House Olympics

    Community has been one of the most challenging and fun experiences that I have had in Africa.  Don’t get me wrong, we all have those days where we just have to go into our rooms, well actually our bunks, and pop our earplugs to have some alone time.  Today was one of those days that I was so glad to live with eighteen people.  Every Saturday night we have a “family night”.  This is where we all get together and do something fun.  Activities can be bowling, movie night, a picnic, a Halloween party, football at the beach, or a dinner out.  But this Saturday was by far my favorite.  House Olympics 2008 was the theme for the night.  For those of you who don’t know me I am very competitive person.  I always want to win, even if it is just a game of tic tac toe.  I think I picked this trait up from my brother Cletus, who is probably the most competitive person I know.  Before we started the night, I prayed that I would not be too competitive because then I tend to take my anger out on my teammates.  God went ahead of me in allowing each event to be with a different team or just by ourselves.  This allowed me to ignore the idea of the points we gain.  God has really been working on me to accept the fact that it is okay to lose sometimes, and it is even greater when other people can win.  The games were all over the place; there was a three legged race, a ping pong tournament, a paddleball tournament, an egg race, an eating contest, a candy bar guessing contest, and an interesting game of spinning and jumping (you will have to ask Matt Spainhour if you want more details).  It was great to laugh and have fun with my team.  I never would have imagined myself living in Africa after college having an egg race with my teammates in my front year, the year after I graduated college.  When I look back at this year, I can barely remember the hard times because the amazing times seem to be so much greater.
Ministry also went well this week as well.  The students in my class were able to make scrapbooks with pictures of themselves that I have been taking all year.  They loved to see themselves in the pictures, and it was so cute how they decorated the pages.  We also had quite a dance party at Ithemba, where the kids dancing skills never cease to amaze me.  If only I could move my body like they do with no effort.  Thursday was a sweltering day, so at the last minute we decided to take the older kids to the beach.  Jenny, Rachel and I rounded up the kids, but Nomsa did the directing (it helps a lot when you can speak Xhosa).  The walk to the beach seemed to take forever, but the jump in the water was so worth it.  I love how kids in Africa can go to the beach in their school clothes, swim in their underwear, and walk home completely barefoot.  I had a blast, as the kids were calling my name left and right, so they could show me how good they were at diving into the waves.  I really love Jeffreys Bay, and when I leave a little bit of my heart is going to stay here.