South Africa Report

Four years ago, Jon and I were sitting in church in Georgia; at that time we had only been here for a few months. A woman named Tracie got up and talked about a trip she had just taken to South Africa to teach VBS. The pictures that she was showing and what she was saying really grabbed my heart. I remember turning to Jon and saying, “That's the kind of trip I would like to go on!” Well, it took me three more years to finally go! Tracie had talked to me every year about going, but I always found a reason not to (which even I thought was strange, since I wanted to go so bad). I realized that I had a bit of fear about going that far from home by myself and being away from Ty and Devon for that long.

As you might remember, last summer the four of us lived and worked Turkey for a month, and God dealt with a lot of my fear issues there. I also heard Him tell me that I was to go to South Africa this year. So, when it was time, and the trip was presented to me again, you would have thought I would have jumped on it! But instead I let the fear control me again and I said no. About a month later, the position for a teacher still hadn't been filled, and of course I knew God still wanted me to go. Jon and I talked about it, and Jon really wanted me to go as well! So, basically we made the decision and I booked my tickets that night! There were four of us that went from our church here in Georgia. We traveled to Cape Town, South Africa, and met up with the other twelve teachers. Wow, what an awesome trip! The kids were so amazing! By the end of the week we had over 500 kids attend the camp! Most of the kids were Muslim, and the parents would drop them off for free childcare (I understand we do this as well in America – VBS hopping – but the difference is that I would never drop my kids off at a mosque to have a free morning to myself). Jennie and I co-taught a class of first-grade students (really, we had anywhere from 5-year olds to 9-year olds), and by the end of the week we had 80 students!

The highlight for me was on the very last day: I was walking with one of the little boys from our class, and we were talking about what he enjoyed during the week. He told me that he really enjoyed the Bible stories, and when I asked him why, he said, “Because nobody has ever told me about Jesus before.” Wow! I was thanking God for the privilege it was for me to be there and share about His Son with these precious children! I came home to a family that did wonderful without me, but missed me terribly as well, which is a good thing! I am hoping to go back again next year, but we will see what the year brings for us.