Photos

Here are some snapshots from the trip.  For more, e-mail me, and maybe we can set up a meeting to look at more! I would love to see you!

We hosted a Vacation Bible School program for one week called "Holiday Club" in a transitional housing neighborhood.  Even though it was summer in America, it was winter in South Africa and the students were out of school during that week for a sort of "Winter Break." We would walk through the neighborhood each morning to gather the kids.  Below is pictured some of my teammates and I gathering neighborhood children. As we left the neighborhood each day, kids would run beside our vans and wave at us until we reached the exit.

 Typically we took little excursions on the weekends.  This picture shows us at Cape Point, one of the southernmost points in South Africa.  This photo was taken at the bottom of the enormous hill that we were about to climb.  Pictured with me are a few of my teammates (from left to right):  Erica, me, Kieaira, and Kristen.

We visited an orphanage to drop off clothing items we brought with us from the States and our gracious hosts fed us!  While this looks like mashed potatoes, carrots, and chicken...it was not.  The "potatoes" were a food that had the texture of grits but were very different. I never could seem to remember what these items were called but they filled the hunger spot! 

During one of our afternoons of evangelism at the University of the Western Cape, some of our teammates put on a mini-step show for the students who gathered around the square (there are many students watching the performance behind the view of the camera).  The step show was a teaser to grab students interest so that we could invite them to an Impact large group meeting - a gathering where students could mingle, sing worship songs with us, hear a rap and a spoken word performance, and the Gospel would be shared.  We linked arms with the Impact Movement chapter there to help them reach their campus for Christ.

Here's a shot of some of my teammates chatting in the dining room of the guest house we lived in.

Another shot from our guest house.  Affectionately called "The Fireplace Room," this room was the only room in the entire guest house that was heated.  South Africans do not have insulation so the house was rather cold since it was winter there.  The day-time temperatures still fluctuated anywhere from about 50 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. 

A local preschool, or "cresh," was in need of a paint job since the beautiful artwork painted on by another group had faded.  Here's a full shot of us with the building after we finished, and there I am with the girl I painted onto the building.

On another of our free days, we decided to climb Table Mountain.  After a three hour trek up the mountain, I took a seat for this photo.  It was amazing to consider God's faithfulness as I hiked and to stand in awe of His creation once I took in the view from the top of the mountain. 

Each Sunday morning, we worshiped with a different church so that we could see the diversity of the churches in the area.  Here's a photo from one of the churches that was very similar to the churches here in America.  This particular church was made up of people who were "colored," or biracial.  In South Africa there are 4 main racial groups:  Black (native Africans), colored (people who were biracial), Afrikaans (white South Africans of mainly Dutch descent), and Indian (from India).

Here is a picture of a newly-purchased Bible for one of the students who'd accepted Christ and was in need of a Bible in their native tongue.

Here's a shot of the Africa Theological College.  It wasn't a large place but it served its purpose in the community.  It was a local training facility for South African ministers.  We were told that many ministers in the area believed and taught things that did not always line up with Scripture.  The college was ran by missionaries of Asian and German descent who were serving the township in which the college is located.  There were also many Black, South African volunteers.

During the week that we ran the Holiday Club, we split up into group of 5 to share the Gospel with the kids' parents and neighbors.  Many of the residents did not speak English so the Africa Theological College provided us with translators.  We were able to share the Gospel with the residents and also share our lives. Praise God!  Pictured here from left to right:  Me, "Sunshine" (our translator), Drew, Kenley (one of the Impact missionaries here in the States who was one of our team leaders with his wife, Jerrell), and Adrienne (a student from UVA! We didn't let our university rivalry affect our friendship).

We were split into small groups for weekly Bible studies with one of 2 of our mission team leaders leading.  Here's a shot of me using an extensive Bible resource as we studied Philippians 2.

 

 During our first week, we visited a boys' soccer camp.  The coach was a Christian and was familiar with our ministry so he invited us to share the Gospel with the guys.  Here is a picture of a teammate, Kenny (in the tan-colored jacket) and myself (with the gray hoodie) praying with a group of guys.

Here's a group shot of some of my teammates and I with some of the kids from the Holiday Club.  I'm on the far left in the green hoodie.

Here's a good shot of Table Mountain, the mountain we climbed not many days after this was taken.