9 1/2 weeks left in SA!

This week had been buuusy busy! I have finished my classes for this portion of the trip and only have one final left this week and will be home free until the end when a few more classes/finals are!! Such a great relief. 5 weeks of freedom while we do our community engagement work. I will know by the end of the week which site I will work at and will tell you all :)
Highlights of this last week:
Friday morning I spoke in chapel on Joshua 3&4 when Joshua just got into leadership when Moses died and was instructed by the Lord to lead the people through the Jordan River as Moses had done with the Red Sea. The main point of my talk was that God had them pick up 12 stones from the middle of the Jordan and place them in their camp as a remembrance of what God had done for them and for all the people of the EARTH to know and respect the Lord! It was so awesome that this included US! in all the people of the earth! So we all went outside because it was a gorgeous day and we had worship and communion set up. On the communion table there were stones and I had given people the challenge of taking some time of devotion to LISTEN to what the Lord has to say to you and to listen for a word from the Lord. Whether this word was “faith” or “healing” or “missions”… whatever God wants to put on your heart. And that stone, just as it was for the Israelites, can be OUR stone of remembrance of how awesome God is and used as a testimony to people of how God is working in your life! So that’s that :) Went well.
Friday after chapel we went to a preschool, Bonginkosi, and did some manual labor for the new preschool. Dad, you would have been proud ☺ Then afterwards when we got back to the campus and went to the watering hole and hung out and washed off.
Friday night we went out to the Keg & Hedgehog for about the 15th time lol.. and us 6 girls has a fun time :)
Saturday morning from 5:45am-7pm we were on a Battlefields of South Africa “adventure”. I read almost all of Twilight… about 400pages. (We had a lot of time on the bus!) I was surprisingly entertained but I’m not going to pretend it was a worthwhile day. Then a surprise birthday party for my suitemate Lydia. Then talking to Jeremy for a bit. Then sleep.
Sunday I was finally able to get sleep. Relax. Breath. Got an amazing 1 hour massage for $30, including tip! I will have to get more because she was concerned about my back. Poor me :) Went for a run. (which I guess you’re not supposed to do after a massage… oops!) The whole group went to an Indian restaurant and we had such a fun time! I had never had Indian food and LOVED it!! Interesting sitting in a melting pot of cultures. I had never eaten around a Muslim woman and it was an experience seeing their server get out a big screen that looked like a chalkboard so that she could take off her veil to eat and people, besides her husband, wouldn’t see her face. And it was so great to see that family having SO much fun. Their five kids laughing the whole time. Takes away the stereotype of rigid people. They are just like us. Such a learning time.
And that’s all!
This week is a mix of studying for Art, going to the Drakensburg Boys’ Choir concert, having a 2-day “Community Engagement” lecture on Fri & Sat before we start Community work next Tuesday and obviously doing much more in between that! Keep emailing, commenting, and keeping me informed with your lives. I love to feel connected!

With love from Africa,
Paige