about their lives and where they need are suffering and need Jesus. We all agreed the experience was great and we learned just as much as the campers did (as always seems to happen when you are ministering to someone!)! We hope to do more camps like this in the future! Please pray for more opportunities for this to open up!

Blessings!

Quad-biking in the sand dunes!!

2007-04-22T15:01:00.000+02:00

So we went quad-biking in the sand dunes by the coast for 2 hours! It was soooo much fun!! I didn't get very good pics of the bigger sand dunes because we were on the bikes then, we stopped in flatter areas and thats what the pics are from. Enjoy!

Etosha National Park!!

2007-04-22T14:43:00.000+02:00

Just a sampling of the wildlife we saw at Etosha National Park, a 6 hour drive north of the Namibian Capitol of Windhoek. We camped here 2 nights!

Hodygos Training Centre, Okahandja, Namibia

2007-04-20T17:37:00.000+02:00

More pictures fo the training centre in Namibia. The sign at entry, the chapel and the last picture shows one of our volunteers on one of the obstacles on their obstacle course they use to teach Christian Leadership Skills to youth.

Okahandja, Namibia

2007-04-20T17:25:00.000+02:00

Here is some of the YFC Namibia staff and their offices. We had a good time hanging out with them and finding out about their programs. They also have a dance and drama team that goes into schools and does ministry like our Khanya team in Cape Town.

Namibia!!!!

2007-04-20T17:11:00.000+02:00

So Awesome! Over the school holidays, when our programs are not running, six of us international volunteers decided to go to Namibia for 10 days. It was an incredible adventure and for all of us further proved to us that God is good and trustworthy! This post is a little long, so grab a cup of coffee and enjoy!!

First, we took the bus to the capitol of Namibia, Windhoek. The bus ride took 21 hours! Once we got to Windhoek we would need to get to Okahandja, an hour from Windhoek to the YFC Training Centre there. We had asked the bus line rep on the phone if the bus would take us to Okahandja and she said she thought they would or they would assist us in making arrangements. Well we asked them on the way there and they said no they couldn't take us and they had no idea if any buses went there or how we would get there! We were a little shaken by this, so we prayed. In the meantime, Steffi, one of the volunteers from Germany, started talking to the lady sitting next to her and come to find out, she is a South African who now lives in Namibia and she travels back and forth many times a year and she said it would be no problem to get us to Okahandja, she would help us once we got there! So once we got to Windhoek she showed us how to get to the main bus and taxi area and then asked around about taxi fares (too high she said!) and then while we waited she went over to the bus area, asked around and found us a bus that would take us for much cheaper than the taxi! It was so great - we would have been wandering around lost without her help!! First answered prayer! Also this lady, Reikie, now lives in Swakopmund, our last stop in Namibia and she said when she got there she would look up info for us on all the activities in the sand dunes!

Ok, so we get to Okahandja to the YFC Training Centre and get settled into our cabins. We spent a couple days there and were able to go into town and check it out. It’s a cute small town, not unlike many in the states. Namibia used to be a German colony, so much of the architecture and names are German and so most of the international volunteers at YFC there are from Germany. The two German volunteers with us, Tina and Steffi, enjoyed getting to speak their mother tongue with the volunteers in Namibia. The Training Centre is very nice though it’s kind of out in the bush and isolated. They have a conference center, chapel, offices and many cabins to accommodate all their volunteers as well as for youth camps they have throughout the year. We got to go on the obstacle course they have there as well. It was fun, each obstacle is aimed at teaching leadership skills based on Christian values. I had a hard time keeping up with the youngsters again, but it was a good time! They have plans in the future to make the centre completely self sufficient; they already have cows and plans to plant a large garden, they have water and if they could get solar panels, could provide their own electricity. It was a cool place; the volunteers there live much differently than we do in Cape Town.

We had planned to stay at the Training Centre for 5 nights, but because we wanted to see the capitol city and weren’t sure when the YFC staff could take us there, we decided to take an opportunity to go there a couple days early and get accommodation there instead. Only problem was, its Easter weekend, and most of the hotels are booked! We could have stayed at a Backpacker’s one night (Thursday) but it was booked on Friday. So we prayed about it and then later in the day we got out the phone book and the first place we called was “Pete’s Place” and they said they could accommodate us for both nights! Yeah! They said they had 4 single beds and one double bed, and could bring in another mattress if we needed it. So we booked it, but then started to get worried that it was going to just be some room at a house and were a little anxious about “Pete”. But this wasn’t our only worry. We were headed to Etosha National Park on Saturday but we needed tents to camp out in. We had asked the YFC Centre if they had any or could make arrangements, but when we got there they said they didn’t have anything for us! And the head grounds keeper at the Centre used to work at Etosha as a Nature Conservationalist and told us a story of 2 Australian guys who camped outside of the area they were supposed to in just their sleeping bags and they got attacked by lions! So we were quite worried about our sleeping arrangements in Etosha. And again, it a holiday weekend so they told us everything in Windhoek would be closed on Friday, so we didn’t even think we could buy tents! So more prayers!

Well, we get to Windhoek to Pete’s Place and it’s awesome! They have a whole separate flat that they let out. It had two separate bedrooms and then a living room with two beds in it, satellite tv, a kitchen, pool and patio area we could use and the kicker – they are a Christian couple and Pete used to serve on YFC’s Board! They invited us to their church with them, so we went to Maundy Thursday services with them. They were so great! So second answered prayer!!

Then Thursday night before church we walk down to the grocery store a couple blocks from the house to get some food and there in the back aisle are – yeah you guessed it – TENTS! Three-man tents for 300 rand a piece (just over $30) So we bought two tents and sang praises to God the whole way home!! Third answered prayer!!

The rest of our answered prayers were not quite such big deals, but here are few of the other things we were concerned about and that God took care of quite handily… We were worried about what the vehicle we were renting for the last 5 days would be like…it was awesome, Steffi and I loved driving it and we were able to fit in all our bags and didn’t feel too cramped for our 6 and 7 hour drives up to Etosha and then to Swakopmund on the coast….. We desired to see lots of animals at Etosha and were treated to giraffes, elephants and zebras walking across the road right in front of us! The only thing we didn’t see was lions….. We were worried about the drive to Swakopmund once we realized a good part of it was on gravel roads (had we known ahead of time, we’d have picked a different route!) but though the going was slow for a bit, we made it safe and sound and before the sun went down! Plus got to see so much of the beautiful Namibian countryside that seemed to change every hour, sometimes mountainous and rocky, sometimes grassy plains, then lots of desert – fabulous! ….. Then we wanted to go quad biking in the sand dunes and we were worried they would be booked because of the holiday weekend, but we made a reservation for the next day, no problem. And the quad biking was soooo much fun!! A highlight for me – I LOVED IT!

Everything worked out so well! We had a fabulous time! I highly recommend you come see Africa, my friends! So many things to do, beautiful landscapes to see and the people are so welcoming, friendly and helpful!

Anyway, I’ve probably gone on for too long and you all probably think I’m just here to have fun! Not true!! I have been doing ministry work in the office, at the SOS Village with the orphans and am excited to start volunteering at the kindergarten there on Monday the 16th. We are hopefully starting some new projects in the coming weeks as well, so stay tuned…..It’s just that when the holidays come along, I will take full advantage and see as much of Africa as I can! It seems crazy not to! I hope you enjoy pictures I will post separately....

Cheetahs!

2007-04-16T17:25:00.000+02:00

I was blessed to be able to go to Stellenbosch, an hour from Cape Town and heart of the wine region in South Africa with another of our volunteers, Sara and her Dad a couple weeks ago. We visited a couple different wineries, but the highlight of the day was seeing cheetahs at the Spier Winery. They have a cheetah outreach there to educate the public about cheetahs and raise donations to further efforts to protect cheetahs in South Africa. They told us that cheetahs are more docile than most large cats, they usually only go after prey smaller than them and that more often they are the prey themselves, so they said the numbers of them are dwindling. They also said that cheetahs in the wild can be killed by farmers if the farmers believe the cheetahs have attacked their livestock and that the farmers take full advantage of this. They have 13 cheetahs at the outreach and you can actually pay to have a "cheetah encounter" where you can go in with the trainers and pet the cheetahs and spend a little time with them in the yard. We didn't do this, we just paid to get in and view the cheetahs. Above are pics....enjoy! I can't believe the experiences I have already been blessed with since I came to South Africa....God is so good!!

Robben Island

2007-04-15T15:52:00.000+02:00

Hello, my friends!

A couple weekends ago a group of us went to tour Robben Island. Its right off the coast of Cape Town and has been used for many things, at one time it was a leper colony and most recently it had been used as a maximum security prison for black political prisoners. Nelson Mandela was in prison here for 18 years. Now it is a museum and former prisoners are the ones who give the tours. The most interesting thing is that former prisoners and former guards now live side by side on the island and get along fine. It is amazing to me after the atrocities I hear about from the apartheid era, that people here are able to forgive and move on. Not that it is without racial strife, but for the most part it is not violent. Most crime arises more from poverty and hopelessness ....anyway, here are some pictures - Nelson Mandela's cell and there is also a penguin colony on the island, so I had to include a pic of this!!!

SOS Kindergarten, school holidays, Namibia!!

2007-03-30T13:19:00.000+02:00

Hey, y'all!

Its been a week since I've updated so I figured I'd better update you before I am gone for a couple weeks. Things have been going well....I start volunteering at the SOS Children's Village Kindergarten on April 16th. I will go there on Monday and Wednesday mornings from 9am - noon. I will be assisting the teachers in whatever ways they need. I am not sure what skills I bring to this, as I have never done it before, but I am trusting that God has opened this door for a reason and He will equip me!!

I don't start until the 16th because the schools are on holiday here from April 2nd - 13th. So we did not want to waste this time, so 6 of us from the volunteer house are going to Namibia from the 1st - 12th. I am so excited to see another part of Africa! Cape Town is so westernized that I sometimes feel I'm just in Florida or something! In Namibia we will spend a few days in the capitol, Wind Hoek, then we are going to Etosha National Park for 2 days and finally to the coast to check out the sand dunes. The town we are staying in on the coast is Swakopmund. The sand dunes in Namibia are the highest in the world! We might go quad-biking or sand boarding at the dunes......such wild experiences I've had in my first 6 weeks!!

Last weekend we went to Robben Island. This is where Nelson Mandela spent 18 years in prison. We toured the island and the prison. It was very interesting...I will do a specific post with pics when I get back from Namibia.

On Wednesday I went to Stellenbosch with Sara (vol from US) and her dad, who is visiting her right now, and went to a few wine tastings, went to an awesome African restaurant (Moyo), and I saw CHEETAHS!! That's right, Nicole, I saw CHEETAH's! Only a two feet away from me!! I'll post more about this and pics when I get back as well! It was really awesome!!

I hope you are all doing well back in the States! Please keep in touch!!

Especially for Nicole and Chaise!

2007-03-23T14:43:00.000+02:00

Hi, my sweet nieces!!

I miss you!! I heard from your grandma that you were bummed that I didn't mention you in my blog like I did Dalton, so this post is all for you!! I think about you often, especially when I see animals, as I know you both love animals...especially horses, so I will try to upload some pictures of animals I have taken so far, sometimes it doesn't work very well! I haven't been on a safari yet to take pictures of wild animals, but hopefully soon I will and I will share those pictures with you! Sometimes it is hard to be somewhere far away from all the people you know, but God is here with me and he has given me many new friends and experiences! The place I live is very beautiful but there are also many poor people that need help. That is why I came here, to help kids who don't have parents to feel loved and feel important and to tell them about Jesus. Will you pray for me and for them? There are many things here that are the same as back in Iowa, like they have malls here and when I went shopping the other day I saw backpacks and tshirts with Bratz and Powerpuff girls on them!! Of course I thought of both of you!! I hope you are having lots of fun back in Iowa and I hope I can see you around Christmas to share with you all that's been happening here in South Africa! Take care and tell your mom and dad and Dalton "Hi!" for me!! Lots of love from South Africa!!

More Porterville Pics!

2007-03-23T11:41:00.000+02:00

Hi, Friends,

Here are a couple other pics from Porterville, a picture of the valley taken from the mountain and a picture of some of us at the campsite. Enjoy!

Porterville Pics

2007-03-13T14:55:00.000+02:00