Be the Cause

Today, many of us got up at the crack of dawn in order to meet our hiking guide, Luke Angel downstairs in front of our hostel. He offers us snacks and drinks as we make our way up the beautiful hillside called, Table Mountain. On the way, we see vineyards and pine trees and we even see the house where Nelson Mandela has lived in. We park and at the base of the mountain, we start to hike…it is still very early in the morning, but we are ready to make the trek up this mountain that we’ve only viewed from afar. Hiking up, we see a number of distinct flowers and geckos of all different colors hiding out and basking in the light of the rising sun. It’s quite an incline as we hike to what looks like it could be the top. There are some viewpoints that are beyond breathtaking…and we see the mist that Table Mountain is known for. It’s completely surreal. When we get to a lake at the top, we stop and have some mangos to eat and admire the scenery. We then hike a little more and climb up on these incredible rocks that overlook such striking scenery!! We take some group pictures and sit in silence for a few memorable minutes. We head back down beloved Table Mountain in joy and with good spirits. At the bottom, there is fruit being sold and South African fruit is beyond delectable. Some of us purchase Lichys…which we’ve come to enjoy tremendously. We head back into the van and join Karuna, Sonali and Cheryl who have gone to the other side of the mountain to check out the botanical gardens and try and get a ride on the gondola that promises more amazing views. After these lessons in beauty, we head out to an Agape Orphanage in the outskirts of Cape Town. The children here have many disabilities such as Cerebal Palsy and the like. And there are children infected with HIV as well. We play and play with these children and comfort them either by playing on trampolines with them, singing with them, or holding them. At the end of the day, some of us put them to bed. At the end of a beautiful, fulfilling day, we head back to our temporary home in Cape Town with much thought and reflecting back on what we saw and experienced today.

Was scolded a bit, with love I might add, for not writing more in the blog while I was away. So here are my simple thoughts after being home for a while… As much as I missed home while I was away, and special thanks to those that gave me cuddles and hugs to try and soothe – so appreciated, it did so help; however, as much as I missed home then, I miss some precious little ones now. I miss the little girl who took hold of my finger and lead me to help her on the poddy and change her clothes each time, not once but four times, so cute, so sweet. I so miss the little girl, Prudence, who just sat quietly next to me for a good two-three hours, her hand on my leg, little cuddles, so precious. I so miss the little girl, who was really a little boy, at the beach party – I wish I would have known then, I would have shown extra TLC, such a precious little child, eyes so full of joy and love…I want to be with this little child and talk again. I loved them all and more… I miss the people at the Hospice, so brave, so beautiful, so inspiring. I miss doing service in Africa. I know I’ll find some nice opportunties to do service here, but my heart in the meantime pines for the service done in Africa…want to do more and better service.

With love always,
God be with you,
Cheryl