May 31, 2009...Family Around The World

The morning of Sunday, May 31st began by waking up at 7:30AM to a delicious breakfast prepared for us by Vic, the hilarious bed and breakfast owner. There was a selection of cereal, toast, yogurt, and fresh fruit. After our hearty breakfast, we took off for the church service in the Cape Flats. Before arriving at the church, we met with Pa Koni and his family, who belong to the church that Martin arranged for us to visit. They immediately greeted us all with smiles and hugs, making us feel right at home. We then drove though the Cape Flats on our way to church. The Cape Flats are neighborhoods of middle-class homes packed tightly together, creating a close-knit community amongst the families living there.

We were warmly welcomed by the congregation at the beginning of the mass. They went out of their way by conducting the entire service in English, rather than Afrikan, their traditional language. The church service was an eye-opening experience for all of us. We started out with up-beat songs that got everyone singing and dancing. Some of us even went to the front of the church to dance with other members of the congregation. In the middle of the service we went in front of the church to introduce ourselves and we could see the excitement on their faces from having us as guests. The entire service was filled with singing, dancing, and shouts of worship. The focus of the service was on how we are all the same; the titles we create mean nothing because we are who we are. This was very fitting for us because we were able to connect it to all our experiences on our trip in South Africa. When the service ended, we met with other members of the congregation who greeted us just as warmly as Pa Koni and his family. They were very excited to hear about our lives at home as well as teach us about their own lifestyle and culture.

We returned to Pa Koni’s home where a feast was prepared for us and the entire congregation. While we waited to eat, we were able to mingle with Pa Koni’s family and friends. The conversations ranged from what we had done so far on our trip, to our own lifestyle at home, to random questions we had about their lives. Everyone was extremely hospitable as they let us enjoy the delicious food first. There was an entire table filled with chicken, lamb, rice, salads, and a tasty white cake covered in a layer of warm custard.

Once everyone had finished their meal, we all split up, some of us playing on the playground with the kids, some chatting with the adults, others playing soccer or learning new dance moves on the street. (Hoota-no sore feelings; any one of us would have been shown up by that youngster…he was quite the dancer!) We had planned on leaving in the early afternoon but because we were having such a good time we decided to stay longer. By this time we had accumulated about 20 more kids to play with (not exaggerating) from the neighborhood. A group of the kids got together and sang a couple of gospel songs they learned in their choir. They then taught us another song in Afrikan that we all sang together in a big circle. They wanted us to sing them some of our songs but sadly the best we could do was teach them our L-U chant. The rest of the day was filled with games with the kids and something we like to call the “spinning-wheel-of-death” even though it was the kids’ favorite. After hugging all of the kids at least 3 times we finally loaded the bus and headed to the mall where we got a bite to eat and did some shopping. We were practically zombies walking through the mall, forcing us to call it a day and head back to Vic’s where we quickly shared our favorite moments of the past 2 days and then crashed in our beds.

Tomorrow we are planning on going on a hiking extravaganza and having our coaches’ clinic! So excited for another beautiful day in South Africa!!!
We hope you enjoy reading this as much as we did writing it because you know we giggled the entire time. It didn’t help that it was way past our bedtimes making things way funnier than they should have been…good times in South Africa! Feel free to giggle but you may have to read between the lines for our humor 

-Sam Jewell and Courtney Grutz