Oh Canada

Howzit,

First of all, let me just mention that it is really really cold here in Canada. Boy did we get spoiled with those last hot and sunny days in South Africa.

Second of all, it's get to be able to say that, despite a long and tiring travel day, we all made it safely back to Canada. AND! So did our luggage :) What a blessing. Speaking of blessings, the prayers you tossed out there for safe flights and smooth connections worked wonders; I don't think I've ever gone through customs as quickly as we did yesterday.

It's been a blast sharing our journey with you over the last 3 months - we want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for growing with us, learning with us and praying for us. It's so exciting to be back and able to share those stories and pictures with you in person.

So on behalf of the 2010/2011 Outtatown team,

Cheers,

Sandy

Heronbridge!!!!!

We spent the week back at Heronbridge Retreat Centre to finish all of our year-end debriefs. Rad Raf had the privilege of being the last debriefer. It was cool to hear about everyone's favourite moments, what everyone is taking out of the year, and how much we all love each other. We learned even more about the people we have spent the past year with and the potential in everybody to benefit the world.
We also got in some last minute tanning and had a casino night where Mennonite Madness and Dutch Blitz were played ferociously, and the Outta-Tony Awards were announced. Girls appreciation day was planned down to dinner and a show including our favorite boy band which has the most ridiculous name that not even members of the band remember it.
Today as a final moment of celebration (until Starbucks in Germany), Joshua Patkau was baptized!
Tomorrow we start our 36 hours of travel and I am a bit frightened to arrive home, as I can even see my breath here now!
Pce. Britany Marsolaiz

Kruger National Park!

When we arrived at Krugar National Park, we were excited to learn that we would be staying in tradional, grass roofed huts. We cooked our meals together outside, and the biggest problem with that was that the monkeys would come and steal our food if we didn't watch it. South Africa's racoon.
When people think of South Africa, they think of long grass, rolling hills, and of course the elephants, giraffes, zebras, and lions. This is the perfect description of Krugar National Park. Our site got split up into two groups, and each group went on two 3-hour safaris, one at 5 a.m. and one at 5 p.m.. My group went on the evening safari first. We mostly just saw owls, but near the end, we were lucky enough to see a pride of 5 lions, which was amazing, considering they sometimes go weeks without seeing on lion. Seeing a pride was a real gift.
For our morning safari, we had to get up at 4:30 a.m. to make it to the truck. We got to watch an amazing sunrise. We saw water buffalo, wildebeests, rhinos, vultures, warthogs, giraffes, zebras, and other African animals. The most exciting site by far though, was the elephants. At first we only saw five, far away in the trees. But as we started to drive away, a huge herd of them appeared close to our truck. There was about 20 of them, ranging from newborn babies to fully grown elephants. For most people, it was our first elephant siting, which completed the big 5.
Seeing all these animals was a huge privilege for me, and I'll never forget it.
- Emily Loeppky

Missions School

After our time in Swaziland we spent a few days that the African School of Missions. Our time there was spent mostly on debrief. ASM was where we started to tell our stories of the year. We told the group about our highs and lows, where we had struggled and where we had grown. There was a lot of laughter and a few tears as we all started to accept that our time together was coming to an end. We spent our free time playing sports, sitting by the pool and just hanging out with eachother and just enjoying the time we had left together. We capped it off by running in the rain and standing there awed by the lightening. Except for Dan who decided to jump in the pool in a lightning storm, he quickly thought better of that decision and climbed out. After that show it was off to Kruger for some tourist time.

By: Josh Paetkau

Reaching Out in Swaziland

We all piled into the bus excited to start our new adventure. Outtatown was on its way to Swaziland; the third country in Africa we were visiting. After the easiest border crossing ever we preceded to Manzini where we would be staying for the next five days. Our partner there was the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), so we knew we were in good hands.

While there we visited a mock traditional tribal village. They told us about their culture and we got to go inside a few of their huts. We learned that by the age of six, the kids move out of their parent's huts and into their own girls and boys kid's huts, where they would live separate lives together in the hut until they get married. We also learned that when entering a hut the women would stay to the left and the men to the right. The Swazi culture held separation of the genders to a high esteem and this was simply another way of demonstrating that.

By far the most meaningful part of my week were the orphanages that we visited. We spent time at four different ones in the rural Swaziland areas. On our first visit we spent the day painting for a woman who had liquidated all her assets in order to start up an orphanage and HIV/AIDS clinic. We saw the heart of this woman and were stoked to support her in any way we could. The next three orphanages we went to consisted of us entertaining kids; we played games, sang them songs, made paper airplanes for them, and just held these kids who, I think, blessed us more than we blessed them. Even though they don't come from the best situations they were still excited to laugh and to play, and be tickled to no end. Their circumstances didn't seem to faze them. They still live others and are willing to learn and be thankful for the blessings they do have. This was the love of God in action. I loved investing in these children's lives and putting a smile on their faces.

Another thing that was cool was seeing a couple of the children wearing Toms. Toms shoes is a brand that will donate a pair of shoes to a child who needs them for every pair that the consumer buys. For us it was super exciting to see the receiving end of something we do. Some of us already wear Toms, so to see a child who has been blessed by us supporting the brand was really encouraging. I know that we want to support it even more when we get home.

My week in Swazi proved to be uplifting and fulfilling. From bartering in the markets for our loved ones' souvenirs, to learning about yet another new culture, to spending time with God's most precious children I've continued to be stretched in my abilities, points of view, and most importantly, faith.

-Laura Bernier

Drakensberg Hike and Zulu meal

Most of us were pumped for our three days in the Drakensberg mountains but the thought of being split up for a week was a little sad, but not too sad. All of us had been hoping that we would be in our canoe trip groups from the first semester to partake in some more inside jokes and stir up old, fond memories. Our wish came true and my group was to depart first. we filled our packs with what we thought were the essentials, strapped them snugly around our hips, laced up our hiking boots and if we were smart, applied sunscreen. The first day was a managable hour-and-a-bit jaunt to our sleeping quarters for the next two nights, a cave. We unrolled our mats which were two centimeters of pure luxury and ensured that there were no drips in our chosen spot before unrolling our sleeping bags. Then it was down to the river to replenish our water supply with cool, crisp, refreshing mountain H2O (some of us took the warning from Raf and purified our water with a complicated system involving at least a fifteen minute wait since last years group may have picked up a parasite here. But impatient others -myself included- drank freely but not before praying over it -shout out to Joshua D. of course). We also took a dip to cool off and tested out a natural water slide. Anywho, it was 5:30 the next morning when our guide, Paul, woke me up. A hearty breakfast of oatmeal and we were on our way! As we hiked we enjoyed the glamorous scenery. We spotted baboons and only hoped the security guards back at the cave were watching out stuff. I will spare you the details of the long and gruesome struggle and skip to our arrival at the top of Rhino's peak. Spectacular! a 360 degree panorama awaited us. I think it was the most beautiful view I had ever seen! All of us were so proud for making it up there. We just sat and ate our lunch in awe. None of us wanted to leave such an amazing display of God's beauty and power. But the time came and we tore ourselves away. We were all pretty pleased to get back into the cave, prepare some dinner and then settle in for the night (all of us praying for a better sleep than the first night). The next morning we were sad to have to go. Connecting with God through nature, getting some good fresh air and excercise and being with a fewer amount of people was really a nice break for all of us.

I am also to mention an evening a few nights after our return to Project Gateway in Pietermaritzburg. We had the privilege of partaking in a traditional Zulu meal, the featured dish? Chicken feet! What a shock when the thing on your plate has claws and fingers. For most of us it was just a mental thing we had to get past, but really, they turned out to be not too bad. My group was the second to have this meal and the other group saved us from also stomaching trip because apparently they didn't do a very good job of hiding the fact that none of them liked it. Anyway, the highlight of the evening was watching (and participating in) some traditional dances. Afterward we all went outside (in the light mist) and played some African (and Canadian) games. The evening was concluded with singing. Some of the Zulu women busted into beautiful worship songs. It was a great end to the night.

Written by: Christine Barkey

A Week of Curry

Hello to all of our dedicated followers.
Last week was our final homestay with an Indian family in Durban. We arrived on Saturday and after an introduction we got our homestay assignments and went our separate ways. We met again on Sunday for church and then went out for a picnic and games with the church members. We started our week at the Chatworth drug rehab centre where we got a talk about drug prevention in Durban. Next we went to the Hare Krishna temple. Hare Krishna is an Indian religion which has similarities to Hindu but also many differences. It's hard to explain. We then went to our first mall of the week. We went to one everyday, by the end of the week some had visited 4 different malls. Tuesday started with a talk about Indians in SA by pastor Dan, the pastor of the church. We then got another talk at the University of Kwazulu-Natal. After that we went to the Pheonix settlement. This was a settlement set up by Mahatma Ghandi during his time in SA, we toured his home. On Wednesday we went to the Victoria market to do some shopping. We then spent time at a Muslim mosque where we had a lecture on Islam and then ate a traditional Muslim meal with our hands. Thursday was spent at the Aryan Benevolent Home, a home for the elderly. We got a tour, sang songs and talked to the residents. On Friday we had a fun day. We started the day by taking a big bunch of kids to the beach. We spent the morning playing with the kids and making sure they didn't run into the water. After that we walked to uShaka watermark and basically unwound after a packed week. We took tube rides past the aquariums filled with penguins, dolphins and sharks, went downvthe tallest waterslide in Africa and the decided to start getting crazy. We took 22 people down a slide with 1 second gaps and then packed 17 people into an 8 person tube and went down a waterslide. We had a lot of fun and got some great videos. During the week we tried a lot of new, spicy foods and got to eat it all with our hands, every parents worst nightmare, be glad you weren't here. Well that was our week in Durban, bye for now.

Josh Paetkau

Bonnievale

“We’ll be packing the bus at 8:30 tomorrow morning,” Steve told us on the evening of February 25th, “and make sure to wear your bathing suits!!” A surprise water adventure. Beach time? Water park? Tubing down a river, perhaps? Even better. An irrigation system.
Before arriving in Bonnievale for three full days at the Impact Campground, we partook in what I’d like to call a “freshwater concrete irrigation caving” experience led by our host, Con. Minus some of us getting slapped in the face by a few bats, it was definitely a fun way to start off our stay. The Impact Campground was amazing. Our sleeping structures and the eating areas were both out in the open and overlooking a calm, slightly seaweed filled, river. First order of business? Tarp slide into the river. We all went down that slide in every way possible, even back flipping (resulting in a minor head injury - ahem, Scones). A one kilometer swim up the river brought us to a really sweet rope swing which was frequently visited by all of us for the three days (and even on Monday night, but you can ask some of the guys about that one). Sleeping outside with just a roof over our heads made the heat a lot more bearable during the nights and we were even kept company by a bunch of people-loving flies :) advice for next years Outtatowners: bring ear plugs. To prepare us for the upcoming bungee jump, on Sunday most of us went on what was called the “King Swing” which started with a huge stomach-lurching drop. A little bit less of a drop than the bungee jump but still scary and thrilling nonetheless. On Sunday night we gathered around the fire outside for worship. As a worship team we decided to have a foot-washing service. We had the chance to serve each other and it ended up being a really powerful night. It reminded me of how God and others in our lives constantly pour out their love on us, even when we don’t deserve it. It was really humbling. That night we also enjoyed a girls evening in the river where we found out how water can act as a very strong voice amplifier, at least that’s what the guys told us... Our last adventure in Bonnievale was slingshot paint-balling on Monday morning. Epic. We all had a ton of fun and survived minus a few welts.
Overall, that weekend was the perfect time and place to relax and rejuvenate. And have I mentioned the food yet? It was incredible. Con and his wife were unbelievable cooks. After lots of time swimming in the sunshine for those three days, we were all ready and excited for the next stop on our adventure - bungee jumping and Jay Bay :)

Written by: Caity Wright

J-Bay Adventure!

During our week in J-bay we got to experience some awesome adventures, as well as enjoy relaxing times. There was time for reading on the beach, shopping and going for coffee but also partaking in new adventures. The first morning after arriving, we went horseback riding on the beach. I wasn’t overly excited about it at first, but it ended up totally blowing me away! We galloped with the sun on our backs, up and down rolling sand dunes, and splashed at the oceans edge. As I was riding and watching the wave’s crash I couldn’t get over that OUR God created them with all their beauty and power. This just made me realize even more how insanely creative and powerful He is. That if God took as much time and care as He did in making the waves and the beauty surrounding me, how much more would He care for me and who I’m becoming in him.
We also got to go surfing! It was so much fun to be able to learn an activity that the people of the area enjoy and love to participate in on a regular basis. There were three steps to be able to stand on the board...and most people got up! It was so much fun to begin to pick up on it in only a short time. If I ever get another chance, I’d love to keep working at it until it becomes natural and I can enjoy it to its fullest.
Those couple of days were a much needed break to relax and re-fuel, but it was also awesome to be able to have new, exciting experiences.

Melissa Bobrowski

Bungee Jumping to Mdumbi!

By: Laura Sawatzky and Katie Daman

Laura says: On our way to Jeffrey's Bay, our group stopped at Bloukran's Bridge, the anticipated 216m bungee jump. The day finally came! Some of us were too excited to even think about how far of a free fall it actually was. Some of us saw this as a challenge. And some of us were FULL OF NERVES- like me!! Before I knew it, they called 'Jump 22', my feet were strapped together and I was hopping to the edge of the bridge. I forgot all about my nerves because I was too pumped with adrenalin. At the count of three, I jumped off!
Katie responds: Laura went before me for the bungee jump. She had been so nervous beforehand that I thought she would cry. But she actually handled it quite well. With a look of fear on her face, I watched her fall (not jump) off the bridge. I couldn't wait until my turn!
Laura says: The breeze drowned out the blasting pump-up music as the earth was coming towards me FAST. I concentrated on what was around me... it was just me putting trust in God while having the most exhilerating experience in my entire life. Who knew that a person who fears heights would want to bungee jump off a bridge again. This was one of the craziest, most unforgettable moments in my life and I'd do it over and over!
Katie responds: When Laura came up after the Bungee jump she was full of energy. She couldn't stop smiling and yelling "Yo, that was the best thing ever!" Her energy overflowed into me and pumped me up even more for the jump. And I loved it just as much as she did. I now understand how adrenalin can be addicting! Regardless of peoples attitudes about the jump beforehand, which ranged from fears to jumping backwards no one came out of it with regrets. And I think most of us would jump at any given opportunity to do it again (haha).

Laura says: A long stretch of beach, the warm Indian ocean, huts and hammocks, cows grazing, sunshine, wild horses, dolphins- do you think of paradise? Mdumbi captured 'paradise' to me.
Katie responds: Mosquitos while we slept, 2 minute showers, 90 degree uphill to get back from the beach. And despite the negatives, I must agree with Laura about it being a form of paradise. It's like an earthly, hippy resort spot!
Laura says: Many people notice the beauty of Mdumbi but not the reason behind Mdumbi backpackers. The place we are staying at, contributes to the nearby community and African families. For example, the water source is shared with everyone- community and tourists (We had to get used to 2 minute showers.. with cold water). The community owns a 10% sharehold of Mdumbi Backpackers as well and are actively involved in the business. They care for Mdumbi Backpackers like its their own home.
Katie responds: Every morning we'd wake up to the excited chit-chatty kids who actually go to school here. Mdumbi backpackers runs a pre-school for the kids in the community. This is really cool because it's an opportunity they wouldn't have otherwise.
Laura says: Our week at Mdumbi had the theme of "knowing yourself". We learned about finding our passions and abilities, spirtual gifts, the importance of budgeting (great for me now that I'm a university student.. AHH!) and we explored our personalities by taking an Ennegram test.
One night we all sat outside during dinner and enjoyed watching a lightning storm. There were "oohs" and "aahs" for a good half an hour. God's beauty was shown everywhere, in the landscape and people. On Friday the girls organized a Guys' Appreciation Day. We served them breakfast and dinner, played games and handed out prizes. All of us girls feel so blessed to have such amazing guys on our site! 34 of us left Mdumbi understanding why we act the way we do and feeling more relaxed than ever!
Katie responds: For me this was definitely one of the most relaxing weeks yet. We got to sleep in (8:30!), sleep and tan (at the same time!) plus as a bonus, our classes weren't even boring:) Whether it was playing cares in the evening, making fires on the beach, performing dances (and numerous other things), I think it's safe to say this was a great week for everyone.

KAYAMANDI - Three Perspectives

Stellenbosch is a bustling university town in the heart of South African wine country. Set apart, sprawling on the hill and looking down into Stellenbosch is the sleepy Kayamandi where during the day the kids are in school and there is not much going on. My work group was stationed at Kuyasa, a school-like facility, which was where we all started each day. My group consisted of 13 people all of whom were eager to accomplish a lot. We took on 5 projects that we promised to get done and 1 maybe project of we finished with everything early. In the 3 days given to us our group painted the front and side of Kuyasa, painted and installed baseboards in 2 classrooms, and fixed the rubber flooring in the classrooms. We did some gardening and yard work at the safe houses for girls as well as painted. We filled in sand on a new playstructure, painted and fixed up the laundry room, and painted the music room. While doing all this we still managed to find time to high five and "shop shop" (a kind of handshake) the kids who were always around. It was a big 3 days but with God's help everything went almost exactly according to plan. This was an amazing experience to be able to plan and then deliver what we had said we would.
-Reuben Van Gaalen

These past 2 weeks have been spent in the community of Kayamandi, one of which was spent planning a project we were to carry out in a time slot of 3 days. I was in a group at a place called Legacy, which had a wonderful reading program for student s up to Grade 8. Our project consisted of creating 2 concrete flower pots in the front walkway, as well as painting the floor along the walk. To involve the community we received help from a man working in another part of Legacy, the community garden. This was a fun learning experience, testing both our patience and creativity. After our project, we had the wonderful opportunity to hear the children's choir sing for us. Overall, this project was a fun way to bless the community of Kayamandi.
-Kate Fishwick

While we were in Kayamandi, my group had the chance to help with an organization called Prochorus. We were able to paint play structures at 3 different creches (preschools) and a wall mural. It was amazing to work alongside the children and workers as we brightened the front of their school. We used red, yellow, green and blue paint and created a jungle scene complete with a lion and a monkey. Even though we could not necessarily understand what the children were saying, we could tell how excited the children were to see the completed results and know that they had helped make it beautiful.
-Alyssa Laird

In a matter of moments the rich, affluent fair skinned people disappeared and we had entered a new world inside of the already new world that was Africa. The beautiful brick houses and flower filled gardens turned into metal shacks with tin roofs held in place only by rocks resting on top. Soweto was to become our home for the week, and already we felt like a tourist group of kids brought there to gawk at an unthinkable way of living. I couldn't help but wonder, if I was already feeling uneasy about barging into their township as if we were on a trip to the zoo, watching the animals at play, what did they think of us.

It wasn't until we exited the bus to go to our first black African church service that the sadness and despair that would seem to describe the people of Soweto floated away. The breeze carried the joyful noise that was the people of the church singing.
It’s an impactful experience, walking into a situation with the motive to help in any way you can, and then leave the situation changed in every way possible.
Our week in Soweto changed the way I look at wealth; a man teaching us during the week described the people of the community as being rich in spirit. Never have I ever seen more joy in people that would outwardly be thought of as broken.

Our week in Soweto also changed the way I look at God; experiencing a way of worshiping God that makes me wants to dance and shout and do whatever I can to show that I am unashamed of who he is in my life. That is a moment that I will always cherish.
It almost didn't feel right leaving Soweto after a week, but I know the impact that the people of that community has made on our group will leave us changed forever.

By Tessa Funk

Table Mountain!

Table Mountain Hike Blog

Aly Bergsma

            On Tuesday, the 15th, we went and hiked up a huge mountain, known as Table Mountain, which overlooks Cape Town from 1000m.  It was a really hard hike for most of us.  It was a steep, uphill climb for most of it, half of it was in the sun and thankfully there was shade for the other half.  It took about an hour and a half for much of the group to reach the top - it was well worth the effort though, and the view was amazing!  After having some time to explore the summit and the shops, we took the gondola down the mountain and went back to Die Eiland, the place we are currently staying.  It was a long day with lots of rewards.   

Restorative Justice in Athlone

            Last week was our home-stay in Athlone, a community just outside of Cape Town. The week was spent learning about the history and culture of the coloured people of South Africa. Athlone was a safe neighborhood and friendly place during the day, but at night the streets were very much dominated by gangs.

            One of the most impactful moments of the week for me was when we got a chance to meet some of the members of these gangs. On Thursday we went to Pollsmoor Correctional Facility to learn about restorative justice. Restorative justice is working with the perpetrator of a crime to acknowledge that there was wrong done by them, so that they take responsibility for the crime. Then they work with the inmate to understand that what they did caused pain not only to the victim and the victims family, but also their own family. They must also learn to face the pain in their life that they may be projecting on others.

            We had the privilege of seeing first hand the effect of restorative justice on the inmates of Poolsmoor. We sat next to murderers, thieves, and rapists and talked to them about the restoration process in their lives. It’s amazing how much more human a murderer is when you take the time to talk to them and just listen to their life experiences.

            One of the men I had a chance to talk to was in for 5 years for manslaughter, he had killed a 96 year old woman while driving drunk. He told me of his childhood, he shared with me a story he just told for the first time in his life the week before during a restorative justice session. It was only the second time he had told anyone that his father had been physically abusive to him, that two of his uncles had molested him by day and another uncle every night for a number of years starting when he was six. These events led to an enormous amount of pent up anger in his life that led to some bad life decisions he has made. But I was able to see the restoration at work in this mans life. He did not seem angry and had acknowledged his own wrongs along with the wrongs done to him. He was also working to come to terms with himself about his father and uncles.

            Restorative Justice fact: In Pollsmoor 80% of inmates who get out re-offend, only 20% of inmates who have been through restorative justice re-offend.

Look up what restorative justice is doing in Canada and the United States.
-Jake Bontrager-Singer

R&R (sort of) in Simonstown

Last week was our week off, so to speak. We were staying in Simonstown, a small town right on the coast. When I say right on the coast I mean it, it was a 30 second walk to one to two beaches, one of which had  penguins! And when I say we were in Simonstown I actually mean that we were 30 minutes outside of the town proper. Luckily after all of the walking we've done on Outtatown 30 minutes only causes minor grumbling, which was mostly blown away by the 30 km winds on the first 2 days.
Our first day was spent at Cape Point, the furthest south point you can go in africa. The updrafts off of the ocean were so fierce that we were thinking we might have to hold on to some of our lighter members to keep them from blowing away. We all climbed down to the line that marks the furthest south point that your allowed to go, so now we all have bragging rights.
The second day we spent at Muzineburg (I think that's how you spell it) beach. The high winds made for not the most fun day. The waves were too choppy for a proper shark watch so we swam at our own risk. We only found out the next day exactly how big the sharks were in that area. Most of us went into the water for a while, as long as you could stand the freezing cold, and then came out to face the sand storms that were blowing across the beach. Needless to say we all ended up very cold and with sand in new places.
On the third day we decided to get a little crazy. Most of us signed up to go jump off of a cliff, sorry to all the parents who ever said "If your friends jumped off a cliff, would you follow?" The answer is yes, yes we will. We all took our turns running down the hill and then jumping into the sky. O and did I mention there was a parachute, yes we were actually going paragliding and not just trying to kill ourselves, well Britany might have been, she decided to take 2 tries at getting off the mountain, luckily she remains unhurt and only slightly embarassed. Paragliding was a fun experience, a little to short for most of us but with such a big group we couldn't really blame them. Plus they let us do tricks, that made up for the short ride.
Our fourth day we got even crazier. We signed up willingly, some a little less willingly than others, to go shark diving. After watching a fight onshore we went out and watched shark attacks all day. We got into the cages and waited, then saw a shark, then waited some more, then made a sheep noise and then the sharks came. (suprisingly the sheep noise works) Some of us were a little more scared than others, I will personaly deny having to be pulled back into the cage for the rest of my life, and some were just a little seasick. We got very up close and personal with these sharks, Jim more than others, as they swam within touching distance of the cage. A lot of close encounters and a few sunburns later and we were safley back on shore and retelling the days stories to the half of the group from the other boat.
On our last day in Simonstown we went into Capetown, funny how that works, for an authentic market experience. We shopped for the afternoon in Market Square. We got some great deals, haggled some great deals, and then some of our people, cough Allison cough cough, nearly cried after bartering an old lady down 10 rand. Some good times and good deals all around.
Unfortunatly this is where our week came to an end. We had a lot of fun, did some crazy things and we still have all of our limbs. What a restful week it was.

By: Josh Paetkau

Camping in the Dessert!

January 30^st , the outtatown crew began our long trek through the desert to cape area. Our first long day of travelling left us in the middle of the desert at a gorgeous farm. I was amazed at the beauty of the nothingness around us. Right at the farm there was, what they like to call a 'mountain', which really is a large, steep hill. A few of us ventured to the top to watch the sunset. The wind was so powerful and reminded me of God's great strength. As I looked around me the only green area was the oasis of the farm at the foot of the mountain. It was gorgeous. In addition to watching the sunset, Megan and I rose early enough to watch the sunrise as we ride some Arabian horses through the desert at top speeds. Once again I was reminded of God's love for us and how we are able to have little moments with him.

By: Kate Fishwick

SOWETO WEEK!

 Our professional hair stylists!

 Walking through Kliptown, Soweto.

 Soccer City group shot!

Pretoria

Goeie aand vriende en familie!!!!!! (Good Afternoon friends and family!)

At the moment, I am sitting at my host family’s house in Pretoria. The ladies name is Elaine, and she has 2 sons, Marius and Justin. It’s been a wild experience so far. This whole week has been really good. But let me not jump ahead….. I’ll start at the beginning. (Or at least where the blog left off)
After HeronBridge Collage, we drove to Pretoria, went to church (which was entirely in Afrikaanse), and then got sent off with our host families!
On Monday, we went to Unisa (University of SA) and we had a lecture about Afrikaanse, took a drive around downtown Pretoria by the Kruger monument. ~(and everyone waved at us) Then we went to the "Voortrekker Monument" (the Great Trek Monument) and the "Klapperkop Fort". There are 4 forts that surround the Great trek monument, and that was one of them. Tuesday, we listened to a speaker named Willy, who talked about reconciliation in Africa. He was part of the peace keeping 'army' until 3 years ago. He took us the 'diamond hill battle field', and brought along some real guns from that time period. We also went to the University of Pretoria and listened to a guy named Pete. He was part of the TRC (Truth and Reconciliation Commition) which is a group of people chosen by Mendela to listen to peoples storyies of the Apartheid and then help them. It was about conflict resolution. He told us lots of stories. And then we went to the "Sammy Marks Museum" with Willy. Sammy had a metal business, and was important in that time period...but I didn't really catch a lot, because I was more interested in the piano that was about 120yrs old. (that I got to play!!!!)
Wednesday, was the first service day of South Africa! We went to a house, owned by the church hosting us, which is located in the poorer area of town. The house allows people to get out of their own house and be part of a community and learn how to do things like cooking, sewing, child care... etc. So we sorted books, painted and did gardening too. After that, we went to "Bethlehem Town" which is an extremely poor area, (like... ‘homeless’) and they set up a community. There’s no electricity, since it would cost 250000 rands to SET IT UP… not to keep it running. (Approx 36,000$) The houses are about the size of garden sheds in Canada. But they live in community and learn to get back up on their feet.
Thursday has been the best day yet! (In my opinion) We had to be at the church for 5:00 to drive to the train station and catch ‘the gospel train’. There is more than one train, but basically there is church held on the train. People go crazy, with singing and drumming on the sides on the train. And everyone is crammed tightly in the train too. Actually, it was so tight, that some people would hang off the sides, or out the doors, or be standing in between the coaches of the train. Then we went to a ‘drumming workshop’ where we learned to play the djambe. SO MUCH FUN! And we went to the ‘parliament buildings too. The gardens we gorgeous! And now you’re caught up.
In short…. Lessons, exploring, thousands of pictures, lots of bonding, drumming, site seeing, and new friends/family’s. Especially the last one. I know that I’ve had a blast with my ‘family’, and from other peoples stories, they have too.
Now, in the words of Laura Bernier…. That is all!

Djambe Lessons

Klapperkop Fort

Laura's and my host family

Diamond Hill Battlefield

Girls at Union Hall

Written By: Megan Hitchon

This is the wild life experience of SA! The moth was at least the size of a small bird. I don't know how it fit in Joseph's hand! Video taped by Megan Hitchon!

South Africa!!!!!!!

Hello to all our friends and family back home!

After five weeks away from eachother, our Outtatown family has finally been re-united! The flying and travelling time was definetely a great time to test our patience with eachother as were were thrown right into hours of travelling, limited sleep, and jetlag. Nonetheless, we made it to South Africa without anyone getting strangled where we met up with Matt(who had a slightly shorter plane ride...) and Steve Plett. We went straight from the airport to Heronbridge College and Retreat Center which we will be leaving tomorrow to go to Pretoria. In Pretoria, we will go to church and meet the families that we will be staying with for our Afrikaner homestay.

Heronbridge has been a great time to re-connect as a group and have a lot of fun together, as well as get some more serious things done such as an African orientation meeting. This was a great place to start off our second semester as we got lots of time to hang out in small groups and individually, reflect on Christmas break, enjoy the beautiful African landscape and architecture(and weather), and catch up on some sleep.

We have also met some of our South African partners; it was great to meet them and have the chance to get to know them. One of the activities that we did with some of them was playing rugby. I am sure that the South African people who were playing with us and those who were watching us across the river got a good laugh out of it, but it was a great time to experience one of South Africa's popular sports.

We have already experienced a lot of blessings from God and I just want to share a few:
~a safe arrival in South Africa
~Steve and Sandy were able to see Holly because of a mistake in their plane tickets
~flying in an A380 (just ask Raf about that one...)
~the leaders receiving seats beside some of the only vacant seats on the plane which gave them a much more comfortable and relaxing flight
~a beautiful place to rest and reconnect

As we venture into second semester please pray for continued rest(for students and especially leaders), continued safety, and a good homestay.

And if you want to share in our first experience with South African wild-life, please watch the video we uploaded :) Some of us found this experience pretty comical!

Oh, and we are hoping that those of you who are living in the lovely winter weather are surviving :)

By Nadine Frei

Bus ride to HeronBridge

Waiting for flight to Johannesburg, South Africa!