Paragliding

“When I say run, run as fast as you can! Don’t stop until we’re in the air, and even the keep running!”
That was the speech I got just moments before taking flight into the most amazing experience of my life. Who ever thought the feeling of weightlessness and wind blowing in your face could be so fun. That’s probably the closest I’ll ever get to soaring on wings like eagles, and man was the birds eye view spectacular. Taking in Gods creation from so high in the sky in a parachute is probably the best experience one could ever have. To my left was Table Mountain in its amazingness, below me lay Cape Town and straight ahead and to my right the Pacific Ocean stretches on for miles. I was so in awe of my surroundings that I almost forgot to take pictures! It wasn’t until my pilot reminded me my camera was in my hand, that I started taking pictures and even then I was sure I was going to drop it and most definitely wouldn’t have survived the fall.
After a way to fast 10 minutes we began our twirling descent which was by far the most fun. The pressure compresses you and you twirl and twirl down towards the ocean and then swing back over the ground for landing. Before you know it your feet touch solid ground marking the end of your flying adventure.

Kelsey Marchard

 

 

 

 

 

Reflections for Simontown

Stretching my limits, connecting with others and accomplishing some of my dreams are a few things I’ve experienced in Simonstown.
The rippling of the waves, the feeling of sand in between your toes and experiencing the awkwardness of podgy penguins for the first time were definitely memorable moments.
I can’t even describe the beauty of Simonstown, it’s amazing. I could see God in so many ways and it blows me away how in awe I am of his marvelous creation.
Everyday is a new adventure, whether it is paragliding, shark diving or meeting Desmond Tutu in an early morning mass. At night sometimes I would look back on the day’s events and I couldn’t believe how much we did and how crazy – awesome it was.
One of my favorite times of the week was surfing! Its always been my dream to surf and being able to do that in south Africa with amazing friends is the coolest thing ever!
A bunch of people would walk to the train station, hop on the train for 20minutes and then rent surf boards and hit the waves. While out on the water I couldn’t help but be reminded how spectacular our God is. It’s incredible to think that his precious thoughts of us, out number the grains of sand!
Overall my experiences in Simonstown have really revealed to me how a great our God is. Its stirred up a lot of questions about how we can have amazing adventure experiences and then a week later be helping in a township. It creates a lot of discussion among us and really makes me think about the injustices on our world. I’ve loved getting to know God better, and sharing experiences and growth with an awesome group of people. I can’t wait to see how many more ways God will reveal himself!

Kathryn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An update is on the way

We have been throughly enjoying our time in South Africa!!! In the four weeks we've been here we've stayed in five cities and have had the opportunity to interact with over three of the major cultural groups here. We are doing well and learning a lot - a points more then we can process in the moment! Things are a bit slower in the next couple of weeks so stayed tuned for some major blog updates!

Site 2 Media Committee

The Cradle of Humankind

We visited caves renowned as the "Cradle of Humankind." They are called that because the oldest fossils of mammals that humans descended from were found here. We enjoyed our time walking deep down into the earth and crouching as we walked through the narrow passages.