DEDICATING MY DECADE

I will be entering my TWENTIES in less than an hour. And I decided I want to dedicate these next ten years to God. These past 19 years and 364 days have been filled with many times without God in my life. In fact, the majority of my days have not had God at the center. Hence my dedication to God during my twenties. I want to make a commitment to myself and to God that I will keep Him by my side. I have been struck by God’s love and I do not know how I could possibly live without it now that I have experienced its beauty. I want to be vulnerable and raw during my twenties so that I am being who God created me to be. The twenties are when all of the “big” events tend happen—graduating school, finding a job, getting married, having kids. No matter where I end up in ten years, I want to look back and say that I have let God guide me in all of my decisions. I know that God has a plan for me, and I am excited to discover what it is. I may have times where I stray away from God, but I pray I will be able to look back to this promise and remember how happy I am when God is in my life. Here is to being twenty! 

HEY YOU. YES, YOU.

Do you know how special you are?

I sure hope so.

Some of my days here have been lonely days.

You probably know the feeling.

On these lonely days, You might wonder where God is.

Take a closer look.

He is there.

In fact, He is right next to You.

And within You.

Because You, my friend, are special.

God sees you as a Best Friend.

And as His Child.

And when you are lonely, He is holding you.

Maybe You cannot feel it right away.

But do you see that pretty sunrise?

God is saying "good morning" to You.

Do you see that lady smiling at You?

That is God smiling at you.

Do you see the person helping someone cross the street?

That is God is trying to inspire you.

You are loved.

You are cared for.

You are special.

Do not forget it.

EMINEM & UBUNTU

"Cause sometimes you just feel tired, feel weak. You when you feel weak, you feel like you wanna just give up. But you got to search within you, and try to find that inner strength, and just pull it out of you. And get that motivation to not give up, and not be a quitter, no matter how bad you wanna just fall flat on your face, and collapse."

These are the motivational words of Eminem, who I got to see in concert in the same stadium that the 2010 World Cup was played. I blame Liz (my twin) for my love of Eminem because he was often listened to in our car rides in high school. He sang all of the oldies which are my favorite (including "Lose Yourself" as the encore--it was nuts). Although we were in the way back, it was still exhilarating to see someone whose music has gotten through many workouts and car rides. 

Along with getting closer to Eminem, I am almost getting closer with people here. One of my favorite words I have learned here is "Ubuntu." Ubuntu is a beautiful — and old — concept. At its most basic, Ubuntu can be translated as “human kindness,” but its meaning is much bigger in scope than that — it embodies the ideas of connection, community, and mutual caring for all. Desmond Tutu, the archbishop of Cape Town who was a leader of the anti-apartheid movement and who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work, said, “Ubuntu is very difficult to render into a Western language. It speaks of the very essence of being human." Ubuntu has completely captured me. I am starting to feel like I truly belong here and I am not just a tourist, but a part of a community. Most of my housemates (18 of them/2 of us stayed back) are on a spring break trip right now and I am extremely excited for them and all of their adventures. I decided to stay back because I wanted to use the free time to get to know people better that I have met thus far. I know that I made the right decision, because I have felt so much grace from God in the encounters I have had so far on my break. Most of my activities have been with my friends from St. Michael's Catholic Church (my lovely Church that I attend every Sunday night). I cannot even begin to tell you how much this Church means to me. I am leading a young adult group with them every Tuesday night, I just went on a service day with them on Saturday, and going to mass there on Sundays is my favorite. It is nice because the parishoners are really involved in everthing, so I keep seeing the same familiar faces wherever I go. UBUNTU is happening all around me. I feel connected to this group of people that are starting to become my home here. 

Ubuntu is also being spread within myself. I feel so HUMAN. I just cannot get over how alive I feel here. It is truly amazing the feeling that I have in my mind, in my heart, in my soul. I think this is partly inspired by the Cape Town lifestyle. Everyone here is so raw. They are very open with how they feel and within a couple of minutes of meeting people they will start telling you their life stories. They are comfortable with who they are and are vulnerable. Vulnerability is a beautiful thing. Life is so much more vivid and happy when you are GOD MADE YOU TO BE. I am so inspired by the people here to strip away any masks I may wear. It is like my whole life I have running running running to find God, and now he is running right next to me. I do not have to search anymore. But that does not mean I am done running. 

I am very admirable of the work my service site does, so I want share that with you. SAFFI's (South African Faith and Family Institute) goal is: "To see women, men and children live their full potential in a society free from gender based violence where faith and justice are honored." SAFFI is needed because South African women live in one of the most violent yet most religious societies in the world. More than 90% of its population ascribe to religious practice, however every 26 seconds a woman is raped and 1 in 4 women find herself in an abusive relationship. It is horrible how high the numbers are of woman getting abused, and SAFFI is trying to find a solution to this problem by working with religious leaders. SAFFI holds workshops where they explain to religious leaders of different faiths how they can influence their congregants. The leaders can educate about the problem of gender based violence and also explain ways to get help if people are being abused. Abuse means not just physical abuse, but mental, spiritual, financial, etc. I have taken the role of helping promote SAFFI. I am currently working on a Prezi (like a fancy Power Point) that they can send to people to give them an idea of what SAFFI is all about. I am excited for its turnout, although it is going to take a lot more work because I want to make it just right. I have to pause and say that as I am sitting here in a coffee shop writing this, a model is right outside taking pictures on the street. That is a common thing here. Anyways, SAFFI has certainly educated me about gender based violence and I hope that I can continue educating people. 

I have to tell you about my lunch breaks I have whenever I go to service. I have an hour, and each time I do the exact same thing. Once the clock strikes one, I go heat up my lunch in the microwave and then I go outside and climb these steps I found behind SAFFI's building. You cannot tell where the steps are leading to, but once you get up them, there is a HUGE open field with nothing there. I have a perfect view of the mountains. I eat my lunch, and then I spend the rest of my time laying down in the middle of the field. It sounds kind of crazy, but it is one of the most relaxing times I have here. Usually the sun is beating right down on me and I can hear laughter of the school kids nearby. This has become a habit that I look forward to, although I often forget to brush my back off and I have grass all over me for the rest of the day which I don't realize until I get home. 

This morning I went to Caryn's birthday party (my good friend from St. Mike's). It was one of the cutest birthday parties I have ever been too--we went biking along the water and we all had balloons attached to our bikes. Then we had a picnic that consisted of cheesecake and tea. It was the most lovely thing. Liz and I's birthday is quickly approaching in 10 days. It will be very weird to not be home, since birthdays are a big deal at the Vestal household. From the moment you wake up, the day is all about you. My mom goes above and beyond to make me and Liz feel special. For dinner we always have chinese food, because that was our first food after baby food. We each get our own cake (different flavors) and we sing "Happy Birthday" twice. Then we play pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey and hangout with my grandma and grandpa. My friend from school, Ashely, is going to take my out after school on my birthday and we are going ice skating at her favorite place. I think she mentioned something about cake, too :) I am so excited. 

Here are some more quick updates on what has been hip hop happenin' in Cape Town:

--Most of my housemates and I went to Truth Coffee together to grab some caffeine and breakfast last week on a rainy day. We followed this by taking a trip to the bookstore up the street and we all leafed through different books. I read Post Secret, which is a compilation of people's secrets that they write on postcards and then send to this guy. One of my favorites: "One time at a restaurant I put a piece of my hair in my pasta so that I could get fries instead." 

--At my service site I am also working for another organization called Cape Town Interfaith Initiative (CTII). It was started by Archbishop John Oliver, who recently passed away. I have heard amazing things about him. His daughter, Sarah, helps at CTII, and she was kind enough to come meet me the other day at service. She then took me out for a great time. We went to Camps Bay Beach and watched the sun start to go down, and then we went to her boyfriend's apartment for a braai (barbecue). Not only did I eat great food (like ostrich), but I made some friends and had interesting conversations. They were so welcoming and kind and I am looking forward to seeing Sarah soon.

--It has started to dip into colder temperatures here (at night around 60 degrees), and so we are all freezing. The other night we all got our winter hats on and we huddled on the couch for warmth. Not only was it really funny, but it was a great bonding moment between the housemates. 

--Ash Wednesday mass was SUPER COOL. I went at school with my friend Ashely, and the priest kept throwing out jokes during the mass. The songs were all in Xhosa, so I didn't understand the words, but it was still neat to participate. Not to mention these were some top notch ashes, very thick. Loved it.

--Tuesday was my first night of Life Series, the young adult group I am helping with at St. Mikes. There is a small group of us helping leading it, and my job is "Official Mingler."At least, that is what I call it. I welcome people as they come in and then I make sure everyone is feeling included throughout the night. I also do any other odd jobs they want me to do in order to make the event run smoothly. The first one was a TOTAL success and honestly one of my favorite nights here and one of the best groups I have ever been a part of. The point of Life Series is to talk about "gritty" topics in the Church, so last weeks was about relationships. We watched a video about love and we learned about the three different types of love that are necessary in a relationship. Then we got in small groups and talked about the video. Oh, and my friend Amy catered the event and did a wonderful job. I am so much looking forward to Life Series every week and to see how we are going to grow together as a group. 

--We finally hiked Table Mountain. It is probably on the top ten things to do here and rightly so. It was one of the most magical experiences I have had. A small group of us hiked it, and the whole time we were immersed in a cloud. When we got to the top, the only way I can explain it how it is that it felt like we were walking in heaven. We could not see anything around us because we just walking in the cloud. It was like nothing I have ever felt before! We were absolutely freezing because it was raining heavily as we were climbing up, and so instead of hiking back down we took the cable car. I am really grateful we got to have that experience. 

And here is what my spring break has consisted of so far:

--Hiking Lion's Head first thing in the morning. I think if I lived here I would hike every chance I got it. It is the best thing ever ever ever. I carried my little finger rosary with me that my mom gave me. Hiking + Rosary = YES. Try it out.

--I did a service project through St. Mikes called the Umoya Project. We went to a house for those who have been neglected by their families and shared in joy with them. The house was started by the Sisters of Charity (Mother Theresa's order). I had a blast painting t-shirts with the woman. We then had praise and worship and I was so giddy the whole time because we were all praising God so hard. It was one of those moments where everything is perfect. I am looking forward to going back soon.

--I went to see a musical called "Blood Brothers" with my roommate, Carra. The theatre was the hippest thing I have ever seen. I must return! And the musical was about twins, and I love anything that has to do with twins. Shout out to Liz. 

--I went BALLROOM DANCING last night!!! Incredible. Must learn how to do this ASAP because it was so much fun. My  friend, Roxy, invited me to come with her to her university where she is involved in the ballroom dancing club. Roxy is incredibly sweet and her  family is the greatest! This was one of the club's social events, and basically the girls sit down and then guys come up and ask you to dance the cha-cha or waltz. They were really patient and helped explain how to do everything. And getting dipped was really fun! 

I pray for everyone back home often, and I will continue to pray for all of you. Especially that you may experience UBUNTU like I am experiencing it here. And if you are not feeling it, that you may find a community that does give you that gift.