no spiders here

I can't believe that tomorrow is our last day in Capetown... we all agree that next time, and there definetly will be a next time, we want more time at the sites doing work. Two weeks seems to be the standard amount of time for teams, not including the days spent travelling. It's been pretty amazing to see how God has changed our hearts and opened our eyes to the rest of the world. Sometimes as Americans we get isolated from the rest of the planet. Yes, we hear how things are in other places, but sometimes like Thomas, we need to see them to believe them. I praise God for him showing us real life examples of what it means to fully live your lives for Christ through the team members and volunteers from Living Hope.

Luckily for me, I have not had any more run-ins with the local wildlife, although we did almost hit some guinea fowl on the road today. More humorous moments today: the use of the word "buttload" creaping into team's vocabulary- you can thank Leigh Ann for that one. JoAnn calling our host, Jay Johnson this afternoon saying, "hello Jay? This is JoAnn Rankin from the United States of America..." and us almost seeing Tom Cruise in a movie shoot tonight- ask the white Komvi about that one.

All this to say, most of us did not know each other before we came on this trip, but now we look forward to running into each other at Brentwood and beyond. It serves as a reminder at how big our church is, but how vast the opportunities are to be involved. Many of us are already involved in various ministries within the church, but now I would say we will be spread out even more. You find what God has called you to do, and you do it. And it becomes joy, not a job- the people who volunteer here absolutely love what they do- yes it's hard work, but they wouldn't rather be anywhere else. True ministry happens when the work we are doing for God isn't work anymore but becomes as much of a blessing to the servant as it is to those being served.

Some food for thought: Here's what I finally decided I miss about the States today: Iced tea!!! When I get back I am having me a big old glass of the stuff. I do love having tea time mid-day though- that's something that would be nice to catch on over in the U.S. One week from today: iced tea with lemon, here I come. Till then, "Dankie" for the prayers- I love and miss you all!