That’s right—we went on holiday, or as y’all back home know it-- vacation. Dawn, Leah, and I went to Jeffrey’s Bay for a couple of days (back in November), and were then joined by Jo in Cape Town for another couple days.
In J-Bay we stayed at the AIM house with the team that we hadn’t seen in weeks. The hospitality was insane, and the leaders gave their own bed to me and Dawn for the duration of our stay. They also let us borrow cars and taxied us to and from the airport. To top off the spoiling, we did nothing. Well, Leah did—she caught up with everyone from her time in J-Bay as an FYM (First Year Missionary—her program ended in May). But Dawn and I learned that we are fabulous holiday day buddies, as we both understand the art of nothingness. We did it well. We did it on the beach, in our room, during the day, at night. I would venture to say that we can do nothing as well as the pros.
The weather was chilly and it got quite windy while we were there, something we were not prepared for having come from the sizzling heat of Pretoria. It was a nice change, though it did hinder the sun bathing. Dawn taught me to indulge in her personal favorite holiday nothingness activity, which is looking for shells. I have to tell you, I was skeptical at first, but when you are on the kind of beach that has the same fancy shells you pay money for in stores, you get pretty excited about shells.
We awoke early one morning to watch the sunrise over the ocean, one of my favorite things about beaches. We were worried when we woke up and saw the sky was already pink, but the sun took its time getting up and we didn’t miss any of the show. Hot chocolate in hand, we stood and watched in wonder.
J-Bay is one of the to surf spots in the world, so the culture there is very laid back and "chill" friendly . Billabong, Quicksilver, and Roxy all have massive outlet stores there, and I must admit that I made a purchase simply to fit in with all the "cool kids" (i.e. South Africans that I live with at Alabanza). We really enjoyed our restful time there reading, writing, sitting in coffee shops, walking on the beach, but we ecstatic to make our way to Cape Town and reunite with our Jo.
Now, I don’t think I’ve actually told you all who Jo and Leah are. They are Americans who live and work at Alabanza with me and Dawn. They arrive 3 or 4 weeks after we did, and came to help out with the Awakening. They both participated as FYM’s last year, Jo at Alabanza, and Leah in J-Bay—but that’s how they both came to know and love this place, so much so that they had to come back. Jo is 20, from Washington state, sings like an angel, and is undoubtedly one of the funniest people God ever created. Leah is 25, from Indiana, both mature and highly playful, and laughs from her soul—something that can literally be heard for kilometers around. Trust me. I love these girls so very much and all we do when we are together is laugh. They have both taught me a great deal—Jo that I am not alone in this world, and from Leah what true beauty and servanthood are.
the beach at J-Bay during sunrise
We drove out to Stellenbosch one morning to see the wine country. We would’ve taken a wine tour, except I was the only one who wanted to try the wine. Maybe next time. But we did get to tour the town and one winery and vineyard. The entire area is lush and breathtaking. We hurried back to make it to the cultural market in Cape Town, and no, I am not tired of African crafts yet. That evening we took a picnic dinner to the top of Table Mountain. We drove halfway, and then took a cable car the rest of the way. The city is on one side, the ocean on the other. We watched the sunset and gawked. It might be my favorite one ever, and that is saying something.
me on the beach in Cape Town 
a message to those at home...
on the top of Table Mountain-- it was COLD!
Jo took my picture while I watched the sunset...
...and this is what I was watching
Drakensburg Mountains
And then two weeks later we took another holiday…
I know it sounds crazy, but we’re doing this so cheaply and we don’t really get weekends here, so we don’t feel bad about taking a few days here and there to explore the rest of the country. This week we were in the Drakensburg Mountains for a couple days. I kid you not and do not exaggerate when I say that this is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Everything is so intensely green! Ahhhh!!!
We stayed in another amazing hostel, though this one should be called a lodge or something less "cheap" sounding. We cooked our own meals in the kitchen and giggles ever evening from our bunkbeds. It was my original holiday crew—Jo, Leah, and Dawn—with the addition of one very important South Africa, Anmerie. We basically took her hostage and forced her to go, and we were all so glad that we did. Anmerie is amazing and had us laughing the whole time and took our South African jokes like a champ.
One day we took a six hour hike through the mountains. We walked through fields of donkeys, waded though waist-high fern fields, entered into jungle-like forests of vines and mosses, played beneath and behind a waterfall, and cautiously made our way through the territory of some angry baboons. Yup. Baboons. You think they are cute in the movies, but I’m telling you, nothing is uglier than the scream of Daddy Baboon telling you to get the hell away from him tribe. Eeck! But we had to go that way, and with a lot of caution, several prayers, nervous warnings with big sticks in hand, we made it through their forest. We spotted at least 25, though some estimates go as high at 35. Either way, we were massively outnumbered and very respectful of the fact that though they are hated vermin her in ZA, we were on their turf.
We also used this opportunity to do some debriefing from our time here. Jo left the day after we returned and Leah leaves a couple of days before Dawn and I do. "Debriefing" is time at the end of a trip to process everything you have experienced. Dawn wrote out some questions for all of us, and each night we spent time answering them together. The questions range from funniest moment in ZA to what you saw God do here, to how life will be different when you go home. It was a great time to re-examine my time here, how I have changed, and what God has done. We always digressed and told stories, laughing until we held our stomachs and rolled on the floor. And we had serious times, too, where we prayed over tough areas, and asked for God to walk with us all as we take our next steps.
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