my tummy is smiling

happiness = 3 thick whole wheat buttermilk pancakes covered in fresh applesauce
mmm... delicious dinner!

God is good- all the time

I received a phone call from my bank about 9:45 this morning informing me that my wallet had been lost. My only response was, thank you for informing me. It wasn’t until this call that I started to think... hmm, true, I did not see it in my bag this morning. I was carrying 3 bags yesterday, so I assumed it had to be in one of the others. It was not. It had escaped my purse last night at the shopping center. A kind couple picked it up and went immediately to my bank to put a stop on my debit card and had the bank notify me of my wallet’s whereabouts. They returned it with all the cash, debit card, my CA driver’s license and the USPS stamps. It was incredible! In a country that speaks so frequently of theft and lack of hope for humanity- here is proof that not all is what it seems. Proof that there are truly so many good people around who desire to live the best and fullest life possible.

Other highlights of this particularly astounding day include:
- Safe keeping from an almost accident. I was within inches of hitting a couple who turned right in front of me. Whew!
- Finally having my registration and school paperwork completely taken care of (good thing it’s only May!)
- A super delicious eggplant curry for lunch and fantastic friends to eat with.
- A great pastor who is willing to take moments out of busy busy day to talk
- Real tortilla chips! chapstick and gum arrived with several other goodies- THANKS MOM!
- Good conversation over tea at Mugg & Bean
- Prospects of a great weekend!

for all this I am grateful

So a lot has happened in this last month!
After all that diligent work, I successfully finished my first quarter of courses! Wahoo! So the moment after I turned in my last paper, we took of to the central part of the Drakensberg Mountains to a camp place called Injisuthi. It was absolutely gorgeous!! These pictures don’t do it justice. We stayed for two nights and three days in a cabin or what they call a chalet. It was simple and clean and extremely nice. We did all our own cooking and they powered off the generator by 10pm, so we got lots of well needed rest. In the central Berg is also where the rock paintings are. We took about a 4 hour hike out for our viewing. It was pretty neat. Courses for the second quarter started right away, or we would have stayed there for at least a week. It was amazing!

The last weeks have been fantastic. It seems that with every passing day I begin to like it here a bit more. I am feeling much more adjusted and settled in. Anna and I moved to a new flat at the beginning of April. We live with Karina and her six year old son Matty. Drew, Greg, and Nolan live in the flat above us. It’s wonderful to have people around. We have a lot of meals together and help provide motivation for each of us to get our work done.
I have also been embraced by a beautiful church here. It’s lovely. The folks are extremely warm and inviting. I am grateful. Furthermore they are very supportive of me as pastor invited me to preach the sermon the last two Sundays. It was a beautiful and affirming experience.





Going to the Berg for some R&R!
me, Anna, Jim and Drew







this is when Drew's car broke down... ah, shame.
we were about 10k from the camp site. but everything worked itself out.








Hanging out beneath the rock paintings






Absolutely Gorgeous!

everyday life stuff...

for those of you who are curious, here is what I am doing today: I woke up at 7am after six and a half hours of sleep, ate oats with lots of Cinnamon and natural chunky peanut butter...mmm. I made a salad with tomatoes, mushrooms and cheese to take with me for lunch along with an apple and banana. The walk to school took 40 minutes today, a bit longer than most days. Anna and I were going at a leisurely pace and enjoying a refreshing morning after a night of rain.
Now I am in my 6x6 study office sitting in my red plastic chair, surrounded by articles that I have yet to read and others that will give me good direction. I am currently writing a paper on the post-WWII development strategies of Mexico. Until I turn it in next Tuesday I will be spending a lot of time in this little office. I do have fun pictures of all you family posted and also of scenic places in California, so my walls are nice to look at and it is not claustrophobic. sometime around 7pm I will go home to a bowl of supper yummy borche soup that I made on Sunday and then study for my economy exam that is scheduled for Friday. this means that tomorrow I will get up and do much of the same.
I am sustained by the friends I am making and the anticipation of completion of school work.
Life is beautiful.

Easter Weekend

Anna, Alicia and I woke up super early to attend the Diakonia Good Friday service. This picture is of a choir singing on the steps of City Hall after the flowering of the cross toward the end of the interdenominational service. We arrived at 5:30am and the service went until about 8:40 am. It was the earliest I have ever left a 3 hour church service. We had a great time. The procession from the convention center to these steps on city hall was done in complete silence and in the rain. It was quite an experience focused on 'who is my neighbor'. Here in South Africa, they take Good Friday off as a public holiday, which they also label 'Human Rights Day'. This service spoke beautifully about the connection between the two occasions. It was pretty powerful. There were approximately 1,500 people in attendance.


Happy Happy Easter! (on Sunday)
Easter was amazing! It was truly the best day I have had in months. The whole day was life-giving. The whole weekend was full of good times building up to this day. Our friend Alicia, a scholar studying in Grahamstown came to visit us for the holiday. And for the first time since my arrival, I put aside all my school work to explore the city that I live in, and had a great time hanging out with friends. It was fantastic! We enjoyed many amazing meals both as restaurants and a Mexican fiesta that we prepared for my host family. Chips, salsa and the works. It was delicious! Also, I went to the beach several times. Sand between the toes is one of the best sensations ever.
These are several friends who came to the Easter feast on Sunday afternoon. From left to right: me, Drew, Anna, Ciriaque, Matt, Pilou, Emefa, and Alicia. There ended up being 16 people who came. We had chicken, mashed potatoes, salads, deviled eggs and lots of yummy desert! It was a fantastic time.




Easter Sunday was all-around fantastic. We had a true sunrise service at the church I have been attending, Morningside Community Church of the Nazarene. We were set up on the lawn and the sun came up streaming through the trees. It was quite nice. The service was followed by two baptisms and then also a fish braai (bbq). It was fabulous, right out of the book of John.
We all lounged around for an additional 3 hours talking and enjoying each other's company. It was my ideal way of spending the morning. Church was followed by a fantastic trip to the beach where we enjoyed milkshakes and further conversations. Then I spent the early part of the afternoon preparing and roasting 2 small chickens, our oven was hardly big enough, but they turned out absolutely phenomenal! Moist and falling off the bone. We hosted a huge Easter potluck at Drew's flat, which will be above the flat that Anna and I move into next week! Hooray! With this move we will be much closer to town and in walking distance to many things. Rumor has it that there is also a running club that meets across the street, so I will definitely have to check that out.

pap makes friends

In the aftermath of a couple extremely trying weeks and following few breakdowns I have received beautiful reminders of the sheer goodness of life. It’s been a great weekend!

Pap. That’s what they call it here. It’s a corn meal dish most similar to what we would call grits, and very filling. I gave Siriaque and Emma a lift home yesterday (yes, our car is finally working. And better yet, the man who sold it to us paid the repair bill! Wahoo). So after hanging out in an area called Davenport with most of our classmates from the Development studies program, I volunteered to give lifts. I had been wanting to see the campus residences, aka ‘the res’, so what better time to check it out. While I anticipated a short tour and some small talk, I ended up staying for two and half hours. The turn of events was that the entire time Siriaque was devising a whole scheme to host us which included him sneaking off to the kitchen to prepare pop for both Emma and I. It was a fantastic time and a delicious meal. I told him I would return once a week, minimum, to prepare a good African meal together.
On a full stomach, I rejoined the group that I left in Davenport in an area just to the north called Morningside. We went to the infamous ‘Florida Avenue’. This is supposedly the street where everything worthy of happening happens. It has all the cool restaurants and clubs and is probably one of three places in town that stays open later than 10pm. We went to Taste of India to celebrate Ariel’s birthday. There were six of us there who have been absolutely amazing to me in this time of transition and in living out all the questions that our classes present to us. I was really glad to be there in that moment. The Bar 1 chocolate cake is amazing, with rich fudge icing. A perfect ending to any day.
Saturday and Sunday were fairly productive days in writing a paper for my economics course and studying for an exam in sustainable community development. It was wonderful to be at church Sunday morning where I continuously meet new friends. This week came with the promise of a cooking exchange. I will get to teach them how to make tortillas while they teach me how to make delicious curry...yum.

Cape Town

Cape Town is beautiful! Here are some photos of our super fun weekend. Anna, Drew, Valerie and I traveled to CT for a Rotary orientation weekend and spent several additional days enjoying the life of a tourist. We went all over town, to the green market, hiked parts of both Lion's Head and Table Mountain. It was fantastic!

Me and Desmond

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Overlooking the city Lion's Head

A fantastic time drumming

Anna, Drew and I having a great time

Hanging out in a vineyard for a Sunday afternoon braai