South Africa: Week Two

Week two wasn’t as busy as week one, but we still managed to pack a lot of things into a few short days. Sunday afternoon, we packed up our stuff and said good-bye to the South African girls. Then we headed out to the boarding school that we were staying at for the week. After a pizza dinner, we bundled up and headed out to a Fan Fest Stadium to watch the Brazil vs Ivory Coast game on the big screen with other fans. We got there early and enjoyed some of the activities that were at the stadium. We went through the Coke tent and each picked up a Vuvuzela. Then some of us played soccer tennis, and got pictures with the mascot.

Monday, was our day off. We went to a market, where we bargained to get some souvenirs. Bargaining was fun, cause I got some pretty good deals. Although, they kept trying to ask for double the price! Good thing I saw right through it! After the market, we went to a lion park. Here, we were able to go and pet some lions. I went in with 3 7-month lions, which was pretty cool. After the lions, we went on a mini safari where we saw some more lions, wild dogs, zebras, puma, rino’s, etc. Then, we went across the road and saw some more animals, closer up: hippos, tigers, zebras. Finally, we went out for dinner at the mall. We were all pretty excited about having breakfast for dinner and got pancakes and waffles.

Tuesday, our team split up into two. My group made our way to the coloured township, while the other group went to a black township (townships are the poor area). We worked with a church, and we ran a soccer camp for the kids of the townships. We had several girls who were on a soccer team and were excited to play against us, as well as lots of little kids. So we split ourselves up between the older girls and the younger kids. It was a great day, getting to know everyone and welcoming new kids as the day went on. It was a little harder to communicate with the younger kids, as they didn’t know as much English, since they haven’t been to school, but the older girls helped us out. After camp, we headed out to where the other group was in the black township and we joined them, watching South Africa play their final game of the world cup. Amazing experience, as whenever South Africa scored, everyone went crazy, hugging each other and cheering. Although South Africa won, they didn’t win by enough and didn’t move onto the next round, so the ending was bittersweet.

Wednesday, we were all really excited as we were going to a World Cup Game!! USA vs. Algeria. As the majority of our team was American we all got into it. We painted our faces, dressed in the US colours, and brought our vuvuzela’s to the game. It was soo cool to actually go to a game, the atmosphere, the people, the excitement. The US had to win in order to move on to the next round. It was a tense game, as the first goal from the US in the first half was called offside and didn’t count. They came close in the second half, but never seemed to be able to finish it. 90 minutes were up and there was 2 minutes of extra time. Donavan came up in the 91st minute to win the game and guarantee that the US would move on. The stadium, especially the Americans on my team, went crazy with everyone hugging each other and cheering. Best part of the game.

Thursday, we went back to the townships and we had almost all the same people. A couple of the older girls weren’t there because they had to go back to school, but we still had a couple come out, and lots of little kids. We did the same thing as on Tuesday, except that I got to share the Gospel message with them and what having a personal relationship with God has meant to me. It was pretty cool and everyone really listened to it. After lunch, I went with two of our leaders, Carol and Asif and my roommate, Janine, to let more people know about the camp, so we drove around the township, and it broke my heart. Sewage running through the streets, families living in tiny houses, smaller than our family room, and the kids playing outside, when their fathers are sitting outside smoking up and doing nothing. No hope for them to get out of the poverty.

Friday, most of us went to the black township; only a couple went back to the coloured township. I went to the black township, and at first I was a little disappointed, cause I wanted to go back, but once I got there I felt better. The church met us on the outside of the township and we became part of a parade all the way to the church. The girls who were there the whole week, told us that they did the same thing on their first day. There were soo many people at the church, kids, teenagers, and parents. It was overwhelming, so many kids vying for attention. A couple of us went to an orphanage, while the rest of the girls taught soccer skills and played games with the kids. At the orphanage, we got a tour and a little bit of the history. Then we took the kids outside and ran a camp for them. There were soo many other kids that came and joined, about 100. We taught skills, then we played a soccer game. I was coaching the younger kids, when halfway through the game, one of the boys started crying. I went over to see what was wrong, but because of the language barrier, I couldn’t get an answer. So I gave him a hug, and he didn’t let go. He was right beside me, holding my hand the rest of my time at the orphanage.

When we got back to the church, we had lunch, and hung out with the kids. The older girls in the church had decided to put a soccer team together, and wanted their first game to be against us. So we went to the field close to the church. Once there, we lined up and sang The Canadian, American, and South African national anthems, just like a professional game. We also, had the little kids standing beside us as we sang. I had one little girl, hanging onto my neck, who was not letting go. Then we played a game. It was a fun game. Afterwards, we had to leave, as it was getting late. It took awhile, and it was hard to say goodbye, cause we knew this was it. The beginning of the end of our trip.

Back at the school, Asif gave us a talk/devotional about being a lion chaser, and accepting what God has planned for our lives. It was really good. Then we talked about what we had learned on our trip. Good bonding time. Before we knew it, it was Saturday and we were saying goodbye to the SA AIA staff and heading to the airport. At the airport, we got a little surprise, as Robyn, one of our girls from our first week, met us there to say goodbye.

It was an amazing trip and another great week. I just wish it could have lasted longer.