ziplining and cafes

this weekend we got to zipline through the canopy. it was unreal.
the view was beautiful from up there.

God really really loves the color green. it is everywhere here in SA. there are so many different shades of it.














here are some thoughts from this past week:
i have been reading out of I and II Corinthians alot lately and i have been focusing on I corinthians 10:3-5.
"for though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and eery pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God; and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."

this verse was a lot for me to take in for a couple different reason. over the past month i have become far more aware of the ways in which Satan works and how easily he can get into our heads. I think this trip is one of the first times i have really felt spirtitual warefare before. I have spent a lot of time thinking about this over the past couple of weeks and i keep coming back to one thing... the batttle has already been won. it is over. Jesus has defeated Satan. he binded him to the ross. all it takes is for me to simply call on the name of Jesus .. that is it. Jesus' name alone is that powerful. the God i serve is so big. he is in control, he is sovereign. The battle has been fought and won. he has already equipped me with the tools to fight it. I am learning each day how to take my thoughts captive. it is hard, really hard. The concept of giving my thoughts to Christ and claiming each thing as his is really hard for me to comprehend. I have really been trying to figure out how to stop those negative thoughts and whispers of inadequacy. i am on a journey. it is a long one, but an exciting and challenging one.

today a small group of us went to a little cafe right down the road from campus. it was nice. for some reason though i felt very convicted. i am in south africa, in the place that has opened my eyes, transformed my heart, challenged my thinking and awakened me from apathy, yet i am getting caught up spending money on things i do not need in the least bit. i had a hard day trying to figure all of this out. i do not have it figured out by any means, but it is something i am working through. what does it mean to live in privilege? i feel like i have been able to push aside things i know to be true since i have been here. i know i am not called to a comfortable life. i know that i do not have a right to spend money frivolously, i am not entitled to anything. it was a weird moment. realizing that i brought my desire for unnecessary objects with me to a place of such poverty. i have been thinking alot about this today. it is something that has come up quite frequently over the last five years since i first came to africa.

i went to a new church today. It is called God's Family. It is a Pentecostal, charismatic church. There were coloureds, blacks, whites and indians in attendance. it was beautiful. There has been so many steps of reconciliaton since apartheid was ended in 1994, but there is still a separation in many aspects of life here in SA. i really enjoyed church. the church was real. the people were real. during the worship the pastor mentioned some prayer requests for some the different members in the congregation, then brought them up and the church, collectively, prayed over them. i feel like in so many christian community the phrase "i will pray for you" is thrown around so often. it has become something to just say to others when bad news is given or when an individual is having a hard day. it was refreshing to see a church truly committed to one another in prayer, because lets be honest, it is an integral part of our lives as christians. it was true community. it was not a facade. the pastor gave a great sermon. he challenged the congregation to begin to dismantle the systems of oppression within south africa. he called on the congregation to begin to actually listen to the things God has been putting on their hearts, and begin to change their community. He reinforced the fact that church was not within those four walls, it is something so much bigger and deeper than that. he called on the members of the church to begin to be a voice for the voiceless within their community. after that he asked any members of the church who worked within any of the government programs to stand up and for us all to pray over them. we prayed that these systems will be changed from the inside out. it was incredible to see a church embodying the ideals we are called to. i was truly amazed. it was not a show. it was church being done the way it was intended to be done. during the sermon he challenged us all by asking us what is the thing we know God has put on our heart but we continually ignore. oddly enough, south africa popped into my mind. i have been struggling a lot with trying to figure out where i am supposed to be next year. i feel a strong call to south africa. i do not know what the future is going to look like and i do not think i am supposed to, but i know that God is calling me here. it is both scary and exciting.
second

those are just a few thoughts of this week. each day presents so many opportunities for growth and learning experiences. i am learning so much here. i am thoroughly enjoying every of being here.

philippians 2:12-16
"continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Do everything without complaining or arguing so that you may become blameless and pure in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the world of life..."

this has been my prayer for myself, for the others on my semester, and for the youth of south africa.

pretty fingers and pen pals

one thing i love about the zulu culture is that their names mean something. last week we received our zulu names. everyone in the class got some great names like "we thank God for your kindness" or "example to all" and "princess of love." my zulu name means pretty fingers. that gave the class a good laugh. thought i would share that with all of you.

since the first week of zulu class we have been writing to a grade eleven class. they have been our zulu pen palls. this week we had the opportunity to go and meet them. my pen pal's name is Jabulani, which means happiness. He is 17 years old, and the fastest kid in the school, he made sure to tell me that part. It was a lot of fun though. They made us some traditional zulu food (this included cow tongue). They zulu danced and sang for us. The Zulu dance is my favorite to watch. the lift their leg up really high and kick down. i have no idea how they get their legs that high, but they do, and it is incredible to watch.








this weekend we are going ziplining. i am excited for that.

we received our service sites this week .. i am back at walk in the light. i am so happy about this. i will be going with 19 other students. we start our service sites in 2 weeks.

little update for my south africa may team: alfred is going to capetown with foxfires. the growth that is going on in him is unreal.

drakensburg boys choir and ubuntu

yesterday we went back to the drakensburg mountains to watch the number one boys choir in the world perform. it was great. they were very talented. they sang a lot of older hymns in german, english, and afrikaans. then they did zulu dancing and singing. it was great.

some pictures of the beautiful people i am doing life with here in south africa...
i am truly blessed. i am surrounded by so much beauty. there is beauty everywhere i turn here. beauty in the people, beauty in the girls around me, and beauty in the creation i am surrounded with. i serve such a creative and artistic God.

long bus rides are my favorite.






all about the long dresses here. it summer time in south africa!


some of the girls from my lovely dgroup.


meet kristen. she is so wonderful.


i just really love paige.


UBUNTU
africa has so much life. i am just so enthralled by south african culture. it is so rich and so beautiful.

south africa has a beautiful story. it is a country of forgiveness, reconciliation, and a genuine interest in one another.

ubuntu.
it is a belief that i am because we are.
there is a reliance upon one another. we can do nothing apart from each other. the way i live affects my community. it is a team effort.

it is a philosophy of life that is seen throughout africa. it stresses generosity. it is the basic idea of humanity. embracing one another, as people and affirming that. the underlining idea of this is interdependence. this is the most beautiful thing i have seen while i have been in africa. i think that this idea and the embodiment of this concept in people's lives is what draws me back to africa every year. it is the true dependence on one another. it is the acknowledgment that we, as humans, need one another. it is a beautiful thing.

it is this concept that makes south africa so beautiful and unique, in my opinion.

it is an embodiment of Christ's teachings. it is what we should be seeing in Christian communities.

hike in drakensburg

this weekend we went for a hike in the drakensburg mountains.
it was beautiful.

here are some of my thoughts from this week ...

i love the african sky. it never ceases to amaze me.

south africa has more shades of green than i could have ever imagined.

i love long bus rides.

nsync is always a guaranteed hit in a car full of 30 people.

monkeys are disgusting. all types of monkeys. none of them are cute.

south africa is my favorite place on earth.

fresh mangos are my favorite.


i have some great friends.





God is bigger than any of my problems, and it is only in my weakness am i made strong.

i have a lot to learn from the people of south africa.

letters from home are always a lovely reminder of the blessings i have.

God has instilled a passion for Africa in me for a specific reason. i am choosing to embrace that.

i miss starbucks. a lot.

i have the best mom. i got a package with 5 bags of flaming hot cheetos. what a great day.

monkeys hate flaming hot cheetos. it makes them real sick. that makes me happy.

never get between a mother zebra and its baby. bad call.

thunderstorms are quickly becoming one of my favorite things.


the colors of africa are beautiful.

you can never have too much tea, specifically roobios.

i suck at communicating while i am half way around the world.

i love african music.
i wish i could zulu dance like some of the girls here. it is unreal.

i thoroughly enjoy learning about new cultures.

americans apparently don't use their knife enough while eating.

it has become normal for me to eat a chocolate bar a day. probably not a great new habit to pick up.

i like to run more than i thought i did.

i love moleskin journals.

i suck at learning languages.

i feel more alive in africa.

i think that i could live in south africa one day, which both excites and scares me.

i have the best dgroup. i am blessed.



i am prideful.

i need Jesus more and more everyday.

the vibrancy of africa continually surprises me, blesses me, and encourages me.

"you'll come"

i have decided I have resolved
To wait upon you Lord
My rock and redeemer shall not be moved
I'll wait upon you Lord

As surely as the sun will rise
You'll come to us
As certain as the dawn appears

You'll come let your glory fall
As you respond to us
Spirit reign flood our hearts
With holy fire again

Chains be broken
Lives be healed
Eyes be opened
Christ is revealed

We are not shaken we are not moved
We wait upon you Lord
Our Mighty deliverer my triumph and truth
I'll wait upon you Lord

beauty in the brokeness

south african sunrise in durban


i am learning more and more each day about what it means to find my identity in Christ.
I am broken. I am weak. But i am learning to see the beauty and the glory of God in that.

II Corinthians 12-13.

it is only in my weakness that i am able to fully rely and depend on God. God's grace is sufficient for me.
where i am weak, he is strong.

i am learning alot about the power of vulnerability and truth. as a chrsitian, i have become so good and pretending everything is okay. i will say, this is what i am/was struggling with, but its okay because God is doing this .. which is awesome if that is what is happening, but alot of times it is me building myself up.

my dgroup leader challenged me with two questions:
1. what weaknesses of mine is God using?
2. what weakenesses am i hiding from everyone else.

i am rediscovering what it means to be real, to be honest, and to embrace both weaknesses and strengths.

i am learning alot here. there is not much to distract me. i love being back in south africa. the mornings are my favorite time of the day here. i found myself a longing to be with my friends from home this week. it is hard not having my best friends to process through everything with, but it is producing a deeper reliance on God and that was one of my biggest prayers coming into this semester.

this weekend our group went to Durban. We were able to shop in the markets and spend the day at the beach. It was perfect weather. There is so much beauty in South Africa. Everywhere we go i am amazed at the physical beauty surrounding me.

our group in durban:




my prayer for myself, and for the 52 other students on my semester is that we as a group will collectively learn how to see God's beauty in the brokeness of South Africa. My fear is that we will go into communities for our service sites and pity the people around us, that we will think that they need us. My fear is that we will look at these individuals as something to be photographed and observed. I have come to realize that there is so much beauty in brokeness. I think that areas of poverty have given me a small glimpse of the kingdom of heaven. i have seen what true community, genuine love and care, and reliance upon one of another can look like while i have been in impoverished areas. It is so humbling. i am blessed to be back here.

drive to durban


my friend sent me an email this week and asked me this,
"and i want to ask you a question allie...
which statement is of more importance to you, or which statement to you identify better with?
"God is."
or
"God is good."

i have been thinking about that alot lately.

fun fact about living at African Enterprise... mold grows everywhere.
there is black mold covering the frame of my bed, which apparently is really bad for you. the other day i opened up my closet to wear a black dress, and it was covered in white mold. it looked like a patterned dress. our lampshade, which is supposed to be brown, is white from the mold.

they are moving us into a different room this week.

a much needed vist

yesterday i was able to go back to Walk in the Light (the ministry i worked with last summer and am staying at this summer). I spent the day helping out around the ministry. I am so thankful that i got to go back and be reminded of the way God is moving in that township. Driving up the hill and getting to Haniville was like finally getting back home. i had such a big smile on my face. ha it was ridiculous. Throughout this experience so far there have been certain days of frustration and resentment towards the study abroad program because we are so far removed from the Africa i know and the Africa i have come to love. We stay in a wealthy, privillged area where we are waited on hand and foot, which is a blessing, but it is also hard at times. Yesterday God really just reminded me of why i am back in South Africa, and just confirmed that i am here for the right reasons, and he has started a process in me that is taking some preparation and time. While i was at walk in the light i was able to hear about what has been happening in the ministry and within different individual's lives over the last five months.

a little background information:

Walk in the Light: it is located in a township, Haniville. It serves the needs of the community through various projects. It is located on a farm, which employs locals from the community, and provides the majority of the ministry's income. On Wednesday nights there is youth group for the younger kids. Senior Youth is on Friday evenings, and Thursday night is knittng club for the women of the community. Haniville has an HIV rate of 60%. Because of haniville's HIV rate, Walk in the Light has created programs that address this need. Bruce and phindille drive patients to and from the clinic daily to receive their ARV and TB meds. Phindile and Bruce do home visits regularly and provide food packs for several different families each month.


walk in the light.




a couple of the girls from the senior youth.


senior youth boys


Bruce Taylor is the South African who started and runs Walk in the Light. His ministry is based around this idea that we, as Christ followers, are called to love our neighbor. He has committed everything he has to his neighbor, the township of Haniville. I have never seen such an incredible illustration of love and selflessness as i have seen in Bruce.

Phindille: She is the Zulu woman that runs walk in the light alongside Bruce. She is from Haniville and is the backbone of the ministry. She is in charge of organizing the clinic runs, she knows everyone in the community, their individual needs, and the resources needed to meet those needs.



Neels Stein: He is a character. He helps out at Walk in the Light. He has an incredible story and devotion to Christ.

Yesterday at Walk in the Light I spent the day sorting through donated clothes and labeling them. It was great just to be back and to spend some time with Phindi learning about what has been going on in Haniville since i left in June.

the clothe packs that are passed out in the community.

bruce told me this week that 40% of their land was taken away from the government to create an oil line going from durban to jo'burg. this cuts their income nearly in half. pray for this and for the ministry if you get a chance.

these past two weeks have been awesome.
my prayer for myself and for my group here in South Africa is that we as are able to see the beauty in the brokeness rather than focusing on the bad and almost pitying the people we come in contact with.

I John 3:18- 20
Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 19This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence 20whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

i was reading Matthew out of the message this week and this verse kept on coming up.
matthew 11
"walk with me and work with me - learn the unforced rthyms of grace."

my prayer for myself is that one day i will get to a place where i am truly able to allow God to work through me in ways that his grace will flow from me. the concept of both receiving and giving grace is a hard thing for me to grasp. i am praying each day that i am able to seek out God's grace and learn how to give it in my daily routines.

the other day my dgroup was talking about the phrase "break my heart for what breaks yours."
i have been thinking alot about that since we met last week. i pray that prayer alot. i have been realizing more and more though that God has broken my heart, he has given me an aching heart and compassion of his people here in South Africa, and now he is waiting for me to do something about it. It is my job to figure out the tools he has equipped me with and the ways in which i can best use them for his glory.


Psalm 94:16-19
"Who will rise up for me against the wicked? Who will take a stand for me against evildoers? Unless the LORD had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death. When I said, "My foot is slipping," your love, O LORD, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul."

i have been thinking a lot about what it means to follow Jesus. i think we get it all wrong sometimes.
like i mentioned earlier, one of my frustrations with being here is how safely and comfortable we are living. it is just so far from the life i feel i was called to live as a christian. Jesus and his disciples knew nothing of comfort, of convenience or safety. my friend alex was talking today about how our caravan passed a man on the side of the road whose car had broken down, and yet we drove past him. As an imitator of Christ, is it my job to stop and help, to reach out to the hungry, the thirsty, the lonely, the broken ... yes, it is. I think far too often i am too scared to ask myself, what would Jesus do in that situation, because i know it, and the answer is always the more challenging option, it is always the option that will make me uncomfortable and inconvenience me.

i am learning each day, more and more about what i am doing on this earth, and the life i am called to.

ecc 5:7
Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God.
i truly am in awe of my creator. i am learning what it means to sit in is presence and be content.

i hate monkeys

yesterday was quite the day...
i was doing homework outside my chalet in the nice grassy area with my friend alex. one monkey came up and was looking at us, so we began to yell at it. it then ran towards us, along with 6 or 7 other monkeys. they circled us and were grunting. they chased after us into our chalet. needless to say, i hate the monkeys. they have no fear. they chase all the girls and grunt at us.

yesterday in zulu a giant moth flew into class and hit one of the girls, which of course sent us all into a screaming fit. one of the guys in class, Tony, pulled out some metal chopsticks from his pocket and proceeded to pick up the bug with his chopsticks and take it outside.
TIA.

i am learning

i am learning what it means to be present where i am. that has been and will continue to be my prayer for this journey i am on.

I Corinthians 7:17
"dont be wishing you were someplace else or with someone else, where you are right now is God's place for you, live and obey and love and believe right here .."

i am learning what it means to be present where i am and how to sit and be in God's presence. i am learning more and more about what it means to be still and know that He is good and He is in control.
i am surrounded my God's beauty. it is so present on this campus; through the people i am meeting, the staff that serves us, the strong women i live with, the nature here. i am continually overwhelmed.

i have been thinking alot about the impact south africa has had on me over the years. one thing that i am continually blown away by is the way people cling to God, and are desperate for his goodness daily. i am trying to figure out what it looks like for me to be completely dependent. i see the dependence here on God so visibly, so many people have nothing, God is the only joy and hope and they cling to that. i am figuring out what it means for me, an individual with alot, to be dependent on God in everything.

i am finding myself craving more time with God. i find myself wanting to just sit and be still. its a new thing for me. i was reading out of the message bible this morning, and these verses came up ...
philippians 4:5
"celebrate God, all day, every day. i mean revel in him."

romans 11
"have you ever come on anything quite like the extravagent generosity of God, this deep, deep wisdom? it is way over our heads. we will never figure it out."

i am blessed, to say the least, to be back in South Africa.

psalm 37:3-7
"Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as(M) the noonday. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him."

pictures.

soweto township outside of Johannesburg



totally normal.



morning run through the game reserve





my roomate, paige.


this weekend we went to see some lions. it was great. they were so close to us.


this is at one of the train stations in Pietermariztubrg. It is actually at the train station where Mahtama Ghandi was throw off for refusing to follow the segregation of the train based on race.
fun fact about Pietermariztburg ... it has the highest Indian population, other than india, in the world.


streets of johannesburg

i am blessed.

1 Timothy 4:12-16.
"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you. Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers."

my prayer for myself this semester is humility. to conquer the prideful with compassion.
i have already begun this beautiful process of being humbled. it has been hard but so good. i have constantly been reminded of how sovereign my creator is. God has showed me over and over again that he is in control. i am learning to rest in that. it is a good thing.

"this is the one i esteem, he who is humble and contrite of heart and who trembles at my word."
isaiah 66:2

i am praying for divine appointments

these are some pictures from the first week and half at AE.


we had an awesome thunderstorm. it was crazy.



i am blessed to be going through this experience with some wonderful people.