Hullaballoo

It has been pretty exciting to have the World Cup here in South Africa! And even more exciting - June, Amanda, Matt and I got to go to a game over the weekend. Decked out in South African Bafana Bafana gear, we made the 4 hour trek to Bloemfontein to watch Paraguay and Slovakia. It was so much fun to be part of the hullaballoo!

(…I’m surprised that hullaballoo was in my spell check. Does anyone say that anymore? Other than me?...)

I was actually surprised at the turnout for each team – so many people with painted faces, crazy outfits, waving banners and flags, cheering and singing. One guy was dressed in a spandex, hooded jumpsuit that looked like a cross between Elvis and a giant rooster – wings and all. That’s a fan! And if you’ve caught any of the games on TV you know how relentless those vuvuzelas are – Yikes! I’m so glad that I remembered earplugs. What a great day!!

Too bad that South Africa is out of the running - they played with such skill and heart. But how awesome is it that the US is moving on to the next round? Go USA!

World Cup Buzz

Wikipedia is pretty amazing…I hope it’s accurate too because I spent the afternoon learning about the 2010 FIFA World Cup given that it kicks-off here in South Africa on June 11th. Here are some interesting tidbits…

2010 is the 19th FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) World Cup. It began in 1930 and is every 4 years. The only exceptions were 1942 and 1946 due to WWII.

There are 208 national teams, 204 of which competed to qualify for 2010. Qualifications began in August 2007, and now 32 teams are in the final tournament. Checkout Wikipedia for who plays who, where and when.

With this many nations involved, it matches the 2008 Summer Olympics as the sports event with the most competing nations.

Italy is the current champion, and has had 4 titles. Brazil has had the most with 5.

South Africa is the first African nation to host, winning the bid against Morocco and Egypt. Libya and Tunisia were also interested, but it was decided countries couldn’t co-host the tournament.

South Africa has 10 venues, 5 newly built and 5 upgraded. Some estimate construction costs at R8.4 billion (Rand) and which is about $1.1 billion.

If I understand Wikipedia correctly, prize money is $420 million. Wow! Losing teams get $8M each, and then the rest of the money gets distributed depending on the bracket level. The overall winner gets $30M.

Zakumi, this cute little leopard, is the 2010 mascot. “Za” for the international abbreviation for South Africa, and “kumi” which is “ten” in many different African languages.

The official song is “Waka Waka” based on a traditional African soldiers’ song, will be performed by Shakira and the South Africa band Freshlyground.

And the official ball is the Adidas “Jubalani” which means “bringing joy to everyone” in isiZulu.

Let the games begin!

Weekend Fun

This weekend I climbed Mt. Everest…literally. For those of you who don’t know, Mt. Everest is the name of one of our mountains here on the Thrive Africa mission base.

Matt and I hiked up with our current mission team – 10 men and women from Crown College in MN. They are a great group – fun-loving, energetic, and passionate about serving and sharing Christ with others!

It was a feat for me to keep up because this team is mostly comprised of collegiate-level soccer players – much more fit than me and just about half my age.

The weather was beautiful, the views were spectacular, and the team had a great time exploring and taking fun pictures of their accomplishment.

Seven Pounds

Yikes! Seven Pounds! No, I’m not talking about the Will Smith movie…4 weeks and 7 pounds later I’m back in South Africa.

What have I missed the most being in South Africa? Definitely Jets Pizza and Chinese food! We can get pizza here, and even make it homemade, but it’s not as THICK and YUMMY as Jets. That’s why Jets was on the menu for my family going-away party Friday night. And for Chinese food, we pretty much need to go to Johannesburg (or another big city) which is 3 hours away.

Other yummy treats I enjoyed while in Michigan included Middle Eastern and Italian food, the best steak dinner ever, Cheezits, Golden Grahams, Mt. Dew, Panera, Taco Bell and Arbys. And I chowed-down the Arbys while driving just because I could…yay for automatics!!

I had such a great time connecting with family, friends and partners, typically over a delicious meal. Now I just need to keep remembering that when I restart my running. Thanks Rob, Wendy, Paige and Brandon for the early birthday present – Trailing Running and Hiking Shoes.

Blind Trust

Imagine walking through the woods. Blindfolded. Holding the shoulder of the person in front of you (also blindfolded). Being led only by someone’s voice. Sounds scary, right? But it’s also a lot of fun, and a great way to build courage and trust within a team – in this case it was with our fabulous team of Outreach Interpreters!

We had a great time hosting them this past weekend! Our interpreters serve such an instrumental role in supporting and equipping our missions teams. It was a blessing to celebrate the fruit of last year, and to relax and refuel for our 2010 Outreach season.

Together we enjoyed touring the beautiful property, doing team-building activities, watching movies and just hanging out. And God showed up in a miraculous way – with me cooking both dinner and breakfast for the interpreters AND interns and everyone survived! Halleluiah!!

Getting the Hang of It

I can’t believe they talked me into this…I only said yes because I wanted a picture for my blog. Crazy, huh?

Actually, I’m glad I tried rappelling this weekend. According to Wikipedia, abseiling, or rappelling, is “the controlled descent down a rope; climbers use this technique when a cliff or slope is too steep and/or dangerous to descend without protection.” Had I read that definition beforehand I probably would have chickened-out.

Those of you who know me well know that I’m not all that outdoorsy or adventurous – so this was a bit of a stretch. But Lucas, our instructor, did a great job of teaching us step by step, and giving us encouragement along the way. It was scary at first, but once I learned to trust the harness and ropes, I got the “hang” of it and it was a lot of fun.

Beautiful Contrasts

Lesotho is a beautiful country full of many exciting contrasts. And we have the 1000+ pictures to prove it! Over Thanksgiving break, June, Amanda and I headed to Lesotho for a 4-day adventure.

As we crossed the border and traveled towards Maseru we saw the contrasts of modern homes and traditional Basotho huts, modern businesses and rolling hills of farmland and pasture.

We experienced simple but modern conveniences, and also visited a weaving shop where the ladies make beautiful mohair yarn and tapestries by hand. We were amazed to learn that the large ones take 2-3 months to complete.

We stayed near where the current king, King Netsie, lives, and also hiked to the top of Thaba Bosiu to see the original home of King Moshoeshoe and the current site of the royal graves.

We saw rugged, rocky mountains contrasted with lush greenery and crystal clear waters as we drove the winding mountain roads to Mohale Dam, and the next day to Semonkong and the Maletsuyane Falls.

And best of all, we met warm, friendly people who are proud of their culture, history, and traditions, and happy to share them with us. What a wonderful trip! Enjoy the pictures!

Day Off in Royal Natal

This week, June, Amanda and I took the day off to rest, hike and picnic in beautiful Royal Natal National Park along the Drakensburg Mountains. We had a great time splashing around in the cascades, rock climbing to Tiger Falls and hiking through the beautiful mountains and valleys. We had planned a nice picnic until an uninvited baboon showed up, so we ended up moving our picnic into the car. What a fun day! Hope you enjoy the picture slide show!

New Habits

I’ve started jogging...it’s a miracle! Yesterday, June and I ran 7K and hiked 4K - just over 7 miles. While I used to run cross-country and track in high school, it was more years ago than I’d like to publicize. So for me, 7 miles was another miracle!!

This craziness started when June, who was a nurse back in the US, started teaching our Thrive Africa staff about the spiritual and physical aspects of Temple Maintenance. “My body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in me, whom I have received from God. I am not my own, I was bought at a price, therefore I honor God with my body.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.

Together we learned about nutrition and exercise and committed to an 8-week fitness challenge that included daily meditation on the verse above, healthy food choices, strengthening exercises, and walking or running. The goal was that in 8 weeks our healthy choices would become habits. Whether we were interested in shedding a few pounds, increasing our strength, having more energy, or all of the above, it has been fun to encourage each other along the way. Our gate supervisor must think it’s pretty funny to see all of us running laps around the mission base and waving to him each time we go by!

King of the Jungle - Queen for a Day

Yeah, the title is a little corny, but oh well... Yesterday was a fun day! June, Amanda and I went out to celebrate Amanda’s birthday by taking a day trip to Bethlehem to see the Lionsrock Big Cat Sanctuary. What’s so cool about this place is that they rescue lions, tigers, leopards and other predators that have been mistreated and exploited in captivity. First we saw a video about how the team rescued their first 3 lions from a run-down zoo in Romania. The lions were malnourished, sick, and confined to tiny cages because the zoo had closed and the few remaining workers couldn’t care for them properly. Then we got to “meet” the lions “in person” – now healthy, strong, with room to run around in natural surroundings. Awesome!

Lionsrock had more than 50 lions and other animals that had been rescued – some from zoos, some from entertainment and tourism, and others from hunting reserves when hunting lions became illegal. Lionsrock actually used to be a hunting reserve until Four Paws, an international animal welfare organization, took it over rescuing all the animals being bred for hunting. It was wonderful to see such beautiful animals and to know that they were being well-cared for.

Twenty4Seven Interns - Super Heroes in My Book

Well, I don’t want you to think all we do is party, but… Last night our Twenty4Seven interns hosted a Super Hero party. It was a great time for the extended Thrive Africa family – staff and interns – to kick back, laugh and relax before things get really busy starting next week. As you can see the costumes are pretty creative and really hilarious! We had creative names, every super-power you can imagine, and homemade (super-cheap) costumes. It was a lot of fun!

So I thought it would be a good opportunity to introduce you to our extended family. This year we have 8 wonderful young men and women with us in our year-long internship program called Twenty4Seven. The internship program is an intense, hands-on experience for young adults interested in serving the Lord for a year, and is a great step for those considering full-time mission work. Many of the Thrive Africa staff started as interns, loved it, and then returned to work long-term.

Interns get to teach classes, facilitate conferences, help host mission teams, work behind the scenes in the ministry, and attend classes such as language, culture, and discipleship classes. It’s an awesome program, and an awesome group interns. They are definitely Super Heroes to me!

So here is a picture of our extended Thrive Africa family. I’m the one in the middle with the pink winged mask. As Princess Petomai (Greek for fly…I hope), the Ancient Greek warrior, I can fly into the past or the future fighting crime and bringing justice for all. All in a day’s work! And yes, my dress is made of a trash bag and duct tape, and my shield is a steering wheel cover.

Thanks so much for your support and for standing in prayer with us. Please pray for a fruitful and impactful Outreach season. And please let me know if you have prayer requests that I can lift up.

Blessings, Jill

Yes, It Actually Snows Here

Nothing compared to Michigan...but it does get cold enough to snow sometimes, especially in the mountains where we are.

Disco Celebration

It was a great first week here at Thrive Africa! We’re ramping up for the busiest part of the outreach season with 24 summer interns and several mission teams arriving in the next weeks and months. I’ll share more about those in future blogs.

I’m also feeling settled into my new room and new house. This week the Thrive Africa family celebrated Jenn’s birthday by throwing a Disco Party complete with homemade disco ball, strobe lights, and creative costumes. (Mine wasn’t all that creative, but I managed to feather my hair. Where is Aqua Net when you need it?!?) Marc was the DJ and put together an awesome collection of videos and music from the 60’s and 70’s. And Cassie won the costume contest with her Charlie’s Angels jumpsuit. We had a great time!

Here is a picture of me and my housemates – Charlene, Katie, and June and then of picture of the entire Thrive Africa staff minus Amy our Director who is taking the picture. Jenn is the “disco diva” with the blue hair, and Dave is the “crazy cat” in the crazy shirt. They are our Ministry Directors managing all of our ministry programs.

Thanks for all your prayers and support along this amazing journey. And thank you for helping us to raise up the next generation of believers and Godly leaders here in South Africa.

Blessings, Jill

Made it up Mt. Everest

Sunday I attended some additional training with the Bethesda team, this time to prepare for Children’s Ministry in the village. Not only was it great to learn the material, but also to learn how the training classes are taught and how the teams prepare for their programs. After lunch, we all set out on a hike of Mt. Everest which is 6,620 feet above sea level. The weather was beautiful, the scenery breath-taking, and the team really worked together to help everyone make it to the top. And what a view! Boy, did I feel small looking out over rolling hills and skies that went on forever!

Please pray for the team this week as they minister in Intabazwe: that they build strong relationships, have a fruitful children's program, help New Life Church to grow in their community, and serve those in need in meaningful ways. Thanks so much for your prayers and support!