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day twelve: phumezo's house

After Phumezo gave us a tour of Mandela Park, Khayelitsha, and Look Out Point, he graciously welcomed our team into his home to meet his wife, children and the neighborhood children that he often looks after. This was such a treat for us, and for me especially. The kids who lived nearby flocked to his house as soon as they saw two kombis full of "white people" pull up to Phumezo's house. They were thrilled to let us take their picture and they showed us a few hands games and foot dances (I'll post a video of that!).














































I'm not sure how this was possible, but I somehow left and returned to America without any of these kids! Aren't they the cutest, biggest hams you've ever seen?

(more look out point)

I've already shared my 'Capetown Post of the Day' (and I thought the photo below spoke volumes by itself), but I couldn't stand not to share more photos from this breathtaking scenery.









day eleven: look out point






















While visiting the township of Khayelitsha, we went to a spot, called Look Out Point, that gave us an incredible view of the area. This is such a stunning photo; it represents everything we saw and felt in this neighborhood: beauty, sadness, grandeur and poverty. This is one of my favorite pictures from the entire trip. These boys quickly became our good buddies!

day ten: khayelitsha

Khayelitsha is reportedly the largest township in South Africa (and growing). For this post, I must let the pictures speak for themselves because my words can never do justice to my experience there...
































If you want to read more about the township of Khayelitsha (which I would highly recommend), click here to see some of the staggering facts (which seem to be outdated since 2005). I'm also interested to read this book, Khayelitsha, of a journalism student living here while he did an internship for a Cape Town newspaper. It sounds fascinating.

take me to denver!

Tonight I'm hopping on a plane to see my favorite Denver-ites for the weekend: The Kyles! This trip has been almost 4 years in the making with the original plan being to visit the Kyles when they lived in Phoenix for three years. And now, they're in Denver! Back in October 2009 (which feels like a lifetime ago), Caylen came and visited NYC for the weekend. It was a blast and I can't wait for a west coast reunion this time around. Get ready Cay, I'm bringing my camera!!


Pictures to come when I return!

day nine: mandela park

One of the days we spent in Cape Town we visited a subdivision in the suburbs called Mandela Park. We visited a church there and talked with Phumezo, the pastor, about what his vision is for this area where crime is rampant, HIV/AIDS is affecting a majority of the community, and most all of the kids there are considered vulnerable and at-risk because of broken families and violence. It was an extremely humbling experience, while also extremely encouraging. Phumezo's vision for the community is one of a true servant. More about this neighborhood in coming posts. I wanted to include these pictures of Phumezo's church, below, although there aren't many.




new gig

Guess what, folks? I've got a new gig and I can't wait to share the news about it!

You may remember when I used to occasionally write for a blog called The Park Forum? They write daily devotionals based on a 1-year bible reading plan, focused on encouraging Christians to read the bible on a daily basis. Back in 2009 when they first started they had a column that focused on news and current events. It highlighted how you can see the gospel in everything when viewing it through a gospel-centered lens. (Here are a few of my posts: Practice What You Preach, A Designer's Challenge, and The Truth of Being Ruined. I wrote more, but those are just a snippet!)



And now (I still can't believe it), I am going to be working for The Park Forum! I'll be focusing on communications for them, and managing the online presence and print productions - all right up my alley! We're starting some really fun new projects this month, so make sure to follow us on twitter (@TheParkForum, and founder @BethanyJenkins) and like us on Facebook (The Park Forum) to see what we're doing. Of course, check out the daily blog for morning devotionals and an easy reading plan. (You can also get daily emails delivered right to your inbox by clicking: here.)

I'm so excited to be working with this great organization! And I hope you'll look forward to hearing more about it as I'm sure I'll share it here.

(And by the way, this is the fun news I mentioned here!)

day eight: nelson mandela's prison cell

As I mentioned in yesterday's post about Robben Island, we visited the prison where Nelson Mandela was held for the majority of his time in prison. And we got to see his actual prison cell! It was tiny and cramped, as you can see. But very special for us to be there and see such a significant piece of South Africa's history in person.























If you're interested in reading more about the racial struggle in South Africa, check out Nelson Mandela's book (that he wrote while in prison, in this cell!): Long Walk to Freedom.

day seven: robben island

Robben Island is where Nelson Mandela was held in prison for 18 of his 27 years in prison. We were fortunate enough to be able to visit the island that was so rich in the history and culture of South Africa. We took a tour of the entire island (which is beaaautiful!), and then the prison. Our tour guide for the prison was a former prisoner with Mandela (!) and his perspective and story were fascinating. He ended the talk by thanking our countries for support during the apartheid, which ended only in 1994. It was so moving to hear him say that South Africa is now a "rainbow nation" where all colors are equal!




We're on this journey together.



Penguin Crossing

"Leper Graveyard"

My roommate Katherine and me

Stunning views of Cape Town and Table Mountain from Robben Island.
Our team, plus a few extras who wanted to jump in the picture on the left!






I found the apartheid to be extremely fascinating, and also so moving in many ways because I experienced similar racial tensions growing up in the South, albeit 30 to 40 years later. This was one of my favorite days in South Africa because it was so encouraging to hear the former prisoner's story of love and forgiveness despite being so mistreated.

day six: camps bay

In my opinion, Camps Bay was one of the most beautiful places we visited while in Cape Town. It was the picture perfect paradise that you imagine when you think of the Cape Town you've seen in pictures: a picturesque beach landscape with crystal blue water overlooking a beautiful mountain backdrop. Gasp! Now, I have the pictures to prove that it's real...








I miss this beautiful African sunset!

day five: u-turn

On Monday in Capetown we served with a homeless organization called uTurn. They had a beautiful vision in that they believed true change effectively happens by changing the way of thinking within a poor and marginalized person's life. Instead of giving out free food and clothes, they provided vouchers that may be redeemed after services are done in exchange (cleaning, helping to repair things, etc.) for those vouchers. This is similar to the age old adage: give a man a fish, feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime. This process is first done through building relationships within the homeless community which then progresses to rehabilitation and finally reintegration into "normal living" (permanent accommodation, regular employment, etc). I thought this was such a wonderful challenge for helping those in need. Sometimes giving them what they need at that moment isn't actually what is most helpful. This method requires an investment in relationship, community, and person. And after all, isn't that what we're called to anyway?

The way we helped uTurn was not exactly how we expected! We actually didn't interact with any of the homeless community, but instead helped with more administrative and housekeeping tasks. uTurn had an entire room full of donated clothes that we spent the whole day sorting! Sean (who worked at uTurn) told us that it would normally take 9 months-1 year to make the progress on sorting the donations that we made in one day! What joy it brought us being able to serve and help in such a practical way.


uTurn's second-hand clothing store

They had shelf after shelf after shelf after shelf.....of donated items.

Las Vegas, Nevada!

for a creative, colourful life.

Jeff had the pleasure of sorting out the clothes that were soiled or stained and couldn't be used.


South African Airways donated bags of their uniforms!

This room was completely full when we started.


Liz and Lindy organizing the clothing store.
after a long day of sorting clothes...
our team!

































































Check out more about uTurn on their website or their facebook page.