June 23 Reflection from TJ

Today was a glorious day! Having slept soundly in our host family’s home, Aren and I awoke to the beauteous African sunrise at 7:07am. We then were driven over to our host family’s grandma’s house for breakfast. Breakfast was delicious. Magnificent heapings of eggs were punctuated by bites of spicy sausage and bacon, so that the taste might have been better distributed. Served with cereal, toast, and tea, the carnacious combination made for delicious breakfast. From our breakfast meeting, the team drove to the Come Back Mission HQ. We were debriefed (luckily Aren and I wore boxers so we didn’t have to cope with lack of undergarments).

We prayed and drove through Kliptown before arriving in the not so aptly named Heavenly Valley. Though at first sight there was nothing special about Heavenly Valley, our arduous efforts went a long way towards making it more heavenly. From 9:30-1 pm, we worked well towards painting a preschool and an old lady’s house. After some kids dragged me away from my work and played ball with me and showed me around did I realize for what reason it was called Heavenly. (Yet I am still baffled by the name “valley;” it seemed flat to me.)

Also, while I worked, I got to know some really cool people. At 1pm, we prayed and left our day’s work. We went back to HQ in order to eat lunch. It was delicious. We were served a plethora of hotdogs, each of uniform taste and color. These franks were different from the American variety for three reasons: the neon pink color, the streamline shape, and the satisfying feelers of rubbery skin breaking and freeing up the flesh inside. I loved those hot dogs.

After lunch, we walked to the Freedom Park Methodist Church. I shared the walk with two lovely partners who guided me. After we arrived at the destination (only by preceding the highlighted route) we took part in a marvelous program. Similar to the Swazi service in some ways, there was much singing and much sharing of culture. We talked about presidents, problems, and solutions. I gave a brief history of our national anthem. I loved the service. Many other youth went up and spoke. After the program we went to dinner.

Dinner was bountiful. Before dinner Aren and I talked to a wonderful man named Edmund. He plans to hook us up with some World Cup tickets. Anyway, dinner had so many delicious dishes that even taking 3 oz of each, my plate was full before I made it halfway through the line. And so, I resolved to layers of food, topped with a delectable stir-fry. After dinner, we had a heart-warming devotion followed by the good-bye dances. We sang and danced with happiness. I hated to say goodbye to my friends, but we exchanged email addresses. And so, we departed from the exciting dinner party and went on to sleep.

T. J.