22nd - 27th May

Tuesday 22^nd

On Tuesday I had the day off from PCC which meant I got to be involved in working at the school! This was really good fun as always however we were teaching P.E rather than music this time. So we arrived with 2 sacks, 2 balls and 3 hula-hoop rings to try and entertain 30 children!

I don’t think I have ever had so much fun in a P.E lesson! We played captain’s coming, various relay games and ‘beans’ [where the children have to do different actions depending on what type of bean is called out]. I had team 2 [obviously the best] and by the end we were all sat where we were meant to be, chanting ‘team 2’ [along with actions] and we leant ‘its not about winning its about who was best behaved and had the most fun’ ha-ha! While team 1 were running around like crazy and crying etc [no offense to Anna but she obviously hasn’t watched as much super nanny as I have…]

In the afternoon we had to go shopping for costumes as the following day we were having a pirate party for Kate’s party! This was exciting as I love fancy dress and also going into toyshops was awesome.

In the evening we went to prayer meeting which was good and there were also 6 people baptized which was really encouraging.

Wednesday 23^rd

In the morning I was at PCC mainly doing admin, this isn’t a very glamorous job but we have learnt here that its more important to free up people who are better more trained than to try an perhaps physically go out and do things yourselves. In the afternoon it was pretty hectic getting ready for the party, we got the playlist sorted, went to do food shopping for the party, decorated the place and got ready ourselves. Sarah helped though and it was a lot of fun!

At 6 all the kids for the cells arrived and the party started! Rob made one girl cry by chasing her with a sword… We played lots of party games and Anna had designed this amazing treasure hut with clues all over the site! It was really nice because it was lots of fun but at the same time many of the kids who live in the cells don’t really get out much and Im sure that it was also a first time for party food.

After entertaining the kids for a few hours they then left and people from church cam over. We played the empire game and just hung out and I was good as it feels like we have really made friends here.

The best costume went to Ashley as ‘the plank’ and when doing the treasure hunt finding that ‘the plank got a splinter’ was jokes.

It was a brilliant night and it was nice to have something to get dressed up for.

Thursday 24^th

After going to bed really late on Wednesday night we had to be up for 5:45 on Thursday morning to do hospital feeding! We are working with a project called hands and feet who go into hospitals and feed people waiting. In the hospitals here if people want to get seen [like a&e] they have to queue so some people will queue for an entire day just to be hopefully seen by a doctor and most of them are not only ill, but are waiting outside and wont have had anything to eat all day. So we rolled up in a combi at 6am and started to spread enough bread for 300 people! We then went round in different teams and gave each person a cup of soup and 2 pieces of buttered bread. It took a pretty long time but it was good to feel like we were actually physically making a difference. We didn’t manage to feed everyone waiting to next week we are going to double the amount of food we bring. I wad quite shocked at how run down the hospitals were and however much the nhs are slated the hospitals and waiting times at home would be luxurious compared to here!

Once we arrived back I went to bed I was so shattered I slept for the afternoon. We were meant to be going to cell but our leader is really ill and also this weekend we went on mini missions so it was cancelled. We therefore got out School of Rock [yet another 80p…] and wrapped up in blankets for the evening!

The weather here has been SO cold I have been wearing a billion layers. Its not colder than England but the problem is in England even if it is cold outside it is normally warm enough inside. However none of the buildings here have central heating and they often don’t understand shutting doors and windows…

Friday 25^th

On Friday it was Kate’s Birthday so we woke up and had a really nice birthday breakfast and then went to chapel. This meant we got to take part in more Zulu worship which was brilliant although my singing skills are so poor it’s a bit embarrassing! After that we all went and had cake for Kate’s birthday, I say we, everyone else but me ate cake. We also had to pack as we were leaving at 3 for our ‘mini mission’. However at 12 Kate came to PCC and said there had been a whole change of plan and that we would need to leave at 1! Where we were originally going was a school linked to a church but because of a strike there were now no teachers there so there was no point us going. This meant that our cell needed to be divided to join other teams; however they had put Kate separate from me and Anna. Also because of the rush it meant we couldn’t go for Kate’s birthday lunch so she was very upset. Then we got a second phone call saying that it had all changed again and they had worked it out so that if Anna and I went with a different team all 3 of us girls could go together so that is what we did. But then it meant we didn’t need to leave until 4 so we had rushed for nothing!

We left for NCF where we were meeting everyone but had no idea what was going on or who was even leading our team but it turned out we were no going to White City an Indian community on the coast. We were all pretty disheartened as our original project seemed a bit more suited for us and we felt quite lost arriving with even more strangers.

In the evening we helped run a youth club and then went back to our host families house. They had such a nice house and it was so good being able to sleep with a duvet! They also had a really nice bathroom so I made the most of being able to have some privacy and a proper shower!

Saturday 26^th

We woke up on Saturday morning still feeling disheartened as there didn’t seem to be much need for us on the project. Before the second change around it was meant to be the boys and Sarah in our places and the team really needed guys and someone who could do worship and neither Kate, Anna or myself fitted that criteria. We then got tx from sarah saying that the team she was now with [where me and anna were going to go] were going to be on the beach all day doing out reach. We were pretty jealous! We then arrived at the church to find that the majority of their youth had gone on their own missions trip so wouldn’t be around for the weeken and that they wanted us to repaint a squash court. Their church was sports club that had been turned into a church so they used the squash court not only to play sports but for youth meeting. The room he showed us didn’t need painting in my opinion, but we did what he wanted and got ready to repaint a white room white. He then brought out 4 rollers - there were 15 people in our team. So I began the ‘hard’ task of sitting around doing nothing. I was very frustrated as all I wanted to do was work and try and serve these people but there didn’t seem to be anything to do. However they mentioned they had a path they needed clearing [that used to be there but was no practically underground due to poor maintenance] so I got on the job. The guys dug up the ground and then when the path came through I swept… I swept so hard and with so much effort I ever got 3 blisters on my hands!

We then went to watch rugby in the afternoon, SA against England. We lost very badly and I’m also not interested in sports so it wasn’t the best. The evening finished by eating some Indian food and praying with our team.

Sunday 27^th

On Sunday morning we went to church and we were in charge of running the service. Anna, Kate and I were on communion duty and we had brought with us about 25 massive pizza bread loaves with the pastor telling us he had a congregation of 250 people. 40 arrived and we got on with the service!

We ate curry for lunch, I thought of Shanta and then we made our way home. Although the trip wasn’t what we expected a bonus was we mad even more friends at NCF so that made us feel even more at home when we went to the evening service.

When we got home it was awesome because it was Rebecca’s birthday so I phoned home and got to talk to pretty much my entire family! I loved it and it was so nice to hear everyone’s voice.

We then went to the evening service and I was very over tired, those who know me will therefore understand this meant that I become easily irritated and mean! So when Rachel came over to tell us about the ‘oh so amazing trip they had had, with lots of fit boys and changing peoples lives’ I was pretty annoyed and had to walk off ‘for the bathroom’!

The church service was good and then we went out for Kate’s late birthday meal which was meant to happen on Friday. We went to a place which was a mix between Zizi’s and a warehouse, South Africans come up with ‘interesting’ concepts… The night was finished off by going to Mug and Bean and meeting about 40 other people from church to hang out and have fun!