Church and Electricity

Dumela! (Hello!)

This past week was a good week.

I went to a Bible Study with a couple of girls who work at Bethesda. I loved it. It has been a long time since I have fellowshipped with others in that way. There were about 30 of us. The room was full of people of all nations. Germany, America, South Africa (obviously), the Congo, and South America to name a few. We worshiped through praises, prayer, and study. The people were welcoming and I felt at home. I plan to go again this upcoming Friday.

I also went to Grace Fellowship this Sunday. The man who led the Friday night Bible Study is one of the pastors. Again, I felt at home. I already knew familiar faces from Friday and I felt like I had been going to this church for years. The pastor was so passionate about what he preached and I left both services that day challenged. I plan to attend Grace Fellowship during my stay here. I already know I am going to miss this family when I go back to the states.

Our electricity and water went out during the weekend here at Bethesda and in the surrounding Hammanskraal area. We left at 6 am on Sunday to go into Pretoria so we could shower before church. We played Twister by candlelight on Saturday night, found entertainment in ping pong, and I was stinky and sweaty all day because we had no fans. I had a great weekend! Bethesda’s property was fortunate to get power and water back so quickly. Many people around us will be out of water for 3 wks. This is common for them. How would you have to adjust your lifestyle if you did not have access to water for a month?

The rainy/thunderstorm season has started. Storms in Africa are amazing! The lightning is incredible and extremely dangerous. The lightning comes so low to the ground and a lot of fires are started. It is so dry here and the majority of the homes here don’t have fire alarms. It’s so beautiful though – the whole sky lights up – thunder roars – rain pours. All this equals to the perfect thunderstorm. Way better than the storms in Idaho. That’s for sure.

I’ve been getting up at 6 everyday to walk with my two roommates. (5 consecutive days so far)! It is nice and cool. It’s a great way to enjoy the beautiful nature of Africa.

This sums up a big part of this past week. God is doing great things. Peace with you all.