Hello from the beautiful land of South Africa. I hope that everyone has gotten adjusted to the grind of life once again.

Our time thus far in Gugulethu has been great. We have been doing a lot. I left the township for the day in order to write emails. Also, township life is very hectic, and it is very healthy for us to leave and be in a calm environment for the day. It is a huge blessing.

It has been about three to four weeks now since we have moved in, and I am not sure where to begin. As I said earlier, we have been doing a lot. Much of the time in the beginning was focused on just getting comfortable and moved in. We had to move our beds into the rooms and put them together. We also spent a lot of time getting to know our neighbors. I realize that at home we don’t spend much time getting to know the people on our block, but here in Africa it is the opposite. The people on your block are like family. The people here always leave their front door open, and they are ALWAYS together. Many people just sit outside all day and talk to one another. It is not uncommon for us here to walk down the block, get invited in for tea, and stay for an hour or twoJ On most days this is very nice. If I wasn’t learning the concept of relationship over task before moving into Gugulethu, I am definitely learning it now. Relationship is everything to the people here; time means nothing.

The kids in the neighborhood have taken a real liking to us. On most days we find about ten of them sitting at our doorstep just waiting for us to come and play. Last night as I was eating dinner, I turned to look outside, and about ten kids were staring at me and giggling. I couldn’t help but laugh. I think they were daring each other to say something to us. They never see white people living in their township, so we seem so foreign to them. I was walking down the street the other day, and a group of kids actually gasped at the sight of us! I laughed so hard. One girl even pointed at us and said, “Look!” What is even better, is a lot of the old people who lived most of their lives under apartheid, have come up to us to say just how good it is to have us there. Many of them are very happy to see us living in the neighborhood. It means a lot to them.

We have been going to the orphanage on a weekly basis. It is always great for me to see the kids. I really feel like a lot of them are very different then when I first started going three months ago. I have also been talking with the chief of police in Gugulethu, and there is a possibility that I could be helping them with trauma victims. I am definitely not qualified for this, but right now all they have are other volunteers to help with these cases. I will keep you posted on how it works out. The Bible study in Masiphumelele is still going strong. I believe that the last time I emailed I was about to talk with the girls about families. Well, it was amazing. I think they really realized that day that their families can be different. Many of them opened up about the issues they face, and we were able to talk to them and pray with them. I think that it was a turning point in their lives.

We have also started a Bible study with the women in our house. There are five of them in particular that we have really gotten to know. We had our first meeting on Thursday and it went great. They asked us A LOT of questions. Most of them are single moms. Many of the township people believe in God and have grown up in church, but they also are very superstitious and traditional. For example, walking down the street in Gugulethu, you will probably see many goats just roaming the streets. These goats are used for ancestor worship. Many of the people slaughter them and eat, in my opinion, the grossest body parts,  and use the rest for ancestor worship ceremonies. Also, there are many witch doctors in the townships. People go to them to get medicine. One of the girls from our Bible study went to the witch doctor to get medicine because she is four months pregnant, but she felt that something was wrong because her stomach hadn’t grown in awhile. After some good conversation and prayer, she didn’t take the medicine and the babe has been growing! So, just keep us in your prayers as we are reaching out to the girls, and the people in general.

Tomorrow I am going to buy, kill, skin, cook, and eat a free range chicken. I am so nervous! We have gotten to know one of the mamas who lives by us, and she has invited us over for a day of traditional cooking. It should be very interesting. I would take pictures, but we have to be very careful not to be seen with anything expensive so our house isn’t broken into, so we don’t have any camerasL But I will write down SOME of the recipes. I am not sure I will want to eat some of it again.

If you are still reading this very long email, may God bless you! Love you all and will write again when I get the chance.

Christina