South Africa Mexico Team

witness (English). ufakazi (IsiZulu). testigo (Spanish).

The name of my Mexico Outreach team is the South Africa team. This causes quite a bit of confusion when we are fundraising or promoting our team because a South Africa Mexico Outreach Team sounds very random. To clear things up we tell people that we are a group of Americans that went to South Africa and are now also going to Mexico to serve together.

As a theme verse for our Mexico trip, my team picked Acts 1:8 and we are concentrating on the part that says, "you will be my witnesses...to the ends of the earth".

When I went to South Africa, I felt useless as I tried to help out in the townships because there is so little that we humans can do to bring justice to this unjust world, but when we testify about the great love of our savior, he takes care of the rest.

I'm going to Mexico as the interpreter of my team and I'm feeling incredibly intimidated by that job. I am fluent in Spanish, but I always feel incompetent in communicating with others. There's not much I can do, but I can be a witness and share what God does through me.

A Slice of Pumpkin Pie

We wait 365 days for that specific day to come. We count down in anticipation and wait excitedly until that morning comes.

There's nothing like the holidays and one of my favorites is definitely Thanksgiving. It's funny that such a great tradition started with a simple letter. A random lady sent a letter to the president one day requesting a national holiday for giving thanks. Five presidents and 5 letters later, Abraham Lincoln consented to this lady's request and created a national holiday.

I won't be having turkey this year and I won't be sitting around the table with family and stuffing myself until I can't take no more before eating one last piece of pumpkin pie, but I will still be giving thanks.

One of the biggest things I brought back with me from South Africa is guilt. In the words of Reg Codrington, or actually in a paraphrase of the words of Reg Codrington, guilt is pointless if it does not lead to action. You can be guilty all you want, but if you don't do anything about it then you're just going to keep feeling miserable with no purpose. If you feel guilty and then use that guilt to motivate you into action, you'd be surprised at the results.

I feel guilty every time I stuff myself with a meal I know the kids in Haniville are longing to have. I feel guilty when I pack for a trip and can't fit all my clothes in a duffel bag because I know some people wouldn't even fill one bag with all their belongings. I feel guilty every time I get a paycheck because, even though I'm only middle class in the United States, I know I am in the top percentage of rich people in comparison to the rest of the world.

I'm going to Mexico this thanksgiving to work with a church and interpret for my mission team. I hope that even if it is just a simple 3 days, it will mean something. I hope that no matter how selfish I am in wanting to ease my guilt and in how incompetent I am in fully showing love to people, God will see something good in me. I am thankful for every day, every meal, and every penny. I am thankful that God loves me like he loves the kids in Haniville and I am thankful that he sees past my imperfections and considers me beautiful. That's all I need.

I can hear the birthday bells ringing

"Remember, remember the 5th of November" (V for Vendetta).....or in my case the 6th. My birthday is this weekend and I will finally sail away from the kingdom of teenagers. I would say that I sailed away a long time ago, but I still have my moments of rebellious urges and I keep a coloring book on my desk next to the huge textbooks of theology and history.

I've never been a fan of math and I sometimes think age is just a number, but, sometimes, numbers do make sense to me. Eighteen is a big one because you can finally be an adult and make your own legal decisions, but you're still tied to being a teen and are still limited. I feel like twenty brings a sense of maturity along with it, while also reminding you that you are fresh into adulthood.

Everyone keeps their own pace in life and every drummer has a different beat in mind. Sure we can generalize ages and say that most people act a certain way with a certain age, but there will always be variations.

I don't know exactly where I'm supposed to be at twenty and I'm not sure if I'm behind or ahead in maturity; all I know is that I'm turning 20 and life is good. God has blessed me with 20 years of surprises. Every day He shows me something new and freaks me out a little more. I have to leave some things behind when the clock turns twelve on Friday night, but I'm ready for it. Life goes on and the time keeps running even if the clock stops ticking because we've broken it or forgotten to replace the battery.