on our way to worcester!

we have been really busy finishing up the ministry here in muizenburg and we are ready to head off to worcester...where we are going to a game reserve and working with IT around the base....then we're leaving for j-bay on sat...pretty exciting!
...here are some more pics of the kids we have been working with:)

penguins, penguins, penguins!!

jack*%!# penguins, boulders beach, simon's town








yesterday cort & i had such a nice day....and let me just say I was a little more than excited to see the penguins! i have been waiting to see them for weeks and we were finally able to train into simon's town....which was a beautiful experience in itself...

us in south africa...

vergelegen winelands, somerset west, cape town



afro cafe, down town, cape town

easter in somerset west, cape town


well i usually don’t have much time to post...but so much to share!
my feelings for these people, this country and their struggles are so great...
with the apartheid only ending less than 15 years ago....resulting in a huge back-lock socially and economically between races it is amazing to see their passion for their heritage and country....i have heard before that you truly haven’t lived until you have been to africa and i believe it now....the world has so much to learn from and about these people...
and i don’t mean flying in and staying in a 5-star hotel....i mean living with the xhosa people and getting to know one of the most passionate and hospitable people groups i have ever been with...
this country has come a long way in the last decade but it is very difficult to undo the injustice that went on for 50 years...there is huge group of impoverished/uneducated people due to the fact they were denied education for years so this results in the high crime rate south africa is and has been facing for years.
but to clear the air about that....we heard so many horror stories from people that had friends shot over their car or had a knife held to their throat in down town cape town...but we have been here for a little over a month and we have not felt threatened in any way. they have security everywhere and they are really trying to get a handle on crime for the 2010 world cup...so all in all it is a beautiful country with beautiful people and although the flight may cost around 2500 per person the trip will be pretty inexpensive...i really hope you have the chance to experience what we have!

happy birthday to my beautiful sister-in-law!

happy birthday amy!! i hope you have a wonderful day! we wish we were there to celebrate with you...we love you!!

muizenburg...

we are staying in the old jewish settlement of muizenburg for the next couple of weeks...it used to be quite the place back in it's day...i still think it's beautiful and it is much safer than our last location so we have a lot more freedom to explore and train back into cape town...


you may recognize these colorful beach houses...they have been in several photo shoots...i love them;)

kandice and i catching some rays...



this is the old hotel that we're staying in...typical for the area:)

i'm in love again ❤

i have been a little down since we left our last location. i have really missed archie and the other boys...but i have met two beautiful little girls that i have really lifted my spirtis and it's been really nice to work with them, i loved working with the boys but i didn't connect with one girl...so it's been nice;)

so here is sinalo and zozo....








aren't they precious?

meet archie...

this is my little buddy archie...

we want nothing more than to bring him home with us. he lives in the township of lwandle (a little run down shack-like village in cape town) with his mother and four siblings.
his father died some years ago from unknown causes or “the illness” which they don’t like to label as HIV or AIDS. his mother works several hours a week, leaving her children unattended and to fend for themselves. when she is home she is often drinking heavily to cope with the pain of her life and decides to lock the kids out of the house more frequently than not....
thankfully for archie there is a christian woman in their village that works at the local crèche that has fallen absolutely in love with him and looks after him several nights a week, feeds him, takes him to the dr. when needed etc.
he is a beautiful little boy with a huge heart. he attends church alone on sundays and has been able to learn english from an early age at the crèche. he did most of our translating from english to xhosa and he did such a great job!!
since he is not up for adoption we have decided to to sponsor him and send him to a private christian school...we will take care of everything from supplies, clothing to doctor visits...it is still unknown if he has HIV...but we want to check right away because with the retro-antivirals he can still have a chance...
we are commited to taking care of his needs, praying for him, writing him and hopefully visiting him again soon....i really feel we came for him....or he was here for us...it is amazing how someone you hardly know can slip right into your heart so quickly...

✌

just a few of our little guys we've been working with...we really want to take the third one home;)