" 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.