Here Endeth the Blog

So I’ve now been home for just over a week. Life is returning to normal(ish).

How was the South Island? Crazy Beautiful as. You should go sometime. Major shoutout to Beam for being Chief Driver Extraordinaire and Awesome Organiser Superwoman.

Hows being home? Good as.

How was the whole trip? Crazy as man, crazy as. Good times. Bad times. Crazy as times. Totally worth it. Love to the YWAM crew, I miss you.

So what’s next? Who knows? Certainly not me.

As this is the last post I feel like it should end with a carnival, fireworks and a sixteen course banquet or something. Unfortunately I left them in my other life so we’ll just have to make do with this. The second most pointless post ever. The first being Outreach Week Seven.

I also think that I need a summary. This is gonna have to wait till I figure out exactly what happened over the last six months. Here's a lesson in patience for you.

So that’s it. The NZ Blogs hath ended. It's been a pleasure getting to know you.

Over and out. (Cue moody album cover photo)

The Second Next Chapter

The time has come the Walrus said to talk of many things.

Of leaving South Africa and New Zealand,

Road trips and other things.

So, outreach is over, lectures finished today and we have graduation tomorrow evening. Then it’s all over!!! (Totally justified use of exclamation marks)

So what’s next? Well, Saturday morning myself and a few others will be winging our way to the South Island for a two-week road trip. I’ll be landing back in the hopefully o-so-sunny-shores of Engerland in early/mid April (you do the math – finish on Friday and then two more weeks). So you really might be seeing me sooner than you think.

If you haven’t started preparations for my glorious return then you might wanna go ahead and start. I’m thinking banners, a live band, balloons and, of course, cake. Lots of cake (I mean, my home-coming is definitely more important than a couple of posh people, I forget their names, getting married). Also, if you happen to see any of my family in the next couple of weeks then could you please remind them to clean my room before I get back. You may have heard the vicious rumours that they turned it into a gym/study/guest room/music studio/media centre/junk room but they are all lies and misdirection. I know for a fact that my family would never do this to me. I know that my room will have been kept in perfect condition and just the way I left it.

TTYL/when I’m home which is when I’m most likely to have proper internet access again.

De-brief Week One

So, this week we found ourselves faced with the following questions:

Who are you?

What is your identity?

I’m still working on it – any suggestions on a postcard please.

End Times - Outreach Week Eleven

On Wednesday we headed back to Muizenberg before leaving on Thursday. Sad times saying goodbye to friends from the base.

Friday night/Saturday morning - fun times being greeted by some of the Thailand team at Auckland airport.

Saturday – fun times being reunited with the Middle East team.

(Why have I even written this post? Most boring, least informative thing ever - sorry)

So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye - Outreach Week Ten

This was an emotional week to be sure.We said goodbye to different people pretty much everyday. Not so fun.

However we did have an awesome time doing human trafficking awareness (details shall await till when I actually see you – and if I don’t see you soon then you’ll just have to live with the mystery).

Thursday girls club was something else. The girls were actually sad that we were leaving. I’d never been entirely sure if they wanted to be there or if they wanted us to be there so to see that they were actually sad that we were leaving was crazy as. The boys also finished off their time at the soccer clinic by running a tournament. Crazy awesome times to be sure.

On Friday we packed up our stuff and headed out of Cape Town for a few days debrief.

Overall – a bittersweet week (chek tha rymes).

Outreach Week Nine

Ok. So, another eventful week.

Monday we made mug muffins (stick a bunch of ingredients in a mug and then stick it in the microwave) with the Masi library girls group. A hit and a half let me tell you.

And then Tuesday morning saw us run out of petrol five minutes outside Muizenberg on our way to Sibongile. Fortunately we have friends in high places (YWAM Muizenberg base operations) who rescued us.

And then Tuesday afternoon we had an amazing time doing a human trafficking demo in Gugulethu (township). We had people driving past in cars asking for flyers, kids helping us distribute flyers, announcements over the PA system in the local Spar and one of the workers championing our cause with the management. Completely unexpected for sure.

And then Thursday saw a much better girls club meeting than the previous fail of a week. We actually had four girls come and we talked about some serious issues. A much needed encouragement after the previous week.

And then Saturday we took the Mfuleni girls (plus assorted children, sisters, cousins and nieces) to the beach. Good times.

And then Sunday we went to Gabriel’s church again with the Mfuleni girls. Fun times.

 So, I haven’t really said much about anything. It doesn't sound very eventful but there’s too much to put into one post. I’ll tell you when I see you (and if I don;t see you then you'll have to live with the mystery).

Stranded at the Drive-in - Outreach Week Eight

So week eight kicked off with us teaching a bunch of girls how to do line dancing. Sounds strange as right?

This was at the Girls Group at the Masi library. Fun times teaching them the Macarena and Cupid Shuffle (and when I say taught I more mean I was there learning while some of the team taught). We returned to Masi later in the week to do a human trafficking demo. Some awkward times driving around trying to find someone to be a ‘guide’. Even more awkward times trying to explain to said guide exactly what it was that we wanted to do. And even more awkward times trying to get him to understand that we wanted to go to a busy street not a small alley. So, yeah, it was kinda awkward. We did eventually find a good spot though. Lesson learned: when seeking help in a township it’s a good idea of you get the guide to explain what it is that you want back to you – it saves a lot of confusion and awkwardness.

Thursday afternoon saw us head to Mfuleni for Girl’s Club and Soccer Clinic. Except this week was a bit different. 

As usual, African timing meant that we were running a bit later than usual (30 minutes to be exact). So we pull up to the house where we have girls club each week and we (the girls) jump out and the others head over to the soccer field. However we soon discovered that we couldn’t use the house we normally meet in because the girl who lives there was busy, she did tell us that one of the other girls (who lives over the road) should be over soon though. Soon was an abstract concept. We waited in the street for about half-an-hour waiting for one of the other girls to turn up à much to our relief. We had found ourselves surrounded by children who demanded to be played with. These kids don’t really have any concept of boundaries or ‘nice play.’ A simple high-five can leave your arm stinging for about 5 minutes, a hug can mean getting someone else to prise a child’s arms from around your neck. And if you make the fatal error or sitting down and allowing them greater access to you then you may find that you become a human doll. Not that these kids ever meant it in a bad way (apart from one maybe – she scared me) but it was such a relief to be able to escape having to find inventive ways to stop children half your size and definitely more than half your age beating you up. But then, I guess this is outreach.

You’re probs wondering why we didn’t summon the Calvary à No phone. We figured it would be fine. Lesson learned: check with your host if you can meet in their house – it saves a lot of confusiona and awkwardness.