Forever Changed

My work here in South Africa is done for the time being. There is still work to be done in this entire country, but it is time for me to go home. Throughout the last 15 weeks, I have fallen in love with the country of South Africa. The people here are so beautiful and loving. Wherever I have stayed, the people have made me feel so very welcome. With my love for this country, however, has come extreme heartbreak. The government here and many people are extremely corrupt. Nelson Mandela became president in 1994 and did what he could to abolish the apartheid completely, but change did not happen over night. Before this point, the blacks had an extremely low education rate, so giving them the same rights and in some areas, even more rights than others in order to compensate for the apartheid, had its consequences. Those blacks who were well into adulthood were given jobs that required a higher education that they themselves lacked. Qualifications were no longer looked to on job applications, but race and the color of the skin was looked to instead. While in Pietermaritzburg, I was exposed to the negative effects of HIV on the community and how women did not have any rights. All I wanted to do was empower the women. I wanted to tell them that they did not have to have sex with their husbands if he did not use a condom to prevent HIV transmission. Since I have been here in Cape Town, however, I have learned about all the various corruptions of the government and so many people here. Husbands force their wives to have unprotected sex with them and the wives have no say whether or not he wears a condom. My first thought is that the wife should leave him or get the police involved. There’s a problem though. The government and the police force are corrupt. Since Mandela became president in 1994, the African National Congress (ANC) became the leading party of South Africa. Little side note: there are more than 20 parties here in South Africa. The ANC is the party of the black people and the other main opposing party is the Democratic Alliance (DA). The DA is supported by the white and colored people. During the apartheid, the colored people were not white enough, but since the apartheid, the colored people are not black enough. The colored people are treated better by the DA than the ANC. Since the ANC has become the leading party, however, the uneducated blacks have been given jobs that require skill and experience that they lack due to the effects of the apartheid. The current president here in South Africa is also of the ANC, Jacob Zuma. Zuma has been accused of fraud, bribery, and assault. He has been accused of raping a girl rather recently, but charges were dropped because the people ruled that she wanted it. He also supposedly slept with someone who was HIV-positive, but Zuma reported that he took a shower, so he is not positive. Ridiculous! So basically, all that to say that I would love to empower the women here more than anything, but the government would not support them. Once again though, change does not happen over night. Racism and oppression have gone on far too long and although it has officially been abolished due to the destruction of apartheid, this country of South Africa needs prayer just like our own country. Prayer changes things. Now that I am fully aware of what goes on here in South Africa, I will go home praying specifically for this country as well as my own and I hope you all will join with me in this. I am still in love with this country and its beauty and the genuinely innocent people, but there are still those who need Jesus. I will leave this country forever changed, always remembering my experiences here, and full of my new passions that I have discovered here. Thank You, Jesus, for the experiences that I have had here in South Africa that I will never be able to forget. This country and its beauty will always be remembered and cherished. As the saying goes, “Once you have tasted the waters of Africa, you will always be thirsty until you drink from them again.”

Take Heart

This past week has been the week of homestays. Kara and I spent the week with Clive and Lucy in Ocean View, South Africa. We would go to school at the Bible Institute or on our field trips to Table Mountain and Robben Island during the day and then we would go home to them every night at 5:30pm. Everything about their home and their sweet care towards us and their way of life reminded me so much of Papa Chuck and Grandma Lois and their home in Illinois. I felt right at home the entire week. We went there the day after Good Friday and the following day was my 22nd birthday. I was a little nervous at first because I had just met them and I was not sure how my birthday was going to turn out with total strangers other than Kara, but it was amazing! When I got there, I discovered that Clive (the father of the house) and I had the same exact birthday! What are the odds?! He turned 59 and I turned 22…. Just a few years apart. ☺ Our birthday also fell on Easter, which was absolutely amazing. We got to share our special day with the day that Jesus conquered death so that we may spend eternity with Him. The whole day, I kind of considered the resurrection as my own personal birthday gift. Jesus rose for me. And you, and you, and you, but on that day this year, I felt like it was for me. Haha. Clive and Lucy are Catholics, so we went to a Catholic church… one of the most unique Easter services I have ever been to, but most definitely memorable. We had holy water literally splashed on us and everything. Then we came home and had a bunch of family over. Great birthday! I would have liked to of spent it with my family, but it was most definitely nice to be with a family on my birthday and Easter. My family even sent me a little birthday box with individually wrapped gifts and everything!!! :) The box itself was even wrapped with "Happy Birthday" wrapping paper. I love my family! :)

On Tuesday, we hiked the Cape Town attraction, Table Mountain, and we conquered it! There were times I literally thought I was going to die, or I would have liked to die, but we made it! On the way up, I felt like we were doing a permanent stair master workout. For the most part, we hiked up stairs that were made out of rocks. The view behind us was beautiful, but it was hard to admire it because we were all so focused on the feet in front of us or the steps in front of us. During the hike, it rained, the sun shone, and it rained some more. Way too much stinking rain! And then we finally reached the top of the mountain, about 2 hours later…I thought I would have this feeling of victory, but instead, the rain began to pour down, okay so maybe it was a sprinkle. By this point though, I realized that I had only worn a thin hoodie and shorts and my legs were freezing. My hands were swollen and the sprinkles began to come and the wind began to blow. I felt like we had just landed on the moon. It was terrible! Haha. Then we walked over to the edge of the cliff and the clouds were bombarding the entire view. We were literally in a fog. I was so upset. And cold. And then the sun began to shine a little more on us and the clouds began to blow away. Then it was beautiful. At that moment, I realized it was all worth it. The view was beautiful. God is good. What an Artist! The view of Cape Town and the ocean surrounding us was so amazing. Then we decided it was time to go get over-priced hot chocolate at the restaurant on top of the mountain. I burnt my tongue, but I was so cold that I didn’t even realize it till later. Most of the group took the cable car back down, but I chose to go with about ten people or so and walk down the treacherous cliff. The entire way down, our legs were fatiguing and I thought I was going to fall forward and knock all my teeth out. But we made it down the cliff!!! We’re all alive! Thank You, Jesus! The view on the way down was absolutely beautiful! Since we were facing the view, it was easier to take in its beauty as opposed to hiking up the mountain and staring at the feet in front of us. It was quite the feat, but I do not plan on doing it again in my lifetime. It has been checked off my bucket list! ☺ Thank You, Jesus, for giving me the strength to conquer that mountain!

Take Heart by Hillsong:

“There is a light
It burns brighter than the sun
He steals the night
And casts no shadow
There is hope
Should oceans rise and mountains fall
He never fails

So take heart
Let His love lead us through the night
Hold on to hope
And take courage again

In death by love
The fallen world has overcome
He wears the scars of our freedom
In His Name
All our fears are swept away
He never fails

All our troubles
And all our tears
God our hope
He has overcome

All our failure
And all our fear
God our love
He has overcome
All our heartache
And all our pain
God our Healer
He has overcome

All our burdens
And all our shame
God our freedom
He has overcome

All our troubles
And all our tears
God our hope
He has overcome

All our failures
And all our fear
God our love
He has overcome

God our justice
God our grace
God our freedom
He has overcome

God our refuge
God our strength
God is with us
He has overcome”

Reflection on Robben Island
This morning, we got up an hour early so that we could make the 9am boat to Robben Island. I thought the hour early would not be worth it, but it most definitely ended up being worth it. We took a bus to the boat and then we boated across what I believe to be the Atlantic Ocean to Robben Island and hopped in another bus to tour the island. After hiking Table Mountain, I did not mind not being able to walk at all, since I seriously thought I was going to die of fatigue yesterday. The island was absolutely beautiful! I know the island does not host prisoners on it anymore, but if it still did and I were a prisoner, I would have liked to be a prisoner on that island. The island is surrounded by the beautiful Atlantic Ocean and it has a beautiful view of Cape Town and Table Mountain. The island has a prison on it that used to host black male political prisoners. Nelson Mandela, the president of South Africa who abolished apartheid in 1994 was a prisoner on the island from 1964-1990.
While on the island, we had the chance to tour the prison, all the various churches, the houses where the guards lived, and the beautiful viewpoint on the tip of the island that faces Cape Town and all of its beauty. When we saw Nelson Mandela’s cell, it was shocking to see how tiny it was. The place he had stayed for the 27 years he was in prison – a tiny cell. Cell number 46664. I found it extremely weird that his cell number had three “6”s in it. If I were him, I would have kindly asked to be transferred to a cell with many “7”s in it and no “6”s. I found it extremely cool to see the place that all the people who desired to destroy the negative side of the government would stay. Nelson Mandela may have been in prison for 27 years, but when he got out in 1990, he then proceeded to become president in 1994 and he abolished apartheid completely.
Change may not happen overnight, but I would say that Mandela’s 27 years were most definitely worth it since he abolished the apartheid once he took office. What a legacy to leave. Mandela may be in his early nineties and not currently in the best state of health, but he lived a life that was worth living. From what I have observed while being here in South Africa, he made changes in the government and the way the country is ruled that no one thought was possible. I thoroughly enjoyed touring the island and getting the chance to see all of its beauty and loveliness, even though all it really has on it is a prison. To me, the prison was more than just a prison. To me, the prison was a place that one of the greatest men in South Africa’s history paid his time and still did not give up on his cause of destroying the apartheid. The 27 years in prison may have been meant to break Mandela’s spirit, but if anything, it made him more passionate about his cause because the people for the apartheid clearly saw him as a threat. Today was a good day. Thank You, Jesus, for this chance I have had to explore the history of South Africa.

Random thought: the lighthouse on Robben Island made me think. I would like to be a lighthouse in this world. If I ever stop shining, I pray that God may relight my fire and cause me to see the purpose for my life, so that I may never lose track of what He would have me do here on this earth. I long to live my life in such a way that when I meet my Savior face to face, He will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” And if I ever lose sight of Jesus on my path, I pray that He will never cease to get my attention and draw me back to Himself.

We said goodbye to our homestay families today. I will always remember Clive and Lucy and the way they opened their homes and hearts to us for the week. Clive and I got to ride camels right there in Ocean View while Kara went shark cage diving on Saturday. So much fun! It was both of our first times riding camels! I also cooked breakfast for the three of us on Saturday morning! I made scrambled eggs for the first time in my life. I confessed to them after they told me they loved them that it was my first time. I have always seen them made, but I had never made them myself before that day. :) Success! I will miss Clive and Lucy and their family terribly, but I am ready to love on my own family this week. We will be staying in a hotel in Cape Town for the next three nights, reorienting ourselves, thinking back on all our memories here in this country, and saying goodbye to beautiful South Africa. I will most definitely miss this country, its beauty, and the loving people I have encountered. God has blessed me with the last 15 weeks here and I will always remember them.

Cape of Good Hope

Cape Town is absolutely amazing and extremely beautiful! When we first arrived, we were all staying at the Lady Hamilton Hotel in the heart of Cape Town for the first couple of nights, where we had the chance to explore the city and be in awe of our new home. I even had the chance to meet Nelson Mandela.... well, in his statue form. :) I actually met him on the tour of Cape Town that we all got the chance to do for our History of South Africa course. We were given a list of things that we had to go see and then we were split into groups and sent off to tour the city.

Cape Town Walking Tour
The walking tour was an amazing experience! Transferring from Pietermaritzburg to Cape Town was most definitely a different experience. Pietermaritzburg was more suburban or even rural in some areas, but Cape Town is most definitely urban. Cape Town actually reminds me of a combination of many big cities in the states smashed into one area. The city reminds me of New York because of how busy it is and how tightly packed everything is, but it also reminds me of a beach city from home because everywhere we go, water is somewhere near by. I am in love with this city. I have also discovered that I am not really a city girl at all. I like going into the city, getting what I need to get and spending my allotted souvenir money, but then I must peace out into the more suburban or rural area or even the beach area. Through this experience, I have begun to discover new things about myself and where I see myself in the future.
I loved seeing all the various places that were on our list of places to see as well. When I found myself not quite interested in the item on the list, I found myself loving the walk to the destination and the various sites we had the chance to see on the way there and then becoming even more interested in the place that was on the list. Pietermaritzburg was fun because it reminded me more of home, but Cape Town has its little pieces of home as well. At African Enterprise, I loved how the campus was isolated in its own little area because it was cool being on our own “island” and I felt safe there. Here in Cape Town, I feel safe in groups, but I have also found that we tend to get hassled more here. When interviewing the three different people, I found it rather interesting hearing all of their different remarks. All three of the people we interviewed were colored and they all had something different to say in answer to our question. The first gentleman we interviewed responded that South Africa was perfect for him and he would not change a thing about it. The second gentleman we interviewed said that he was forced to move to Cape Town from Port Elizabeth because there are more jobs here in Cape Town. He is now a security guard, but he said that he does not like it here because it is more dangerous. The final couple that we interviewed said that they have no other choice but to live here in Cape Town and they are unhappy here because there are not any jobs for them. Every person we interviewed had a different answer, as they all had different perspectives on life here in Cape Town.
My favorite part of the walking tour, other than seeing all the different sites, was most definitely interviewing the people and asking them how they feel about South Africa. So many times people in foreign countries ask us how we feel about Obama. That question must be one of the top asked questions of Americans for the last couple of years. I do not mind answering it at all, but I have always wondered how the people asking me like their own country, so I am glad that we were forced to ask people because then it was less awkward. Thus far, however, I have loved everything about Cape Town and all the sites we have had the chance to see. We serve an amazing God and He really did make one beautiful masterpiece when He made South Africa. ☺

For the last week, however, we stayed at the Bible Institute here in Kalk Bay in the province of the Western Cape of South Africa. Right across the street from our little flat (or apartment) of 6 girls, was the Kalk Bay and all of its beauty. Every single day of the week, we were given money to go out for lunch and dinner along the street by the bay and it was absolutely beautiful! :) We also had the chance to meet some fellow Christian college students here at the Bible college, which was absolutely inspiring. These people here have chosen to solely study the Bible and all its intricacies and it amazes me. I have not been moved to quit nursing school and change my major and go to another four years of college, but I have been inspired to discuss the Bible with more people who are studying it. :) This entire week has been spent at one of the prettiest places I have ever been to. We had class on the history of South Africa for two hours on Monday and Wednesday and then field trips on Tuesday and Thursday. On Tuesday, we toured the township of Kalk Bay and on Thursday we toured the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point. For each of these field trips, we had to write a reflection for our course, so I will simply cut and paste both one page reflections I wrote for those two days as well as pictures because I feel that they say it best. :) We were given Good Friday off school, so we even got to go to a local baptist church here for Good Friday to remember what Christ did for us on the cross.

Township Tour: Langa
We toured the township of Langa today. I didn’t really know what to expect other than to have my heart broken by the poverty of certain parts of the town. I expected to kind of be an unwanted intruder by the people there, but our tour guide told us that the people are used to tourists and even make money off them, so it was okay to take pictures. The town of Langa is a very unique town. It is like towns I have seen, but it is a combination of so many different types of towns. At home, there is lower class, middle class, and upper class, but I have never seen such a stark contrast as I have seen today. I don’t know if it’s just less obvious at home or if they do a better job of hiding it, but it was different today. Today in Langa, an extremely poor family would share a wall with upper-lower class. In other parts of the township, the poor homes would literally be on the other side of the street, facing the nice homes. I have never seen such a defined contrast in my entire life.
What I found interesting was how in nicer areas, we weren’t really greeted with open arms. No one really said anything to us. In the poorer areas, the pig men made comments about how they would like to keep us, but the women were always smiling at us. You know what never changed though? The children. No matter where we went, the children loved us. They would have smiles from ear to ear and always wave to us. As we were walking through one of the poorer areas, this little girl who was probably about four or five walked up behind me and put her hand into mine and she stole my heart in that moment. Then who I think was her little brother came up behind her to fight for my hand, so I put my camera away and crouched down a little lower so I could hold his hand as well. We walked hand in hand with Renna on the other side of the little girl down the entire street and I fell in love. I couldn’t speak a single word to them because of the language barrier, but the love of Jesus was all we needed to communicate. I pray that those two children feel the love of Jesus throughout their lives.
What I found absolutely astounding about the township was the stark contrast between lower and most definitely higher class. In the states, no one wants to have universal anything because they are all for capitalism. When they work, they want to see the fruit of their labor. They want to be able to rise to the top. Health care here in South Africa is universal, but people clearly rise to the top. I don’t understand. Renna asked me if I preferred universal health care and I told her that after seeing how people in the clinics here do not take full advantage of their free medications and die of AIDS, I would have to say that I prefer the way they run things in the U.S. because things that are worked for are always more appreciated. My Dad won’t give away a puppy for free from our Labradors for the same reason. When things are earned, they tend to be more appreciated. What frustrates me, however, is how does a person born into nothing become a person of the middle class? How do they even begin to work their way up? I may not know the answer, but I am dedicated to encouraging people along that social and economic ladder and showing them the love of Jesus along the way. I absolutely loved touring Langa.

Peninsula Tour
Today must have been one of the best days of my entire life. No matter how many times I think I have finally grasped God and His beautiful creation, a new day and its beauty prove me wrong. We finally arrived at the mysterious sign that everyone has in their profile pictures on facebook after coming to South Africa, “Cape of Good Hope.” I now have a potential new profile picture! No, but seriously. When we arrived at the sign, I realized that we had gone to the Cape of Good Hope for far more than just the sign, although the sign was very helpful in telling us where we were. We had gone to the southwestern most point of the African continent and we now want to tell the world about its beauty. Our tour guide told us that we could walk up to Cape Point or we could look around at the bottom of the Cape of Good Hope for a while and then head on up in the bus to Cape Point. There was no way I was going to take the bus. I have come to South Africa to come, to see, and to conquer. There would be no conquering going down from the bus drive. I was wearing sandals, but there was no way that they were going to stop me.
I have never seen my camera go dead so fast as it does here in South Africa. Whatever hike or field trip I go on, I charge my battery to its fullest charge the night before and within a few hours of a field trip or excursion day, the battery on my camera is already fading and the low battery light is flashing. I love it! You know you are in Africa when you have to charge your camera after four hours in the same place. Along the entire hike from the Cape of Good Hope to Cape Point, we had to stop and take pictures about every five minutes. God’s creation is astounding and it leaves me in awe every single day. Just when I think I have it all figured out, something else awes me even more than I thought I could be awed. I was talking with one of the girls who was walking with me about how after seeing God’s creation: the ocean, the cliffs, the grass, the wild animals, and the people exploring all its beauty, it would be so hard to believe in evolution or the big bang theory. How on earth could a big bang cause all the beauty that we see daily here in South Africa? God is the most talented artist I have ever met and His works never cease to amaze me. I got a little sunburnt, but today was worth the burn.
After touring the peninsula, we went to Boulders Beach to see the penguins on the beach. Such a cool experience! I have seen penguins at Sea World. I have only seen penguins at Sea World. I really do believe that I have only ever seen penguins in Sea World or at some other kind of wildlife or marine Antarctic kind of place. I had never seen penguins in the wild, let alone at the beach in my entire life before today. Seagulls are at the beach. Pigeons are at the beach, pooping along the boardwalk and potentially on peoples’ heads. Penguins are not beach animals. Here in South Africa, penguins are beach animals. So cool! Today was most definitely a day that I will never forget.

I have been in Cape Town a little over a week and I love it here. We serve an amazing God and He has designed some beautiful places. Now it is time to leave the Bible Institute and go on to homestays. Kara and I will be living with a couple in Ocean View who has two daughters who are grown up and moved out of the house at age 36 and 31, so we are looking forward to staying with them in their home and becoming a part of their family for the week. I pray that we are a blessing to them the entire stay and by the time we leave, that we have gained their favor and been a blessing to them both.