Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Howzit from Melissa and Heather

Melissa here. I grew up in Raleigh, NC, and went to Grace Community Church, where I met Sarah and Casey. Sarah was my small group leader and we have remained close throughout the years. I went to college in Baltimore, MD, where I now reside. Heather and I played basketball together at UMBC (University of Maryland Baltimore County). Heather loves Jesus and adventure as much as I do, so I thought she would be a great fit to come visit Sarah and Casey here in Cape Town. Heather grew up in Indiana, came to Maryland for school, and now works in D.C. Okay, so enough of the introductions, let's get down to business.

We arrived here two weeks ago and hit the ground running. Our trip started out with a bang when our great host, Casey, was not at the airport to pick us up. It was okay, a nice woman thought we looked like we needed a phone, so she lent us her cell and we got things straightened out. Something about losing track of time, rugby, and Jenks (a friend of theirs)... So we have spent the past 2 weeks going on tons of adventures and learning about life here in Ocean View. Some of the highlights:

-Hiking Table Mountain on our 2nd day here. Forget about jet-lag! See their previous posts about that adventure...

-Learning to drive a manual car in a foreign country on the other side of the road while dodging baboons and western leopard toads. Don't mind having to decipher the road signs... But really, Casey was an excellent teacher - he prepared us well in our 45 minutes (each) of instruction. The very next day, we went with Sarah to pick up our rental car, Dora. And yes, we drove home by ourselves. And yes, we didn't stall on the way home. Praise Him! Our first few times out on the road, Heather was singing "Jesus Take the Wheel" and it helped. Lots. Sarah became our Coach because we spent most of the time driving around with her and she should coin the phrase, "Just be Calm and Confident." It got us through many inclines.

-During our first full day with Dora, okay sidenote - the woman who rented us the car names ALL of her cars, some other examples are: Clyde, Edward... and Helmet. Very interesting lady! Now, back to our first full day with Dora - we arrived home from Pick n Pay (grocery store) to find Jacoba (aka Granny) asking if we could take her, Kieren, and her friend, Katie, to the Fruit and Veg. She said it was "just down the road." I (Melissa) was not feeling too confident about this because I had stalled about 5 times on the way home from Pick n Pay, but I was more than willing to agree and 'let' Heather drive. I'm sure she loves me for that. So, we piled into Dora and were on our way. And apparently, "just down the road" means driving over a mountain and to Tokai, a town about 30min away. I do have to say that Heather did an admirable job. I am sooooo thankful that she drove. Especially since once we got to Tokai, the traffic lights were out so every intersection was like a 4-way stop. Remember, this is a foreign country, on the other side of the road, during your 2nd day driving stick, with your car full of people, including a precious baby. Again, Heather did amazing and did not stall one time. Jesus take the wheel. Once inside of Fruit and Veg, it was a mad house. They were running a special and that was the whole reason the ladies wanted to go that day. Only to find out that the store claimed to be out of some produce. Granny was not taking any of that nonsense, she spoke to the manager and eventually got the produce that they claimed to be out of. She definitely knows how to get things done! We made it out of the store alive and made it home safely. It was a great adventure.

-Biltong. We were introduced to this local favorite snack. MmmMmm good. For those of you who don't know, Biltong is like jerky, but wayyyyy better. You can get all kinds, but our favorites after recommendations from our new friend, Naomi, are beef and chili beef. Delicious.

In addition to those experiences, we have spent a lot of time here in the community. We have spent most afternoons out in the yard playing with the kids. It has been great fun being able to just hang out and enjoy laughter with them. I am awful at soccer, but the boys have had fun trying to teach me some tricks and how to get better at "taps." Heather is way better than me, she can do 10 taps compared to my 5. The boys can do like 30. We need to work on our skills. It's been great getting to know them and love them. We have also spent a lot of time going to support group meetings with Sarah and it has truly been a blessing. We have gotten to meet some incredibly strong female leaders in this community. Most of these women have hard lives themselves, but realize they have gifts to offer others in the community. It has been really neat getting to know them, learn about their stories, and pray with them. There are a lot of poverty, abuse, and addiction issues in Ocean View, but it is a vibrant community full of loving people. There are people who really love the Lord here and are trying to bless this community with Him on their side. After being here, it is obvious that people wake up everyday, faced with a battle to fight. Some people choose to fight and others choose to give in. Even though we were here a short time, we have grown to love this community and hope to return sometime!

Sarah and Casey are truly loved in this community and there is a definite need for them here. They are helping to inspire and bring hope to these people. Prayers are needed for community as a whole, including Sarah and Casey. So pray! We are really grateful for their allowing us into their home and opening their lives here to us.

Peace, Love, and Biltong.

Heather and Melissa

PS - Kieren is really cute. And so is her poop. And we will miss Dora a lot. Oh, and Kieren has toobs (toobs = toddler boobs).

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