Hello again! I hope everyone is doing great. I just thought I would update you on what has been going on here. I realize it has been awhile since my last update.

The past few weeks have been busy as usual. I am enjoying it more and more. I often look around and cannot believe that I live here. Then I find myself sitting in a van full of Africans and it hits me all over again. I live in South Africa. I feel so blessed to be able to be here.

Things at the orphanage in Nyonga have been going great. They recently were able to put a roof over the outside playing area, so the kids can still be outside when it is raining. It has been great trying to really get to know the kids and build a rapport with them. The women who work for the orphanage are called mommas, and many of them do not take care of the kids. I can tell that the small amount of time we are with them has really been making a difference. We simply pick the kids up, play with them, pray for them, and just love on them. It is amazing to see a change in countenance in many of these kids. Just last week, one of the girls who we hadn’t heard speak yet began to talk. It is very exciting to see a change in them.

In my last email I mentioned a Bible study in Masiphumelele. Believe it or not,  Thursday will be our first meeting. Things move very slowly here in Africa, but I finally had a chance to connect with the right people. So there are four of us from YWAM who will be going to Masiphumelele every Thursday to have a Bible study with some of the younger girls from the township. This past Friday, a friend of mine named Timothy who works for a local missions organization called All Nations, and who now lives in Masiphumelele, walked us around and introduced  us to many of the girls. Many of them seemed very interested. We will be using Timothy’s house to host the Bible study. I am incredibly excited for the opportunity to speak into the lives of these girls who are surrounded by death, AIDS/HIV, and poverty everyday.  I mentioned a girl in my last email whose mother had recently died of AIDS. I have been visiting her every week. I am happy to say that she seems to be getting back on her feet. She will be one of the girls attending our Bible study.

I unfortunately have not been able to continue coaching the basketball boys. It is something that is incredibly frustrating for me. I have not been able to find a guy who will walk with me to the park and stay for practice, and I cannot go by myself because it is too dangerous.  I feel awful about it, but there is nothing I can do at this point. The freedom and safety we have in America does not apply here. This is something I am learning daily. It is not living in fear, but rather living in wisdom. But having to rely on others means you are at their mercy, and in this situation my hands are tied. This is part of the reality of living in South Africa. I am still hopeful that something can be done in the future to get things going again.

Many of you probably remember me talking about going to another country for the last two and a half months of my stay in Africa. This is where we are to take what we have learned from YWAM and apply it to our daily lives in a community that desperately needs help. As talk of this has increased, the possibility for me to stay here in Cape Town has come about.  I really believed this was from God. I don’t know for sure yet, but I believe a small team of us will be staying here to live in a township. I cannot explain how excited I am at the possibility of this. Many of the others on our team will be going to northern Uganda. Of course, I would love to go to Uganda, but for now I know I am supposed to be with the people of South Africa. Our goal is to truly impact the community in a way that brings the light and power of God into a very dark world. Practically, that means living with them, getting to know them, serving them, and loving them.  In doing that, I believe that miracles can happen.

When I find out if I am staying here for sure, I will let you  all know. I should know by the end of the week. Thanks again for all of the prayers and emails. I appreciate it more than you know. Your support has been amazing!

Christina