Well....it is World Cup time here in South Africa and the vibe is so good! There is such a feeling of jubilation and the whole of Cape Town is buzzing not only with the sound of Vuvuzelas but with excitement and anticipation too. Everyone is in the party mood and there is such a freindsly and safe atmosphere, it really is an amazing place to be at a time like this.
Yesterday I went to the Fifa Fan park in central Cape Town and the atmosphere was so alive! From being chilled out, to a Nigerian Carnival to a real battle of USA vs England Fans it really was amazing! Plus i got on Sky TV news which was surreal but pretty cool! (video is on my facebook page!)
I have to say that this World Cup has helped me fall back in love with this country, it is so origional, so vibrant and so diverse, i really can't think of anywhere like it!!
I'l be sad to leave here in July but I am really looking forward to Uganda and all that it might hold!
Yeah...Uganda!
I'm going to spend a month with a project that some friends in my Grandads church are very involved with. I'm not sure exactly what I will be doing just yet but I have been asked questions about my skills, training and experience as I think they want to utilise what I can offer, which is really exciting!
I have a real expectancy when i think about going there, I think that God is going to do allot when I am there...that may just be internally in me or whatever but I am so keen for God to work in me and through me when I am there and am just going to try to keep my eyes and ears and heart open for whatever He has instore or for whatever He asks me to do.
I can't believe I am over half way through.....to be honest its felt like I have been here for ages and it has only been 2 months....but in a good way, I think I have learnt so much in such a short time and done so much in so many ways! God has really blessed this trip and I am so thankful for that. Some of the stuff I have experienced and learnt will be so great in equipping me for the future wherever I am.
I just came back from a camp with around 130 kids from Gugulethu which was such a good time! It was really challenging as I was the only person who couldn't speak Xhosa and I had to lead a team of kids!!! But I didn't do too badly ( I did get one of the guys there to help me out a bit with language!) and I can now get the gist of what os being said when people are talking Xhosa! which i feel is a bit of an achievement! I just need to try and keep it up and find a Xhosa speaking person in Leeds so I can continue to learn!
This week is my last official week of placement and its going to be a good one. I've been working with Unathi to help plan some kids clubs for tuesday, wednesday and thursday as it is holiday time here and there will be allot of kids with not much to do. I am really excited for them and think they are going to be so much fun...just have to hope we get a good amount of Kids there....apparently it could be between 40 and 200!!! The main thing is to get enough people to help...this I will find out tomorrow!
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
A Month In...
SO i have been here for a month now, it feels like it has been a really short time and a long time all at the same time!
It certainly hasn't been how i thought it would be. I didn't really know what to expect when i came out, but this month has been so interesting, a great one but very different to how i expected it to be.
I don't really know where to start...
Well firstly work at Khanyisa is going well, not really doing much with myself and struggling to stay busy but i am sure with a bit of time i will get in the flow and settle in there a bit more.
On Thursdays i have been going across to HCC a church in Somerset West where I did my unofficial FP. I am really loving being over there and have been doing some really exciting stuff that i never thought i would have the opportunity to do on this trip!
I went to Somerset West for a meeting a few weeks ago to chat about community development and family support in Lwandle; which is one of the Townships on the border of Somerset West. It was a really positive meeting and there are some very exciting prospects for future work there, though at this point I'm not sure where and when and if i fit in, but know God will let me know when i need to!
At this meeting i met a really great girl called Jude who is doing FP at HCC, we got on really well and found that we both have pretty much the same passion and vision for community development and family support. SO we are getting together on Thursdays to look into what is already going on in the community and have been doing some filming and stuff of some of the projects going on there to maybe put together some info packages for them to send off for funding or just to help raise their profile. We have been meeting with a guy called Lunga who has started a music production/recording studio called Pozi Productions in his shack...its so cool!!! the music they are producing is such good quality! i never thought id end up hanging out in a hip-hop recording studio ever let alone in a township! i love it!!!
This Tuesday i went to help at a group run at Jubilee church in Cape Town that is for mums and their kids in the local community, it is a bit of discipleship, life skills, fun and relationship all in one. It is really great to see stuff like this going on, the women really appreciate having somewhere like it just be and forget their troubles for a little while. I was looking after a little boy of about 8months who lives under a bridge with his mum, he seemed pretty ill with a really rattly chest, i can't imagine the stress his mum is under, they are desperately trying to find her a shelter to stay at but because she is not involved in drugs or a victim of domestic violence it is very hard...which is crazy, she is trying not to get involved in bad things so she can care for her son but that is stopping her from getting the support she needs! Winter is closing in, its been cold and stormy this week and my heart breaks for people like them who have no shelter...not even a shack!
I am going to be going to that group every week which i am really excited about, it is a great opportunity to build relationships and also to learn.
On Mondays and Wednesdays i have been at khanyisa helping with two groups that are run there, Mondays it is teenagers, and weds it is younger children. I have a bit of a fan in the teenage group, a boy who is trying to convince me he is the best and calls me Rebekah Malope (she's a south African gospel singer)... its hard to know what they are saying about me all the time as they speak in Xhosa allot, and i am sure i am the butt of allot of jokes but relationship does seem to be being built and i had fun whipping there butts at Foosball! I did the talk at the kids group on Wednesday too which was cool, did a story about Jonah and God's grace for people and how He looks after us even when we stray from Him or are disobedient, it went well though i really want to find some good resources to use.
So its been interesting in that i am doing a bunch of stuff i didn't know i would be doing, its very exciting to just go with the flow and see where it takes me, but it is a little slow paced at times, but maybe that is what i need as i haven't really been in pain since i have been here, its there in the background and rears its head sometimes but it hasn't stopped me yet! so i am really thankful for a more chilled schedule, even though it is quite full its at a slow pace!
Its been so great to catch up with so many good friends over here, since first going over to somerset west a couple of weeks ago i have had so much opportunity to meet up with people and have had such a warm welcome back from everyone. allot has changed there and i always find change strange, many people i love dearly aren't there anymore, they are all off having their own adventures, and the church has also changed allot. But it is clear to see that God is doing something there and that even though its been shaken allot His foundations never fail.
I have gone though a real whirlwind of emotions this last month. At first I felt frustrated with the situation here and then felt overwhelmed with the injustice of it, then frustrated again...but have come to see that there is such a vast amount of poverty and issues that no matter how much stuff people do here there will always be too much need for things to cover, however that is where it is important to trust everything to God, especially the big tasks, because He is bigger, and I know He has a plan for this amazing country and He will have His glory so i can just trust in that!
Also God's been speaking to me more about how poverty and many of the issues of poverty are global issues. Some people may live in shacks and some in council houses, but allot of the issues like education, young pregnancy, low self esteem and low motivation, poor health and stress are there in both. It has made me even more keen to get stuck into Holbeck and other deprived areas in Leeds and elsewhere in the future. Its important to know that God has a heart for the poor...whether it be the obvious poor such as many people in south Africa or the homeless or the more hidden poor like those who live in council estates or run down areas.
SO that's been this month...exciting to think i still have 3 to go, it feels like time is going to fly by though. But the whole time I am just getting so amped to come back to Leeds....but loving every minute of being here too....which is such a great place to be in! God's been very good to me in that :)
Its really turning into winter now...its been stormy and rainy and cold all week...the wind is hectic! trees ans stuff were blown down on Sunday! But after tomorrow its supposed to brighten up a bit and be 22 degrees on sat and sun! but it has been cold and will continue to be this changeable the whole time i am here...I wish i had some warmer clothes with me!!!
I also finished all of my essays for Uni this week which is SUCH a good feeling!! no more til October at least!! A good chunk of this last month was spent on writing those!
I'm finding some really good friends here too and in the last couple of week my social life has improved big time! :)
And that is my first month in Cape Town...I'm sure there will be much more to report back soon....I'll try and do it sooner so my next blog isn't so long!!
It certainly hasn't been how i thought it would be. I didn't really know what to expect when i came out, but this month has been so interesting, a great one but very different to how i expected it to be.
I don't really know where to start...
Well firstly work at Khanyisa is going well, not really doing much with myself and struggling to stay busy but i am sure with a bit of time i will get in the flow and settle in there a bit more.
On Thursdays i have been going across to HCC a church in Somerset West where I did my unofficial FP. I am really loving being over there and have been doing some really exciting stuff that i never thought i would have the opportunity to do on this trip!
I went to Somerset West for a meeting a few weeks ago to chat about community development and family support in Lwandle; which is one of the Townships on the border of Somerset West. It was a really positive meeting and there are some very exciting prospects for future work there, though at this point I'm not sure where and when and if i fit in, but know God will let me know when i need to!
At this meeting i met a really great girl called Jude who is doing FP at HCC, we got on really well and found that we both have pretty much the same passion and vision for community development and family support. SO we are getting together on Thursdays to look into what is already going on in the community and have been doing some filming and stuff of some of the projects going on there to maybe put together some info packages for them to send off for funding or just to help raise their profile. We have been meeting with a guy called Lunga who has started a music production/recording studio called Pozi Productions in his shack...its so cool!!! the music they are producing is such good quality! i never thought id end up hanging out in a hip-hop recording studio ever let alone in a township! i love it!!!
This Tuesday i went to help at a group run at Jubilee church in Cape Town that is for mums and their kids in the local community, it is a bit of discipleship, life skills, fun and relationship all in one. It is really great to see stuff like this going on, the women really appreciate having somewhere like it just be and forget their troubles for a little while. I was looking after a little boy of about 8months who lives under a bridge with his mum, he seemed pretty ill with a really rattly chest, i can't imagine the stress his mum is under, they are desperately trying to find her a shelter to stay at but because she is not involved in drugs or a victim of domestic violence it is very hard...which is crazy, she is trying not to get involved in bad things so she can care for her son but that is stopping her from getting the support she needs! Winter is closing in, its been cold and stormy this week and my heart breaks for people like them who have no shelter...not even a shack!
I am going to be going to that group every week which i am really excited about, it is a great opportunity to build relationships and also to learn.
On Mondays and Wednesdays i have been at khanyisa helping with two groups that are run there, Mondays it is teenagers, and weds it is younger children. I have a bit of a fan in the teenage group, a boy who is trying to convince me he is the best and calls me Rebekah Malope (she's a south African gospel singer)... its hard to know what they are saying about me all the time as they speak in Xhosa allot, and i am sure i am the butt of allot of jokes but relationship does seem to be being built and i had fun whipping there butts at Foosball! I did the talk at the kids group on Wednesday too which was cool, did a story about Jonah and God's grace for people and how He looks after us even when we stray from Him or are disobedient, it went well though i really want to find some good resources to use.
So its been interesting in that i am doing a bunch of stuff i didn't know i would be doing, its very exciting to just go with the flow and see where it takes me, but it is a little slow paced at times, but maybe that is what i need as i haven't really been in pain since i have been here, its there in the background and rears its head sometimes but it hasn't stopped me yet! so i am really thankful for a more chilled schedule, even though it is quite full its at a slow pace!
Its been so great to catch up with so many good friends over here, since first going over to somerset west a couple of weeks ago i have had so much opportunity to meet up with people and have had such a warm welcome back from everyone. allot has changed there and i always find change strange, many people i love dearly aren't there anymore, they are all off having their own adventures, and the church has also changed allot. But it is clear to see that God is doing something there and that even though its been shaken allot His foundations never fail.
I have gone though a real whirlwind of emotions this last month. At first I felt frustrated with the situation here and then felt overwhelmed with the injustice of it, then frustrated again...but have come to see that there is such a vast amount of poverty and issues that no matter how much stuff people do here there will always be too much need for things to cover, however that is where it is important to trust everything to God, especially the big tasks, because He is bigger, and I know He has a plan for this amazing country and He will have His glory so i can just trust in that!
Also God's been speaking to me more about how poverty and many of the issues of poverty are global issues. Some people may live in shacks and some in council houses, but allot of the issues like education, young pregnancy, low self esteem and low motivation, poor health and stress are there in both. It has made me even more keen to get stuck into Holbeck and other deprived areas in Leeds and elsewhere in the future. Its important to know that God has a heart for the poor...whether it be the obvious poor such as many people in south Africa or the homeless or the more hidden poor like those who live in council estates or run down areas.
SO that's been this month...exciting to think i still have 3 to go, it feels like time is going to fly by though. But the whole time I am just getting so amped to come back to Leeds....but loving every minute of being here too....which is such a great place to be in! God's been very good to me in that :)
Its really turning into winter now...its been stormy and rainy and cold all week...the wind is hectic! trees ans stuff were blown down on Sunday! But after tomorrow its supposed to brighten up a bit and be 22 degrees on sat and sun! but it has been cold and will continue to be this changeable the whole time i am here...I wish i had some warmer clothes with me!!!
I also finished all of my essays for Uni this week which is SUCH a good feeling!! no more til October at least!! A good chunk of this last month was spent on writing those!
I'm finding some really good friends here too and in the last couple of week my social life has improved big time! :)
And that is my first month in Cape Town...I'm sure there will be much more to report back soon....I'll try and do it sooner so my next blog isn't so long!!
Thursday, April 15, 2010
As I’ve said, I arrived in Cape Town without much of a clue of what I will be doing. God knows what He is doing and has provided for me to stay with the best family possible for figuring out where I can work to gain more experience working to support families as well as orphans and vulnerable children.
I knew that I would be working with a social care project run from Khanyisa that works with orphans and vulnerable children, doing support groups, discipleship and home visiting, but it turns out that won’t really fill all of my time, and as for my placement time I need to be doing full time work, at least for those 6 weeks. So Jo (the mum of the family I am staying with) in her wisdom has suggested volunteering with an Anglican project called ‘The Warehouse’ that runs many schemes working vulnerable people and the poor, one of which is similar to the social care project at Khanyisa but just bigger. There are apparently loads of volunteers there as the warehouse works with a lot of the local churches. I think it is really close to where I am staying too. So we are going to go and check that out next week and see about the possibilities of doing some work there, sort of splitting my time between the 2. That is really exciting, and it will also be great in helping me get to know more people and maybe building links for the future.
I have been here for around a week now, and haven’t really done much. I went to church on Sunday which was really great. It is amazing how even worshipping in a foreign language and not having much of an idea what you are singing (apart from knowing it is glorifying God!) doesn’t stop God from really moving...SO encouraging!
And on Tuesday I went to a staff meeting, just really to do introductions to all the people on the church team. There seems to be so much running out of the church into the community, it is really encouraging, and has spurred me on to see similar things in Leeds!
Other than that I have been slogging away at all the essays I have yet to finish (4 in total!!) but I have nearly finished 2 of them. So this spare time has been a real provision from God, which I keep reminding myself when I begin to feel frustrated that I haven’t really ‘done anything’ since I have been here....the essays are a bit of a priority I’m thankful for the time to do them!!
I knew that I would be working with a social care project run from Khanyisa that works with orphans and vulnerable children, doing support groups, discipleship and home visiting, but it turns out that won’t really fill all of my time, and as for my placement time I need to be doing full time work, at least for those 6 weeks. So Jo (the mum of the family I am staying with) in her wisdom has suggested volunteering with an Anglican project called ‘The Warehouse’ that runs many schemes working vulnerable people and the poor, one of which is similar to the social care project at Khanyisa but just bigger. There are apparently loads of volunteers there as the warehouse works with a lot of the local churches. I think it is really close to where I am staying too. So we are going to go and check that out next week and see about the possibilities of doing some work there, sort of splitting my time between the 2. That is really exciting, and it will also be great in helping me get to know more people and maybe building links for the future.
I have been here for around a week now, and haven’t really done much. I went to church on Sunday which was really great. It is amazing how even worshipping in a foreign language and not having much of an idea what you are singing (apart from knowing it is glorifying God!) doesn’t stop God from really moving...SO encouraging!
And on Tuesday I went to a staff meeting, just really to do introductions to all the people on the church team. There seems to be so much running out of the church into the community, it is really encouraging, and has spurred me on to see similar things in Leeds!
Other than that I have been slogging away at all the essays I have yet to finish (4 in total!!) but I have nearly finished 2 of them. So this spare time has been a real provision from God, which I keep reminding myself when I begin to feel frustrated that I haven’t really ‘done anything’ since I have been here....the essays are a bit of a priority I’m thankful for the time to do them!!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
a little mistake that could have had MASSIVE consequenses!
Well I have finally made it to Cape Town...it was touch and go for a while!
It was a mistake on my part really. Forgetting to get a visa sorted before you fly is never a great plan!haha!
I was in Dubai checking into my flight to CT when the man at the desk said "where is your visa?...your tickets for 4 months and you are only allowed 3 upon entry! You may well be deported upon your arrival." Oh! OOPS!!! then he gets up and walks somewhere and is gone for 5 mins, which felt like about 5 hours to me, who was standing there with a horrible fear creeping over me...thinking I have come this far...this CAN'T be happening! then he comes back and says I might be OK, if not I will have to either pay to change my ticket at border control or fly home!! So then I had 3hours in the departure lounge and a 9hour flight to worry about it! Thankfully God is a God of peace, so regardless of the outcome I could trust in him and that is was got me through those scary 12 hours! that and alot of wine on the flight!haha!!
But at border control,knees trembling, trying not to look suspicious with my stomach doing flips I got through no hassles!
I know it was my mistake, but God in His unlimited graciousness heard my pleas and rescued me from a potentially very sticky and expensive situation. If anything it has confirmed to me that this IS where I am supposed to be for the next little while.
This whole trip seems like it has been mapped out for me by God and that He has made the way since before I even thought of coming out here this year!
I have no idea what to expect in this time. To be honest that's a little unnerving and I feel a little overwhelmed. BUT, I can just cling to the knowledge that God has planned the exact times and places where we should live and at this time this is the place He wants me. And that my friends is VERY exciting and extremely comforting. SO I will run with perseverance the path marked out for me knowing that even if I can't see more than one step in front of me, He has marked out my path and if I lean on HIM than He will guide me!
It was a mistake on my part really. Forgetting to get a visa sorted before you fly is never a great plan!haha!
I was in Dubai checking into my flight to CT when the man at the desk said "where is your visa?...your tickets for 4 months and you are only allowed 3 upon entry! You may well be deported upon your arrival." Oh! OOPS!!! then he gets up and walks somewhere and is gone for 5 mins, which felt like about 5 hours to me, who was standing there with a horrible fear creeping over me...thinking I have come this far...this CAN'T be happening! then he comes back and says I might be OK, if not I will have to either pay to change my ticket at border control or fly home!! So then I had 3hours in the departure lounge and a 9hour flight to worry about it! Thankfully God is a God of peace, so regardless of the outcome I could trust in him and that is was got me through those scary 12 hours! that and alot of wine on the flight!haha!!
But at border control,knees trembling, trying not to look suspicious with my stomach doing flips I got through no hassles!
I know it was my mistake, but God in His unlimited graciousness heard my pleas and rescued me from a potentially very sticky and expensive situation. If anything it has confirmed to me that this IS where I am supposed to be for the next little while.
This whole trip seems like it has been mapped out for me by God and that He has made the way since before I even thought of coming out here this year!
I have no idea what to expect in this time. To be honest that's a little unnerving and I feel a little overwhelmed. BUT, I can just cling to the knowledge that God has planned the exact times and places where we should live and at this time this is the place He wants me. And that my friends is VERY exciting and extremely comforting. SO I will run with perseverance the path marked out for me knowing that even if I can't see more than one step in front of me, He has marked out my path and if I lean on HIM than He will guide me!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
