Trip extended - Cape Town

Marie, Diana and I (Jennifer) were blessed with the opportunity to extend our South Africa experience and go to Cape Town for a few extra days – and man was it worth it! We stayed with Marie’s friend Eugene and his family the Hills. No words can express the hospitality and warmth they gave us.

On Sunday morning we all went to Church and were warmly greeted (we even had to introduce ourselves). Church was followed by a delicious home cooked meal; of course we all had to have a second helping. After lunch Eugene, his brother Henry, and Tatum (Eugene’s girlfriend) took us to Stellenbosch (winelands), Cape Point (where the Atlantic and Indian Ocean meet), Simon’s Town (where we saw some adorable penguins) and City Center (where we they had their Christmas lighting ceremony. We also had a Gatsby sandwich for dinner – a sandwich filled with everything imaginable, steak, eggs, french-fries, cheese, lettuce, and tomato. Yummers!) We were definitely exhausted by the time we got back to the Hill’s home and easily fell asleep.

On Monday (our last day) we went to Table Mountain and were in awe of God’s beauty. We were blessed with wonderful weather (80 degrees) and were able to enjoy a 360 view of Cape Town. After Table Mountain we headed to Greenmarket Square to pick up some last minute souvenirs. We had a few minutes to spare to catch our flight and boy did we rush.

All I can say is that God is Good. With only a day and a half in Cape Town we were able to see everything on our list… and even squeeze in a 3hr church service that had a power message. Cape Town and the Hill Family will always have a special place in our hearts.

Blessing to all… and looking forward to seeing what the July 2011 Team is going to do in SA next year!

Back in the US

Our trip has come to a close, and we're back safe and sound. The last 2 days of our journey were just as amazing as the other days of the trip.


We helped the Fudge family at Ft. White with various projects in the field, including pulling up hundreds of onions to be sold at market, clearing and tilling fields for planting and other various projects. It was hard work, but helped to tire the team out for the long 17.5 hour flight back to the States.


On Friday we headed to a local school in Debenek that the team visited last year. The kids gave us a warm greeting and even performed for us. We provided a hot dog lunch and game time with them. The goal was simply to "love on" the kids there and continue to build the relationship that the Fudge family has with the school. The girls at the school loved playing with the hair of the ladies on our team, and the boys simply wanted to run around with us...a truly great and tiring experience!


Our last night in South Africa was spent assisting a local church in the area with a special outreach program. Our team, well experienced in servant evangelism, assisted by handing out invite fliers and candy to the people in Dimbaza. The local church is holding special services all week, and the first night was a great success fill with singing, testimonies (by Trey, Hillary and Jeremy) and a special message. It was a very powerful night!

There are many more stories to share, and now that the team is back (except Marie, Jennifer and Diana who are spending a little extra time in Cape Town) the stories will be flooding the States very quickly. Thank you for your support. Continue to pray for the team as we adjust back and for all of the people/ministries we met/experienced during our time.

Thanksgiving...in South Africa!

Happy Thanksgiving to all from Fort White! Our turkey day started with warm spring sunshine that lasted all day...the first full sunny day here on the Eastern cape in a very long while. I'm (Hillary) exhausted just recalling all that we did on this extremely packed day, but it's a joyful, contented exhaustion...let me tell you more.

We spent our morning in various ways. Some of us tapped into our early childhood and went to buy toys for a couple of local preschools. Another group fixed hot dogs for local preschool students and to a school of children with disabilities, while others of us traveled to Timbaza to help the local Meals-on-Wheels chapter chop veggies for the day's meal being served to needy individuals. Finally, a small contingent of us stayed at Fort White to make on updates on the grounds. We all participated in passing lunch out to the preschoolers, which ended up being a deeply moving experience. It was very apparent that the children loved the lunch, and that it warmed their hearts and was nourishing to their little growing bodies.

The afternoon passed very quickly as some of us pulled enough onions out of the garden to fill Madison Square Garden. Other people helped plant potatoes, and others of us helped prepare an AMAZING Thanksgiving feast, masterminded by the magnificent Ms. Becky, of course!

Not to worry, we had all the fixings tonight...turkey, ham, stuffing, "puddings" (desserts), rolls, potatoes, and I can't even begin to remember the rest. We hope you all had as blessed a Thanksgiving as we had. We are so thankful for the time we get to spend here and for all of you reading this now!

The Half Way Point

Molo (hello) from South Africa!

Today marks the transition in our trip from the inner-city of East London to the rural area of Ft. White. We've packed up our items from the Hotel Osner, and will make our way out to Ft. White to work with the Fudge family (http://thefudgefive.wordpress.com).

Today is filled with some "holiday" for the team, as we head out this afternoon for a game drive, and let the team see some of the native South African animals...lions, cheetahs and rhinos. After the drive we'll make our way out to Ft. White (about 1.5 hour drive from our current location), and be back to work in the morning.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and the Fudges are hosting a feast for 50...promises to be a day filled with stories and reflection of how truly blessed we are.

Tuesday - our second and last day in Potsdam

Hey everyone, it's Diana writing today. This was our second (and last!) day in Potsdam, where our team split up once again. Those that worked on the church renovation yesterday went into the village to meet with the locals and those that went into the village yesterday completed the rest of the renovations. The weather was actually a bit cold today, so it took us a bit of time to warm up!

The group that went out to meet the locals certainly had a great day! Yesterday we were taken through the village by the Gogos (the older women) but today it was a group of the younger girls in the village. The girls took the group around and they were able to see a lot of the different venues aside from the homes: the post office, clinic and even a discoteque! Hey, East Londoners have to shake it once in a while, right?!



This pic is of some of the team that went out and accumulated a posse along the way! Pretty cool sight to see. They found that most people they met were followers of Jesus, and when the team prayed for them, one of the the things they asked us for the most was prayer for jobs. This seemed to be a constant prayer from what we saw yesterday, too, so please keep them in your prayers, too.

Back at the church, the rest of us were hard at work finishing up the renovation projects.



Here's Jeremy and Robert working on the roof! With the help of two South African workers, the new roof was up in two days time.



Here's some of us painting the side of the church; you may not be able to tell but we're pretty much covered in paint!

After we wrapped up the renovations and the other team members came back from visiting with the locals, we had a traditional South African lunch, prepared with some good ol' TLC by the Gogos (the older women) in the community. Let me tell you, we had a FEAST! There were samp and beans, grits, beef and a spinach vegetable mix. I'd write the Khosa translations down for you, but I'll spare you the pain :) Seriously delicious!!



Here's the whole gang at lunch!

After lunch we had two hours with the kids - about half were teens, the other half little ones. We split up into two groups. In one group, we told the Bible story of Daniel and the lion's den and then taught them Christian songs. They in turn taught us some of their songs! The other group played games and had a great time. There were lots of smiles to be had. During the whole time with the kids, you could just see the Lord through all of their excitement and enjoyment. So amazing! We had a great time and I'm pretty sure they did too.



We left Potsdam just a couple hours ago. Sad to say goodbye, especially to the children, but hopeful that renovations in the community and the church will continue, and that the prayers of the people will be answered.

We're having dinner right now at First City Baptist Church (Texas Chili prepared by Dawn!) Tomorrow, we're heading out to a tour of the Sophumelela clinic we learned about yesterday, and a game drive! Here's hoping we see Simba. Til next time!

Monday - Day in Potsdam

We had such an amazing day today. It was filled with work, laughter, tears, fellowship and joy. We headed out fairly early and headed to Potsdam. We got there and split up into two groups. Half of the group, including myself (Amber), worked on sanding and painting the inside and outside of a church. Two of the guys in our group climbed up on top of the day care and proceeded to deconstruct the failing roof and building a new roof. The other half of the group went out and spoke with the people in town about their lives and their walk with God if they have one. It amazed the people who went out to the people's "houses" that they were so thankful with everything they had even though in our eyes it might seem so little. One woman even said that "everything that she needed was there and she didn't need anything else." They live in an extremely rural area with their own cows, goats, roosters and they enjoy the peace that comes with this type of lifestyle. I (Amber) can say that we were all moved in some way today by the things that we saw.

We then came back for an extremely needed shower after getting very dirty in the morning. After that we headed to the church for a great dinner that was a Braai which is essentially a BBQ of meat and some traditional African sides. We had the opportunity to learn more about Sophumelela which is the HIV/Aids Clinic. We were able to buy jewelry to support the clinic and hear some stories about some of the people who have benefited from this clinic. Tomorrow we are headed back to Potsdam to do more work. Even though it was a long day we are all excited to get up and do more work tomorrow.

First full day in South Africa!

Hello from East London. We've made it safe and sound, and enjoyed our first full day here in the Eastern Cape. Today we attended services at First City Baptist Church (our partner) and at a church in Duncan Village (Gompo). It was great to see the many smiling faces extending a warm "welcome" and "thank you for coming."

The weather here has been mixed with a very loud and colorful thunderstorm on our first night. Although thankful for the rain, we're hoping that the sun will be out for this week's projects outdoors.

Tomorrow is our first official day of "work," and the team is very excited to roll up their sleeves and take on the projects ahead. We'll be doing some renovation projects on a church and school in a local village.

Stay tuned for more colorful and exciting accounts to come!

On our way

Our 2010 mission team leaves on the 10:40 am flight on Friday morning (11/19) for this year's trip. We'll be in East London on Saturday night, so the updates should start coming on Sunday when we're settled. Keep us in your prayers as we travel to Africa!

The Journey Heads back to East London

In a few days, the Journey's 2010 mission team will be headed back to East London South Africa to assist with the efforts of the teams at First City Baptist Church and Ft. White. Stay tuned for the many updates to come. Pray for our trip, as we leave Friday morning and will be in East London on Saturday afternoon (11/20).