c u soon america.

friends.

philippa

so today was a silly day. we're down to single digits until my return. it's strange.

highlights of the day were:

1. i was gifted a dolphin t-shirt by my friend Jose at the shelter it's a flippin' sweet shirt and i have complimented him on it several times and today he gave it to me, NO WORRIES friends, i gave him a "chi o you only choose once" shirt in return.
2. i gave manicures to 4 homeless women. rowdy times.
3. i cut a woman's hair, and sort of royally messed it up, but she was so grateful non-the-less. amen.
4. My girl Sharon, from the shelter, told me today that I had "crazy hair, crazier hair than any other colored person she has ever met.".. (she's homeless, that must be saying a lot)
5. my favorite little girl from holiday club, Philippa showed up at kid's club and brought me a scarf that her granny knit for me... angel.

the simple silly things that happen during my day are the things i'm going to miss the most. there is something so quaint and simple about everyone and everything here. i'm excited to come home to everyone, to the comfort, but the people i've invested and formed solid relationships with during the past 2 months are going to be hard to leave behind. they are my family, they are the ones i lean on when i'm having a hard day. they love me like my friends and family loves me at home. i never pictured my trip to be like this, i had so many different expectations, but God is good and has provided everything and more than i deserved.

i am the most anxious person alive, and these past 2 months have been a constant reminder of that. WHAT AM I MISSING AT HOME? WHAT AM I MISSING OUT ON? blah blah blee blee.

1 peter 5:7 says, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." it's the truth and living day to day here, in an unknown and dangerous place i have had to whole heartedly accept, trust and believe this truth.

it's just whatever. these experiences, these leaps of faith are what make up the stories of our life's. i often jip myself of experiences, because i'm scared of what other's will think, or what i'll be missing out on, but the truth is, taking these leaps are what makes our stories bigger and better. what's your story? what's tha' deal, YO?

what now?.. well i suppose i'm signing off, i'll be home in 5 days, america @ last. we'll go from there, eh?

He must become greater; i must become less. john 3:30

its been real-Carley

ayoba or not ayoba

ayoba or not ayoba (cool or not cool)

devotional

the pfled at kids club

everyone at our house is starting to leave, it's really saddio. but it sort of makes me really excited to come home and back to Amurica. i secretly have started to mentally 'check out' but then i have to remind myself i still have a few weeks left! can i first say that i'm really excited to eat mexican food, and be in hot weather!

i've been doing a lot of reflecting lately on what i've learned and what my purpose has been here. and what i've come up so far is this:

maturity is the ability and willingness to be led where you would rather not go.

it almost seems unfair because i feel like i have learned and soaked up more than i will leave with the people of south africa, but at the end of the day i know i've done something that i never thought i could do, and the only explanation for that is trust. nothing has really gone according to MY plan but somehow is has all worked out perfectly. it's too often easier to be God than to love God, easier to control people than to love people, easier to own life than to love life. and i have realized that allowing myself to listen and take action even if it isn't easy is all that we are ultimately

today, at the shelter i sat with a woman named, Sharon, she's a drug addict with a sleazy boyfriend, naturally we've become friends. after tea & morning devotional she approached me tears in her eyes, i immediately pulled her outside and began asking what was wrong? turns out Sharon's boyfriend got a little rough this weekend and had punched her in the jaw.

hmm well since i'm not really an expert with relationships let alone abusive ones.. i did the only thing i felt appropriate, i asked her if we could pray together? my heart breaks for these people and their stories. Sharon sat there telling me how she wants to get off the street, but doesn't know how and i sat there feeling so hopeless for her, not really sure what to tell her. i kept quiet and we both embraced my silence.

before lunch we had another devotional, and it was as if God had written it for Sharon, it was everything i should have said, but was too nervous. basically the message was Nothing is too big for God, & no one is too far gone for God to love. the more i think about it the more i realize that sometimes we are all just as lost and hopeless as Sharon, but the good news is we DO have something or someone to seek hope in..

Can't wait to be home. hugs from here.

Romans 8:31 "what, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?"

ps. we taught the kids about sexual abuse today, totally serious subject matter, but funny poster. "good touch, bad touch" skit was included, starring, yours truly.

my new boyfriend.

matthew.

Auntie Julie.

Matthew and i on the field trip!

dennis and william, my 2 other sweeties.

There is a boy here that has stolen my heart. When he smiles, I see Jesus. When he laughs, I laugh. When he holds my hand, I hold tighter. He is 5. Let me explain.

Matthew has FAS (fetal alcohol syndrome-his mom drank when she was preggo), or as I like to think it just means he is one of God’s special angels.

Last week we went on a field trip, and the kids had to bring back permission slips to be able to board the bus. Matthew comes running up to me holding his slip with the biggest smile on his face; you could tell he was so proud of bringing it back so he could come! So he hands it to me… and I open it expecting to see a signature. Oh wait, completely blank. I burst out into laughter, and he gazes up at me so confused so I explain that it had to be signed and because it isn’t that means he can’t join the fun. Come to find out Mattie’s mom is dying of cancer right now, and was too ill to sign.. I constantly forget that hidden behind these kids’ smiles and hugs are situations that I cannot even begin to fathom.

So a few days ago I had the amazing opportunity of getting to go see Matthew at his house in Ocean View, and meeting his mother! We got to pray over Matthew’s mother (Janet), which was quite a humbling experience. To lay hands on a woman I barely know, and just pray for God to heal her. So many people here are just so hungry for the Gospel, something to live for, and something to place hope in.

Carlota

ps. a homeless man tried to steal my backpack a few days ago. freaking crazies.

rollin' with the homies

mama and babies

cape point.

meet matthew, i'll be stealing him.

Another week has begun in the Africa of South. Just sitting downstairs with the housemates laughing about the days events. This week I started work at Living Hope’s homeless shelter, Living Grace. Homeless people and I mesh really well I think the reasoning behind this is because A. my hair (people can sometimes mistake it for a homeless person,) and B. because I’m crazy, and accept them as they are. Deal with it. Anywayz: so I work with 3 other of my housemates along with the couple who run the joint, Joan and John they are in their 70’s and super feisty. Joan marches around barking orders and John mans the front desk as “security” and by security I mean playing solitaire, sweet man.

We have devotional and breakfast in the morning where about 25 ‘homies’ attend, and then in the afternoons for lunch and devotional we have 50. The people rock and are so grateful. Haven’t had much of a chance to hear many testimonies, but I’ve got 3 weeks so I’ll keep ya posted.

In the afternoons I do kid’s club back in the O.V. woo woo. Being in this community has been so amazing, the kids are amazing but I think the best part are the leaders (the ones who lead holiday and kids clubs) Auntie Julie (my superior) is in charge of the OV community for living hope, and she is amazing. At first it was really hard to get close to many of the leaders because I am here for such a short amount of time, it’s hard for them to open up and let an outsider in, but these people have become my family. Auntie Julie and I have become especially close and she has been such an amazing picture of God’s faithfulness and love.

When Auntie Julie was 11 she was in a horrible accident and lost one of her legs, her father was a drug dealer, murderer and alcoholic and because of her accident her strong faith and positive attitude led her father to Christ. Through such tragic circumstance comes God’s perfect plan. It amazes me daily to see her profess this truth, this woman has devoted her life to the children of this community, and let me tell you, my past month here has been mental; I can't fathom years of this work, this woman has God on her side that’s for darn sure. Her attitude has been such an inspiration, and God seeps from her smile and presence. The closer it comes to my departure the more I realize what a family I have made here.

Cheers! -Carlisle

Ps. I saw killer whales this weekend. coolness.

Hebrews 4:12- 13 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

the pox

the 4th, booyah

those eyes, this is Nadier

feet washin'

I have 3 weeks left. Don’t even get me started about it, I think Hannah and I may just stay here, hope that’s kewl with everyone? It has definitely turned into home, our room is a disaster as usual (mostly my side) and we are thinking about pushing out beds together… Whatever like ya’ll care.. Ha. So last Friday I was given the most amazing opportunity. Let me tell ya about it:
There’s this organization called, Samaritan’s Feet, sort of like Tom’s, but focused on spreading the Gospel while providing shoes rather than just meeting a kid’s physical needs. So Samaritan’s donated shoes to the shady O.V. and me and my family aka our team got to help distribute over 200 pairs of new shoes while sharing the Gospel to our kids at holiday clubs! Nuts.
When kids hear they are getting a new pair of shoes you’d think they had just been told them they were getting to go to Disney World, something as simple as a pair of shoes, is such a luxury to these kids here. Anyway, as apart of the program we share the Gospel with them, and then they move to the “foot-washing” station, and I got to wash my little pre-schoolers narsty, smelly little feet! It was quite an experience. Most of them are too young to recognize and fully comprehend the reason behind the symbolism of getting their feet washed. But being able to kneel at their feet and pray over them while cleaning their feet was the most humbling experience. I realize that most of them have no idea what I’m saying half the time when it comes to the Word, but if anything it’s planting a seed for the future.

These kids know nothing about my world back home, it’s completely irrelevant to them, and that has been a struggle to try and connect what I know and am used to from home and to mix it with their completely different culture. I have had to discover different ways to gain that trust and respect that eventually evolves into a solid relationship. (not sure if that makes any sense, but I think this will explain my realization a little betta')..

I was suddenly faced with my naked self, open for affirmations and rejections, hugs and punches, smiles and tears, all dependent simply on how I was perceived at the moment. In a way, it seemed as though I was starting my life all over again. Relationships, connections, reputations could no longer be counted on.
These broken, wounded, and completely unpretentious people forced me to let go of my relevant self—the self that can do things, show things, prove things, build things—and forced me to reclaim that unadorned self in which I am completely vulnerable, open to receive and give love regardless of any accomplishments.

Love, carley

Ps. There has been an outbreak of chicken pox in my pre school hahaha. So typical.

the world will eat you

Okay, so back in high school me and my 4 best friends used to sponsor a kid through that organization Compassion, I remember how much we loved getting letters and updates on him (i don't remember his name, i'm the worst..) Anyway I remember this specific time it was around the holidays that we got our seasonal letter, it was Christmas themed and the little Kenyan boy just recounted how well his family was doing and how grateful he was for us wanting to help send him to school blah blah blee blee. At the end of the letter he signed it, and wrote "be careful don't let the world eat you". I remember this so vividly all 5 of us, laughing hysterically assuming it must be some translation for like "love you" or something silly.

My point of that story is that the other day that memory popped into my head and I started to think more about why on earth some child would tell me to not let the world eat me? And then it hit me, that this kid knew more about life and faith than I could have ever desired to know at the age of just 10. I literally overtime have been consumed by the world and have in many areas of my life listened to what the world says is "acceptable" and not what the Word says. Imma' mess, but messes can be good, because after all we are human. It just blows my mind that such a simple phrase that a child from Kenya wrote to me years ago is just now making sense to me. A little slow Carl..

-Not much from here, had a long, good day! The highlight of my day was probably teaching the entire Club (170 children) the song and dance to Spinnin' Around by Jump 5- middle/high school classic from youth group. No words can describe.. Just click the link..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB8Nb5iuIKo

1 John 4:4-6

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

A year

antony and kieren.

sarah and kieren.

market, eating grounds.

vineyard.

cattle (note shadows, i'm so artsy).

Hey ya'll. Hope everyone's weekend was swell! As you can see from the above Hans and I had a pretty enjoyable weekend with our new adopted family, the Princes. Friday night we went and watched the game with BAnt (Ben and Antony) at a place called Polana. It is a shabby sheek little joint that meets a Moroccan theme with windows that overlook the ocean, literally waves practically crashing into the restaurant. Breathtaking.

Saturday morning Sarah (our new mama) came and took us to a market called, The Old Biscuit Mill. The cutest place I've ever seen. It has everything, clothes, jewelry (yes I have many good gifts for you freaks back at home), flowers, yummy food and wine, vintage nick-nacks and such. Overall amazing atmosphere. It's a place the yuppies of Cape Town chill. I felt pretty kewl, not gonna lie. Casey (new daddio), Ben, Antony and Kieren came down to meet us for lunch, which was delish. The perfect morning. When all the boys walked in Antony had Kieren strapped to his back, with Ben in town with the diaper bag and Casey on his crutches carrying the camera. It was quite 3 men and a baby.

After lunch, we all wandered around until finally it was time for the kiddos to head off to wine tasting. We drove to Stellenbosch, and found this quaint winery where you could pet cheetahs it was . We found a field of cattle, which was quite mesmerizing. The weather was like Texas in the Fall it rocked. We got lost along the way, naturally thanks to Antony's lack of navigational skills but ended up back at the Prince's home to watch the US game be defeated.. shame. Hannah and I spent the night over at their house so we could come to church with them in the morning..

As I laid in bed last night I just kept thinking about how great the day was.. but what I really kept dwelling on was a conversation I had had with Sarah, less than a year ago. A little history I met Sarah at camp last year where she was a speaker, she talked about how her and her husband had felt the Lord call them to move to South Africa. Immediately while she was giving this testimony I knew I had to talk to her. AFRICA! I HAD ALWAYS WANTED TO GO THERE. Well somehow we ended up sitting on the beach sometime the next day talking about the upcoming move. I confided in her that I had always wanted to go to Africa, but either my parents had discouraged the idea, or I just had never known where to start searching for a program. I will never forget how she responded, "Carley, if you want to go, GO! No one is stopping you. If it's God's will it will all unfold." I think back to that conversation and then realize where I am, I'm here! It really doesn't make sense. I never thought I would follow a call like this. I never thought I'd have enough strength/courage to do something like this. I like the comfort of home, and I love my friends, and if you know me well, I have the biggest fear of missing out. But for now, I'm learning to deal, it's faith in knowing that it's what is intended for my life and that it all has a purpose in serving something and someone so much bigger than we'll ever understand.

It's just crazy to think about the different people and circumstances that the Lord uses in our lives to carry out his plans...

1 Corinthians 2:9 - "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him."

true dat'- ceg

popo

Philippaa eating gum she found on the groundo. hehe

Today as I sat on the ground with Philippa in my lappy, she turned around and with a straight face said "my bum hurts I can't popo" I died laughing. Oh the simplest things kids can say.

It was really overcast here today so after work hannah and I layed in bed and watched Felicity and napped all day. We have some friends coming to pick us up to go watch the game tonight. Tomorrow we are going to Stellenbosch, to tour some vineyards! Should be a great weekend! Will update soon. Stay real. love

Carl

2 Corinthians 12:9

"My grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness." Jesus

my faves: Philippa and Tony

Heyah. Updates: let's see.. home from work today, each day gets so much easier, and relaxed. Which is great, because to be honest it's been a really tough last 2 weeks. These kids take it all out of me. I stayed home yesterday to rest, because I felt like I was going to die. So I started today fresh. Last night Hans and I went over to our friends the Prince's (missionaries who live down here) which was a life-saver! I have needed a family setting with a mom and dad. A bunch of their American friends were over so it was really great to get to hang out.

Let's see, holiday clubs are sillier than ever. The kids mostly all know my name and think that Louise and I are sisters mostly just because of our matching blonde hair.. Recently Louise and I have discovered that when the girls braid our hair they will spit on their hands, and then braid our hair, which explains a lot.. because my hair has been much more narsty and greasy-like. whoopsies. Hmm, there are 3 children that are borderline obsessed with me which is fun, they literally won't leave my side during the duration of club. Tony, Kina, and Philippa. I favor Tony.. He's ma' boi.

Today, Tony crawled in my lap during crafts, and at first I told him no and picked him up to put him down, but when his shirt slipped up I noticed little bruises on his side. Which easily could have been from falling down.. but the community I'm in is known for violence. I picked him back up and kissed his face, and told him I'd hold him as long as he wanted me to. 30 minutes later drool staining my shirt, I finally had to wake him up for the next station. It's become a routine every day to let a different kid nap on me. It's just sad, how you never know when the last time their parents ever treated them this way, patting their backs as they fall asleep..

I've realized I'm not very good at a lot of things in life, but showing these kids constant affection is something I'm not too bad at.. Most of them don't comprehend the stories I preach, or understand how BIG God is, but I think a hug is the first step to that understanding. One day, long after I'm gone they'll get it. 2 months seemed like an eternity before I left, but being here I see what a small piece of time and effect I really have in the overall bigger picture. I thought I'd come over here and "change the world" but I've realized if I just change ONE kid's life then that's enough. It's enough to keep the cycle going. You never know how many people that kid will effect later on his life. (I hope that makes sense?)

1 Corinthians 13:8

Love never fails.

pics

Shiny Bits

Sorry I've been MIA, it's been busy busy down here. but here is something i wrote a few days ago but never got around to posting! MISS all you!

Yesterday I was in the clouds. Flying at about 9,000 feet. With 7 other people in the shizziest plane that I think may have ever been made. me and 5 of my housemates made reservations with a sky diving company about 20 minutes out of the city for this past Saturday. We drove up to the joint by accidentally pulling up onto the runway, mmm sketch. we walk into the hanger and begin signing our lives away, first up Brock, Stuart and I. they suit us up and rush us into this small small small crop plane. Our divers were hilarious, one was severely hung over and fell asleep on the flight up, another was an alcoholic, and mine, well he was just creepy.

We begin getting higher and higher, amazingly i am keeping my calm, 3,000.. 4,000..6,000 then finally 9,000. Robert (my diver) is like alright it's time, so i climb onto his lap and he begins to buckle me, we scoot to the door and it starts to go up. what was i thinking. *obviously the boys made me go first because they thought i'd chicken out. Up it goes, i swing my legs out into the below 0 degree weather, toss my head back and tumbleeeeeee. free fallin' for 40 seconds. redonk. I highly recommend this to anyone and everyone.

Tale: brock's flyer was named, Robert. Before his dive, we turn around and Robert is boozing. took a Shot of whiskey. Haha what the HECK, is that even legal? As we say, TIA.. aka: This Is Africa. orr, TINA: This Is Not America. hehe.

As for today: week 2 of holiday clubs. I have a cold which is devastating when combined with children. All my little babies cough and wipe snot all over me, it's beautiful and adds to the sickness. I've basically given up when it comes to organization in the school. Controlling 30 pre-schoolers is a sick joke. Louise recently joined me in the pre-school section, so basically we just laugh at the kids and let them "gently" braid our hair. We teach them silly games like: 'who can pick up the most shiny bits (shiny bits meaning, aluminum foil)' off the floor aka our attempt at not having to clean up. Pathetic, maybe, TIA. Well have to rush off, Bafana Bafana game starting in T-minus 5.

fist pump

this week has been a long one. i'm tired in a lot of different ways that are hard to explain, i think hannah and i are both feeling it, as i write this laying in bed staring at the poor soul propped up with pillows because of her ole' hip. but naturally we find ourselves giggling about randar things.

today, started off rough. alarm went off at 7 didn't get out of bed till 7:40 because it was so cold, i couldn't bare to get out of the warmth of my bed. then went to Ocean View where i was greeted by 25 pre schoolers, nuff' said. the kids rock. i still can't get over the lack of parental supervision. kids are everywhere, little babies running up and down the street. its the most bizarre thing to see. to keep the hooligans under control, i am blessed with help from local teen volunteers from O.V. my 2 favorite are twin girls named Chandre and Chanae, i was told from the beginning to try and mentor the two of them, and it has worked out so lovely, because we all 3 really get along, or at least i think we do? they think i'm crazy.. which LBRH (let's be realistic here).. if you know me.. i sort of am..

we sang Jesus loves me, like a million times, and i taught the kids how to fist pump while chanting 'Jesus'. i'd say that equals a pretty successful day.. in the afternoon josh and i went to the O.V office and did team planning, painted, & watched some of the games on today. it was chillaxin'. that's pretty much a wrap, OH for dinner our cook Sandiso, made my favorite soup. not that you care what i ate for dinner, just thought i'd put it out there, JIC.

if you have a second today or tomorrow, or now. check out psalm 25. i've been digging it.

keep Han and i in your thoughts and prayers.

cheers, carl.

Little Angel

little baby Chanel read more about her in the blog beneath!!

Smells

pre school

keisha notice: apples in boots

little man JJ

Yesterday I was sitting in the gym watching the rugrats play as I sat there trying to soak every bit of the experience in, I got a whiff of something that reminded me of something I had smelled before. What, you ask? Well it reminded me of my mission trip to El Salvador a few years back. I had smelled it in an orphanage, its a smell that one doesn't forget.

The smell of poverty. It has it's own distinctive smell.

Today, in holiday clubs I taught my 25 pre-schoolers How God Created the Earth. Oh boy. As I'm reading the 'kid version story' a flock of birds flies over and immediately sets the kids into a frenzy of screaming and giggling. Kids are kids anywhere, eh? Things going according to MY plan here is definitely not going to be the case. A good lesson to be learned. My little angels JJ (3) and Keisha (5) are beautiful and loving. They are the two that stick out to me most. Never letting go. We painted their faces as "animals" to follow the theme of Genesis, God creating things.. blah blah. We give the kids lunch at the end of Club, because most of them only get about 1 meal a day..aka from us.. hard to imagine huh? The kids hoard the food, you'll notice in Keisha's shoes she has apples tucked into the front so she could have more...

After Club, I went with Rachael, Ethan, Brock, and Louise to Overcome Heights which is another terribly impoverished township, worse one I have ever seen to be honest. Shacks upon shacks, no clean running water except for a few pumps here, and there. It's indescribable the way these people live and raise children in these environments.

We went to a pre-school to love on the kids for a few hours, now take a second and picture the pre-school you went to? Well this one is nothing like that, I can promise you that. We walk in and their are babies all around, toddlers just waking up from naps. I spy a baby in a crib and immediately rush over to pick her up, PSYCHE, spotted in a stroller to my left was another baby.. THE BABY that I want. Her name is Chanel, immediately I could tell there was something different about her. I pick her up and she instantly grabs my sunglasses. Chanel is 1, but she is the size of a 4 month old baby. She can't walk and can barely form words, because she has FAS (fetal alcohol syndrome). Absolutely devastating situation, but the entire time as I held her, I just prayed and prayed. I don't really know what for specifically, but that the Lord would just do something good with her life. Seeing situations like these, sometimes makes me wonder How will life ever improve for any of these kids? That question can't be answered. All I know, and daily have to remind myself is that my job, my mission, is to love and to bring hope to these kids through Jesus Christ. It's all I can do, the rest is up to Him.

This world is just so much bigger than I ever imagined, I know that's a dumb comment, but seeing all these things makes me realize how small I am in such a bigger picture of things. The passage from James has really been on my heart over the past week: enjoy...

James 1:1-7

... testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature, and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

love you all- C

2 corinthians 3:12

Therefore since we have such a hope we are very bold.

Vuvuzelas

rachael & ethan

train with Hannah and Uncle Stuart

braai

beach at sunset

Hi friends! I know you all have been anxiously awaiting my next post (pshh not.) Anyway, it's been pretty chill over thepast few days, we've been gearing up for Holiday clubs and world cup nonsense!

Thursday was our roommate Zuzana's last night so we walked down to the beach and watched the sunset and then went to the most amazing dinner at a place called the Toad!

Let's see: Yesterday was a busy day! We woke up at 7 as usual and by 8 were out the door, we had to stand at an intersection and pass out a bagillion fliers advertising our church's soccer program for kids during June-July. It was nuts. After we finished up, we went to a Braai aka a barbeque at my superior, Avril's home! It was so lovely, lots of board games (catch phrase & banangrams, DUH!), yummy South African food, and great company. I feel so at home here with my new family, and it's only week 2!

Obviously, yesterday was the opener for the WORLD CUP, so a big group of us rode the train into Cape Town and went to a pub, called Capes Kin. No words can describe the city of Cape Town last night, vuvuzelas were being blow non-stop, and I swear if I hear another one I will kill someone. RAR. We watched the game at the pub, where more friends joined us! Then, after the game ended with a tied score we trudged to the Fan Tent and watched the Paraguay vs. France game and grooved with the locals of Cape Town. Around 10 we headed back to the train, where we soon realized the next train didn't leave till 11, annoying. So Christina, Kaylee, Roger and I sat waiting on the train until it was time to depart. The inside of the train was the dodgiest place I have ever seen, graffiti everywhere and not to mention the lights didn't work. No worries Christina has a tazer. Haha. Got home safe and sound.

Today spent the whole day with Brock, Ethan, Rachael, Louise, and Ronnie we went and saw the Jungle Book musical and shopped around at the largest mall in Africa, good times. Had dinner at a mexican restaurant called, Poncho's, to be honest, best mexican food I've ever had, better than Maudies.. ya I said that you can quote me. Got back home and have been goofing off with the housemates. Stuart, whom Hannah and I call Uncle, Stuart just came in our room throwing rolls of toilet paper at us. He's a UK'er, he was just bummed that we tied tonight. Miss you all in America. sweet dreams and have a good rest of the weekend.

love- carl

ps. as i go to sleep tonight I can hear people down the street blowing stupid vuvuzelas. rubbish.

pss. GO FROGS!

dodgy

So i have 14 roommates (15 tomorrow, we get a newbie coming in), all of which are so different and so hilarious. Hannah and I represent Texas well, don't you worry. It has officially been a week that we have been here and it's strange how fast a group of people can become over such a short amount of time. I love it. My lingo has officially been labeled "car-phonics". and is catching on, obvs. I don't really see the big deal about my abbreviations, but naturally foreigners are in awe. I have started to pick up on a few of the European expressions/words and my top 5 would probably have to be:

1. dodgy- shady, sketchy, awkward.
2. mental- weird, and crazy.
3. lovely- an expression of a person, or time. example: "the children give me a headache, but overall they are usually quite lovely."
4. lashed- drunk, out of control.
5. cheers- good times or 'alright great!' example: scene: saying goodbye to a co-worker; Me: "it was great seeing you today Al, cheers!" Al: "Cheerio, Carlita!" and we part ways.

Today, we began training for Holiday clubs (American definition of VBS, vacation bible school), which was intense. But funny. In each community there is 1 team leader, and about 10 other volunteers. I am with Josh in ocean view and the rest of the volunteers are local volunteers. The African humor is loud and goofy, they are very laid back about everything and just love to joke around. I taught some of my group how to give a proper "dead leg". hehe. Anyway...Basically holiday clubs are for the world cup, because the kids have 2 weeks off for winter break and then 2 extra weeks for world cup. So we'll be teaching pre-k through 7th grade. Apparently they think I'm responsible enough to be in charge of the 65 pre-schoolers that will be in attendance. which i think is absolutely mental, but hey if i can learn to tame 65 african toddlers, teaching back in the states should be a breeze, eh? *Prayer requests for all of our teams in all the different communities, it's going to be a long month of holiday clubs! And we'll need all the prayers we can get.

7 Fun facts about Africa:

1. Patagonia's aren't cool here
2. Teachers can no longer slap, pinch, push or reprimand children in schools as of this past Saturday. We were given a lesson on different ways to correct behavior. (i thought it was funny considering if i ever touched a child like that in the States i'd be sitting in jail)
3. if you ask for a 'napkin' you will get something very different from our version of a napkin...
4. they know Lindsay Lohan as "the girl with freckles and orange hair"
5. a child from Cape Town thinks Hannah rides a horse to school
6. they only have Coke and Fanta, no Dr. Pepper
7. They sell the crappiest phones here. And I am a proud owner. A phone for 99 rand aka $12.00. it weighs about 2 pounds and has only black & white text. Oh simplicity.

jambo- carl

Let go

It's 50 degrees out. Mmm no TX heat. Hannah and I have our windows open while I lay snuggled up under 3 blankets plus my fratagonia as I blog to you.. oh plus the sound of Josh serenading our neighbors outback with the guitar... This morning I woke up to the sound of peacocks frolicking outside the window then at 8:30 walked to church with some of the group. King of Kings is the founding church for Living Hope, so that's where we come together on Sundays. Todays sermon was great! Basically we dove into scripture that looked at the different ways that the Spirit speaks to us:

1. directly (1 samuel 3:4)

2. with a whisper (1 kings 19:11-13)
3. impressions on our hearts (acts 16:6)
4. strange happenings
5. scripture (2 timothy 3:16-17)
6. spirit filled believers-sermons, or prophecy (acts 4:8-10)

Today the question the Pastor began with was "Was that me who had that thought or is that God's thought for me?" A huge problem I frequently run into is tricking myself into thinking Jesus wants me to do one thing when in reality it's mostly just that I want to do it. whoops. I constantly want the Lord to guide me in decisions like what to do with my life, who to befriend, or even just what to do in my spare time? Many times I find myself frustrated by not getting responses that are quick enough or ones that I want to hear. But today in church I was politely reminded that to receive direction requires us as Christians to actually make time and to listen more carefully.

What I've already learned about myself here is that I move to0 fast, act too fast, and think I already know everything, false. Africa is slow and that can get frustrating, but with slow comes more time for listening. His promise stands as this:

Jeremiah 33:3 "call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."

tap tap tappy-carl

the Sea.

Hi friends! Today was our first day off, so we headed off on an adventure in our recently rented vintage beetle that literally could have broken down at any moment... Jeepers! The coolest part about this car is that you can paint on it, we are going to have all of our kids in Ocean view help us paint it next week, hopefully! So Me and 5 of the roomies (josh, rachael, anna catherine aka ACE, justine and last but not least louis) drove along the sea and stopped in a small town called Simmons town, which was so majestic and maje postcard material. We shopped for trinkets ;) and had lunch at this lovely cafe on the sea called Bertha's. We then went for a 2 hour drive along the coast. It was the most beautiful day I have ever experienced in my entire 20 years of existence. We stopped at a beach called, Camelrock beach, and watched the surfers do their thing and played on the rocks.

Tale: today when we were on the rocks I started talking to this beautiful child named Tristan, who was on a picnic with his family. He was running around with his brother and cracking open mussels and eating them, I asked him if it was safe to be eating raw mussels? his response: "Yes of course it's okay!! I'm the king of the sea!" then his mother walked over to me (i think she thought i might steal him..) He was adorable, nothing beats phat phoebe though..

I hope everyone finds themselves having a wonderful weekend. hope you're not missing me 2 much. love- carl

Romans 11:36 "For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen"