Back in the Northern Hemisphere

I think I am finally over my jet lag, and back to "normal" life. It has been hard answering people's questions about the trip. Some just want to know about the animals we saw at the Game Park. Others are curious about the landscape and temperature of South Africa (much cooler than I thought it would be!), and some ask me to boil it down to my favorite memory, or the thing that impacted me the most. Those are the hard questions, because it's impossible to condense those 2 weeks into a single lasting memory that sticks out because our team was involved in so many different areas.
I went to Muizenberg every day to the homeless shelter there and worked in the kitchen. I came to care so much for the people I met there in just a short period of time. Our team was able to celebrate a birthday with one man, and mourn the loss of a baby of another woman. Our morning devotion time was special for me, as they quickly volunteered me to sing for them. While working in the kitchen, my new friend Leslie would teach me phrases in Afrikaans amidst our playful banter, and Carol, Leila, and I would sing Beatles songs. I was able to have several spiritual conversations with the people there and offer them the hope that Christ has bigger and better plans for them that are beyond what this world has to offer them. I watched as Kathy read from the Bible and had a discussion with a man named George, and I witnessed Joanne surround a young lady named Marleen with love and comfort. The above picture of Joanne praying with Marleen says more about what we did in Muizenberg than the words I type ever could.
So those are just some of the memories from South Africa that I take with me. Now back home Brentwood Baptist seems smaller, as I saw 5 or 6 team members at church on Sunday that I never would have known if it weren't for this trip. We come from all ages and backgrounds, and various places of ministry within the church, so it's exciting to see how through our different circles, we can share the message of what God is doing in South Africa, and what God is doing in our individual lives. The trip may be over, but the mission work has just begun.