Life in Africa House
In no time flat the first week of Forge has come and gone! Last Sunday was ort first day. We kicked it off with a braai (BBQ). I was told the a braai is the original BBQ, and American BBQ's arent as good. I'm sorry, but it was true. The whole afternoon was a great time of getting to know all of the All Nations staff. The fact that so many different nations and cultures were represented was very special.
My team consist of eight people, 3 Swiss, 2 Malawians, 1 South African, 1 Scottish, and then me. There is quite an age rang, from me at 18 to 36.
With the 5 different nationalities, and few with english as a mother language, there are many times of misunderstanding, that can be very challenging. Fortunately that is out numbered by the many, many moments of laughter. I have loved learning about the different cultures of my teammates as well.
The whole team is living in the All Nations "Africa House" so that is part of our training to get ready for our cross boarder outreach. Splitting up chores like cooking, cleaning, and shopping for groceries is all part of the daily life here. Every night we play games, mostly card games which include one that I taught them, Spoons! It is a hit!
This whole week has mostly been orientation, and getting to know each other. Wednesday we had an “amazing race” activity. It was mostly a team building activity, but it was also a chance to see some of the attractions all over Cape Town. We spent the entire day there and ended up walking over 7 miles!
We spent a one day just telling our life stories and testimonies. That I think is a really good team bonding time and it really helps everyone understand where the others are coming from.
Some of the topics that we have talked about this week include, hearing God’s voice, and learned more about our cross boarder outreach. We also found out the two locations, Lesotho, and Uganda. We won’t find out who is going where until the first or second week in march, I will stay up to date with that information.
We also were able to do some outreaches into two of the colored townships, Masi, and Ocean View. We spent an afternoon in each place. We walked around and got to know the area, its history, and the people the the towns. It was a really good time of fellowship, as well as spending time with the All Nations people who are working in those areas.
If I needed to sum this week up into a phrase it would have to be "trying new things." I am looking forward to the next week with great expectations of what God is going to do here.
