Day Eight

Today was full of lots of different experiences. To start off the day
Pastor  Kumalo took us to a place called the  Little Elephant. That is a place where people come and sell things that they have made. It was interesting because most of the stands were closed today because it is Women's Day.  Women's Day in South Africa is a national holiday celebrating black women's rights.

Then we went back to the church for some lunch, but Pastor Kumalo didn't tell us that we were going to have a cow's head and feet for lunch! It had an... interesting kind of taste. It was fun to have a taste (literally) of African culture.

Then Sean, Mr. Rudi and I decided to go walk around down town Middleburg.  While we were looking at a table that was selling some hats I got pick pocketed! Thankfully it was only about 10 U.S. dollars so it wasn't a big deal. I know that the man who took that money probably needs it a whole lot more than I do so I pray that it goes to good use.

We finished off the day by having dinner with the missionary teachers again. It has truly been a great experience getting to know them and hearing their stories.

Tomorrow we leave to make the long journey home :( I have loved my stay in Africa and I really hope to come back! If you could please pray for safe travel on the plane that would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all so much for reading this blog and supporting me throughout this journey. I cant wait to talk to all of you and tell you all of my stories!

Day Seven

Sadly today was our last day with the kids, but we made the most of it! At the start of the day we gave out the remainder of the friendship bracelets and candy. The children were so excited!

Then we went into the first grade classroom and Sean was able to look through a microscope with some kids, I played a computer game with some of kids the Mr. Rudi read book to the remainder of the class. The students were especially interested in the microscope because they had never used one before.

After that Pastor Kumalo took us to a public school. The contrast between the public and private school was amazing! For one example there were 52 students in one  classroom!  Also the conditions were not nearly as good as as at St. Peter. Even though lots of things are different between the public school and St. Peter, the kids at both schools seem so excited to learn.

After visiting the school, Pastor took us to a local radio station where he broadcasts every Wednesday. He asked Sean, Mr. Rudi and I some questions  on air! It broadcasted to 500,000 people!  It was so cool! It was a bit difficult for me to talk because I am still recovering from a cold so I probably sounded a tad strange :) .



The last thing that we did today was we went to say goodbye to the students. It was really sad :( i had such a great time hanging out with the kids and getting to know them. I cant wait to come back!


Over all today was a really fun day!

Day Six

Yesterday was probably the busiest day we have had yet. We started off the school day by going into each of the classrooms and talking to them. We split into groups of boys and girls and had the kids ask Sean and I questions. Then we reversed it and Sean and I asked them some questions. It was interesting to hear that some of the girls favorite songs are high school musical. I had no idea they had some of those types of things that we have  in the US!

Another neat thing was that Sean and I were able to talk to the kids about our favorite bible verses. Philippians 4:13 is my favorite verse so I explained to the kids that even when we are tired, or if school is hard, if we pray to God he will give us the strength to make it through it. If was fun to see them start to understand what the verse actually means.

Finally with each of the classes we handed out some friendship bracelets and cards that the kids in St Peter Summer Days Camp made. The kids were so  excited to hear from the children in America and wear their friendship bracelets! They could'nt wait to write back to them!

The last thing that we did with the students was hand out some bags of candy to all of the kids. Although there are a lot of differences between south Africa and the United States at least one thing is the same. Kids LOVE candy! Their faces lit up when they received their bag of candy. It was a wonderful to see how thankful the children are and it really makes me think how I especially need to be more thankful in my own life.

To finish off the day we ate dinner with the missionary teachers and Pastor Kumalo. It has been really fun to talk to them and get to know them. I think they are so brave to be willing to leave home to go and teach in South Africa for two years! Their faith truly is inspiring!

Day 5

Yesterday we went to Kruger National Park. As soon as we drove into the park, we stopped to look at an AMAZING sunrise. It was so awesome to see the beauty of God's creation. Within 5 minutes of driving through the park, we saw a beautiful leopard lying in a tree. It was so fun (but also kind of scary) to see a leopard up close and personal! I could have looked at it all day! Next, we saw some zebras and a huge herd of buffalo. They also have these cool animals in South Africa called impalas and kudu. Kudu look like a mix between a zebra, unicorn, and a deer. They're very beautiful creatures! While we were driving, we saw a leopard sitting in the middle of the road. The leopard spotted some impalas. It was interesting to watch that scenario play out :) Then, we saw some elephants and elephant babies and lots of giraffes! It was amazing to see such majestic animals in their natural habitat. It really got me thinking about how creative God is. Towards the end of the day we saw some lions protecting their kill. Seeing how they brought down a huge buffalo was amazing to me. They really are powerful animals. Looking back on the day, I think what really stuck out to me was how big God is. No small god or a bag bang could have created such complex and beautiful animals.

Day 4

Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling too well yesterday so I was not able post a blog. I am feeling a ton better today, so I figure that I'd better get you up to speed about what happened on Sunday.

Let's just say that church here is VERY different than church at home. When I first walked in, I was overcome by the sound of the whole congregation singing at the top of their lungs. Everybody was dancing and praising the Lord. Something that I think is really neat is how nobody cares if people are looking at them, or what people think about them, all they care about is praising the Lord.

When the choir (which is AMAZING by the way) was finished, pastor said that it was time to greet each other. Everyone started going up and down the rows hugging each other, and saying how thankful they were that we were at church. It really made me feel welcome.

Another unique aspect of the service was when everybody was praying. Everybody was praying in a different language! It was almost like a hum throughout the church of people praying and thanking Jesus for all he has done for them.

After some more beautiful singing, Pastor Kumalo called us up to the front the church so that the congregation could give us a " proper South African welcome". That was amazing! Left and right, people were singing, dancing, and clapping. Pastor Kumalo was even dancing!

The children's choir started to sing next. The children's choir is made up of students from St. Peter College. They sang two songs. One was about how we are all a part of God's body, and the other song was about asking God to bless and protect the children. It's amazing to me that at such a young age these kids have such amazing voices! At the end of the service, they even got an encore!

After the service was over, the ladies who make all of the food for the preschool and college put on a huge feast for everyone! From what I heard, the food was delicious!!!

Sunday was such a fun day!

Day 3

Today was definitely an adventure. In the morning we got up and drove to a nature reserve. There were wild animals all over. We even saw some zebras! It was awesome! Also in the nature preserve there were replicas of tribal houses from the Ndebele, Zulu, and Swazi tribes. It was pretty funny seeing everybody trying to get in and out of the tiny huts! In the preserve as well, there was an abandoned town. The town was built for missionaries and their families. It also had a church. It was really cool because it is the second Lutheran church built in South Africa.

From the nature reserve we went to another animal preserve. Little did we know that when we drove through the gate we would be greeted by two huge rhinos! It was amazing (and also a bit scary) to be so close to them! We took a drive around and saw lions( which were also awesome yet a bit scary), a cheetah, and two more rhinos! It was so cool to be so close to God's wonderful creation.

Random Animal Sighting of the Day: On our way to the church we saw two baboons walking in the middle of the road :)

We then went to one of St. Peter's satellite churches. The people there were so welcoming and hospitable. You could really see the love of Jesus shining in them. They sang a song for us, and they ( like most people I've come across) have amazing voices. It was such a kind group. I gave two of the members of the congregation the friendship bracelets I had on. You wouldn't believe how happy they were to receive those little bracelets. Jen gave a member of the church her sunglasses, the woman was so excited! She was jumping for joy (literally). I didn't realize such small things could give others so much joy. Makes me realize that I sometimes take things for granted and should appreciate more of what I have.

Overall, today was a great day! Can't wait to go to church tomorrow and then to Kruger National Park!!!

Day 2

Today was SUPER fun! Sean and I had a blast hanging out with the kids and playing with them. We played a ton of games, from hide and seek to soccer. I think it's so cool that these kids can entertain themselves in a dust lot with homemade playground equipment.

After playing with the students for awhile, Sean and I were able to teach the kids a religion lesson and read a book to them. They were so willing to listen and learn (which I was thankful for because I'm not always the best at those kind of things :) ).

During the children's chapel, Sean and I had the chance to teach the students the song "King of Kings". They caught on right away. It was amazing listening to the students sing. They have such great voices!

We just arrived home from having dinner with the mayor of Middelburg. It was an awesome time chatting with him about the school. It's really great to hear that he is totally on board with all of the things that we're doing here at St. Peter!

I'm falling asleep while I'm typing this so I think I'll end it here. There are more adventures to be had tomorrow. Goodnight!
P.S. We visited a delicious bakery yesterday that I forgot to write about. While we were there we got to watch Mr. Rudi successfully make bread and Sean fail at making bread.  The goal of the bakery is to eventually move it onto the St. Peter campus to provide bread for the students and the surrounding community, as well as giving jobs to more people. Good plan and great taste!