We made it to our last country!! Wow the time has flown, and somehow we only have less than two months left!

Before we traveled to each country or another city, people would ask me if I was excited or what I’m hopeful for, but I honestly never really thought that far ahead. Of course I was always excited, but I didn’t think about in detail what was coming next and what that was going to look like… until South Africa came around. I was so hopeful this season, and the Lord gave me so much excitement and expectancy, and so far, it is living up to everything I dreamed it would be and more.

Our squad is split into three groups: two girls teams in Jeffry’s bay, the boys in Lesotho, and my team and the other girls team in Durban (see in featured picture). We are staying in this super cute house about 15 minutes from the city in a town called Kloof. Our ministry host owns our house and rents it out specifically for missionary groups. With a straw roof, walls lined with sconces (props to Mieko for the wordage), and round doorways, it reminds me of a fairy house. Durban is also absolutely beautiful. There’s nothing like driving through the rolling hills, listening to worship afrobeats, and just taking in all of God’s beauty of creation. It’s a million shades of green for miles on end with vibrant purple trees mixed in, and bunches of houses sitting on the hillsides and hilltops. I love it. Oh and there are also monkeys everywhere!

(our house^)

We are working with a variety of ministry organizations such as YWAM, Circuit Ryders, Fire and Fragrance, and the Send (a branch of FAF), and our ministry hosts are Gabe and his wife Ellie (who’s from Marietta, Georgia!). Another sweet couple, Livingstone and Nadine, help out with driving us to ministry, as well as Sheldon who also connects us to different ministry locations. Our schedule is 9am-4pm Monday-Friday, with a few later youth groups, worship nights, and bible studies spread throughout the week. We have a mix of rehab ministry, school assisting, old age homes, and village ministry. The villages are orphanages that house about 200 kids and provide schooling, housing, sports, and meals, and also give opportunities for moms (even those without kids of their own) to take care of children as a true family. We will actually be staying at one of the villages for about ten days in our time here.

(one of the schools^)

Ministry has been so sweet so far. Between the adults at the rehab center and the kids at the schools, I have felt so welcomed and seen special generosity towards us. So many of them come from broken backgrounds with drugs, abuse, and addiction, but it turns into beautiful testimonies of coming to the Lord. He is so evident in the people and nature of South Africa, and I’m so hopeful for an amazing last season of the race.

Mo 😊