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Published: January 21st 2009
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The house I'm leaving I am currently one week away from departure. One week from being able to leave my winter attire in the airport with my parents. One week away from what will probably be the biggest adventure of my life to date. One week away from entering a new country without knowing a single other person. In some ways it still doesn't feel real that I will be leaving this frozen tundra that I call home soon and taking my first major adventure on my own. As the day draws more near, I am continuing to prepare myself for the journey. Yesterday my Mom and I went and bought most everything that I needed that I didn't already have. Having all this stuff makes it seem more real, but still not 100%. As my last friend from home that will be returning to school left my driveway and headed home to back and go back, it started to sink in a little bit more. With each person I tell or talk to about my upcoming trip, it becomes more and more real to me. I know that by the time I enter the airport in the Twin Cities it will finally hit me
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This is a normal amount of snow... unfortunately that I will not be returning to the place many of my friends and I lovingly call Jewell up on "The Hill" in Liberty, MO. Instead, I am going to broaden my horizons and attempt to see the world through a new lens. The lens of Cape Town South Africa.
Many people have asked me why, of all the places I could have gone, would I want to venture into South Africa. Most students decide that they will study somewhere safe like England, Ireland, or New Zealand. Well, it could be that I have something against places who's names end in land, but I promise that's not it. In my 21 years of life, I have been exposed to very little international diversity, but a group that came from South Africa to sing and dance to teach me about their country found a special place in my heart while I was in high school. For two years, a group called I'Themba counseled at my summer camp. These young adults were from all over South Africa, and they came to the US through Youth For Christ to tell the story of South Africa in schools. Now since schools aren't in
Snow
I'm a little snowed out session in the summer, that left them available to counsel camps. The individuals in this group became friends of mine, and their stories of the place that they came from intrigued me. They told me about the places they lived and the opportunities that they had, and it made me examine my own life in ways, because many of them had much less than I did, but they had a joy in them that was overwhelming. The individuals from these two teams really made me think more about the country of South Africa, a place that I never gave much thought to before. When I went to college and started to consider the possibility to study abroad, I looked at all of the obvious choices. I knew that I wanted to take this opportunity, but I didn't know where I wanted to go. I considered England and Ireland, and thought about Australia, but nothing was really getting me too excited. As I prayed about where God wanted me to be, I didn't feel him pulling me very strongly in any particular direction. None of the -land countries were calling my name. One day I went to an informational meeting with the director of our study abroad office. When I walked into the room I stood at the table with the list of all the approved study abroad locations, and something jumped out at me. Right there on the table was a brochure that read "New: IES in Cape Town South Africa". It was like it was screaming at me. Right away I new that was the place for me to be. I continued to pray about it, and at Thanksgiving 2007 I ran the idea past my parents.
Ok, so it wasn't all smooth sailing. Believe me, you can't just tell your parents that you want to go to South Africa for 5 months and expect them to be all on board right away. Thankfully for me, I had over a year to convince them that Jewell was not the place that I was supposed to be for the Spring '09 semester. After much prayer and consideration, confusion and consideration, prayer and thinking, discussing and calculating and a little more prayer, I finally made my decision. I was going to South Africa!! So, that brings me back to, why South Africa. In some ways it would have been easier to go to one of the -lands. I know it's not because I have something against countries that end in land. The truth is, South Africa is a rich country, and I'm talking about more than material wealth. South Africa is rich with culture and history. It is rich with a new Christian community, and if the members of I'Themba are any indication of what the people are like, it is rich in JOY. The reason to study abroad is not to spend a lot of money just so you can say that you were abroad. It's not something else to put on a resume. It is a chance to immerse yourself in another culture so that you can grow as an individual and really get to know who you are and what you believe. It is a chance to become the person and the Christian that I need to be. It is a chance to look at the world through a different lens. Life on "The Hill" is great, but a hill lends itself very well to a bubble, and you can only grow so much within a bubble. Eventually either the bubble stops the growth, or the growth bursts the bubble and suddenly exposes it's contents to a much bigger world. In some ways, I've begun to feel trapped and desire to go where I am free to grow.
Believe me, planning and preparing for this trip has not exact been a walk in the park. I have stumbled over many hurdles and realize that the road ahead isn't exactly paved with gold, but I trust that God has a plan or two for me in Cape Town, and he'll take care of me while I'm there. So, go ahead and join me on my adventure. I will use this site to update you all on where I am, where I'm going, and what I'm doing. I'll also use it to share with you the pictures from my adventures. It doesn't officially start for a week, but I can use your prayers right now and through the remainder of my travels. I will be leaving the frozen wasteland of MN on January 27, and after a ridiculous amount of traveling will arrive in Cape Town January 28. I will miss all of my family and friends while I am gone, but I am excited for this adventure, and I want you all to know that I love you. Please keep me in your prayers, and feel free to keep track of me. That's what this blog is for!!
April
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Uncle Roy & Aunt Juanita
non-member comment
Hi April!
Sorry to hear about your airport delay. We are praying that you are able to get some sleep on the plane and for your safe arrival. What an adventure!! Love ya!