Second week report!

So the prison trip proved to be our best audience yet. Needless to say, the tango performed by two members of our group went down a treat with the inmates, who demanded an encore. They were definitely the most interactive audience during our drama, too. We do one called 'The Cross' and it starts with me getting violently beaten up, before someone comes in to take my place and get beaten up instead of me (representing Jesus), and while I was being beaten up they were all shouting in Sotho 'Stop, stop, you're going to kill her'!! We are going back to another one tomorrow.

Apart from that this week we've been to more schools, a clinic, the same townships and done various other things but a bell has just rung saying I have to get off the internet. Quite frustrating since it took me 15 mins to log on! I'll end by saying that on Sunday I had to preach in a church - can you believe it, me? And i may have to go to Lesotho next week (another country)to give teachings with another girl on the team. All a bit crazy but fun! Better go!

Our first week in Bethlehem

This week has been great and very varied... we've been to a school, an orphanage, a very poor township, a single mother's clinic, and done more construction work. We've performed dramas and dances - tango and folklore (traditional Argentinian) and given testimonies. There has been another YWAM team from Los Angeles here so we've been doing quite a few things with them, but they are leaving tonight.

In one of the townships I ended up playing rugby with about 50 little kids. I tried to explain the rules of touch rugby hoping we could have an orderly match, but before I knew it there were piles of kids all over the place engaged in scrums with or without a ball!! Lack of the Sotho language meant we had to resort to other less violent games!

The little kids here are the cutest children I've seen in my life, and I'm amazed by how well they can all dance and sing. I've no hope of ever dancing as well as even the 2-year olds. Tomorrow we are off to prison, so hope to be able to report on that in my next entry! Having an awesome time... and the fact that they have Cadbury's chocolate here is helping ease the pangs of homesickness!!
Sorry this is so brief, we only get to come into town once a week and there is one computer that works with internet, which about 20 of us fight over! Also very slow connection even when you do get on!)

South Africa!

Yay! I'm finally on internet... I have been dreaming about this moment and having computer-withdrawal systems! South Africa is awesome. We've been in a place called Pretoria (near JHB) for the past 2 weeks and will be leaving for Bethlehem tomorrow. The work we've been doing here is with an organisation called Pop-Up (People Upliftment Development project), which has a number of ministries with all sorts of people from children to drug addicts, but their aim is to give hope to people who have no hope. We have been helping them out at their HQ, getting stuck into cleaning, painting, sanding walls, organising extremely dusty storerooms, packing food boxes for distribution etc.

Surprisingly enough it's been raining and storming here most of the week and is set to continue till Sunday, though this is a good thing as there has been a severe lack of rain for the past 4 months (ie. none, I think.)

Our accommodation and food are brilliant. An Arts Ministry base have let us stay with them for free and we get 3 massive meals a day each for the equivalent of about 3 pounds. Considering that we arrived preparing to really slum it, we have been pleasantly surprised!! I feel like I'm part of Fame Academy too while we're at the base, because we are surrounded by 80 all-singing, all-dancing students. I'm desperate to join in one of their dance classes but know I couldn't quite keep up with them.

The black people we've met here are amazing as they all speak about 6 languages. South Africa itself has 11 official languages, so I'm just trying to decide which one to invest my energy in learning!

As a team we have become like a little family and haven't yet killed each other yet despite spending all day, every day together! There's still 6 weeks to go...

So, the next update will be from Behtlehem... hasta luego!