Cape Town

6/16-6/22

Two weeks ago we were privileged to stay in Cape Town for a week. At the beginning of the week we were on holiday for a few days. During this time we visited Table Mountain, spent time at the waterfront, took a red bus tour which took us all throughout Cape Town, and went to the local aquarium. These days were so valuable to our team as we were able to get the rest we needed after four weeks of ministry and spent so much intentional time with one another.

The second half of the week was spent doing various ministries around Cape Town. This was so special because we were able to do ministry in a place that most people only go for holiday, I felt like we were given the opportunity to see deeper into Cape Town and reach others who may be overlooked by the vacationers.

Our first day was spent at an organization based about an hour out of the city called Project Lily. This is such an amazing organization that focuses on sewing reusable feminine pads and traveling throughout Africa to teach sewing and provide resources for girls. For context, in Africa it is unfortunately not uncommon for young girls to end up failing out of school because they miss too many days due to having to stay home when they bleed. This then provides limited job opportunities as they grow older. Project Lily aims to target girls who are school aged and may be in this position. As the organization steps in they teach a skill of sewing, which provides opportunities for jobs, while also targeting a very large issue for females. Our time at Project Lily was spent building relationships, as we are the first outreach time to reach them, and observing how their organization is run. This ministry really touched near to my heart as from a young age I was taught the skill of sewing and I am now coming to realize how the Lord could use that to serve Him and His children. This is also an undercover ministry for sharing the Gospel.

The second day we visited a senior care home. We were all broken into different groups to best serve the elderly folks who live at the home. Some people danced and played music, others made jewelry, and us nursing students helped to organize medications and patient charts. Our three guys on the team even had the opportunity to observe and help dress a wound.

On our last day of ministry of this week we drove to Stellenbosch to serve in a community that is very impoverished. There we helped to prep for a soup kitchen out of the local church and then in the evening we got to help serve the food to the community members. This day was very touching for a lot of people on the team because we got to see the ministry all the way though and see how much of a blessing the soup kitchen is to many people.

Our time in Cape Town was truly wonderful. We all got to experience many new ministries and come to understand more of the struggles in South Africa and even Africa in general.

On Saturday we headed back to George, making sure to stop by a beach with wild penguins and the southern most tip of Africa.

Praises:

• For our few days of holiday that we got to spend exploring and relaxing

• All the flourishing ministries we were able to visit and partner with

• The time our team got to spent together living in one house and having fellowship with one another

• Getting to see penguins on the beach!

Prayers:

• That Project Lily would continue to grow and reach all women across Africa

• That the care home would be supplied with all they need to provide a nice space for the elderly to live

• For blessing and provisions in the village in Stellenbosch