My first stop on my world trip was Cape Town, South Africa. On my flight from Uganda, I had a layover in Johannesburg and I made it as long as I could so that I could see my friend Sue. She picked me up from the airport and we stopped by her house on our way to lunch. I love her house! So open and it’s got lots of different rooms at different levels – not to mention an absolutely gorgeous view. Both her and her husband are creatives, so the art and décor of the house was fantastic. Since both of them have traveled extensively [both separately and together], there was an array of art pieces from around the world. I was certainly getting some ideas for when I decorate my place in Atlanta.
At lunch, Sue’s friend Gary came to meet us and he brought a copy of his book ‘Manzovo – Place of the Elephants’, an epic tale of wildlife in Southern Africa. The paintings in the book were done by Craig Bone, an artist from Zimbabwe that now lives in Florida. It was so great meeting Gary and hearing about all of the exciting things happening with his writing career and with the book. He’s written a second book and Craig is working on the illustrations now. You can buy a copy of Manzovo at www.30degreesouth.co.za.
When I arrived in Cape Town, my new friends Becky & Nadine picked me up from the airport [traffic held them up and I was starting to think they had forgotten me!] and I stayed at Nadine’s flat. The girls work at Life Church in Cape Town, a church very involved in their local community as well as in work around Africa. It was such a blessing getting to meet members of the staff there, visit a small group and hear about the ministry they have in Cape Town. My friend Carita is working with the pastor to build a Watoto village to rescue orphans in South Africa – such an exciting time for Watoto and for Life Church.
My first 3 days were completely cloud-covered, cold and rainy – so much so that I couldn’t even see the city’s famous Table Mountain! Thankfully it cleared up on Saturday and I had 3 days of clear, sunny skies. I have to say – Cape Town may have the most beautiful coast line I’ve seen yet. Carita and I went for a bike ride along the coast my last day there and it was stunning.
Carita invited me to see her friend’s band play — the band’s name is Straatligkinders, which is Afrikaans for ‘Street Light Children’. When I first got to the church where they were playing, I definitely felt out of place because I was about an average of 10 years older than the crowd. But I ended up really enjoying myself. It helped that I had my camera. 
Visiting from University of Arizona’s Chi Alpha group was a team volunteering with Life Church’s projects in Cape Town and surrounding areas. I had such a blast getting to know this little diverse crew. We took a trip up to Signal Hill to take in a breathtaking view of the city. We also visited another church in Table View for their evening service on Saturday. I met a guy named Vuyo who I took an instant liking to – he had such a contagiously positive attitude! We could use more people like that in the world and he is an inspiration to me.
My last day I spent some time with my friend Alan who had volunteered in Uganda for 2 months with Watoto. It was really great seeing him and hearing about all that God’s been doing in his life. We visited these great little beaches – they felt like private beaches but Alan informed me that there are no private beaches in Cape Town. Crazy! That evening I attended the Hillsong Cape Town evening service and Christine Caine from Hillsong Sydney spoke. It was a powerful message about forgiveness [being able to forgive ourselves to enable us to forgive others] and about surrender. It was my first time to hear her speak and I felt incredibly privileged to be there that night.
Overall, I was incredibly impressed with Cape Town and I look forward to the next time I can visit. I hope to stick around a bit longer and really take in more of the city and the people. The vibe reminded me of California – laid back and alive, full of excitement and opportunity. I believe there are great things to come for Cape Town and I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to experience it. Who knows where it could take me?
Coming up next – Hong Kong.
