Durban!

Our third and final home-stay happened with Indian families in the city of Durban. It started out with all the Outtatown students and their host families having an Indian feast on the beach which was amazing. During our week in Durban, we had the opportunity to visit a Hare-Krishna Temple and a Muslim Mosque. These visits opened our eyes to the diversity of religion in the world. We also had the chance to listen to speakers who talked to us about Indian culture; and Indian immigration in the 1800’s from India to South Africa. We were able to visit a museum that focused on Indian life during the Apartheid era of South Africa. We were blessed to go to a retirement home and listen to the people talk about their life experiences, were able to play games with them, and also able to sing for them. We had the chance to visit a Drug-Rehab center which helped young Indian men and women stop taking drugs. We also visited two malls in a predominately Indian part of Durban, and so able to buy some Indian products. To end the amazing week, we went to the Ushaka water-park where we spent the day having fun going down the waterslides and hanging out at the pool. It was a great week to experience Indian culture.

Jordan Beller

Bungee Jumping!

216 meters above the ground, 110-meter jump, a five second free fall, and one of the most incredible moments I have ever experienced! Adrenaline was pumping through everyone as we were dancing on the bridge, and then they called my number J41. After hours of waiting around, it was finally my turn to jump. Excitement, fear, and anticipation coursed through my veins. I sat anxiously as they tied up my feet, putting all my faith into their complex knots and big elastic cord. They pulled me to the edge, and with my toes hanging over the edge; I looked down at the beautiful scenery below. It was scary to think that I was about to jump down there, bit it was too late for any second-guessing. They started the countdown, and before I knew it, I was free falling. I will never forget the feeling of simply falling with nothing around to stop me, and also having complete trust that I won’t go crashing to the ground. All sound disappeared and the only thing I could hear was the wind passing my ears. Ironically it was such a peaceful moment, and it was a whole new way to take in God’s creation; diving into such a beautiful valley with green trees everywhere and a little creek trickling at the bottom. I was in awe; it was most definitely an experience of a lifetime. I was amazed that not one student on our site passed up this opportunity. I just did the world’s bungee jump, no big deal.

Rylie

Mdumbi!

This past week we got to spend time in on the Wild Coast in one of the beautiful places in the country – Mdumbi Backpackers. This week provided the awesome opportunity to slow down a bit, reflect on the semester, enjoy the beach, go on a hike, do some service work and get to know ourselves better through the “knowing yourself” sessions taught by our leaders.

Jeffery's Bay!

Jeffery’s bay had to be one of my favourite places we’ve been so far. One of the activities he had the choice of doing was horseback riding on the beach! It has always been my dream to gallop along the ocean and to have done it in South Africa along the Indian ocean was unbelievable. Once we made it to the sand dunes everyone was beginning to spread apart. The horses had done this so many times that all we had to do was sit there and relax. We could gallop up the sand dunes, stop at the top and enjoy the panoramic view. MY favourite part had to have been when we saw the ocean and could gallop along the edge towards Jeffery’s bay. It was just you, your horse, the waves, and the salty sea breeze. The waves would splash up beneath your horse and your runners would become wet with the mixture of sand and water. This experience was everything I could have asked for and during the entire time I couldn’t believe that I was living my dream.

Kirsten

Bonnevaille!

After spending the first two weeks in the Johannesburg area our site did the long drive to the Capetown area and site three began their journey down the coast (they’ll do the long drive from Capetown to Johannesburg at the end of the semester). At the mid-way point in the semester we had the opportunity we spend the weekend with them at Bonnieville –which is also about the mid-way point in our journey. During our time together we got to sleep outside, relax, do a high ropes course, swim and go off rope swings into the water. It was fun time that provided the opportunity to share stories with the other site and get a glimpse into what the rest of the semester holds (because from here on in what we’re doing site three has already done).

Stellenbosch Small Group Day!

One Saturday morning we had a lot of fun doing a variety of challenges in our small group. We did a relay race that included apple bobbing, “swimming” across a “river,” building a pyramid that included each member of the small group and a human wheelbarrow race.

Service Weeks at Kayamundi

Service Weeks at Kayamundi
We had the opportunity to spend two weeks in Kayamundi (the township just outside Stellenbosch – in the Capetown Region). Our time was directed by Johan Horn a phenomenal man who, among other things, partners with the township community to do development work. He led us through a process where groups of four to five students were paired up a with a local guide.

On the first day each group was taken on a tour through the community. During the tour the groups were supposed to keep their eyes open for the assets of the community and possible projects they could work on that would build upon the assets that already existed. Throughout the first week – in conversation with their guide, community members and Johan – each group identified a need within the community that they could help with. Each group spent the second week working on the projects. The following are descriptions of each of the groups` projects.


Creche

Over the span of three days we spent our time at a crèche owned and run by a lady named Nolitha. She had started the crèche to provide schooling and daycare for children who didn’t have enough money to go to pay for other daycares. Each day 20 kids came to the tiny crèche at 7am and some stayed until 2 or 3. A couple of days before we arrived in Kayamundi there was a fire that burnt down about 20 shacks close by and Nolitha had opened her doors to store things while the shacks were being rebuilt. This left her already crowded in a small crèche with hardly any space outside. We decided to paint the inside of the crèche and create some organized storage to create a better environment for the kids to play in (especially because there’s no other shelter from the incredibly hot sun outside!).
We were so lucky to get to work alongside members of the community. Our guide Dzu and his friend Luvuyo helped us paint and translated so we could interact with the kids -we’re not quite fluent in Xhosa yet!
It turns out Dzu has an eye for art, and his paintings in the crèche were phenomenal and added a lot to the final project.
Nolitha is an amazing woman who pours all her energy into the crèche and the children that come, and we had the chance to see what she does and give her a bit of a break for that short while.
It was awesome how we could involve the kids - they included their painted handprints on the wall, and we felt so welcomed as we’d arrive every morning and immediately be swarmed by smiling little kids.
The final afternoon we had a big birthday party in the newly painted and organized crèche. There were balloons, food, face painting and lots of laughter as a wonderful celebration to end off a week filled with working, playing and learning together.
Jordan, Becca, Josh, Patrick, Cassie

Crèche number two

While touring through Kayamundi on the first day, we saw many opportunities to help out the people of Kayamundi. After discussing our options and talking it through with our guide, we decided that painting a crèche and changing the locks on a church was the most tangible things we could accomplish. Based on our resources and budget, we came up with a plan. We gathered all our supplies and set out to complete our project. Along the way we had a few setbacks and surprises, but together as a group, we were able to work around them. We got the community involved. A few parents of the children came out to help us paint. The kids also put their handprints along the wall to add a personal touch. In the end, the teacher was very happy with the new look of her crèche. All in all, we were glad we could bless these people as much as they blessed us.
Rylie, Erin, Lindsay, Peter

Starting A Garden

As we walked around Kayamundi, we felt that it would be best if we taught these African people how to start a garden, and have them maintain it, in order that they may be able to have more food to live on.

John, Kathryn, Brent, Melissa

Paint by numbers

After walking through Kayamundi the first day we were all drawn to the same project, painting murals in a bedroom for orphaned children. We knew that it would be a stretch of our artistic abilities and that it would be challenging but we decided that our heats were pulled to this project and that could only be from God. We were most defiantly blessed while buying supplies. The store manager was more than willing to give us our paints at cost. This allowed us to use our left over money to buy snacks for our guide Luthando’s friends (who were helping us out) as well as donate money to Prochorus (the organization) for children’s books.

Our project work time was not always stress free. Giving up control of how we would like things done and having people walking in and out of the room was not always easy to deal with. Even though it was challenging at times it was inspiring to see people from the community getting involved. With everyone’s help and a huge blessing from God, we were able to get everything finished on time. Even though it was a challenging experience, it was one of growth and learning to co-operate as a group. There was a strong feeling of accomplishment when we were able to meet our goals and finish on time.
P.S. The secret to dealing with stress, is to not get stressed. Words of encouragement from a helpful friend.

Ainsley, Abby, Jenna, Jason, Janelle, Luthandos

Building a Fence

This project involved building a fence to keep intruders out of a school yard where children played.
Ricky, Chelsea, Kirsten, Amber