Penguins In South Africa

      So there is something going around the Cape Lodge, and it isn't the smell of Sandezul's cooking-- it the South African common cold. This cold feels what an intense stage of mono may feel like. One by one this common cold has kept a team member home. My day was last Friday night, but thankfully this "cold" is only lasts for 24 hours max. I say this, to thank each of you for your prayers of health for our team. Yes although we may be affected by this "cold", it does not last that long and it also give each of us to catch up on much needed sleep to be ready to go for the next day!

     Saturday was an amazing day for us volunteers. Alicia, also know as the coolest person ever, let us sleep in a little bit & picked us up at 10am for the adventure of the day. We first went to Boulder Beach. Now for those of you who hang out with me at Samford know that i love climbing boulders at boulder fields, well i have a new favorite place-- Boulder Beach. Boulder Beach is magnificent. You hear the sound of the waves crashing on boulders as you drive up, you can distinctly smell the salt water in the air, and not only is it a beautiful view... there are also penguins!! Everywhere. They do the penguin waddle, swim from boulder to boulder, and there is even one that likes to give kisses. We hung around on the boulders for a few hours, played with the penguins, looked at the crystal blue sea, saw starfish and other sea critters, and went exploring. We didn't think anything could top Boulder Beach until we ventured down to Cape Point. *Now some background information-Cape Point is the most South-Western point of Africa. This is also a quite a view. On our drive into the park we saw many baboons, more than one ostrich, and all kinds of birds. We took a hike up the mountain to the very tippy top where the light house is located, and my was it beautiful. Words and pictures will never be able to express the beauty of God that we were blessed to see. We were on a narrow strip of land that darts out into the ocean. You can see the ocean for miles on both sides. We stayed there until the clouds opened with rain. Then we quickly darted down the mountain and drove to a restaurant for dinner.
     Sunday i had the honor of worshiping our Father at Capricorn alongside the people i am with every day. The worship was so incredible that people were getting up and dancing in front of the the church. I was on baby duty so i was in the back of the one roomed church, but still got to experience everything. The rest of our Sunday was pretty relaxed at the house, until about 4. At 4 the Langfords and their four children, Amy, Tim, & Natasha, came over for a South African Braai hosted by us vols. We made steaks, chicken, mashed potatoes, sh-ka-bob's, and other random sides. A very successful Braai at the Cape Lodge. Once the Braai was over we hit the sacks to get some much needed sleep for the next week!

    This week has been a gift from our Father.

    Monday we started the day off at Living Grace, the homeless shelter. The relationships are started to grow even deeper, it was great to see old and new faces. At Living Grace i have learned how to cut just about ANY vegetable or fruit any of you could ever come up with. Aunt Joann says that will come in handy one day, we'll see!! Teens club on Monday went really well. A team from Shades Mountain (birmingham) is here, and that makes everything a little different but the kids and staff are LOVING it! Such a blessing to have them here. I'm at the point where i have some pretty stable relationships with the teens, especially the girls. What a blessing. I also HAVE to give a shout out to the staff at Capricorn that i have fallen in love with--Meagan, Melanie, Lauren, Leroy, Sandele, Rodger, Elorena, & Stacy. All of these people are incredible and need to be in your prayers. They have become my adopted South African family! These are the relationships that will never end and i will never forget about. We have so much together and can also connect on so many deep levels. Anyways, Monday was also a big day in Cape Town because i got to have real Heinz ketchup. There is no ketchup in SA, only at McDonald's, so i swallowed all i had learned about McDonald's at Wesleyan and went and got a double cheeseburger with a coke and fries for $3 just to have some Heinz!! It was so yummy, but i think that can tie me over the rest of the trip.

     Tuesday, we started our day off at the staff devotion. It is very early in the morning but it is also very refreshing. After devotion, we walked over to the Health Clinic to hang out with patients who are infected with HIV, Aids, TB, and some cancer. We know that this is a very important part of trip, but it is also the hardest. We want to be able to talk and interact with the patients, but a lot of them can hardly speak-let alone english (which is not there native tongue). People are also in and out of the clinic, but some are there for long periods of time. What our team decided to do was just have a 3 hour worship service in the Men's ward. This is great, we give each man lyrics to the songs so they feel like they are apart of the service even if they cannot verbally sing. It is also very rewarding to see the smiles on the sisters' (nurses) faces as we sing some of their favorite songs. We have a guitar and a bongo. This week i got to play some bongo!! Who would've thought i had a little bit of rhythm in me? After the Health Clinic we headed to Capricorn for Hygiene Day!! It was GREAT to have the team from Shades here to help make this day possible and even smooth. We had different places set up for the teens and children to go to to get their feet and hands washed, their nails clipped, a place to eat, and place where they could come hear Alex and I talk about the importance of brushing your teeth along with a demonstration on the correct way & a presentation on the affects of littering on our health. Both were very successful!

     Today, Wednesday, we went to Living Grace to help out again. I had the privilege of hanging out with Craig. Craig works at Living Grace by making cards to sell in town to raise funds for Living Grace, and also a little for himself. Craig has been a wheelchair for 6 years now after a shooting he unfortunately walked into one day 8 years ago. The shooting left him completely paralyzed, but now Craig can move everything above his waist. Praise the Lord! He makes these beautiful cards, but does so very slow. I got to help Craig make cards today--I was covered in glitter when i left. After Living Grace we headed to Capricorn to have a Gatsby with the Shades team. A Gatsby is a sandwich (kinda like a sub) with lots of chips (our french fry). It is soo yummy! After some great fellowship it was time for Teens Club. Teens club was very chill today. We just hung out without any structure. We painted each others nails, made some bracelets, and just laughed! It was precious.

          Thank you for your prayers, and thanks for reading!!! 

His,
Lauren Brown

 Me at Boulder Beach.

 Cape Point.

The bottom of Cape Point.

The Real Deal

Hey Guys!

     So the last time i left you guys, i was in the middle of orientation. Well i am happy to announce that i am now "oriented". We did a lot in orientation. We began to learn the language of African & Xhosa. Xhosa has a ton clicking and clacking, so i was glad to find out i was going to be in a village where they spoke mainly African. In orientation, we also learned all about the history and culture or South Africa. I have never really enjoyed history, but i was glad that Tim taught us everything we needed to know so we could better understand why there are villages and why the different races interact the way they do. We also had a lesson an HIV and STD class.  In this class, we discussed all the ways of transmission and how to avoid getting aids, along with the medical side of it.  Along with all of the learning, we also got to start relationships with the staff and volunteers at Living Hope, Living Grace, and Living Way.
     While i am on the topic of Living Hope, Living Grace, and Living Way, let me go ahead and explain to you what they are. Living Hope, which is in Capri, is the main overall ministry. They take part in kids clubs and getting plugged into Living Grace; which is the homeless ministry of Living Hope. Living Grace serves a breakfast to all who come to the building in Muizenburg before 8:30. At 8:30, there is worship and a devotion. Then they serve a warm roll and a cold piece of bread with a cup of coffee. Then most of the people who come have a job through Living Grace to pick up trash on the streets. So the men go out and do this, while a few women stay to help cook. The people have to be back at the building before 12 in order to have lunch. Lunch is a huge meal and take a long time to prepare. My team and i help out here every Monday and Wednesday. Living Way trains people to be entrepreneurs and teaches them how to do a specific skill (i.e. baking bread loaves, growing tomatoes and green beans, and making art or sculptures).
     On Thursday of orientation, Tim announced who would be going to which village. I was assigned Capricorn!! I was very excited about this! This village is around 30 minutes from the town of Cape Town (capri) where i am staying. 30 to 45 minutes may seem like a far drive for a kids club, but the view of the mountains and beach is spectacular.  Simply breathtaking.
       Alex and I were both assigned Capricorn, so every afternoon we drive with Alicia (the backbone to this mission trip) to Capricorn. On Monday and Wednesdays, I do kids club in Overcome Heights. On Tuesday and Thursdays i do kids club in Capricorn. But as of today, this is going to change to where on Mondays and Wednesdays i do teen club with Alex in Capricorn, because the girls need another girl influence in their lives. These are also the teens that come to Friday night worship, so it will be great to hang out with them during the week as well. I also attend church at Capricorn, so i am able to be with the people 6 out of 7 days, which is really cool if you ask me!
     The days are so jam packed with different relational activities with the Africans. IT IS SO AWESOME, but at the same time at the end of the day we are all wiped out. But we had last weekend off, so we went to Oceanfront to go hang out at a nice mall and eat South African food. I also got to ride a ferris wheel that gave a great view of Table Mountain, the ocean, and the port.  Along with going to the museum of District 6, in downtown Cape Town.

**This is just an overview of what is going on at Living Hope right now. I will update you guys on experiences soon!! Thank you so much for support! It means and helps a whole lot.

p.s.-please do not read my updates for grammatical errors because if you do you will find plenty. haha. i also dont like capitalizing "i". :)

thanks for reading!

His,
Lauren

                                                A Picture of the Team in the District 6 Museum!