Oh South Africa
Hallo! Hoe gaan dit? The South African adventure started before we reached land- as we docked a day late due to 16+ foot swells that had guided us in. We then went on to learn the real power of cigarettes and booze... as we bribed immigration officers to let us off the ship. South Africa is a place of where beauty and corruption coexist throughout life. The culture and dynamic is ever-changing between races and ethnicity. With a rich history, their story continues, driven by a powerhouse of people writing it. I spent my time with locals settling back to my roots.
I first entered the doors of the HillSong church in Cape Town, to find vibrant passionate people worshiping and engaging in intentional fellowship. This experience brought back the feeling of sitting at camp, engulfed in the moment and the people. The beat of the music and precise words were the fuel for the rest of my journey.
After a day full of foreign airports, flying, and a long scenic drive; I stepped out of the truck with Willie Pelsler onto his 10,000 beautiful acres of wildlife and African game. I spent mornings riding around watching the animals move about. While I peered out the window, I replayed the the stories that my family and others had shared hunting the South African land. Now, my time had come to experience it myself. When the evening came I was dropped off at the blind on the look out for an old male wildebeest that was expected to be on its last summer. Without sighting the old male, the challenge was presented. On my third hunt I harvested my first African game; a blue wildebeest. This experience was filled with excitement, shaky hands, and thanks. After, I radioed the news, the short track began. It was all familiar... yet starkly different. It was the job of the tracker to skin and gut rather than mine. I was not feeding my family, but rather multiple families in the area. I am grateful for the opportunity I have been given to experience South Africa’s culture in a context that is often forgotten.
Upon arriving back to Cape Town, I sped up to match the speed of the young bustling city. On my final day, with friends in tow, I hiked Lions Head to watch the sun peak out from behind Table Mountian before we headed to a simple coffee shop town. We started our journey at a small house filled with kids our age learning about life and discipleship skills, while serving with Youth With A Mission (YWAM). We were introduced to Ryan, a young charismatic guy, originally from Washington state. He explained that he typically teaches kids with special needs and physical disabilities to surf. We were instantly intrigued. With wet-suits on and boards in hand, he introduced us to the Indian Ocean. He held intentional conversation with each of us while instructing us to pop-up and surf the waves. We looked at one another across the waves, faces gleaming as we took in the moments. While trek walking barefoot atop the cobblestone sidewalks, we discussed how blessed we are to live the life we do.
The wildly, contrasting, dynamic of cultures that South Africa presents caught my attention. Chatter of returning filled the air as we waited to clear immigration. Upon boarding, the ship rocked in the choppy port water. The announcement came suddenly after...the next port had been closed and we would be docked an extra day- approaching storms would cause us to miss the next scheduled port. While the room filled with a sigh of sadness, it quickly turned back to exchanging stories of our time on land. And with that, the port opened and the horn blew leading us back to the sea.
Lief,
