The view on the road past Red Hill
Today after breakfast we headed off for a short orientation. We had a daily devotional/praise time with the Living Hope staff before the five new comers headed off for their meeting. Mike and Pam, the volunteer coordinators who answer countless emails pre-trip, gave us a run down of all that Living Hope encompasses. It's SO MUCH MORE than I know! I won't explain all the details but basically Living Hope serves as care for people with AIDS/HIV through their hospice, as well as through teaching prevention in the communities (Capricorn, Masi, Ocean View and Red Hill... I'll be working mainly in Ocean View just a few minutes from the main Living Hope building). Living Grace is a homeless soup kitchen and locker service where men and women can store their belongings. Living Way is an economic planning program that works with men and women in the communities to teach them how to make and save money as well as learn to budget and spend wisely. It's amazing how many people are being reached with the Gospel through all of the services Living Hope provides.
There are fourteen of us staying in the house: Carley and Hanna (two CHI OMEGAS from TCU :) Justine, my sweet roommate from Samford, Chelsea from Kent State, Louise from England, Zhusana from Czech Republic, Kendra from Tennessee, Amy who plays for the women's AND men's soccer team here in Cape Town, Stuart from UK, Josh and Brock from Samford, Ronnie from Michigan, then me and Ethan. It's quite an interesting mix and I love having people from all over the world to share this place with.
After Carley, Hanna, Justine, Josh, Ethan and myself got the official orientation, we were taken on a tour of Cape Town. We went into Masi (technically its called Masiphumelele... say that one for fun), which reminded me of a city in Mexico. The neighborhood has about 3,500 people who occupy shacks that surround a brick "house". The neighborhood is black, which means it consists primarily of Xhosa people (you get to say Xhosa with a click!). Just down the road is the colored community of Ocean View, which is just a little nicer, but equivalent to a ghetto in any American city. The colored people are what we would consider mixed, and generally speak Afrikaans. This is where I will be working for most of my time.
After our tour and a lunch break, the few of us who will not be working with Kids clubs participated in our first community service project, which we will do each Tuesday and Thursday. Today we went to Red Hill, which is made of three different "camps". We worked in middle camp where the Living Hope hosts a kids club. We picked up trash and pulled weeds around the dirty floor that kids club is held. I was amazed at how friendly and welcoming the people are, they are so generous and kind even in the midst of all their hurt and suffering.
Jet lag set in around 4:00 this afternoon when I was fast asleep on the van.. But not before we stopped on the side of the road for the baboons! Plenty of baboons surrounded us, baby baboons, mating baboons... you name it! The baby ones were so cute it's easy to forget their terribly mean animals!
For dinner, we had soup. Homemade chicken soup. And, for the first time in many many years, I actually ate soup. It was such a rare occasion, and bound to happen many more times this trip, but I survived... and ate plenty of homemade bread to fill me up and limit my soup intake ;)
And to cap off the first wonderful day, was the beautiful view from our front door. I love this place! I am so eager to see what the Lord has in store once I start tomorrow. I am appreciating the beautiful views that this city offers because it's such a remind that our God sees, our El Roi, the God who sees, can appreciate the beauty He created just as we take Him in. How great is our God!
No comments:
Post a Comment