Over the past few weeks I’ve talked to a lot of people about my experiences over the past year and what’s planned for the future. There seem to be some reoccuring questions…so, I figured this would be a good place to answer some of them. Thus, this begins a week of my FAQs.

Today’s Question…
Why South Africa?
Almost two years ago, I went to South Africa on vacation with friends. My best friend works at a South African restaurant in Orlando and met quite a few people from Southern Africa [mostly South Africa, but Botswana and Namibia too], so it seemed natural to visit them when they returned home at the end of their contract with Disney.

We had an amazing experience and I knew I wanted to go back. There are a lot of things that draw me to the Country, here are just a few:

• People: I feel like that’s a little bit of a cop-out answer…anytime you ask someone why they do anything they say “oh, the people are great”. But, it’s true. South Africans are an interesting bunch. Especially when travelling [the first time 2 years ago and the first couple weeks in December] we’ve had some crazy experiences. And still, I’m a big fan of South Africans. There is a level of buoyancy or resilience I think is unique and admirable.
• It’s so Beautiful: This is a total perk-South Africa is probably the most beautiful country I’ve been to. It continues to amazes me. There are 9 provinces, I’ve been to 8…I love that within a day’s drive you can see so much different topography [check out my pictures to see what I'm talking about].
• There’s a need: South Africa is the country with the most cases of HIV in the world. Depending on where you get your statistics, it’s estimated that either 1 in 4 or 1 in 5 people have HIV. Nearly 1000 people are dying daily from the disease. Something needs to be done, and I think that Thrive Africa has the right idea. By training next-generation leaders, we’re building up leaders that will make sustainable change in the Country and the Continent.
• I feel like this is where I’m supposed to be: Sometimes I wish it was more tangible than that. It’s can be difficult to explain that, as hard as it is sometimes, or as much as there are moments that I would rather be somewhere else, it’s where I feel like I should be. Overall, I have a deep sense of peace that South Africa is where God wants me. So, for now, that’s where I will be.

If you have anything to add, or a question you think I should answer, shoot me an email. I’ll be happy to add them to the list!

One of the things I really wanted to get done while I am home this time is organizing all of my stuff.

It seems like every time I move somewhere it starts out as temporary and then turns permanent. I intended on staying in Florida six months and that turned into nearly five years. Needless to say, with each move, more and more stuff gets put in my parent’s basement.

Over the last couple of days, I have been going through boxes. A lot of it was from my apartment in Florida, so I’d seen it fairly recently. But, tonight I hit the jackpot.

Notes and my journal from high school.

Enough said. I can’t believe it’s almost been seven years since I graduated.

Oh and I found a bunch of amazing photos. I’ve got to figure out this scanner….

done. //

“I hope if you ever have a son, you name him Vern. There should be more Verns in the world. I could teach him my profession-welding. Well, not really the welding part, just the burning part.” — My dad. 

These are things I miss out on while I’m half-way around the world…

my 5 year old cousin, Luke, was taking photos of the lovely landscape on our drive yesterday. 

jealous?

This is the ad on the carts the airport at Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. 

Ironic? Indeed…especially because you can’t use a card anywhere. 

Thirty-something hours of travel later I arrived to Minneapolis in the middle of a snowstorm. The other flights from JFK to Minneapolis were cancelled, so I was pretty happy the flight even arrived. Although, I quickly realized flip flops might not have been the best choice in footware. 

I was greeted with signs and hugs. I don’t know if I’ve ever been so happy to get off a plane. 

We were looking at pictures and Gwen saw an African mama holding her baby on her back. We recreated it with her doll Tanara.  

Okay, we’re off to Panara and then maybe I should go buy some appropriate shoes for a foot of snow. 

done.//

sometimes I don’t think things through all the way. like, when i packed to come back to the States, I packed all summer clothes. It’s summer in South Africa and I am going straight from a holiday with mi amigos to the airport to fly home.

it’s negative 6 degrees in Minneapolis at the moment. Oh, but it just feels like negative 30. I might have to find something other than a sundress to wear…

either way, we’re off to pick up a couple of last minute Christmas presents and then to the airport…next post will be from the US of A. See you on the flip side!!

It’s been awhile since I’ve done this…I intended on it being a weekly thing. Clearly, that hasn’t worked out so well…

But, here are 5 good things for today!

1) We survived Zimbabwe…I’m joking (kind of…). It was definitely a little sketchy. What we see on TV isn’t exaggerated. There really isn’t food in the grocery stores or gas, and people are really desperate. Our hotel was a ghost town. It was a beautiful resort, one of the nicest in the country, and it was nearly vacant. But, I’m really glad we went. The falls were breathtaking and the people were awesome. We went white water rafting down the Zambezi, which was an absolute blast! But, I think we were all pretty relived to step foot on South African soil…

2) I can’t get over how blessed I feel this week. Not only do I get to spend a couple weeks with some really good friends, but I get to do it somewhere as beautiful as this.

3) There are these multi-colored lizards running around outside. They looked tie-dyed. It’s pretty amazing. I’ll try to get photos…

4) On our game drive this morning we saw a herd of elephants. The babies were rolling around in the center. It was really cool to watch them play, almost like a cat. Pictures definitely won’t do that one justice!

5) I’m home on Tuesday!!

I could write a lot more…but, I’m off to the pool. It’s over 100 degrees today, so I’m a little toasty. Time for dip (life is rough, I know…).

oh…and I’ll to post photos soon. It might not be until I get back though…

done.//

Well, actually, I’m not…yet. 

But my friends from American are flying high in the sky on their way to South Africa as I write. 

And eight of my friends are flying back to America tomorrow evening. I’m not a fan of goodbyes! It’s hard to believe that over 10 months have passed since we arrived. It’s been cool to see how lifelong friendships have formed. We’ve seen God work in amazing ways this year, I’m excited to see what’s to come. 

I will be traveling over the next couple weeks, so my blog posts may be sparatic. But, I’ll do my best to keep you updated!

Over the last few years, I’ve spent a majority of holidays leaving my house with sleep-filled eyes at 6:30am, only to parade around a restaurant in a ridiculous outfit all day…hoping I make decent money to make me feel a little bit better about spending my day in the land of tourists.

Then, finally arriving home sometime before midnight and opening the refrigerator to see what I can scrounge to eat, realizing that I forgot to go to the grocery store and I’m stuck with stale pitas and hummus (no worries…I love hummus enough to deal with the staleness). And then, probably doing that all over again the next day.

I’m not complaining.

Because all of those holidays make me so much more thankful for days like today. Days where I can wake up late. Then, enjoy a extravagant turkey (or no turkey for me…) filled afternoon with my “african” family, complete with apple and pumpkin pie. Finished off by a evening of four-wheelers and a mud pit. And days where look forward to Christmas at home. Sigh. Now, that’s exciting. 

So, here’s to new (to me) traditions of mud pits and post-it notes full of things we’re all thankful for. 

i have a lot to be thankful for…