Ole Ole Oleeee

As you all know the World Cup kicked off Friday night at Soccer City in JoBurg...so in lieu of the celebrations, we went down to the Fifa Fan Fest in Cape Town to watch the game. Talk about crazy business. Everybody had their Vuvuzela's and used them all night long...it was quite noisy to say the least. They even have little baby size Vuvuzela's. We took the train to and from the city, and that was just an experience in itself. Me, Stu, Chelsea and Andy pushed our way to the front of the stage where the DJ was and had ourselves a little dance party, along with the rest of the city. I even convinced some people that I was from England...On the way back we were all crammed in the "3rd class" car, some had seats and the rest of us stood. The best part was definatley when everyone started chanting "ole ole ole ole...ole ole" and banging on the sides of the car. It was mental.

Saturday morning we slept in a bit and then went to Table Mountain. Me, Stu, Josh and Justine set out to go hiking...it was like a stair master on steroids. My hip did not allow me to finish so I just ended up meeting them at the top. It was extremely cold and cloudy so it gave the mountain a very eerie feeling. We were practically covered in clouds so the visibility was not the best. But simply being up there was amazing in itself.

Im sorry for not blogging in while, it has been extremely busy down here. We have been planning for our 4 weeks of "Holiday Club" that start tomorrow. So I have not been able to spend time with the kiddos for the past week, but starting tomorrow I will be with them all day everyday!

Divine Creation

Today was a different day...it is the weekend so that calls for adventure...

This morning began quite early, my alarm was set for 4:45 and at 5:30 I would be on my way to go cage diving with the sharks. Yes, GREAT WHITE SHARKS. I knew that I was in for a treat, but I had no idea that today was going to be so amazing. 5 of us piled in the car: Ronnie, Stewart, Brock, Ethan and Myself...and we were headed 2.5 hours south east of Cape Town. I really wasn't sure what to expect for this car ride, but I can assure you that many funny stories and laughs were shared. I actually laughed more today than I have in a while. And as most of yall know, i LOVE to laugh. We instantly bonded, which was a huge blessing in itself. We finally get to the "Shark Lady" and hop on the boat and go out to sea...the ride out there was great, but once we anchored things started going down hill. I mean down hill in a sea sick way. The shark lady got the best of our stomachs. But once we got in the cage, it was a totally different story...

In my lovely wetsuit, I anxiously jumped in the cage and was a wee bit shocked by the frigid 40 degree water. 4 of us were in the cage together and patiently we waited for the sharks to come. I go under and in front of me I see this massive fish. A great white to be exact. It was huge. But beautiful and calm. Here I am staring Jaws in the face but for some reason it was so peaceful. Truly amazing creatures. While in the water we were with 3 great whites, and for some reason they all liked my side of the cage...but secretly I was okay with that. I have always been fascinated with sharks and so it was a dream for me to be in the water with them...kind of crazy, i know.

The whole time that this was going on, there was not an ounce of fear in my body. I was at peace. At peace with the fact that these incredible animals are just another one of God's amazing creations. I mean what in the world was going through his head when he decided to put great whites in the oceans? Let alone what was he thinking when he created oceans? But I could go on an on with those thoughts. God is amazing and all knowing and powerful, and I think often times we forget about creation. Through creation we see so many things, like as Romans 1:20 says we see "invisible qualities" and "divine nature". Obviously I wasn't going to jump out of the cage and begin to swim freely with these sharks, but I did watch them with awe and with a smile on my face, because I knew that they are one of God's amazing creations and one that he wants us to enjoy. It just baffles me how God is truly everywhere, and when you truly have him in your heart and in your life, it is hard not to see him in all that you do. I know that God is always in my heart, and I am so comforted by the fact that I can feel him and see him simply through "divine nature". Pretty amazing. So Im not saying that you have to go cage diving to feel this, simply just walk outside and and set your eyes on his amazing creations...I know he wont let you down. He is everywhere. You can feel him everywhere...In Dallas,TX as well as in Cape Town, South Africa...

xoxo
H

Today was amazing. South Africa has officially stolen my heart. It was my first day on the job and I really could not have asked for a better day. We spent the morning at the Living Hope headquarters doing some grunt work...cutting out cardboard to make "armor of god" for the kids to wear. While cutting cardboard is a little rough on the hands, it did however provide us with some supreme bonding time. Later in the afternoon we all went our separate ways to our different communities for "club"...this is when the day gets really good.

We had not been in Red Hill (the community where I work)for a solid minute and in comes Mona Lisa jumping through the car window and into the car...needless to say she was excited for club. And then doors opened and kids just started piling in, jumping right in my lap and trying to call "dibbs" on me. But there was not near enough room for us all, so Stewart and I got all the kids out told them we were going to race to the top of the hill (it is a mean and rocky hill...). I start running and I looked behind me and kids appeared out of nowhere and our "pack" was increasing by the minute.They were running behind me and singing their little "African" songs...I don't think life could have been any better at that moment. But at that moment I just felt free. I didnt know any of the kids but for some reason they entrusted me as their leader, so by golly I was going to steer them in the right direction.

Next thing I know they start calling me "Mom" and told me that they wished I was their mom...and oh how I wish I could be. We got up to the top of the hill where we had "club" and started off by singing a few songs and then Zor told the story of "Hannah" in the bible, and just talking about how important it is to pray. Simply the idea of talking to Jesus so that we may be forgiven for all of our daily sins and accepting him as our Lord and savior.

But something about these kids is just so beautiful. They might have dirty clothes, smell bad and have endless amounts of boogers...but ultimately they are just full of love. As I looked them in the eyes, they seemed empty at first...but then I could see into the depths of their hearts and realized that all they wanted to do was give love and in return seek love. I think that so many times we often forget to love on each other or the other hand we seem to take it for granted. Love is beautiful. Not everyone gets love, so I would encourage you to love on one another because love never ends...

Barf Bags and Altatooties

Hello from Cape Town!

Well I am happy to say that Carley and I made it here safely last night around 9:45pm (3:45 dallas time)...taking us a full 24 hours to get here. Our first flight was 9 hours to Amsterdam...and that was all honkey dorey until the airplane food didnt settle too well and i found myself throwing up. But on the flight we met this awesome little kid named Annosh, he was three, but he quickly became Carley and I's best friend. We finally landed in Amsterdam and had a 2 hour lay over, and the first thing i did was buy a new tshirt because needless to say my original one was not in the best shape. We were both exhausted because neither of us slept on the flight...but needless to say I passed out on the floor in the airport, and as Carley would say, I looked like a homeless person (im not sure how I feel about that). We then boarded the plane for Cape Town, and the throw up struck again as we were boarding (there was a cute boy next to me in line, but I guess I ruined that one...). We took our seats and found ourselves sitting next to a 17 year old boy, Jodie, who was on the plane with his whole soccer team and they had just been playing in Amsterdam in a tournament. Jodie was the man. I quickly fell asleep on the plane and slept most of the time, until nature would strike on me. We were picked up at the airport and brought back to our beautiful "lodge" where we are staying. Carley and I are sharing a room and we have decided that we are going to have to rearrange...that should be interesting.

This morning we woke up at 7 because we had to go have our orientation and devotional at 8, so needless to say we are a bit jet-lagged. We met the rest of the people who we are living with this morning, and they all seem wonderful. One of the girls went to Hoover High School, so for all of you MTV fans out there that means "Two-a-Days". And then there is Stewart, he is from England, and awesome...turns out we will be working in the same community of Red Hill together. We took an extensive tour of Living Hope this morning and I am already so impressed by what all they do. They have 4 different branches of things they do and really an amazing organization. We also took a brief tour of the clinic...I dont really know what to say other than "wow"...I just dont think that words can really describe it. After that we took a tour through 2 of the communities, Ocean View and Masiphumelele...they are only communities meant for 750 people to live there, but people rent out their land and build shacks all over the properties and so around 3000 people end up living in these places. It was definitely nothing that I had ever seen before and you dont know shacks until you see these places.

This is by far the most beautiful place I have ever been to. There are views from everywhere you look and it is simply breathtaking. The beach is gorgeous and we watched a bunch of people surfing while we were driving around, and if you look closely you will see the shark spotters who are strategically located above the beach to watch the ocean. Today the temperature is about 75 degrees and sunny, so life doesn't get much better than this. I am so beyond excited to finally be here and my heart already truly feels at home.

Family Ties

The fundraising is done and the money has been sent in. I am all vaccinated. And all that is left for me to do is pack and spend time with my loved ones…

I cannot believe that I will be leaving in 11 days; it seems like yesterday when I was filling out my application on that rainy day in October. I have been so overwhelmed by the support of all of y’all, and extremely humbled by the whole fundraising experience. Your love and support makes me even more excited to go because I feel like I’m taking each and every one of you with me this summer!

For this blog posting I decided I wanted to talk a little bit about my mom, dad and brother, because without them I don’t think I would be much of anything…

I got home from school and my mom and I left for padre 2 days later. I got to spend a few days with her at the beach…and there is no one else I would rather be on the beach with. I think my mom has the biggest heart of anyone I know (and I know many people would say the same). She is so full of love and always there for you to lean on. I owe so much of my faith to her because she taught me about what it means to be a godly woman and just how to lead a selfless life.

My mom’s favorite thing to tell people about me is, “She may look like me, but she acts like her father”…and let me tell you, I think I got the best of both worlds. My dad and I are 2 peas in a pod and its kind of scary how much fun we have together. We can joke and laugh all day, but we can also sit down and simply talk life. He has taught me to never give up and to never be scared to pursue my own dreams. We are truly kindred spirits and the greatest compliment I can receive is being told that I act like my dad.

John is my best friend. We are 2 years apart but so close at heart. John has always been so supportive and he constantly reminds me to stay true to myself. He embraces my “goofiness” and all my dreams just as I have embraced his beard and all of his little adventures. He is typically the first person I call if ever I need to talk, because for some reason he is always willing to listen and always knows how to put a smile on my face. We talk almost everyday and whenever we hang up the phone or hug each other to say bye, one of us first says “love you” and the other always says “love you too”, and I would never change that for the world. I look up to him so much and I would have never thought that my best friend would be my older brother.

So…mom, dad and john…I love you very much and thank you so much for absolutely everything…

xoxo

Leap of Faith

I have been dreaming of going to Africa for as long as I can remember, but I never actually thought I would see the day because I knew it would require a great deal of courage and I wasn’t sure if I would ever be able to make this incredible leap of faith. Not only had I been praying for this opportunity, but I had also been praying for a partner to take this leap of faith with…BOTH of these prayers have been answered, because I will be traveling to Cape Town with my dear friend, Carley Gunter.

Our friendship began when we decided it would be a good idea to “borrow” the Colby laundry carts and race up and down the hallways. After a few races we decided we needed to spice it up a notch…so we went door to door, asking people if they needed their laundry done, but really I would just pop up out of the cart and scare them. Needless to say the girls on our hall thought we were crazy and they probably still think that. It was all fun and games until the hall director caught us, and so we politely handed over the carts and quietly walked back to our rooms…

While we have shared many laughs and great times, we have also been able to share our hearts for Christ and faith with one another. We are both avid members of RUF and you can usually find us at “Starbs” sharing a cup of coffee and talking life. But our hearts truly became connected when we discovered each others passion for Africa and since then, there has been no turning back. Carley discovered Living Hope and applied, and shortly after I sent in my application. We both got in and decided that we had to take this leap of faith together. Our constant prayer has been for the Lord to calm our anxious hearts and to also prepare them so that we might be able to make a difference in someone’s life. Carley has been such a blessing in my life in so many different ways, and I could not ask for a better person to take this leap of faith with.

Some Good Ole Fundraising

Family and Friends,

This summer I have been given the incredible opportunity to travel to Cape Town, South Africa and work for an organization called Living Hope. It has been my dream to go to Africa and I am so excited to see God work in his many different ways down there. Yall are a huge part of my life and I wish to share my experience with you so that you may also be a part of it.

I have felt the Lord working in my life in many different ways, and particularly leading to mission work. Nothing makes me happier than to be with children and love on them, and most importantly to share my love of Christ with them and fill them with hope. It is my vision for these children to realize that being a Christian doesn’t mean you have to be perfect, because I will be the first one on my knees to tell you that I mess up every single day, but that without Christ we are nothing and have nothing. We are all just “simple sinners, somehow saved by grace”, and I pray that I will be able to open up hearts to this and instill a little bit of hope within.

Living Hope seeks to bring the hope and compassion of Jesus Christ to the chronically sick and dying in a holistic way and do everything possible to prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS. In order to contribute to this vision, I will be working in the small community of Capricorn, counseling and ministering to children on a one-on-one basis. In most cases, HIV, AIDS and other life- threatening diseases affect these children and/or their families. Counseling these children is probably going to be one of the most difficult things I will ever have to do because I know my eyes will be opened to so many scenes that will seem daunting and unimaginable. But in the midst of all the trials, I want to put smiles on faces and give some TLC, and deliver hope to these children so that they may develop a heart for Christ.

As I prepare for this opportunity I desperately need your prayers and support. That you may begin to pray for the people of South Africa, especially Living Hope and Capricorn. And that my eyes and heart may be opened up to Christ’s plan for me this summer, so that I will be humbled by each day and be able to share the love of Christ and the idea of amazing grace.

Although prayers and support are primarily needed, there is also need for financial support. For the 8 weeks I will be there, it will cost around $3800 for me to work for Living Hope and have appropriate accommodations. I hope that you will be able to share this experience with me by contributing financially, but I ask that you simply pray about it. If you do choose to contribute, please send the cash or check directly to my home.

Ultimately I am not simply asking you for money, because in the end your prayers and support will be my driving force and those are what will get me through. I am looking forward to sharing this experience with each and everyone of you, and I know that while I will be attempting to change lives my life is going to be changed in so many unfathomable ways, and I cant wait to see that change! Thank you so much for taking the time to consider how you might be a part of this ministry opportunity and I hope that we may be able to partner together in this experience.

xoxo

Hannah