Again we are still getting used to things around here. We are also adding to our numbers every week. People are getting back from vacations, road trips, and also arriving from other countries to come serve. Eventually we will have 12 people in our house! Right now we aren’t quite there yet though. It is definitely nice to get used to living in the house without everyone being here. It might be a little too hectic if everyone was here in this crucial/confusing time. I’m excited to get to know everyone though, and become a little family.
Tuesday was a “team building” day. We drove out to Kylemore, which is near Stellenbosch and the wine lands. It’s a beautiful place: a lush valley with surrounding peaks and vineyards. I could honestly describe it as a “low ropes” course in the states. Lots of different activities to challenge us individually, but especially as a group. Despite our attitudes going into the day, it ended up being an amazing thing for all of us. It really did allow us to learn more about one another and grow closer together as a team. One of my favorite parts was towards the end, where we did an encouragement circle. We split up into houses, and as the Blouberg house, we had to say nice things to the Pinelands house. It was very powerful, because I don’t get that much of a chance to talk to the guys and gals in the other house. And it was just a blessing to hear what people had to say to me. We forget how much a little encouragement can do for our lives.
Wednesday was more team training with a public speaking and active listening session in the morning followed by an afternoon trip to the SOS Children’s Village. This is essentially a “village” where children and teens alike stay and live. Most houses hold 8 youth and 1 housemother. These children have all different stories and backgrounds. Some have good relationships with their parents and some don’t even know their parents. But this village is a good environment for them to interact with other youth and find a family of sorts to look out for them. We work with the kids and teens separately throughout the week once we start the projects back up.
This week was also the week of randomness complete with a trip to Stellenbosch, the University to a thing called Ventors (sp?). The residential housing facilities are all like little clubs and they are in charge of putting on a sort of show for everyone that comes. It’s a huge event! Thousands of people come from all over. We were told to stay close, because you can easily lose someone in the crowds in a couple seconds. It was a very unique experience to say the least.
We also were able to go to one of the prettiest beaches here on Saturday, Camp’s Bay. It’s absolutely gorgeous. I will post some pictures, so you can see. It was just nice to unwind after a long week of information processing, and enjoy God’s beautiful creation. Mmmmm…
Prayer requests: pray for the team as a whole that we start becoming closer and that we can work through whatever issues; pray for my direction here... trying to find my niche!
-Kristen
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