All The Things That Mean The Most.

Quite a bit has happened since I last updated. A week of work, Bruma Market World, packing, service at Barea Baptist, Pilanesberg Game Park, last day of work, and dinner with friends. We had 9 new babies come to door of hope since last Sunday. It has been a great last week!

I went to Bruma with Susan and Emily. It was a lot of fun. We talked to a lot of people. Emily bought pretty much all of her gifts for home. Susan bought an African dress (so great) and skirt. I wasn't going to buy anything, but I got a little statue of a giraffe. I have officially fallen in love with giraffes while on this trip. New favorite animal, just so you know.

Packing was, well, packing. Emily came over and hung out with Susan and I while we got everything together and it was nice. We then had "family dinner" with the Wiggins who were leaving that night. Saying goodbye to them made it more real to us that we were leaving soon. It is crazy how close you can get to people in just a few weeks. The Wiggins are people that I am now so blessed to know.

Church Sunday morning was great. Barea consists mostly of black Africans. They love the Lord with everything they have (which isn't much) and they aren't ashamed to shout, sing, or dance for Him. It was a joyful service full of God's love and praise to the King. I love that church.

Monday we went to Pilanesberg, which is a game park. You can go on a guided safari or drive yourself. We drove ourselves because it was cheaper and we could go wherever we wanted. We were only there for three hours and saw so much. Most of the time people don't see as much all day and we saw in those few hours. The first thing we saw were wildebeest; there were a lot of those all over. We saw quite a few Springbok and Impala. A small herd of either Bushbok or Kudu (not sure which) leaped across the trail right in front of our car. They were magnificent. We saw a good many Zebra. Some of them looked as if they were hugging each other, another looked liked it was dancing. We saw a few Warthogs, adorably ugly creatures. haha. There were hippos that looked like rocks by the water. I kept saying how I wanted to see a giraffe. As we rounded one corner there was a giraffe. I squealed, scaring Susan to death. There were three more down the trail and we took many pictures of them. The whole time Susan and Emily were talking about wanting to see Elephants. As we rounded the last corner before the trail end, there was a herd of elephants in the middle of the road. We all got so excited and took pictures. We had to wait for about 5 or 10 minutes for them to move, but we didn't mind at all. It was grand. (=

Yesterday was our last day of work. It was a pretty good day. The babies were good and mostly happy. It was bittersweet. We loved being there with them, but were sad that it was our last day. We went out to dinner with the other volunteers, Lindsay, and Ferdi. It was very good and nice to have a relaxing meal enjoying everyone's company.

Today is the day we leave. In about 9 hours we will get on a plane and fly to Atlanta, Georgia. I will arrive in Asheville a little before 11:00 AM tomorrow. I am so excited about being home, seeing my family and friends, eating Mom's spaghetti and chocolate cake, and having the comforts of home. However, it will be so weird to be back. I know that Spruce Pine probably hasn't changed much and I know almost exactly what to expect from Mitchell County and even Mars Hill once I go back to school. I'm not the same as I was when I left though. God has taught me so much and has changed my heart in ways that are unexplainable. I know that it will be wonderful to be home; home and school are where God wants me next. I am ready to see what He will do in the next year in, around, and through me. Just because my time here is up does not mean He is finished working in me. I am thankful beyond measure for this experience and the people I have met here. I feel that part of my heart will always be in South Africa, but for now my heart is being called to Western North Carolina.

"I'm letting go and holding close to all the things that mean the most. And it feels so good coming home to all the things that mean the most." -Gloriana.

"Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." -Philippians 1:5.

"Like the sound of a silent song, oh Carolina, ya keep callin' me home." -Eric Church.