“Vat ees yo nam?”

April 15, 2011

It has been SUCH a big day!! But OH so glorious.

Debs and I slept in until 8:30! WOOO!!! I got to read 1 Samuel.

A reinforcing revelation? HOW could I not trust God?! He is SUCH a deliberate, detail-oriented, organized, artistic, wise, merciful PLANNER! God told Samuel to watch out for a man at a certain time. God sent Saul on his way because Saul’s dad HAPPENED to lose his sheep. Then, Saul’s servant HAPPENED to tell Saul to ask for directions from the prophet. Lo and behold! Saul finds Samuel at the EXACT moment the Lord foretold.

You guys. God’s GOT IT.

Happiness.

Breakfast was lovely. Then I had to pack for HOME-STAY!!

Half of us are going on home-stays, while the other half is staying at the South African Bible Institute (BI), where we are finishing our final course: History and Culture. I am in home-stay group one.

The interesting thing is that we have two full buses. I don’t really understand this because we came to Cape Town in one bus and one fifteen-seater. But now we have two buses, and ALL of us could fit on one, including the extra 15 people that couldn’t fit from last time…?

“All shall be revealed in due course.” (<- That one’s for you, Debs!)

The bus for home-stays smelled delightfully near to that of a beach bathroom, and looked like a cheesy 80’s fiesta! It was jampacked like an airplane with two seats, and then three across the way, reminding me of one of my FAVORITE days: flying to Africa. Ahem. Which will soon be repeated… but flying in the opposite direction…

I sat with Debs on the bus. Can I just say something? I LOVE HER. I am going to miss her SO much when I’m not living with her.

We arrived at BI and got to explore. Yay!

Morgan was my exploration buddy. God seriously blessed me with her. Walking around was amazing. Cape Town may be the most beautiful place I have ever seen. I am simply flabbergasted! YES. FLABBERGASTED. The sea air was brilliant.

Did you know that Cape Town is called the Windy City? (YES, like Chicago.) Therefore, it is SO WINDY! As I currently type this, the window sounds like it is going to BREAK. HURRICANE status! Yikes! But I’m almost used to it… ish.

Morgan and I were being clever and made sandwiches this morning at breakfast so we didn’t have to spend money. We went to get a shake at a Waffle and Pancake house with Reg and 10 other girls.

African Fact: African “pancake:” Crepe. Just in case you were wondering J

Reg paid for all of us! It was so sweet! Reg is like my grandfather. I am in awe of this man. He cares for each of us specifically and individually. He asked me about my ankle today.

(My ankle is still sore. I’m hoping I can still hike up Table Mountain tomorrow!!!)

Reg’s birthday is tomorrow, and he is also leaving tomorrow! I thought he was staying the whole time. Nope. Not going to lie, I got super upset when I heard he was departing. Reg has impacted me so much. I hope to acquire his loving personality and wisdom.

At 6:00, we arrived at a church in Ocean View (the township where we are living!) where we had dinner and met our host family! Debs and I are living with Paul and Corinne, and their kids Jordan (13 year old boy), Luke (8 year old boy), and Parker (1 year old girl).

I LOVE THEM!!! Paul is HILARIOUS!!!! Corinne is so beautiful and loving and caring. She made me feel at home RIGHT away! Jordan wants to be a fisherman, then go to the UK and become a mechanical engineer (I told him about you, Uncle Jim! J). Luke is my buddy. He reminds me of you, Tommy!! I MISS YOU SO MUCH!!! I love and hate having new adopted brothers. I love them, but I hate it because it is really making me miss you dreadfully.

They speak Afrikaans as well as English.

The only Afrikaans I know:

“Vat ees yo nam?”

“My nam ees Renna.”

“Ya.”

“Buya Donkey.” (Thanks a lot!)

After dinner, there was a talent show put on by a program that was created 27 years ago to keep kids from gang violence and substance abuse. It was really cool! There are 700 kids in the program! Some of the kids were AMAZING. I know they could have careers in America.

But most likely? They will not leave Ocean View. I was talking to Paul. The farthest he has ever traveled is the Northern Cape. He doesn’t like airplanes and sees no reason to leave Ocean View. Corinne feels the same way. They both grew up here, and just don’t want to leave. I hope Jordan actually gets to go to school in the UK!

Jon Wallace was here again with Kate. I was sitting next to Paul. He told me to call him Dad.

This really made me miss my daddy L.

Overall? Excellent day.

Praise Him.