All the Single Ladies (and men)

This morning I went to Hillsong church again and was so blessed and encouraged by the sermon, I just had to share it. There was a guest speaker today named Mark Gundor who is doing a series this week called “Laughing your way through marriage”. He presents biblical truth about marriage in a comedic way, and from what we saw today, it’s going to be hilarious. His sermon today though was for all the single people, so I was all ears.

He opened with “It’s great to be single” and he read Romans 12:2 which says, “Do not conform any longer to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what the will of God is for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” I don’t want to recount the whole sermon, but I just want to recap some of his great points, and I hope that wherever you are in the marriage process, whether single, dating, or even married, this can be encouraging to you.

1- The dating process is about discovering character.

-You want someone you can do life with so you need to look at how they act, but also how they react, (to things like stress, pressure, etc.); “You date the act, but you marry the react”.

-Look at everything when you are dating them- their family, their relationship with the Lord, if they give money joyfully, etc. 

2- When it comes to marriage, the Bible says “find”.

-It’s all about finding and being found, not divine intervention. There isn’t a place in the Bible where God told someone to specifically marry another person. The angel told Joseph to marry Mary, but they were already engaged. Hosea was told to marry a prostitute, but not which one specifically. With Ruth and Boaz, Naomi made sure that Ruth was found. 

3- “Marriage was never designed to make you happy”.

-As Christians, we are born again so we should be happy anyway. Other people cannot make us happy, especially if they aren’t happy to begin with. Therefore, we should marry someone with faith and character. 

4- When dating, don’t trust your feelings, use your brain.

-If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say it. An example he gave was that some days his wife might think she is so blessed to be married to him. Other days she might feel like she is married to the spawn of Satan, and he would rather not hear how she is feeling on those days. Another example he gave was if you don’t feel like going to work, you can’t just call your boss and say “Hey, I don’t really feel like coming to work today”.

-Listen to friends and family when dating someone always

5- Don’t get physical when dating.

-Sex will make you stupid in dating.

-Girls are always clear headed before having sex in a relationship and guys are always stupid. After introducing it into a relationship, the roles reverse and guys become clear headed and girls get stupid and beg for guys to stick around. His comment to us, “let guys stay stupid”.

To wrap it up, he pointed out that God wants to kill the selfish me because we need to die to ourselves, and “the best way to kill that selfish in me is through marriage”. This was said with a lot of humor, but there was some truth to it. We have to die to ourselves and learn to let go and let God lead.

It was such a great message, and so encouraging. I loved the way the speaker used the Bible to back up his points and drive home his message. It made his sermon that much more real to me, and I appreciated it. Being the super single girl that I am, I am content to not just wait around but “find”, all in God’s timing.

A Week in Review... "I've had the time of my life"

I know it looks long, but it’s interesting… I promise :)

Monday:

We went to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela and so many others were kept imprisoned throughout the apartheid. It was incredible, but I have to admit, I was expecting a little Alcatraz type set-up, but for those of you who don’t know, it’s a pretty big island with 3 prisons total, a church, a mosque, a visitor’s center, and a town with a population of about 200 or so. We had a personal guided tour by a man named Tulani who actually was a prisoner at Robben Island. He told us all kinds of stories and really opened up and shared about his experiences while imprisoned there and it sounds pretty terrible. Some of the things he told us included how his dad was shot by prison guards the day he planned to visit his son, and various tortures he and other fellow prisoners had to undergo. He also shared happier stories about the camaraderie within the prison, and the relationships he built with Mandela and other men. The tour was amazing and extremely eye opening. I felt very blessed that Tulani let us into his life and into his past. I have so much respect for him and the many others like him.

Tuesday:

We had class in the morning and then… I went sky diving!! It was such a spur of the moment thing for me because I have always said I wanted to sky dive, but I think I thought it was one of those things I would get around to “one of these days”. Well, it is an activity we can choose to take part in here so I signed up because I figured what better place to do it, and let me tell you- it was incredible!! I was attached tandem to a professional named Jason, and the scariest part for me was riding up in the teeny little plane. It could only hold 6 passengers who were sitting scrunched up, and since Jason was the tallest, he sat at the front of the plane and therefore we went first! We literally fell head first out of the plane and free fell from 9,000 feet for anywhere between 30 seconds and a minute. It was the weirdest feeling ever and totally un-natural, but it was absolutely amazing! I can’t even describe how beautiful it was!! Thankfully it’s all on video, but I wish I could do it over and over to just soak everything in. You can bet that I will be trying to convince my family to do it with me again, or anyone else for that matter… any takers?? That night we went to a Mexican restaurant called Pancho’s where the portions are waay too big, and then we went to a pool bar and played pool for a while. Something different to do for sure, but lots of fun.

Wednesday:

Wine country day. We actually made wine for class… How cool is that?! We went to the village of Franschhoek and visited a vineyard named Haut Espoir. We tasted some of their favorite wines and then had to mix them all together to create our own. We actually got 4^th place and were in the “drinkable” category, so we were happy with that result. One group got “gasoline”, and another got “could only use to marinate food in”, so as long as we were drinkable, we were happy. I feel like I have learned so much about wine here, but don’t worry, not in an irresponsible way. For those of you who don’t know, the drinking age down here is 18, so doing it as part of our class is a normal thing. After that, we went into the village and had lunch and dessert. To say that we have eaten well on this trip is an understatement. I have probably gained at least 30 pounds, it is all just too good. 

Thursday:

We had class in the morning and then… I went rappelling off of Table Mountain!! I have rappelled before, but this was by far the most beautiful rappelling I have ever done in my whole life. There were 8 of us who did it and we rode the gondola up to the top of the mountain and then rappelled 350 feet down. It was incredible! The only time I was ever scared was backing up over the cliff, but thankfully I have done it enough times to know not to look down when I’m starting out. As I eventually started to get my bearings, I tried some jumps and had a blast! About halfway down, there is another cliff and the part of the mountain I had been rappelling down just drops off, so truly I was just swinging and hanging the rest of the way down. Our adventure guide Gavin (*sigh) told our group that rappelling is the scariest thing to do, so if that’s the case, I feel like I can do anything!! (even bungee jumping…)

Friday:

Friday was a great day as well. It was the first day we really experienced the bad weather we have been hearing so much about, but it was still an incredible day. We went to Cape Point as a group and drove all around the tip of South Africa. It was extremely cloudy so sadly we couldn’t see much, but sporadically the clouds would clear and we would get glimpses of the ocean. Driving to Cape Point we saw some wild ostriches, wild penguins, and wild zebras!! I couldn’t believe it. There is a nice sit down restaurant at Cape Point and some people chose to eat there, while the rest of us saved money (and time) and enjoyed our pre-made sack lunches. Then we hiked to one of the lighthouses at the tip of Cape Point… and it started pouring, and when I say pouring I mean it in every sense of the word. I was also dressed extremely poorly in wallabies and jeans, and I felt every drop and gust of wind. The wind got so strong I was blown into the side of a house and the rain was coming down so hard, at one point it felt like hail. It might have been a bad choice, but the view was incredible and hey, when in Cape Town… For dinner a group of us went to the Waterfront, a famous fishing and boating community, and we had dinner at a place called Karibu and I got the Cape Salmon. It was fantastic! A friend of mine got the ostrich fillet and I must say that as I was trying it, I couldn’t help but think of that animal I saw on the tour. It was an incredible dinner though and perfect location.

Saturday:

As many of you might know, we make fun of my dad all the time for knowing people everywhere we go… Well now it’s my turn to be made fun of. I am all the way around the world, and ran into a college friend of mine who lives in Johannesburg but is visiting family in Cape Town. Yes, it was partially planned that we would see each other, but not that we would overlap time here, so I got to look impressive in front of all of my Global Lead friends for knowing a local. We met up at the Old Biscuit Mill, (I told y’all that even locals went), and then we left from there. He showed me and a few other friends around today and it has definitely been one of my favorite days yet. We went to one of his favorite shopping streets- Long Street, and then went into a local burger joint where I got a grilled chicken sandwich with baked brie and cranberry sauce on top… (I’ll just let that sink in). To add to that, they had sweet potato fries. Then we went to a popular hotel and got their famous milkshakes. I got a peanut butter and banana one and obviously it was no Cookout, (people living in the Carolina’s will understand this), but it might have actually been better… it was SO good. From there we went wine tasting. Casual, right? We laughed saying we felt so sophisticated at the fact that tasting wine was something to do with your friends here, because obviously it’s not something you can just do with your friends in the States. After that we went to famous Camps Bay and watched the sunset at a restaurant right on the water. It was a wonderful day and so fun to share it with such a good friend. Everyone had a blast and we were so sad to see him leave. I feel so blessed to have such great friends all over the world and it’s then when I am reminded of how powerful and sovereign God truly is. I know the Lord has me in the right place and I'm encouraged by that fact each and every day. I'm really looking forward to adventure week next week, but even more so to service week the week after. God is doing things down here and I'm pumped to be a part of it.

What to do your 1st weekened in Cape Town

Wow, what a weekend. As y’all already know, our days are jam packed full of some of the most incredible things. This past weekend, our first full weekend here, was no different. Friday we had class and then got the afternoon off, so I went with some friends to a place called the Green Market. It is a little open air market downtown where local vendors sell their art, jewelry, wood carvings, clothing, etc. It reminded me a lot of the little markets in France. I had to learn how to bargain with the vendors very quickly. Thankfully they usually already give you a discount for being a “cute pretty girl” but I learned you can talk them down pretty far from their original prices, especially if they think they will lose the sale. Then the group I was with walked to Long Street, a famous street where tons of bars and restaurants are in Cape Town, and we picked a local place to eat called Neighborhood and it was fantastic! 

Saturday, a group of us got up early, around 8:00 and went to this place called the Old Biscuit Mill. Let me just preface this by saying that this was one of the only places that was on every single “to-do” list from previous students on Global Lead AND it was frequented by all of the locals. Well… it was amazing! I would marry a local just to go back every Saturday morning (just kidding mom and dad), but it was actually incredible. Someone described it as a Whole Foods on steroids. It is a huge open air food market with the most amazing food you have ever had- and you could sample almost all of it! Here is a picture of just one booth... (most of them looked like mini-restaurants though):

I had a banana and nutella crepe for breakfast and then a Caprese sandwich for lunch, but plan on being more adventurous this Saturday when we go again. In between trying all of the food and eating, there are more shops to walk around and buy things from as well. I walked to the grocery store Saturday afternoon with some girls to get some food and enjoy the weather. Then we all headed to the Stormer’s rugby game and oh my goodness, it was incredible! None of us knew anything about rugby, but the atmosphere of the stadium was similar, (but not quite as intense), as a world cup soccer match, which I went to with my dad and sister in Panama a few years ago. They have their chants, their cheers, and they even do the wave, but man they love that game. The stadium was huge and pretty full of people. They sell doughnuts inside the stadium… it’s probably a good thing they don’t do that in America because one of the Wake guys bought 3!

Sunday morning I got to do one of my life dreams... go to Hillsong church! It was one of the most incredible churches I have ever been to. It was truly like the Passion Conference in Atlanta this past January, and it reminded me a little bit of Passion City Church in Atlanta, but it's in South Africa, come on. The energy was extremely high as it seemed like everyone wanted to be there singing and praising the Lord. The message was clear and true as the pastor preached out of Luke and talked about miracles and how God uses us in our brokenness. So true. Until He returns, I'm so happy there are places to worship Him all over the world. 

Sorry for the novel, but basically there are a ton of fun things to do around here, and I can't wait to update y'all at the end of the week about what I've been doing this week. God is so good, and His mercies are new every morning.

" Big wheels keep on turnin' "

Another update from Cape Town… It’s been an amazing trip so far, and it’s only day 5. I really can’t believe it. I was sharing with a friend from home the other day that I really don’t feel like I ever "stopped" when I got back from school, so I almost feel like I’m still in a school daze and my wheels are still turnin' at about 200 miles an hour. Down here we are moving just as fast and staying just as busy, but we are living in a gorgeous city right by one of the “ten wonders of the world”. We actually climbed it yesterday… Table Mountain. Let me tell y’all, it was insane! I have climbed mountains before, including Mt. Princeton in Colorado which is a “14er”, (above 14,000 feet), but I’ve never done anything like this. I’m not kidding when I say it’s like doing a stair master the whole way up, all 3,550 feet up…I climbed it in under an hour and half, so I beat my goal of 2 hours! As I said, it was a tough climb, but the view was totally worth it…

Last night some of us “Wakies” as we are fondly being referred to as, made dinner together. We made pasta and chicken and it actually turned out really well. Girls cooked, guys cleaned, and we kept saying we felt like such adults the whole time. “Growing up fast” I guess. Nothing like a Wake Wednesday in Cape Town, am I right?

Today was probably my favorite day of the trip so far. We went into one of the townships and visited the school we will be serving at in a few weeks. The kids planned a big recital for us and we watched them play guitar, sing, but most amazingly, dance!! It was unreal how well they could dance, and my cheeks were hurting at the end of it, I was smiling so much. My camera died in the middle of their show, that’s how much I wanted to soak it all in. Three boys around the age of 12 or 13 played the African drums, while a group of about 10 girls ranging from the ages of about 6 to 14 performed a dance for us. The boys eventually joined in and it was like nothing I have ever seen before. So much kicking, clapping, and shaking hips, and I wanted to just hop right in. The 6 year old girl was probably the best dancer out there, and I actually wanted to take her home with me. When I was sitting in the school watching the children perform, my heart was filled with an incredible joy from the Lord. I wasn’t worried about dinner plans, or forgetting someone’s name, or who I would sit with on the bus. Those are all worldly thoughts that had escaped my mind, because I was truly living in the moment and enjoying the opportunity to sit and enjoy these children’s performances. I’m so positive the Lord has me on this trip for a reason, and despite the awkwardness with people, or the desire to be home and just slow down, He is revealing to me slowly but surely His plan for my life, and now I truly see why people say they left their heart in Africa.

"We are here, we are here, we are here!"

Funny how time flies so quickly. I had started a blog entry on Friday the 11th, the day I left for Cape Town, but in between seeing my friends play for the Varsity High School Boys Tennis State Championship match (they won by the way), saying goodbyes, and packing, it just didn't get finished. I had been home all of 3 days and my life has been a whirlwind. From chorus recitals, state soccer games, tennis semi-finals, swimming with my sisters, unpacking for school, re-packing for my trip to Africa,  having family dinners, time literally flew, but it was all great things and makes me look forward to getting back there (in 5 weeks). After a lonnggg journey over here, we finally made it to Cape Town. We had a 10 hour lay over in Frankfurt which only confirmed my love of direct flights. There is just not much to do in an airport, and after about 5 hours, I was ready to get going, but clearly the boys enjoyed some napping in the meantime...

The flight from Frankfurt to Johannesburg was 11 hours and thankfully most everyone slept the whole way. Such an answer to prayer that we were able to sleep. I have never been more thankful for a bed in my whole life. Johannesburg to Cape Town was a quick 2 hours and then we arrived to a group of Global LEAD leaders who had posters decorated for us and welcomed us into the city. We found our apartments which are located right on the beach and 2 of my roommates here went to the grocery store called "Checkers" at the mall. I was mistaken for a local while in there and truly couldn't have been more excited. The 3 Wake girls spent about 400 rands (around $50) while the 3 Wake guys spent almost 1000 rands (about $125), we headed back to our apartments. We quicklyyyy found out that our hot water wasn't working, but we had to take a shower! We hadn't showered since Friday morning... it was Sunday evening (tres nasty as my mom says). I am not kidding when I say that I have never taken a colder shower in my entire life, and I have taken cold showers. My body was literally shaking and I maybe was in there for 5 minutes. After asking around we figured out that our owner only has the hot water working from 6-9 am... Who does that?? We are in the process of working around that. We had a great dinner out at a Global LEAD favorite. We went to a Greek restaurant within walking distance of our apartments and enjoyed some authentic Greek food, in South Africa.

Needless to say, we all made it safe and sound. Things I am thankful for: safe travels, good friends to travel with, making new friends, all of my luggage getting here on time, a comfy bed, clean water, getting to live right by a beach, perfect weather, calling my mother on mother's day and telling her  how much I love her and how absolutely incredible she is, (because it's true and she deserves to hear it), getting the chance to grow spiritually and learning to choose joy, spending time with the Lord in another country and knowing He is right by side!! So many things.