As the Weeks Go By...

It has been a busy couple of weeks filled with a lot of activity. Some of those things included going to the beach with my church and spending the day eating and swimming in the Indian Ocean, going on an outing with the older youth from work to the mall and going on the rides that they have in the kids' fun zone, having my work end of the year lunch and ordering a Philly Cheesy Steak Baguette which made me excited and will probably be the closest thing to the cheese steak I have been craving, eating mangoes and leeches, Christmas shopping which often ended in us leaving the mall with no purchases, parking in the farthest spot in the mall parking lot because every space and curb was occupied, purchasing a sari for Christmas, work shutting down after some cram sessions, getting my first flat tire (and when I say flat, I mean flat), endless Mandela tributes, feeding and dancing with patients at a psychiatric hospital, lots of coloring with my niece, getting hooked to Isidingo (South African soapie), hanging out with two friends from work, a few U-turns, Christmas caroling (where we only sang I think a total of three actual Christmas carols), beginning the book "Long Walk to Freedom," wrapping Christmas presents to Keith Green music instead of Christmas songs, Dutch Blitz, Speed, getting honked and and yelled at for "stealing" someone's spot in the overflowing mall parking lot, food and more food, and a lot of laughter and some sadness.
While these past few weeks have been filled with a lot of new memories and laughter, they have been a hard few weeks. I have been more homesick lately for a variety of reasons and I think one of them is that Christmas is fast approaching. Five days! I can't believe it. It doesn't necessarily feel like Christmas which makes me feel better because then I won't feel like I'm quite missing my family as much -  hopefully. The Jesus Calling for December 18 gave me some peace in relation to my homesickness, "When you are plagued by a persistent problem - one that goes on and on - view it as a rich opportunity. An ongoing problem is like a tutor who is always by your side. The learning possibilities are limited only by your willingness to be teachable in faith, thank Me for your problem. Ask Me to open your eyes and your heart to all that I am accomplishing through this difficulty. Once you have become grateful for a problem, it loses its power to drag you down, on the contrary, your thankful attitude will lift you up into heavenly places with Me. From this perspective, your difficulty can be seen as a slight, temporary distress that is producing for you a transcendent Glory never to cease." I know that God placed me here for a purpose and that even through the things that weigh me down, God is working and molding me so that I can take what I learned/learn here in South Africa to wherever else He might lead me.
While I love and miss my family and home back in Pennsylvania, my place is here right now. God has a plan and is doing something great here in and through me. The verse from my mom this morning is Psalm 139:14, "I will praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well." I know that God is doing marvelous things here so even during the hard times, I will praise God because He is directing my paths.
Thank you all for the prayer and support, Merry Christmas! :)

P.S. I got an email from my sister Carissa that brightened up my day. One of her Books Never Written jokes made me smile: How to Distinguish Your Words by Seymour Clearly. Hope that made you smile too!

It's Just Getting Better

This week was a whirlwind of activity and excitement. I started the week out in a bad attitude because of a variety of things and the Jesus Calling for Tuesday included the verse Psalm 118:24 which convicted me of my selfishness and made me realize that I need to be grateful for the things I do have, "This is the day The Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." My attitude didn't totally change that day but it helped that I got to climb the mountain in Mpophomeni with some of the kids again (this time with my camera so that I could get some pictures). Later that night I had a lot of fun with my host family talking and watching America's Got Talent which was just the kind of night I needed.
Wednesday was tiring busy day. I got to do my first real manual labor that day which made me feel accomplished and exhausted in a good way that night. We had to fill 300 bags with dirt (that we got off a pile that was basically rocks) so that later they could be filled with fertilizer. It was at the soup kitchen and a bunch of kids came to help. I mainly worked with two girls that tried to teach me a little Zulu but we had fun even though it was cold and rainy and everyone ended up covered in mud. After work, we went straight to Andrew and Karen's where I had a package waiting from my mom with Christmas presents - three were wrapped and I already opened one because we were curious as to what it could possible be (it was an awesome game which reminds me of one of my family's favorites, Qwirkle, so it was a great present. We ate at Andrew and Karen's because Andrew had purchased us some tickets to go see a soccer game! It was the Orlando Pirates against Martizburg United. It was an intense game numerous people got hurt (a few went off the field on stretchers) and the final score was 1-0 Pirates, whom I was routing for.
Thursday was Thanksgiving - my first away from home - but I was determined to not let that get me down and that I would have a thankful attitude. A verse from Jesus Calling was Psalm 107:21-22, "Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men. Let them sacrifice thank offerings and tell of his works with songs of joy." I found it hard to be thankful when it seemed that I did nothing all day at work but my day brightened when I walked in the door upstairs to spend time with the kids, and one of the sweetest girls, Olwethu, ran at me with the biggest smile on her face and gave me a hug. A few of the other older girls followed suit and then a little boy. That little girl made my day. After work, Emily and I drove to her coworkers' house because they had invited us to celebrate Thanksgiving with them and some of their friends. We drove approximately a half hour in the wrong direction because like I predicted, their road was probably the first one we passed that just happened to not have a road name. The night was nice and it felt good to have such wonderful people extend hospitality to us so that we wouldn't miss out on Thanksgiving.
Saturday was another busy day. Lydia's work was having their end of the year party with their families so Lydia invited Emily and I. It was at a rock pool which actually ended up being a pool with rocks placed around it, but it was fun to swim even though it was cold and windy because it was about to storm by the time we had finished games and lunch and got a change to go swimming. When we got back home, we decided because Emily would be moving in with her host family on Sunday (my birthday), we would celebrate that night since we got back early from Lydia's work dinner because of the rain. We went to the mall where I got Chocolate Overload waffles for supper :) (the waiter thought I was strange) and then we watched the movie Catching Fire.
Sunday was my first birthday away from home. I started the day with a note from my mom that was placed in my devotions and a letter from my cousin that she had given me before I left. I didn't want to do anything because I missed home and I know that birthdays are just like any other day but I didn't want to celebrate it not at home with my family. In the end it turned out to be a fantastic day. The Jesus Calling seemed fitting for my birthday, "I love you with an everlasting love, which flows out from the depths of eternity. Before you were born, I knew you. Ponder the awesome mystery of a Love that encompasses you from birth to beyond the grave."
I was greeted in the morning with a happy birthday greeting and a present which was really nice and what I needed to put my in a better mood. I went to church at my boss's church because Sunday also happened to be World AIDS Day so they were giving Christmas presents to the mission for the clients and the kids. I had to say a few words in front of the church but I felt very welcomed there. After getting home and having lunch, I went to the end of the year party for youth group with my brothers and sister-in-law which I wasn't so sure about but it turned out to be fun. It wasn't just our individual youth group it was all of them but they are all a fun bunch of people and I got sung happy birthday to twice. I was also asked to give a speech but all I said was thanks because I had no clue what to say.
After youth group, we headed home because Auntie Pricilla was throwing me a party with the family, Andrew and Karen's family, and Lydia (Emily couldn't make it since she had just moved in with her new host family that afternoon). It was a great night filled with laughter, family, cake smashed in my face, and lots of good food. I'm grateful that Auntie Pricilla did that for me because it was nice to celebrate with all the people I love here in South Africa. I also received a phone call from one of the kids at work and she immediately started singing Happy Birthday to me. Later she called again with another one of the girls so that they could sing together. That first phone call was probably the best thing that happened for my birthday and I will never forget that.
As you can tell, this week was busy and while there were a few things that I was struggling with, the good far outweighs the bad because God is good and I have a lot to be thankful for. Lamentations 3:22-26 says, "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.' The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord."