One Splattered Toad, Please

Last night, my friend Kendra and I went out for dinner/drinks. Both of us were craving pizza and some girl time, so we went to The Toad. It's a fun little restaurant with outdoor seating and a bar upstairs. The first floor is a really nice intimate restaurant with a fire place and well loved interiors...very homey.

The Toad

The pizza by the way is phenomenal! I have found that I am a huge fan of the Splattered Toad Sauvignon Blanc. Just in case you are planning to visit. (The cost for a pizza, not just a slice but the whole pizza, and a glass of wine on average here will cost R74 which is around $10.60) I've also already located the vineyard, and I'm dying to go wine tasting! Fingers crossed that will happen this Saturday.

Kendra and our yummy dinner!

I have posted the above for two reasons, one is so that my parents can see that I'm not starving. The other reason is to help illustrate the importance of fellowship. This week has been pretty intense emotionally with everything at home and here with still finding my footing at work. Kendra has really been a blessing from God since my arrival. She is leaving the beginning of November after living here for over a year. A Belmont grad and native Knoxville girl, she has been a real comfort to me. I am very thankful that God has blessed me with a new friend!
We also both share a common interest, I mean besides the arts and being from Tennessee and loving NYC...OK we're actually pretty similar. We both have tattoos. Mine (for those who don't know) is Psalms 18:49 "I will praise you among the nations" on the inside of my left wrist. Hers is a black line that wraps around her wedding finger. I love that my tattoo is a great conversation starter whether I'm at church or on the bus or at work here. At dinner, Kendra and I were talking tattoos (if you have one, then you understand) and if we got a second what it would be..blah blah blah. We both mentioned that we loved a verse that was used on Sunday. Proverbs 16:9 "In his heart a man plans his course, but God determines the steps." God loves us so much that he allows us to walk our own course but is with us every step of the way. He has already walked the path! Our distant hope is God's 3D. He knows where you've been, where you are and where you are going. And the most amazing part is that he has laid the foundation for us to follow. In his word, he says that he is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.
I've been trying to think only in the moment here and not get caught up in planning for the future. People have been asking what my plans are for when I get back to the States. Well, I don't know. God has only told me so much, and that is I will have a wonderful long Christmas break with my family, enjoy having the time to process this trip and create work in January, and FINALLY meet my Compassion child in February! That in itself is the most amazing answer to prayer! And get this, it's paid for. In full. I have been praising God from the valleys to the mountains...literally. I have my church family to thank for that. I don't have enough words to express how completely humbled I am by this immense blessing. I pray that God allows me to use this as a testimony for how generous and faithful he is and continues to be.
Our God is good, friends. Another quick praise, I am getting ready to start a project here for the Living Way newsletter. They want to be able to feature a different person from LW's campus, and I get to tell their stories. This means that I get to meet more people and hear where they come from and what their hopes are. I am so grateful for the opportunity. Please be praying that God allows me to have the heart to hear their needs and the words to write.
Prayer request: the ladies in the bakery really need direction. I don't know if a manager from outside the Living Way umbrella or if one of the ladies will step up to the challenge, but someone needs to give them a push. We're finding it's a fine line between helping them and running the business for them. The goal would be for the ladies to take more ownership in running the business efficiently.
Thank you friends and much love to each of you!

Anne

Early Monday morning around 3am (EST), my Aunt Anne passed away. She had been battling throat and tongue cancer. The week before I left to come to Cape Town, I had lunch with Jeannie Higgins one of the Pastors at Asbury United Methodist Church. I told her that I was struggling with the idea of going to a country that has so much disease and death. I thought that I could handle it, but after watching Anne struggle these past few months, I just wasn't sure I was up for watching more people die.
Cancer is ugly. HIV/AIDS is ugly. Death is ugly. But praise God death isn't the end.
We sang 'Marching on to Zion' at church on Sunday which I have since downloaded and play it in remembrance of Anne. I have been praying that God would give me peace. This morning when I was praying, God gave me a beautiful image of Anne. She is not handicapped by autism. She is not having difficulty walking nor is she hunched over. She is not withering away. In the presence of our God, she is healed and beautiful and vibrant. And I know without a doubt that she is loving on every single cat in Heaven! I have learned a lot from my Aunt Anne. She was courageous and strong. She never complained. She remembered people and their lives. She knew how to laugh. She gave the sweetest hugs, and told you 'I care about you' simply by holding your hand. She wasn't vain. She didn't need fame from names. She was never prideful and only boastful when the VOLS won a football game. She was content. I can only hope to be half the woman she was on earth. I hope and pray that when I get close to death that I can be a witness like she was. Even without words, you were blessed by her sweet spirit. Through all of this, God is showing me life in the presence of death.
I'm not in Africa to watch the sick die. Yes there is disease, poverty, abuse and addiction. But God is in the least of these. My brothers and sisters here are beautiful and vibrant, and I am being blessed every day to see God in their faces. God is here in this place and my Aunt Anne is in the presence of God. How amazing is that!

Louis & SA Fashion

Yesterday afternoon as I was leaving Living Way, I stopped by Louis' workroom for a chat. He says he is a "fashionist." I'm assuming that means he's by trade a tailor instead of a trained fashion designer. When I walked in, he was upholstering chairs and two ottomans. I asked why he was doing so, his response was that the people in Masi don't understand modern fashion and only want traditional clothing. Because of this Louis isn't able to get any work, so he is upholstering furniture in order to make money. (I can understand his dilemma after traveling a little bit around the Masi/Noordhoek/Fish Hoek areas, there really isn't much of...well...anything around here. O.K. there is a mall, which is relatively similar to an American mall, but all the stores sell mass produced, imported items. It's not special other than it provides work for people in the area.) Louis is originally from Johannesburg and moved to Masi two months ago. I haven't gotten to know him well enough to ask why he moved, but Joburg is a much bigger city and has a larger up in coming fashion scene. Louis primarily works with denim and khaki, so I'm interested to see what kind of work he's producing. But of course first things first, how to build a fashion line if no one is interested in buying? We discussed the quality of his upholstery work and building up a good reputation in the Masi community. Once he has a good reputation for providing quality work, I assured him that people will then be asking what else he can do...and so on. I told him not to give up on the community, that it would take time and to focus on building a strong foundation that could possibly lead to opportunities to make clothes. I asked him if he's been downtown Cape Town as there are a lot more fashion designers and open markets that sell SA designer clothing at discounted rates. He's never traveled outside of Masi. Please be in prayer that God is at work in this relationship. I want to help Louis without hindering his work after I leave. It is very important that I let him make the effort and connections in order to become self sustaining.

So I have been exploring local designers: http://www.africanfashioninternational.com/ as well as visiting the Old Biscuit Mill (outdoor festival much like the Brooklyn Flee with food/jewelry/fashion) and have found a local design team that I like very much. The designers of Mungo & Jemima (Kristy Bannerman of Coppelia and Marian Park-Ross of Good) have started a rather smart boutique of several fashion lines that are timeless and make the wearer feel special. (I purchased two dresses from the Coppelia line and can't wait to show them off back home!) 

Check out their website: http://www.mungoandjemima.com/ 

I haven't been able to source any fabrics yet for my own collection. I have a feeling that it will be difficult to find fabrics that haven't been mass produced (as China has opened several factories locally which is killing traditional methods of printing from African craftsmen.) Hopefully I can go exploring tomorrow! It is Heritage Day on Friday the 24th so most offices are closed. My friend Alicia and my roommate Kendra are going out tomorrow night. I will keep you all posted on SA nightlife as well as the ONE Soccer Festival I'm volunteering with on Saturday. Much love and Happy Heritage Day!

Boxes, Growth and Victory

On Sunday I attended Hillsong Church here in Cape Town. The message was about speaking the "Language of Victory." We were reading out of the book of Exodus 14:10-29. Moses and the Israelites were facing the impossible (aka the Red Sea) and behind them was Pharaoh and his army. The Israelites cried out to the Lord and then said to Moses "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, bringing us out of Egypt? Is this not the very thing we told you in Egypt, 'Let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness." To be completely honest, I find myself asking God why his plans take us out of our comfort zones even after we beg and plead for him to take us out of our current situations. And believe me, I BEGGED God to take me out of my last situation. I love NYC and my friends there, but I found that trying to justify working in an environment that was completely consumed by the world was not satisfying. So now I am in Africa, the continent that stole my heart, and am finding myself doubting God's plan. Already. Only after one week. I am struggling with training my brain to think in terms of marketing, business, management and fundraising. Dear God, can I just make things, you know, with my hands? Like design...
Moses answered the Israelites, "Do not be afraid, stand firm, and watch the Lord rescue you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still." Alright, I'm feeling a bit convicted. God has answered a prayer of mine that began over a year ago. He has made for me a path out of the wilderness, rivers in the desert. But no one said growing in Christ was easy. Princess Diana was quoted for saying, "You can't comfort the afflicted without afflicting the comfortable." I am finding that my strengths and where I find joy here are when I'm spending time with people. My heart has definitely landed here, but my brain for thinking how to realistically help these people is still over the Atlantic somewhere. At the same time, I feel like God is teaching me something here. He is waiting for me to come to him as a child needing guidance. I am being taught further humility in this place. He is asking for us to begin to think outside boxes. I need to start thinking outside the box of design as my only tool useful for reaching people. Our own lack of faith is an opportunity to let the Lord rescue us right where we stand. For "the Israelites walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and left." When we allow God to move in us, we can break through boxes and find victory through Christ. I witnessed a victory today. Gloria, the youngest girl in the bakery came into the office. She was asked by one of the staff here if she was feeling like a baker yet. She replied, "I am a baker!"

Living Way

Entrance to Living Way

LW Campus

Well I have survived my first full day as a Living Way Volunteer! Now on to day two: I have been assigned to help with two projects, the first being the 1st Annual Cape Town Bike Show. There will be 1,000 motorcycles on the LW campus as well as local manufacturers and suppliers. "This will also provide a great opportunity for the biking community to come together once again in aid of a fantastic charity as well as for members of the public to get up close and personal with these beautifully made machines. Few people realize how much fundraising the biking community does in the Western Cape. Bikers represent every walk of life, from bankers and managing directors to your local doctor or the principal at your child’s school, yet popular media often misrepresents them. Somewhat like the often misunderstood squatter camp inhabitants who are served by Living Way." (http://www.capetownbikeshow.co.za/)
The second project I'll be helping raise funds for is the Masi-Hope Edu-Trust. The Trust was formed to educate children from the Masiphumelele Township, in the Fish Hoek Valley in order to have equal opportunities to taste success in life. It focuses, firstly, on enabling children to have a first class pre-school education at Noordhoek Valley situated on the campus of Living Way– an economic empowerment initiative part of Living Hope and secondly, to support selected children from there to access a high quality primary school education at Sun Valley Primary School, a mere 3km from the township. In order to achieve this partnership, a Trust was formed. I am working on coming up with different fundraising ideas for both South African donors/sponsors and US donations. If you have any ideas, I would love to hear them!!

Noordhoek Educare Center

Bakery Update: Yesterday I was able to go back to the bakery where the bakers were counting the money from Friday's sales as well as making a stock list for this weeks baking needs. Concepts that we would take for granted like making a list of baking supplies so you're only making one trip to the grocery store and setting up a plan for the week are huge undertakings for them. Please be praying for them and their business; that God would become an essential part of their lives. I am praying that he gives each of them the drive to become an efficient team that bakes more and the confidence to sell more. Also, I ate one of the rolls that was freshly baked this morning...it was so good! I need to make sure and watch it or I'll get rather fat between now and December! Haha!

This morning I was a part of the Entrepreneur meeting. We only had two men show up this week. These men are undertakers in the Masi community. They explained the process they have to take in order to bury someone here. After the family calls to report that someone has died, these men come to the home and make sure that the police and hospital are notified (either a police officer or doctor must sign off on a form that officially states the person is dead.) Then the undertakers take the form to the equivalent of our Homeland Security office to be processed for a death certificate. The body is then collected and frozen. One of the men said "frozen like a chicken!" Because funerals take place on Saturdays, it can sometimes take weeks for a body to be buried. The undertakers explained that the freezer used was as big as the room we were in and had too many bodies in it. They have a good business plan and are working along side the mortuary in order to be successful. They are providing a service that I think most of us would overlook, but is extremely essential here. Please be praying for them. They have found a car that is in good condition. Currently they have to walk up and down the mountain and it is very time consuming. Also they need transport for the bodies and taxis are quite expensive. The car is being sold for R40,000 which is around $5700. Please pray specifically that they are able to get the loan to purchase the car. **One of these men has a terrible cough. Please keep his health in your prayers as well. Pray that the Lord will give him the strength he needs to continue working and if it's the Lord's will to heal his body.

Thank you all! And so much love!!!

Hello Cape Town

I have arrived safe in Cape Town! (The above image is the view from my window here at the compound.)

Today I met with the Living Hope volunteers and Richard, the General Manager of Living Way (aka my new boss.) We went over some of the basics and briefly toured the two campuses. Tomorrow is the official tour of the townships and overview of all the projects done here.

While on the Living Way campus, Richard introduced me to the ladies working in the new bakery that Living Way is helping get off the ground. He was teaching them basic business skills such as figuring out how much profit you make once cost of materials are covered and the difference between wholesale and retail sales. While explaining that they needed to make a presentation in order to sell their baked goods, one of the women asked if Richard could represent the brand and make the presentation to the local vendors. He of course said that this bakery wasn't his brand and that she should take ownership over her product. Her response was that local shops wouldn't buy from her...because she is black. She believed he would sell it better because he's a white South African. He then explained that because she was selling good quality goods for a competitive price that the baker's race shouldn't determine if the goods sell. He followed that statement with: I believe in you. You are capable. You can sell what you bake because it is good quality.

I can't wait to see the development of this business and the women who work there! This job is going to be so much more about loving and encouraging people to believe in themselves in order to see outside of cultural limitations. I am looking forward to starting full time on Monday and seeing all the other businesses at work on the campus (ceramic studio, sewing class, computer class...and the possibility of a start up fashion line!!!!) Please be in prayer that God continues to have his hand in every detail of my time here, and that my heart will be prepared to be open to help wherever needed.

Much love!

D is for Departure

Good Morning!
Well, I'm a mix of emotion..anxious and excited..trying to pace myself for the 21 hour trip to Cape Town. Please be in prayer that I have safe flights (Charlotte-->Minneapolis-->Amsterdam-->CT, SA.)
I am scheduled to arrive in CT, SA tomorrow night around 10pm.

Blessings and love to all of you!

7 days

The countdown to Cape Town, South Africa has begun.

I am anxiously getting ready for my departure next Tuesday. I know without a doubt that God has called me to be in pursuit of his will. This chase is leading me back to Africa. I will be working with Living Hope (http://www.livinghope.co.za/) from Sept. 14-Dec. 7.

My goal through this blog is to share my journey with you.

Love and many blessings to each of you!