EVERYTHING we do is for Christ!

We have been quite the touristy team this past week. A nice day of adventures on Monday the 27th! First stop: the top of Table Mountain! With all the rain the rocks were too wet to be able to climb the mountain so we took the cable car to the top. What a BEAUTIFUL view! We hiked around on the top, took lots of pictures, and saw Rock Pirates (these cute little groundhog-bunny looking animals)! We then went to Hoet Bay where we took our shoes and socks off and ran into the Indian Ocean! Very cold, but luckily it was warm enough outside that jeans and a long sleeve shirt was enough...one of the warmest days yet. We ate at the seafood restaurant by the shore then went to the National Park called Cape of Good Hope. Here we went to Cape Point where we could see where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet and could hike down the mountain to the most beautiful beach ever...Dias Beach. It was at the bottom of cliffs... completely surrounded by rocks and the sand was the perfect white/ light tan color. (Don't worry, I have LOTS of pictures.) On the way out of the park we spotted baboons!!!!! They are by far the cutest ugliest things I have ever seen! The baby ones were pretty cute!!! We drove a little farther and spotted an Ibex, similar to an antelope. We then drove to Simon's Town to see Penguins! It is crazy because we were just driving along and a baboon runs across the street...a deer is normal...not a BABOON! We got there and went out to the beach and sure enough spotted penguins! There were baby penguins too!!! So cute and fluffy! After a long day we drove around False Bay and back to Grabouw! Such an amazing time! Baya Dankie (Thank you very much) Gerrit and Ami!!!

Wednesday we got to go to a Themba Care service; it is a different organization that Megan worked with last year. This is a church service for the patients with AIDS that don't leave the facility. It was so uplifting to see these people sing and dance and cry and rejoice all at the same time. These people have nothing...nothing that is but the love of Jesus Christ! So encouraging! Later that night we also went to a township bible study that was started by Daz and Lisa from Village of Hope. This community has no electricity at all...they have the bare minimum...if that. We had the opportunity to pray for some of the people within the township, so many broken people.

On Thursday (30th) the four of us and our two British friends went to Cape Town to the Jewish Museum, on accident, and then found the museum we wanted...the Holocaust Museum. What an eye-opener! So sad; it made my stomach churn. We had lunch and walked to the Green Market!!! So many tents, so much stuff, and so little time! Got to buy real Africa stuff!!! So exciting, but yet the most stressful situation of my life. Bartering is some intense business!

Friday we had CRAFT and GAME day for the kiddos. We brought 4 big bags full of school supplies so we thought it would be nice to have an organized day for little projects. We made kites, flowers, planes, colored, and played on the playground. All the children from Agape 1,2, and 3 came to the school at Agape 4, so it was a crazy day, but fun and something different for the children. For lunch we had a yummy African dish. Yummmmm yumm! And in the afternoon, after the children left, the 4 of us swept the gym and mopped. Gerrit and Ami's kids taught us a fun African Jumping Game! I got 3rd place...mad hops, no big deal...haha!

Wow. What an amazing weekend (July 2-4th)! We went to stay with Megan's friends Theresa and Derick. What a blessing it was and what an amazing Christ following couple!!! Their love story is absolutely heart-warming and was COMPLETELY based on Faith.  Not a story you can just type out...I would butcher it if I tried! ...Sovereignty. That is what I learned this weekend. To trust the Lord with everything I have, with everything I am, and to be everything HE wants me to be. In life we hit rough times and happy times, but what I have learned and what we as believers need to understand is that EVERYTHING we do is for Christ...that is why we are here on this Earth in the first place...to praise is Holy name! A question that Derick asked me was "Why are you here in South Africa? Are you here because the opportunity came up and you thought it would be well worth your time, or are you here because God wants you here and this is all part of his plan for you?" Derick was so full of wisdom and with that helped me realize that everything we go through in life is part of God's plan for us...and though we might be going through a difficult time, it is important to realize that God is using my life for the glory of His Kingdom. Even in a horrible situation we need to praise God through it! It was an amazing reminder of how "my" life is not mine at all...it's His. It always has been and it always will be. My fiance`, my family, my friends, my stuff is not more important than Jesus Christ! Derick also asked, "Do you love Jesus because he died on the cross for you or do you love Jesus for who he is?" Wow...it's so not about him dying for us. Yes it is amazing that He would do that for us, but that is NOT why we love Him, not why we should love him. He just made me realize how much deeper my relationship with my Father needs to be. It was an amazing God-glorifying, eye opening experience!! And if this past weekend was the reason I came here...then it was worth it.  

So in love with this place!

This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it Shine!
With Love, Alissa Rene