Happy 4th of July (kinda) from Africa!

Did anyone else totally miss Independence Day? If Nick hadn't reminded me, I definitely would have.

We're finally back at the Mission House in Joberg.

Saying that the past two weeks have been "busy" would be a gross understatement. "Super insanely freakin' busy" would be a little better. :) On the 22nd we left for the Mpumalanga province. It was an eight hour drive from the city of Johannesburg to Emangweni where we spent the next three days. Those days were packed! They looked kinda like this:

7am - service at primary school
9am - service at 2nd primary school
11am - service at high school
1pm - kids' club
3pm - 2nd kids' club
5pm - youth service
7pm - 2nd youth service

Three days of that. Booyah. :]

Oh! Ha! And where we stayed was our first encounter with no running water. The first of many cold sponge baths. Double booyah. AND at night the guys and I heard animal noises above us like rats or something and the next day the super nice lady that we stayed with said that she was gunna have someone come over and take care of the bat problem they were having in the guest house where we were sleeping.

Quote of the day: Me - "Oh that's cool... Wait. Did you say "bats"? With a "b"?"

That was almost as funny as the roosters we found sleeping in the outhouses we were suppose to use. ;) But in all seriousness, it was hard work but at the end of the day you really felt like you've done something to further the kingdom. It was a good feeling.

After that we traveled to Barberton for the Mpumalanga province's Y-Connexion (Youth Councils). From the 26th through the 28th we did program and hung out with the youth from all the different Corps in Mpumalanga. On Friday night we were introduced to "windy-houses". Ha... Uhh... So basically these were just plywood houses and we had the privilege to stay in one that night and it might be summer and hot in the States but it's winter here. SO COLD! Ha... I've never been so cold in my life! And I even borrowed a sleeping bag but it must have been for a toddler cause it only came up to my stomach. Hahaha... What a night that was. Nick, Matthew, the guys from the South Africa Mission Team, and I became very close that night. Haha... The more I think about it, the funnier it gets. Sorry. :]

Quote of the day: I don't remember who said this. It might have been me? - "I don't think I've ever hated a night's sleep more than last night."

Gosh, that's a memory. Anyway, so that was fun and a ton of work but again, at the end of the day you feel sore and sick and tired but accomplished. It was good. On Sunday the American team said goodbye to Mpumalanga and our South African counterparts for a couple days and we headed to Kruger National Park. That night we said with this really nice family where we watched the US lose to Brazil in the Confederation Cups finals. Sad day. But considering they weren't expected to score a single goal or even make it to the finals, I was definitely proud to be and American. We also were fed cow's head while we were there that night. It was... strange. Only because you weren't sure which part you were eating and you had to be careful because there were little bits of skull still in it. Yummy. They were really good people.

I just want to say that pretty much everyone we meet here has been super nice. They might seem a little stand off-ish at first but I'm fairly certain that it's because we're from the States. We've met so many incredibly kind people. I feel so blessed.

Finally we made it to the park. Remarkable! We spent a couple days there and saw so many animals. I was actually very surprised that there were so many so close to the roads. Hippos, rhinos, cheetahs, impala, water buffalo, wildebeests, giraffes, warthogs, and elephants! The elephants got within spitting distance from our car a couple times. A little scary but we got some pretty great shots. We didn't see any lions but that was okay with me because one of my childhood dreams was to see cheetah in the wild and I got to do that. I'd written that dream off so long ago but the Lord remembered and I am so, so grateful. While we were there we got to go on an official safari trip. 5am and so cold, but still incredibly rad. I got to hold a spotlight. :]

We met back up with the team on Wednesday and for the next four days we did another Y-Connexion for the Venda province. This was my favorite so far because we actually had time to form relationships with the youth. It's been difficult for me to go places with the team, do a service, and then leave. I think I might be shy myself so it was nice to have more time to open up. We stayed with the nicest lady, Claudine. She opened her house up to 24 people. And she didn't have running water so her and her family woke up at 5am every morning to boil huge pots of water for everyone to bathe. She was also one of the five cooks for the 200+ people at the Y-Connexion. She was my hero.

Venda really was a great experience. I taught guys how to play American football and they taught me rugby. I told guys what the word "cooties" and the term "cut the cheese" mean. I introduced the phrase "you've got nothin'!" while playing volleyball. I accidentally learned what hand signals not to use in South Africa. And I also introduced "the sprinkler" to the youth of Venda. I was awarded best dancer for that one. ;) If God ever sends me back there, I know I'll have some friends to greet me.

And now we're back at the Mission House. I'm sorry for the huge post but it's been two weeks! Hopefully we'll post more regularly now that we're going to be closer to home for a couple weeks. I hope all the other teams are having great experiences and that God is using them to do great things. We're praying for Stephanie's brother!

Thanks for all the prayers!