I am on a plane right now leaving Johannesburg, South Africa for our stopover in Dakar, Senegal.Today just consisted of checking out at eight, saying goodbye to everybody who wasn't from San Diego (including the Wilkersons, Sandra, Elliott, Derek ((who was our honorary team member for our last day at the church - I'll explain later)), Candice, and Joshua), leaving on a bus for Johannesburg at 10:30, and making it in time for our flight at 5:30. Mr. Goyette was worried that we wouldn't have enough time to get through security because bus rides ALWAYS take more than the predicted five hours - they usually average over six hours of traveling time. No team has ever made there in five hours. A lot of us were praying about the situation... and we are officially the first team to make it in UNDER five hours!!! Now to look forward to the next exciting 25 hours of flying, layovers, and more flying... whoo-hoo. :)
(Note: Total non-stop travel/layover/other travel/other layover/more travel/longer layover/final travel took thirty hours. I arrived safely at 10:30 California time on July 25th, the official last day. Since nothing much happened other than getting home, however, this is the last journal entry.)
Monday, July 26, 2010
Day 9 - July 23 - Friday
(Photos of Litsemba can be found at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=195375&id=630849426&l=62279bab6d)
Litsemba went really well today! A lot of things went on - a band played, Stephen Lungu (a former street kid/orphan/gang member) spoke, a group from Georgia did the Everything skit (video coming soon), Scott painted, other groups danced and sang, etc. Team 21 was combined with Team 12 and placed as backstage security - basically we stood around the perimeter of the stage to make sure no kids climbed up on the stage. We had no problems with that, so we ended up sitting around doing nothing most of the time. King Mswati III attended, and the adults and some of the older kids from our church came, so I got to say goodbye to "Cindi" and "Busisiwe"! At the end of the event I grabbed a garbage bag and went outside the stadium gates to collect trash with Joshua. I found my first target (an empty orange juice bottle), bent down to pick it up, stood up and dropped it in, and instantly this cute little boy appeared out of nowhere, grabbed the other side of my bag, and picked up a different bottle and dropped it in. He helped me carry and load trash bags the entire time I was on garbage detail! I found out that he spoke English, and was a ten year old named "Ian" (pronounced "EYE un", exactly like a guy who comes to sing at my church sometimes!). As we were working, we passed a man who looked to be in his late twenties. He called out to me in SiSwati (or really bad English; it was hard to tell), and the following conversation occurred:
Me: "Sorry, what was that?"
Him: "Oh, okay." (realizing that I only spoke English) *fumbles around with words for a couple of minutes, starting and stopping in an unintelligible way* "I have... the... feeling... of love in you."
Me: (while totally stunned and freaking out in my head) "Um... I'm sorry. I'm leaving TOMORROW."
Him: "Oh. Oh, tomorrow? You go, not staying?"
Me: "No, I'm going home tomorrow."
Him: "Oh, okay. Maybe you can give so we...?" *pantomimes writing*
Me: "Sorry, I'm not allowed to give out my address."
Him: "Oh.. ohhhhh." *creepy stare*
Me: *very quickly keep picking up trash, working in the opposite direction so I can get away from him as soon as possible*
Thankfully, that experience was redeemed by a better one. A few moments later, Ian and I passed a high school boy who looked to be about fifteen or sixteen years old.
Him: "Sawubona."
Me: "Yebo."
Him: "Unjanni?"
Me: "Niapila."
Him: "Uvalagopi?" (OOO va la GO pee)
Me: "Uhh... I'm sorry, I don't really speak SiSwati! I just know the greeting."
Him: "Where are you from?"
Me: "America."
Him: "Oh, okay, so now now you know when I say 'uvalagopi', it mean 'Where are you from?'. Let me hear you say 'uvalagopi'!"
Me: "U-va-la-go-pi?"
Him: "Yes! Is good!"
We exchanged big grins and went our separate ways, leaving me feeling a whole lot better! I'm so sad that I have to leave this beautiful country tomorrow.
Litsemba went really well today! A lot of things went on - a band played, Stephen Lungu (a former street kid/orphan/gang member) spoke, a group from Georgia did the Everything skit (video coming soon), Scott painted, other groups danced and sang, etc. Team 21 was combined with Team 12 and placed as backstage security - basically we stood around the perimeter of the stage to make sure no kids climbed up on the stage. We had no problems with that, so we ended up sitting around doing nothing most of the time. King Mswati III attended, and the adults and some of the older kids from our church came, so I got to say goodbye to "Cindi" and "Busisiwe"! At the end of the event I grabbed a garbage bag and went outside the stadium gates to collect trash with Joshua. I found my first target (an empty orange juice bottle), bent down to pick it up, stood up and dropped it in, and instantly this cute little boy appeared out of nowhere, grabbed the other side of my bag, and picked up a different bottle and dropped it in. He helped me carry and load trash bags the entire time I was on garbage detail! I found out that he spoke English, and was a ten year old named "Ian" (pronounced "EYE un", exactly like a guy who comes to sing at my church sometimes!). As we were working, we passed a man who looked to be in his late twenties. He called out to me in SiSwati (or really bad English; it was hard to tell), and the following conversation occurred:
Me: "Sorry, what was that?"
Him: "Oh, okay." (realizing that I only spoke English) *fumbles around with words for a couple of minutes, starting and stopping in an unintelligible way* "I have... the... feeling... of love in you."
Me: (while totally stunned and freaking out in my head) "Um... I'm sorry. I'm leaving TOMORROW."
Him: "Oh. Oh, tomorrow? You go, not staying?"
Me: "No, I'm going home tomorrow."
Him: "Oh, okay. Maybe you can give so we...?" *pantomimes writing*
Me: "Sorry, I'm not allowed to give out my address."
Him: "Oh.. ohhhhh." *creepy stare*
Me: *very quickly keep picking up trash, working in the opposite direction so I can get away from him as soon as possible*
Thankfully, that experience was redeemed by a better one. A few moments later, Ian and I passed a high school boy who looked to be about fifteen or sixteen years old.
Him: "Sawubona."
Me: "Yebo."
Him: "Unjanni?"
Me: "Niapila."
Him: "Uvalagopi?" (OOO va la GO pee)
Me: "Uhh... I'm sorry, I don't really speak SiSwati! I just know the greeting."
Him: "Where are you from?"
Me: "America."
Him: "Oh, okay, so now now you know when I say 'uvalagopi', it mean 'Where are you from?'. Let me hear you say 'uvalagopi'!"
Me: "U-va-la-go-pi?"
Him: "Yes! Is good!"
We exchanged big grins and went our separate ways, leaving me feeling a whole lot better! I'm so sad that I have to leave this beautiful country tomorrow.
Day 8 - July 22 - Thursday
This was actually written on the 23rd because I came home too exhausted to journal on Thursday night. Let's just say that the safari was awesome (pretty much just like the Wild Animal Park without the fences), and souvenir shopping was one of the most fun experiences I've had on this trip! (Photos of the safari can be found at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=195168&id=630849426&l=945eb17dce) Looking forward to Litsemba "tomorrow"!
Day 7 - July 21 - Wednesday
First of all, Prayer. Was. AMAZING! Even if it did happen way too early in the morning. Not much happened today - the bishop talked for a super long time, we got to play with the preschoolers outside while the adults inside divvied up clothes and things that we had brought from America to give them, we did a lesson on Ruth for the first and second graders, and we didn't get time to do much with the seven to fourteen year olds besides pass out oranges before they all went inside to pick out child-sized clothing that was left. The bishop has been really frustrating our team for the past two days because he keeps trying to coax us (or sometimes even tell us) to give things we don't have to him or to important members in his congregation (like all twelve elders). We couldn't respectfully get through to him that we were giving by teaching and serving the kids, not through material items. When he asked some members of our team to give small speeches, when they finished talking he kept saying "What else?", expecting us to offer gifts (which he called "blessings"). I was really kind of mad about it; after all, we came halfway across the world to teach and play with and love on his kids, and all he can think about is himself and all of the "important" people - he doesn't care about the kids or our mission at all! I was praying about the situation, and all of a sudden the thought hit me - how often do I do that to God? How often does the king of the universe - infinitely more important and awesome and powerful than a group of Americans - come to whisper to my heart, teaching me what I need to know and sending down His love - and I just brush off His words, hold out my hand, and say "What else?". How many times do I seek for "blessings" when he has already laid out an entire program to bless me with? And how many times do I put His wonderful agenda on hold to exert my own power or spout my own knowledge, like when Bishop Mnisi (Muh NEE see) would keep us from teaching the kids just so he could present us with lengthy speeches and prayers?
On a lighter note, my SiSwati is improving dramatically! I finally learned the entire traditional greeting - figures I would get it on the LAST day I need it, haha! Unlike Americans, who use random greetings such as "Hey!" or "What's up?" or "Good morning!", Swazis greet each other in the same way every time, and it goes a little something like this (I'm guessing on the spelling, like I do for all African words on this blog):
"Sawubona." (SOW uh BOW nah)
"Yebo." (YAY bow)
"Unjanni?" (Oon JAH nee)
"Niapila." (Nee uh PEE luh)
In English, that translates to:
"I see you." (Like they say in Avatar, for those who have seen the movie.)
"Yes."
"How are you?"
"I am fine."
I already mentioned learning "hamba" and "manni", but today I also learned the word "alifun" (ALL ee foon), which means "no" in English! :) Tomorrow is safari/shopping day.
On a lighter note, my SiSwati is improving dramatically! I finally learned the entire traditional greeting - figures I would get it on the LAST day I need it, haha! Unlike Americans, who use random greetings such as "Hey!" or "What's up?" or "Good morning!", Swazis greet each other in the same way every time, and it goes a little something like this (I'm guessing on the spelling, like I do for all African words on this blog):
"Sawubona." (SOW uh BOW nah)
"Yebo." (YAY bow)
"Unjanni?" (Oon JAH nee)
"Niapila." (Nee uh PEE luh)
In English, that translates to:
"I see you." (Like they say in Avatar, for those who have seen the movie.)
"Yes."
"How are you?"
"I am fine."
I already mentioned learning "hamba" and "manni", but today I also learned the word "alifun" (ALL ee foon), which means "no" in English! :) Tomorrow is safari/shopping day.
Day 6 - July 20 - Tuesday
Today I have had at least three different preschoolers occupy my lap at some point - a very welcome change from yesterday, when they were all scared of us (most had never seen a white person before)! We taught them Red Light Green light, or in SiSwati, "Hamba Manni" (HOm buh MAH nee, which means "Go, Wait"), and Father Abraham before we went inside to listen to the story of Zacchaeus and make paper telescopes. With the first and second graders, after the story time we taught them a simplified version of the electric slide and had a freestyle dance party to Josh Vietti's "Night in Paris" on my iPod (video is coming soon!). With the seven-fourteen year olds, we did a bunch of activities after story, including Simon Says, a hand game called Slide, and weaving bracelets out of thread.
Today the bishop, or pastor, was at the church all day - he had been away yesterday. when he was trying to learn all of our names, he either thought my name was or just compared it to "treasure", or as he said it with his accent, "Tray shuh". Besides the children, we have a lot of adults hanging around as well. Some help in the garden, some help with the children, and others just watch us. One of the gogos (gogo means grandmother, and all of the old women are referred to as gogos)was named "Busisiwe" (Boo SEE see way), and she had the most amazing laugh ever! It was more of a happy cackle, actually. Don't have much else to say tonight - have to be up at 5:00 to be ready for prayer at 5:45 tomorrow morning.
Today the bishop, or pastor, was at the church all day - he had been away yesterday. when he was trying to learn all of our names, he either thought my name was or just compared it to "treasure", or as he said it with his accent, "Tray shuh". Besides the children, we have a lot of adults hanging around as well. Some help in the garden, some help with the children, and others just watch us. One of the gogos (gogo means grandmother, and all of the old women are referred to as gogos)was named "Busisiwe" (Boo SEE see way), and she had the most amazing laugh ever! It was more of a happy cackle, actually. Don't have much else to say tonight - have to be up at 5:00 to be ready for prayer at 5:45 tomorrow morning.
Day 5 - July 19 - Monday
(Note: all pictures of the church, the people, and the kids mentioned here can be found at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=194523&id=630849426&l=fa566c2eb8)
Hurrah for children! Not only did they get me out of gardening (setting up a garden for the church was part of our goal, besides doing VBS - but we split up the team so Mrs. Mays, Dana, Kyle and I are doing VBS and the other four are working the dirt), but they also provided a great deal of entertainment and joy.The morning started out with about ten preschoolers, and by lunchtime we had twenty-two. We told them the story of Joseph and how God chose him (our memory verse is John 15:16a), taught them Duck Duck Goose, blew bubbles outside, and made a failed attempt at teaching them "Jesus Loves Me". After lunch they were gently nudged out to make way for what turned into eighteen first and second graders. We only had about an hour with them, so we just told them the story, gave them the verse, and played Extreme Duck Duck Goose (i.e. the same game, but outside because there were more of them - and the only place to play outside was on a slope). At three they switched out with a small bunch of seven to fourteen year olds that grew to a group of sixty-one by the end of the hour.
Highlights of the day... Watching Kyle play Joseph (he's a theater kid) and acting as Joseph's sheep and later his brothers. Using bubble wands with little kids who had NEVER seen bubbles before - including one little preschooler who kept a completely straight face until a bubble came anywhere near her, at which point she would bounce up and down and hyperventilate with a huge grin until the bubble popped; then it was back to blank. Watching five year old Welile (Way LEE lay) dance to music coming from our combi (the bus we took to and from the church every day) as we were about to leave. Having a really awesome guy named Loch (spelling?) as our translator. Talking to a Swazi woman named Cindi (spelling?) and watching her light up when I told her that that was my mom's name too (and after finding out that my mom was still in America instead of in Swaziland with me, she said that when I went back I could tell Mom that "second Cindi is in Swaziland").
Our gardeners had a good day too - around twenty people from the community came out to help them. This included one man who had fallen partway in front of a bus and had to have his hand amputated. One-handed, he was better with a hoe than many of the people on our team with two good hands!
Reality check moments - At lunchtime, the church fed the children some rice and what seemed to be a sort of cabbage mush. Pete told us that this is the only meal that most of these kids will get in a day; a lot of the preschoolers come to school at the church just for the food. When we drove back from dinner tonight (we actually eat dinner at the Royal Swazi, the sister hotel of the Lugogo Sun, because its dining room is the only one big enough to hold all 350 of us at once), we passed a place where one of the women riding in the combi said that one on-fire-for-Jesus widow lived and sold handicrafts. The hut was about the size of most people's living rooms, and it was made from mud, rocks, sticks, and a couple of panels of corrugated aluminum.
Fun fact of the day - yesterday at Project Canaan I met a woman named Candice Nolan, who instantly told me how much I reminded her of her niece. Throughout our conversations during the day, she kept mentioning how little gestures I made or things I said were exactly like her niece, and how she couldn't wait for her husband Mann to meet me when he flew in later that afternoon! Later that evening, I actually met Mann through Dana, although Candice wasn't around at the time. This morning I ate breakfast with her, and she told me than Mann asked her last night, "Did you see that girl who looks just like your niece?" You know what's ironic? Candice's niece is named Miranda. That's my sister's name. Oh, and Miranda's sisters are named Marie and Bethany - Marie is my middle name, and Bethany is my "little sister"'s name. I love God's amazing sense of humor! :)
Hurrah for children! Not only did they get me out of gardening (setting up a garden for the church was part of our goal, besides doing VBS - but we split up the team so Mrs. Mays, Dana, Kyle and I are doing VBS and the other four are working the dirt), but they also provided a great deal of entertainment and joy.The morning started out with about ten preschoolers, and by lunchtime we had twenty-two. We told them the story of Joseph and how God chose him (our memory verse is John 15:16a), taught them Duck Duck Goose, blew bubbles outside, and made a failed attempt at teaching them "Jesus Loves Me". After lunch they were gently nudged out to make way for what turned into eighteen first and second graders. We only had about an hour with them, so we just told them the story, gave them the verse, and played Extreme Duck Duck Goose (i.e. the same game, but outside because there were more of them - and the only place to play outside was on a slope). At three they switched out with a small bunch of seven to fourteen year olds that grew to a group of sixty-one by the end of the hour.
Highlights of the day... Watching Kyle play Joseph (he's a theater kid) and acting as Joseph's sheep and later his brothers. Using bubble wands with little kids who had NEVER seen bubbles before - including one little preschooler who kept a completely straight face until a bubble came anywhere near her, at which point she would bounce up and down and hyperventilate with a huge grin until the bubble popped; then it was back to blank. Watching five year old Welile (Way LEE lay) dance to music coming from our combi (the bus we took to and from the church every day) as we were about to leave. Having a really awesome guy named Loch (spelling?) as our translator. Talking to a Swazi woman named Cindi (spelling?) and watching her light up when I told her that that was my mom's name too (and after finding out that my mom was still in America instead of in Swaziland with me, she said that when I went back I could tell Mom that "second Cindi is in Swaziland").
Our gardeners had a good day too - around twenty people from the community came out to help them. This included one man who had fallen partway in front of a bus and had to have his hand amputated. One-handed, he was better with a hoe than many of the people on our team with two good hands!
Reality check moments - At lunchtime, the church fed the children some rice and what seemed to be a sort of cabbage mush. Pete told us that this is the only meal that most of these kids will get in a day; a lot of the preschoolers come to school at the church just for the food. When we drove back from dinner tonight (we actually eat dinner at the Royal Swazi, the sister hotel of the Lugogo Sun, because its dining room is the only one big enough to hold all 350 of us at once), we passed a place where one of the women riding in the combi said that one on-fire-for-Jesus widow lived and sold handicrafts. The hut was about the size of most people's living rooms, and it was made from mud, rocks, sticks, and a couple of panels of corrugated aluminum.
Fun fact of the day - yesterday at Project Canaan I met a woman named Candice Nolan, who instantly told me how much I reminded her of her niece. Throughout our conversations during the day, she kept mentioning how little gestures I made or things I said were exactly like her niece, and how she couldn't wait for her husband Mann to meet me when he flew in later that afternoon! Later that evening, I actually met Mann through Dana, although Candice wasn't around at the time. This morning I ate breakfast with her, and she told me than Mann asked her last night, "Did you see that girl who looks just like your niece?" You know what's ironic? Candice's niece is named Miranda. That's my sister's name. Oh, and Miranda's sisters are named Marie and Bethany - Marie is my middle name, and Bethany is my "little sister"'s name. I love God's amazing sense of humor! :)
Day 4 - July 18th - Sunday
Three big things happened today: church, Project Canaan tour, and team orientation. Church was held on the property of Project Canaan in a little open air straw roof chapel that we dedicated this morning. A lot of different people talked and two groups sang, but the main speaker was a man named Vusie (VOO see). He was twenty two years old when he contracted AIDs from a girl who gave it to him deliberately. This is his eighteenth year of living with it. It's a miracle that he is even alive today! He is married to another HIV positive, and two of their three children are the same. today he thanks God that he got AIDs because through it he learned about forgiveness (by forgiving the girl who gave it to him), acceptance (by gathering with groups of other HIV positive/influenced people, who are generally treated as lepers by society), and hope (through learning about the hope found in Jesus and sharing it with others like him). The tour afterwards was very long and dusty, but very interesting and a lot of fun. Project Canaan was started only a year ago, and as we stood in a huge valley and scanned the horizons surrounding us, we were informed that what we were looking at was only ten percent of their land. In the land rover, it takes an hour and a half to drive from one end of the property to the other. They are planning on constructing a home for volunteers to live in temporarily, a home for abandoned or orphaned babies, and a place for their caretakers to take a break and rest. They're also starting a coffee plot so they can make profit for the land. The most fun part was catching a ride in a safari truck thing - we were going uphill on a slightly steep incline, and there were three "water bars" or dirt speed bumps on it, so the trucks had a really hard time getting up there. We had to stop about a third of the way up and wait for two other trucks to attempt to make it up the hill. After several tries, they eventually had to unload all their passengers and go up to the top, then reload. Our driver was a little more persistent and decided to take a "running start" to get us all up the hill while still in the truck. I was sitting in the second of three bench seats - on the OUTSIDE left of my row - and it was AMAZING! Think Indiana Jones. Lots of bumping, rocking, and tilting... it was almost as good as Thunder Mountain at Disneyland!
(For pictures of everything I mentioned and a little more info on some parts, check out http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=194294&id=630849426&l=4a12305dc2)
Team orientation happened back at the hotel before dinner, so I got to meet and hang out with all the amazing people on Team 21! I already knew two of our team members - Dana Mays (my friend from school, who was actually the reason I went on this trip) and her mom Eve. The other five people I had never met before. Our team leader is Pete Wilkerson; he and his wife Julie have been on trips with Heart for Africa multiple times, and this time they brought along their fourteen-year-old son Kyle. We also have a woman named Sandra Mann and a man named Elliott Moon; although Elliott is with a band that is playing for Litsemba, so he won't get to be with us very often because of rehearsals. Can't wait for tomorrow - our first day at the church!
(For pictures of everything I mentioned and a little more info on some parts, check out http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=194294&id=630849426&l=4a12305dc2)
Team orientation happened back at the hotel before dinner, so I got to meet and hang out with all the amazing people on Team 21! I already knew two of our team members - Dana Mays (my friend from school, who was actually the reason I went on this trip) and her mom Eve. The other five people I had never met before. Our team leader is Pete Wilkerson; he and his wife Julie have been on trips with Heart for Africa multiple times, and this time they brought along their fourteen-year-old son Kyle. We also have a woman named Sandra Mann and a man named Elliott Moon; although Elliott is with a band that is playing for Litsemba, so he won't get to be with us very often because of rehearsals. Can't wait for tomorrow - our first day at the church!
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