photos ::

Everyone from Thrive Trip left today. I cried. But I’m so excited that I’ve spent the last 3 weeks making amazing new friends.

Here are some photos, I’ll post more later.

wednesday.

I’m not a very emotional person, but even the thought of this makes me tear up a bit. On Wednesday I will have to say goodbye to 25 people I just met 2 weeks ago and have developed such a passion for, it’s hard to even describe it with words.

So much has happened in all of their hearts, but mine too. It’s amazing how nearly 30 people can grow so much simultaneously. God has done amazing things in all of our lives and strengthened our faith in spectacular ways. This probably will sound like a huge exaggeration, but trust me when I say this may have been one of the best experiences of my life.

BUT, we’re headed on a safari tomorrow…I’m excited to spend 3 more days with my new friends! And I’m not thinking about them leaving again until Wednesday morning…

Thrive Trip

I’m helping lead a short-term mission trip [part of the reason i've been mia for last couple weeks]. Here’s a picture from today…my group is making bricks. Tomorrow we’re going to start putting together the house. Who would have thought, huh? Me building a house….

a farm?!

I think most of us refer to the plot of land (aka 2500 acres) we live on as a game reserve. There are wildebeests, zebra, blesbock and all sorts of other African creatures roaming through the mountains. However, today I saw a different side of what lives among us. It might be more accurate to say we live on a farm. There are cows, pigs and chickens. The neighbors farm maize (corn) and I think I saw a Pioneer sign on the way home from town the other day.

Here’s Enoch with the chickens. He’s a funny guy, his wife Mimi works in the kitchen. We all call her gogo Mimi (Grandma Mimi).

confession ::

Last night I had a conversation about how I really miss watching Dog the Bounty Hunter.

done.//

photos ::

I was looking through the pictures since I’ve been here…this is definitely one of my favorites. It’s from our trip to Botswana in March.

“Service is the rent we pay for living. It is the very purpose of life and not something you do in your spare time.”

:: Marian Wright Edelman

culture shock ::

There are moments that it feels a lot like America here. There are about 75-80 Americans on the base this week. So conversations feel oddly like the ones at home. Food seems American-ish [I had a tortilla for lunch- pronounced tort-til-la here- that hasn't happened in a while] AND rumor has it we’re all going out for cheeseburgers for the 4th of July [you don't get much more American than that--although, I'll refrain from the burger part...].

Then, random things happen that make me realize how far I really am from American culture. How far I am from the life I lived just a few months ago. Today I got an email from The Palm…

To put it into perspective $130 is over R800. That’s a monthly salary for a lot of Basothos. Crazy how much can change in 6 months…

confession ::

I read a Seventeen Magazine [South African style] cover to cover last night.

done.//