So Loved.

March 16, 2011

Ok. So I woke up this morning to a HORRIFIC sound. “What kind of animal IS THAT?!” I tried to go back to sleep, but I could NOT! That SOUND was SO menacing! I look out the window.

Oh no.

NOT ok.

THE MONKEYS ARE EATING MY LUNCH PAIL!!! WHAT IS THIS?!

“No, no, no, no, no, NO!”

I grab my crutches and scramble outside!

“GET AWAY, YOU JERKS!” Problem is, I lost my voice. It sounded so pitiful! So instead, I start waving my crutches at them.

“Take THAT! ENGARDE, you BEASTS!”

They didn’t like that very much.

Three of them LUNGED toward me, baring their teeth!

“AHHHHHHH!!!!!!” Yes, that was me, not the monkeys, in case that needed clarification.

Praise JESUS, Morgan appeared out of NOWHERE, and she has a perfectly healthy voice, so SHE told them what was up! She grabbed my precious lunch pail and helped me back inside. Way to be a superhero, Morgan!

Morgan the Monkey Menace. Ohhh yeah J.

At breakfast, I realized I needed my flash drive at Ethembeni today. This was somewhat discouraging, considering I had left it in my room, and it is just a lengthy journey to go back and forth.

A year later, when I FINALLY got back down to my room, I could not find the flash drive ANYWHERE! SO annoying! So I decided to bring my computer instead.

We rocked out to “A Walk to Remember” on the way. SUCH a good way to start the day!

When we arrived at Ethembeni, we decided that music shall be our afternoon activity. Tyler, Shayna and I were “thought showering” (ahah!) songs, and I asked, “Hey, is there a song just about John 3:16? There has to be right?” We couldn’t think of one.

So I said, “Hey, why don’t we write one?”

Tyler was all, “I’m down.”

And then, magically, divinely inspired, randomly, WHATEVER you’d like to call it, a melody literally POPPED into my head! I sang it out loud, and we collectively decided it was positive! So, we wrote a song.

Shayna, Tyler and I had SO MUCH FUN!!!

This is what we created:

SO LOVED

Renna Nightingale, Tyler Small, Shayna Fong!

For God so loved the world (So loved, so loved)

He gave his only son (So loved, so loved)

X2

That whoever (Who?)

Whoever (Who?)

Whoever believes in Him

Shall have eternal life

For God so loved

He loved

He lo-oved, yeah

X3

For God so loved the world (so loved, so loved)

He gave his only son (so loved, so loved)

X2

That whoever (Who?)

Whoever (Who?)

Whoever believes in Him

Shall have eternal life

For God so loved

He loved

He lo-oved, yeah

X3

Do we believe in Him? (We do, we do!)

Do we believe in Him? (We do, we do!)

…

We’ll have eternal life! (So loved, so loved)

We’ll have eternal life! (So loved, so loved)

For God so loved the world (So loved, so loved)

He gave His only son (So loved, so loved)

X2

I’m not bragging, because it was totally a team effort, so I can say that I am SO proud of it! It is really fun and super cute!

It is our goal to write 2 songs a week!

SO, it was a TOTAL God thing that I had to bring my computer! Hallelujah J

After the successful songwriting-ness, I took it upon myself to write another skit. This time, I focused on David and Goliath. It should be fun! But I am not quite finished with it yet…

I got to have the most BLESSED, most wonderful conversation ever with Claire! This conversation was from the Lord. Claire… I just love you. SO much! For your wisdom, confidence, individuality, encouragement, perceptiveness… You are just great J Our conversation was amazing because God completely reinforced what He told me on Sunday! SO excited. Claire said she truly believes I will be used by the Lord in theatre! Wooo!

Our time also helped me realize that I judge myself SO MUCH harder than I judge others.

Do you know, I have never seen an ugly person?

I believe that some people are more beautiful than others in certain ways, but I honestly see beauty in everyone. Yet sometimes, I don’t see it in myself.

WHAT THE HECK?! I deserve the same treatment I give everyone else, right?? Just like Paul says, I will boast in the Lord. Therefore, I keep humility by recognizing that the things I boast in have nothing to do with me, but are from and of the Lord.

Ok, so for lunch I ate a banana. Sometimes, my stomach revolts against such fruit. But you know what?! I LIKE BANANAS! So I ate it. And instantly regret it. The phrase revolving in my mind over and over and over was “rip-roaring knife action in the tum-tum.” SO RUDE, banana!

I pretty much shared that to share the phrase. I kinda dig it J

When the kids came, we got to lead worship for them! SO GOOD! I wish my voice wasn’t NON-EXISTANT though. Can’t wait for next week!

Matt Browning from APU is here visiting. I really respect that he comes to check on the program. He is such a wise man and has impacted me greatly.

We had a Zulu test tonight. And I am pretty sure I failed. But you know WHAT, ladies and gentlemen? I believe we are all entitled to at least one failed test in the course of life. This would be my first. SO, hurrah, I say! Let’s do a dance for new life experiences!

I have 6 days of Zulu left!!!!!!!!!!! SOON I will have two semesters worth of my language DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hurrayyyyyyyyyy!!!! So joyful! But it will be a battle until then. Phew-weee!

I really missed quite a few things today: Disneyland, the Pryors, ma familia, 21 choices, Francesca, Danielle, Blondie (my guitar), WALKING ON TWO FEET, movies…. (in no particular order….)

But the positive news is that I STILL choose HERE.

And I know this is EXACTLY where I am supposed to be.

Which is pretty sweet…

*Random:

-Debs has decided I am Pocahontas, as my crutches apparently attract leaves.

-I showed a few of the kids at Ethembeni my centaur shenanigan, since I had my computer today. It was SO great!! The looks on their faces!!! Priceless. I hope in some way, that can be used for good.

-Tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day!

I have ONE page of my paper yet. And have procrastinated for an hour and fifteen minutes. GOOD one. Procrastination is not really an issue with me. So I can kick it in the butt.

Once again, thanks for reading J

You are beautiful.

I mean that ;) 

So loved, so loved.

Miracles and Mucus Masterpieces

March 15, 2011

So today started out super rough. Bad mood. Just… life, man. In the car, my group even got a little heated… every single person I’ve talked to had a bad morning. Coincidence? I don’t know.

But once we got to Ethembeni, we prayed it out. Which was a super good idea. Because what happened next REALLY frustrated me. We were talking with one of the workers about what we were going to do for the day. She was absolutely CLUELESS. She had NO IDEA what she wanted us to do. At all. And she didn’t like our ideas. I was about to flip my lid. I think it was because I just want to be helpful! I want to make a difference! And I just feel helpless sometimes with my stupid foot. Pretty much all physical help is OUT.

BUT! When Claire got there, SHE had a plan, so it turned out to be quite lovely!

I spent my morning writing a skit about Noah’s Ark! I’m super proud of it! And I am so grateful for the opportunity. It’s the first “creative” thing I’ve done since church, when it was prophesied that I would do great creative things! Hopefully, God will use this skit for His glory! We are going to perform it sometime this week. Can’t wait!

Then Tyler pulled a doctor stint on my foot.

OK PS!!! THREE PEOPLE TODAY TOLD ME TO STOP BABYING MY FOOT! I know they were trying to help.

But I was MAD.

It HURTS!!! You DON’T KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE! Please don’t tell me how my foot feels!

GAH! So, to assess the damage, Tyler played doctor on my foot. It turns out the injured part of my foot no longer is the main source of my pain. The part that HURTS is my heel and my arch. According to the physical therapist’s son, those are the areas of the foot that hurt when they are not used. Kind of like… what I was doing… So, with careful thought and consideration, and with the urging of many people who make injuring themselves a habit, I decided to walk on my foot (now in a boot) with ONE crutch! SO HAPPY!!!! Finally! A step toward mobility!!!!!!!! I could not be more joyous!!! A MIRACLE!!!

Then I finally started building relationships with high schoolers! It’s so funny that many of them are older than I am with children. Seriously. There is a 17 year old girl with a 3 year old. Today I made friends with an 18 year old in grade 12 named Zodwa. She loved school, but couldn’t go to “university” because she didn’t have enough money. I always ask kids if they like school. “Yes! Very much!” Then I ask them if they are “going to varsity?” They always say, “No. I don’t have the money.”

Think about this for a moment. When do you hear an American child say they like school? I mean, has it happened?? If it has, WHEN? Often?

Probably NOT. And yet, the question we ask in America is “where are you going to college?” Not “are you going?” But “where?”

We take SO MUCH for granted. Even meals.

Yesterday at the jazz concert, I heard this lady (she was a tourist. UGH. Americans. ;) talking about all the shopping she is going to do. I inwardly puked. OK. You just visited a township with NO electricity, trash EVERYWHERE, that is completely impoverished by AIDS and you are talking about buying everything in sight?! REALLY?!

I am not against shopping. But come now. Let’s set our sights a little higher now, ma’am.

I just can’t live how I used to. And I don’t want to. My eyes are opened to THIS world, THIS place. And I can’t just pretend like nothing is changed. There is a fire in me now.

And I’m kind of excited about it.

RANDOM:

IRREVOCABLY: New favorite word. Love it.

Embarrassing/ HILARIOUS moment of the day: I have a cough. It’s nasty. I get grossed out every time I cough because it is a MUCUS cough. EW.

So SJ was driving the Ethembeni folks home and BAM. Coughed up mucus. There was NO WAY I was going to swallow it.

“Doh a-y uh ah ee-ex?!” <- “Does anyone have Kleenex?!”

Negative.

So, SJ pulled to the side of the road (we were still going. She just changed lanes) and told me to roll down my window.

I spit.

And it lands on the outside of the window.

The WINDOW, for Pete’s sake!

The entire car erupts in “EWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!”

Yep. I couldn’t blame ‘em.

It was pretty much a mucus masterpiece if I do say so myself…

I am going to blame my lack of spiting efficiency on Tommy. Come on, man. WHY did you never teach me to SPIT?! Did you not think this would be a valuable life tool?! Way to NOT think ahead.

It was gross. But I haven’t laughed so hard in a LONG time. Way to turn something grody into something awesome, Jesus J

After dinner I worked on my paper with Grace, Micah, Colton, and Jenny. I love those guys J

And I think I am going to go to bed the EARLIEST I ever have in South Africa. HURRAH!!! Cue confetti! Alert the embassy!

Final PS: TWO churches that I don’t go to prayed for me this weekend. Truly incredible. I cannot even describe how thankful I feel about that.

A verse that is inexplicably on my heart:

Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and will all of your strength. 

Pie Day

3/14/11

HAPPY PIE DAY!!! Aka: 3.14… Hurrah. But... we didn't have pie?? :)

Most of my day was spent in class.

My Nong Shim noodle pix came out recently (hurrah!) so it was funny to have people talk about it. Heather decided I should model the noodles on the cankle I received from my lovely injury J

Highlight of the day was a jazz concert at this super cool looking school. If I ever film a spy movie, THAT is where it shall be!

I am super sore and just not in the mood to deal with the world.

Cure? Sleep.

Off I go.

Power of Prayer.

March 13, 2011

I LOVE to write. For real. Even now (I’m taking a momentary break from my community engagement essay), I am having a BLAST writing something I don’t even have legitimate interest it. For the love of the language, and syntax, and word choice… AH. I’ll admit it. I’m a grammar geek.

I had QUITE the day.

I was feeling crappy yesterday and went to bed super late… smart, I KNOW. So I was contemplating the pros and cons of going to church. I asked God to wake me up if I was supposed to go.

BAM! 6:45 AM! That gave me plenty of time to shower, do a dance, pick up a bit… I GET IT, GOD, I’LL GO!

So indeed I did.

As my crutches and I stomped into church (I am LOUD with those suckers! And the floor in there echoes. It could have been epic if it was a movie.), I passed one of the head pastors. “Whaht heppened to yo lig?” (<- South African accent, duh) “I fell off a waterfall.” That one always gets a good reaction. “Oh, so it’s a miracle, eh?” They ALWAYS say “eh” at the end of every question. I am bringing that “eh” home, eh? “Yep! It certainly is.” And I hobbled past into a row with my fellow Americans.

The service begins with powerful worship. After, the pastor I walked past gets up and says, “Before the service began, I was talking to a girl who had fallen off of a waterfall, as young people do, and hurt her leg. Where are you, my girl?” I raise my hand. “I just feel like the Lord wants to heal you. Would you mind coming up here? You can bring your crutches. I want people to lay hands on you and pray.”

So up I go. At this point, I am totally nervous. Last week, I was healed for like a second. I didn’t think I could take another tease of a heal. I believed the Lord could do it, of course. Heck, I believe my God can move MOUNTAINS! But I didn’t think He would.

People began praying for me. Some in tongues. I am crying. Why do these people care about me? What have I done for them? I don’t even know them!

After they had been praying for about two minutes, the pastor asks me if I feel any better. Not yet. They pray again. He tells me that he had a vision of Peter stepping out onto the water to walk with Jesus. THAT was the vision I had the week before when my foot began to hurt after it was momentarily healed. WHAT IS THIS?!

He asks me again if it’s better. “No,” I answer honestly and dejectedly. How I WISH it was! And I limp back to my seat. SO depressed.

At this point, I was confused. WHY WASN’T I HEALED?! Did I not have enough faith?! WHAT WAS THE DEAL?!

And I was already feeling icky. Stuffy nose. Runny nose (MY PET PEEVE!!!). My foot was hurting. And THEN, I COULDN’T BREATHE!!!! I WAS SO MAD!!! “Lord! WHY have you forsaken me?! Have I not been faithful to you? Why will you not heal my BREATHING, if not my foot?! Have I done something to displease you Father?! What is going ON?!”

It’s at this point I really can’t breathe. Panic sets in. I want to LEAVE but I CAN’T because of my STUPID CRUTCHES and the BOOM BOOM BOOM of the floor! Shayna gets me water (thanks, love.) I am crying and angry and just… not doing well. The sermon goes on FOREVER. I thought I was going to die in the process.

FINALLY the sermon is over. All I want to do is get out of there. BUT a myriad of concerned church goers come up to me. The man who was sitting next to me got me Tylenol because he thought I was freaking out over pain. So sweet. Then the man who was sitting in front of me comes to tell me he thought God was going to restore my foot over a long period of time, and that I should get X rays. He was in the army and fell on his ankle. By the time he found out how intensely injured it was, it was too late. The damage was irreversible. THANKS FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT. I liked my next visitors better.

It was the pastor and the magical woman about a month who got me water when I couldn’t breathe! Remember her? She came up to me and sat down. She said, as I was watching people pray for you, I felt like God was telling me He DID want to heal you. But not physically. He wanted to heal you spiritually, emotionally, and physically. Now, is there anything else that you think you need healing for? I think I know, but I want you to tell me.”

Um. “I can’t breathe a lot of the time?”

“No,” she says. “Do you have a problem with self-esteem?”

Cue tears. “YEP.”

“Alright. I got oil. I want to anoint you. Today is the day the Lord is going to heal you and set you free. He doesn’t give revelations like this without wanting to heal.”

So she begins to pray for me.

She prayed for healing.

She prayed against the spirit of fear.

She prayed that I would see myself the way Christ sees me. Now, I had a vision of myself. Yes, preparing for battle. I was CONFIDENT and STRONG and ready to FIGHT. This is how the Lord sees me. Not as a dainty, insecure little girl. But as a prayer warrior.

She prayed against the spirits of rejection and abandonment. She prayed I would be filled with JOY. Of course. She prayed I would be able to see TRUTH and that the next time I felt fearful I would be able to distinguish the enemy’s LIES. She prayed against nightmares (for those of you who don’t know… nightmares are a HUGE issue with me.) She prayed for my body and for my skin to heal of scars and acne (ok, I’ll take it!) She prayed for my self-esteem. She prophesied that I will show my father more about love when I get home.

She then anointed my lips. “You shall speak the Lord’s words of truth and love. You will prophesy truth into other people’s lives. Nothing you have gone through has been in vain. You will use your experiences to bless other people because you have been there.”

She prayed that I would ONLY listen to God’s opinion and that I would run to HIM, not others, in times of trial and fear.

“Greater is He who is in YOU than he who is in the WORLD. Perfect love casts out all fear.”

She prayed for boldness. She prayed for a righteous anger against the schemes of satan.

She prayed for a vision of the Lord holding me, stroking my hair, and taking care of me.

She said that I don’t have to run from fear any longer. I can REST IN THE LORD and He will fight for me.

She prayed I would be able to accept the unconditional love of Christ.

She prayed against anxiety. She prayed for patience and peace.

She prophesied that the Lord was creating a new HEART in me and that He had given me a spirit of LOVE.

She prophesied that I would be a great leader and that people would always follow me. “That’s just the way it will be.”

She said I will be involved in ministry and that my testimony, what the Father has done for me, will bring many to the Lord.

She prophesied good health. She said my bones and ligaments are being healed currently.

She also prophesied that I will have a Godly husband. She told me not to settle, but to wait for the right man. She told me not to be ashamed of previous, “un-Godly” relationships.

Then this woman brought her friend Kathy over. Kathy does not have an arm, or legs. She has a permanent crutch. She started praying for me. All of a sudden, she goes, “Do you have a desire to sing?”

“YES.” I am SHOCKED.

“I feel that in the past you have felt you weren’t good enough. But God is going to use your voice. You are going to sing healing over people. Your voice will usher so many into the throne room of Christ. Yes, you will usher many into the throne room of Christ with your voice.”

“I see you dancing in front of the Lord.”

“You have great creative abilities. Because you have been afraid in the past, you have not reached the height of your ability. But now, because fear is gone from you, God is going to use your creativity to its full extent now. He has great plans for your creativity.

“You have a desire to travel. You have a longing to be intimate with the Lord and see His true power across the WORLD. You will go and He will use you.”

When they were done changing my life, the magical woman said to me, “You are a very special girl, indeed! The Lord has a huge call on your life. Or else, you wouldn’t be tormented so. Run to the Lord. Use the Word like a weapon. Let Him be everything that you need. You are very special. When I look at you, it’s like looking at a younger version of myself.”

So, just like her, I hope to be able to help others who are like me because of what the Lord has done in my life.

I feel SUCH JOY!!!

I will dance,

I will SING,

To be mad

For my King

Nothing, LORD

Is hindering

This PASSION IN MY SOUL!!

And I will become

Even more undignified than this!

Some may say it’s foolishness

But I will become

Even more undignified than this

Leave my pride by my side

And I will become

Even more undignified than this

Because that’s apart of being fearless. Recklessly abandoning my dignity to praise the LORD.

I’ve found this world to be

Not enough for me

God, I’ll LIVE FOR YOU!!!

Around dinner time, another lightning and thunderstorm!! It was crazy! As I was hobbling up to dinner, I was met with screams of HURRY!!! APPARENTLY metal crutches are NOT positive in an electrical storm! It was obviously slow going with crutches in the RAIN, so big brother Tyler ran down, scooped me up and dumped me in safety. Thanks!

Had a great talk with Lindsay, Heather, and Zach.

Super positive day.

Oh yeah.

Who’s afraid today?

For the first time,

Not me.

PS:

Here is a pic of the lightning we experienced! Photo cred: Tyler.

Raindrops on Roses and THUNDERSTORMS and Sneezes.

3/12/11

SO… I don’t mean to be negative. But I have definitely had better days.

I accidentally left my alarm on for 6 AM, even though it’s a sleep in day. BOO. And then my nose was completely STUFFED and my throat KILLED. So I was up for an hour. Yaaay. Finally, I fell back asleep.

Debs and everyone else but Morgan, Sophia, Karissa, Callie and I went to Durban for some shopping. We were all alone! I spent most of my day attempting to read for Community Engagement. I didn’t do very well. But I DID catch up on blogging, so that was super positive!

I got to skype my soul sister for a while J Yaaaay!!! Miss you, Francesca!!!

Then I just kinda felt crappy, so I took a nap.

When I woke up, it was after dinner and it was THUNDERING and LIGHTNINGING like NOBODY’S BUSINESS!!! I kept expecting Jesus to come back. I literally have NEVER been so afraid of a storm in my entire life!! Thankfully, Morgan came in. We were literally HOLDING EACH OTHER, IT WAS SO SCARY!!!!! In order to fight fear, of course, we sang:

Raindrops on roses

And whiskers on kittens (THUNDER)

Bright copper (AHHHHHHH) kettles

And (LIGHTENING) warm woolen mittens

Brown paper packages (JESUS?! IS THAT YOU?!) tied up with strings

These are a few of my favorite things! (More screaming in terror.)

We had a beautiful, blessed, deep talk! Hurrah! Highlight of my day!!! I love you, Morgan J God smiles as you live your life!

Then I got to skype Mama. Yay! As I was talking to her, a bunch of CRAZY GIRLS broke into our chalet, turned the lights off, and created a dance party in our hallway will super loud music. ALRIGHT! And then they remembered I was crippled and brought the party in my room. It was great J Yaaay for random dance parties!!

I worked on my schedule for next semester some. I am so excited for my classes!!! Oh, and being an ALPHA LEADER!!! HOORAYYY!!!

I am sad to report there is NO chocolate in the world today. This is definitely a chocolate day. Alas.

Hopefully, I shall get some sleep.

I am alone tonight, as Debs is still in Durban. Lonelyyyyy! I'm so lonelyyyyyyy!!!! Actually, it's kinda nice to have some alone time :)

Night, crazy African storm!

Ayeko Ofana NoJesu!

March 11, 2011!

Today was AWESOME.

We got to go on a retreat with the Ethembeni family!

We were going to a farm. Ahem. Family bonding on horseback? NOT for the cripple!

Reagan drove us in the big bus so that we could help drive most of the Ethembeni team, as most of them don’t have cars.

Reagan and I had a great talk! I heard about his life and his journey with Christ. SO inspiring!!

So, they said we were going to a farm. When we pulled up, I was convinced we were lost. We were in EDEN, not a FARM!!! It was so completely, breathtakingly beautiful. Quite wonderful, indeed!

The day was Jesus-filled. We began with worship. MY FAVORITE!!! I can’t contain my joy when I witness true worshipping. It just doesn’t work out for me J They sang "Ayeko Ofana NoJesu," which is the ONE song we know. It's always our favorite! It means "There is no one like Jesus." True THAT.

A pastor spoke for about an hour and a half in Zulu. I obviously had NO CLUE what was going on, so I read Romans. Every single time I read Romans, I get my mind blown. There are no two ways about it. While I was reading, I came to a realization. I love Jesus with my whole heart. But I don’t have as much Biblical knowledge as I should. Lord, let my zeal be based on knowledge. I am beginning my biblical quest that will probably last me a lifetime! Hurrah J (not that I don’t read my bible. I totally do. But I read it for comfort, not to be FILLED WITH KNOWLEDGE.)

Then we split up for one-on-ones. I was paired with my social worker. I was beginning to get frustrated due to the language barrier. I asked her how I could pray for her. She didn’t understand. “What can I pray for you for?” She gave me her prayer requests, and I gave her mine. Then we prayed. Something I enjoy about African culture is that people pray out loud at the same time! It was so cool to hear praying in Zulu and English to the same God! How epic! I prayed that God would grow our relationship. And He DID! Right after that, I discovered how to make my shy social worker smile. All I had to do was use my Zulu in silly ways. She LOVED it! We definitely had a bonding moment J.

Then we assorted ourselves into groups of 15. We went around the circle discussing our calling and how we were fulfilling it. This was one of my favorite parts. It was all in Zulu, but luckily, I sat next to someone who translated for me. These people felt they were called to serve. They are cooks and cleaners and gardeners and farmers. And yet, they all felt like they were doing what God wanted of them. So they were happy! They were JOYFUL about their position in life! Imagine that: being totally content where you are because you know God has called you there! SO BEAUTIFUL!!!

South Africans are so joyful and carefree. They spent about an hour playing silly Zulu games and cracking up in laughter about every two minutes. They care for one another! The young people are always helping the elderly! I LOVE IT HERE.

On the way home, Reagan told me something super profound. We can never truly find ourselves until we come face to face with God. Once we have given our lives to Him, our identity is completely wrapped in Him. If you want to find out who you are, find out who Jesus is. That is so cool! I have often struggled with identity issues, so this new perspective is glorious.

Chalet dinner at an Italian restaurant! SO FUN! I cannot tell you the BLISS it was to eat pizza!!! I almost fell over! But if that was the pizza or the crutches, who can say. J

When we got back, I got to hang out with Zachariah for a bit, and then I went to the prayer chapel. I missed going there! It was an epic BATTLE trying to get there, BUT I DID! SO PROUD! The prayer chapel is definitely my favorite spot on campus.

A lovely, Jesus-filled day!

Bad Foot.

3/10/11

Today, ladies and gentleman, was the day we have all been waiting for.

For TODAY, my faithful friends, was a glorious day.

It was the day… that shan’t be forgotten.

T’was the day…

When SERVICE SITES BEGAN!!! Haaaaaalelujah! Halelujah!

AH! The day of expectation!!!!

Actually, no. I had prided myself on NOT having any expectations for the service sites. “No, man, I am going in with a CLEAN slate! I am a white board ready to be drawn on! A blank canvas ready to be colored!” Pshh. What a LIE.

Today when my expectations were totally, utterly, and completely DEMOLISHED, I realized that indeed, I totally did have expectations.

Bad foot!

Literally.

In Zulu, the phrase “bad foot” is like shoot, danggit, snap, sad day, etc. But I just really have a bad foot… ps, my foot is obese. It looks like I gained 50 pounds. My shoes don’t even fit on it. Niiiice.

ANYWHO! Service sites! I am Ethembeni with the lovely Karissa, phenomenal Lindsay, irreplaceable Tyler, angel Shayna, and wonderful Aimee. What a TEAM!

We began by writing out our goals for our 4 weeks at Ethembeni. What is super cool is that we have mostly the same goals! Convenient? I think so!!!

I LOVE Claire. She is my supervisor from England. She has requested that whenever I am around her, I whip out my English accent because it is “so good it’s scary” and she misses hearing people talk like her. You don’t need to ask a theatre freak twice to do an accent! And GUESS who joined me?! Tyler. I love that kid. Such an awesome big brother J He is switching between Scottish, English, and South African. Impressive. J

At lunch time, all of the staff gathered. Out of NOWHERE, they began singing! In FOUR PART HARMONIES!

I was like, THIS IS WHERE I BELONG!!! FINALLY I GET TO LIVE IN A MUSICAL!!!!!!!!!! SO glorious.

Hey, Danielle? You have often asked me what my favorite sound I’ve ever heard is. And I didn’t have an answer for you. But now I do. Hearing Africans randomly bust into worship songs is definitely the most beautiful thing I have ever heard. Not only are their voices lovely, but their hearts SHINE. They don’t sing songs like we do. They choose music that is on their mind RIGHT at that moment, and SING it from their HEARTS! They BELIEVE what they are singing! It is such a worshipful experience. I LOVE IT.

Oh my goodness! I just realized that I FINALLY got my random lunchtime sing along! YESSS.

When the kids arrived, they taught me a beautiful lesson.

I want to have the love of a child.

You know about the faith of a child, right? Blindly accepting and trusting fearlessly?

Well, the love of a child is quite similar. They blindly and fearlessly love. They don’t care who you are! They don’t care what you look like, what you do, where you’ve been, they simply love YOU. They want to be held and cared for.

THAT is the love of Christ! I need to love people not because I know them or enjoy them. But because they are children of God, and that is ENOUGH. I want to love as Christ loves me.

Don’t confuse this with true friendship. Obviously, I am going to choose friends wisely. But I mean, loving my neighbor! Going into live with the attitude of you need love and I’m going to give it to you.

That’s what I want my life to be about.

It was frustrating to be on crutches, because most of the time, the kids played games requiring some type of movement, which counted me out. So I did a lot of listening and observing.

I also met my social worker today. Each of us Americans are paired with one social worker to get to know the community. My social worker is very sweet. She is uuber quiet… and her English? It’s about as good and polished as my Zulu. Ahem.

So, that is a serious challenge. She won’t talk to me unless I ask her questions. But she doesn’t understand the words “how” or “what.” So… it’s a lot of me pulling out my Zulu.

This is hilarious. Why? Because we only learned how to talk about the GARDEN and the KITCHEN. My teacher thought that would be the most practical.

My winner sentences:

Uthanda yimba imigodi? You like to dig holes?

Uyakwazi ukupeka iqanda? Do you know how to cook eggs?

Nigthanda izimbali. I like flowers.

Yeah. I’m practically fluent now.

There was one boy in particular that I am in LOVE with! He was about 8 years old, wearing a yellow Batman shirt. Obviously great. For like 30 minutes, all he wanted to do was play with my hands. I have never seen a sweeter smile.

I wanted to ask him if he had parents. ‘Cause if he didn’t I was going to take him home. Unfortunately, I only know how to say, Ngithanda ifosholo. Or, I like shovels.

On the way home, I got to be DJ since I was in the front seat. We all rocked out to A Walk to Remember. PRICELESS.

I am going to be VERY challenged by this site. There is no schedule, which freaks me out. And plus, I feel like I am being served instead of serving others, thanks to my foot. I am SO grateful to everyone who continues to help me WITHOUT COMPLAINT!!! SHAYNA, you are a gift from the Lord in this time!!! Thank you for your beautiful attitude and lovely heart. I really appreciate it!

Going on a retreat tomorrow with the Ethembeni team! So excited! (PS, I couldn’t spell “excited.” So, I made it “exited.” And I was all, “Karissa,” who is sitting next to me, “I just discovered there is no “c” in “excited.” She looks. “No, Renna. That’s definitely “EXITED.” Goood one.)

PS: here is a pic of the waterfall I survived.

See where the water stops at the top on the right? I fell juuuuust about there. 

I’m proud.

If I had to hurt my foot, I totally would have chosen to fall of the waterfall. Come on. THAT'S epic. :)

Just trying to be positive, don't mind me!

Goodnight, Moon.