Home Sweet Manitoba...

AAHHHHHHH!!!

It's true folks, we all arrived safely last night at around 8pm, and although I'm not in Ontario yet, I feel totally at home here!! Driving on the right side of the road, drinking Starbucks coffee, bitter cold Winnipeg air, 2 quilts and a bed to sleep in, a hot shower, a blueberry bagel for breakfast (South Africa apparently doesn't believe in bagels, so I've missed them), and so much more, have all been welcoming realities of Canada that I used to take for granted!! But NO LONGER!!

So! I last blogged enroute to Heronbridge after we left Ukutula. We arrived that evening and I called home for the last time from South Africa! After a few rounds of Dutch Blitz, it was bed time... travel days are tiring!

Friday... which would've been... April 6th... we continued with our De-Briefing sessions and heard 3 more testimonies. It was an enjoyable day of sessions, hanging out, and playing waterpolo! haha, THAT was fun. Friday night the worship committee (that's me!) put on a special Good Friday service. Really cool. We blindfolded everyone and had them sit in a circle, then we told the story of Jesus from Creation up until Easter, using poems, scriptures, songs and communion, and had them make use of all their senses besides sight! Overall an impactful evening.

Saturday! A couple more testimonies to listen to, ultimate frisbee, dutch blitz, a cup of tea, and many more things made it another wonderful day!

Sunday after breakfast we had a quick Easter morning worship service followed by an hour of quiet time for us to think about what Easter means to us. I reallllyyy enjoyed that! After two more testimonies, we had an Easter Egg hunt :) After lunch was our last student testimony!!

Monday's sessions were really good, as we heard the experiences of our four leaders. They had some amazing things to say, and I feel like I learned a lot from them in the 20min. they each had!

ALRIGHT! So Tuesday we left! Little did I know, that the 4hrs of sleep I got Monday night would somehow hold me over until last night! Good times on the flight home, hanging out in Germany (drinking Starbucks for the first time in 3 months!!! AKK!!), seeing my dad and Heather in Toronto (SOOO GOOD, but way to brief!!), and finally arriving here!!! Since we landed in Winnipeg, everything has been sooo awesome... I'm staying in Steinbach at my friend Alethea's, and i'm loving every minute of it! Today we went into town, visited her work, ran some errands (groceries for grad party and such), and ate lunch! Now the girls are baking up a storm and soon we'll be making waffles for supper! Tonight the Site 3 girls have a night out at Boston Pizza, which shall be FABULOUS!

Tommorrow morning I get to see my mom and little sister! We have grad rehearsal in the afternoon, and a free evening.... Saturday all day is free for students, and I'll be hanging out here helping prepare for the site party which is here in Steinbach Saturday night!! Sunday is grad... and I really can't beleive it... then I fly home with my mom & sister Sunday night!!

... this means I will see you all very soon!! Hope you've had an amazing 3 months, because I certainly have! I'm sure I'll be de-briefing this experience for a long time yet, and it's really not going to be easy leaving all my new best friends... but it's gotta happen!

Until we meet! Three days and I'm home :)

lots of love... from not so far away!

This Is The Home Stretch Folks!

Wow.
I can hardly believe this...
I'm only in this country for 5 more days...

So much has happened this semester and I don't really know where to start, or how to attempt to describe my experiences! God has blessed me so incredibly much with new relationships, amazing leaders, crazy adventures, and soooo many challenges that have really stretched me, and as i've found myself saying alot, "expanded my horizons".

We're in the heart of our de-briefing time, and we're well over halfway through hearing each students testimonies about their experiences/struggles/growth points this year.

This morning we left Ukutula Lodge & Lion Farm where we've been since last Wednesday (28th), and we're off to Heronbridge to finish off the year! (just outside Pretoria).... it was the first place we came to when we arrive WAYYYY back in January! Wow....

Sooooo... I'm drawing a bit of a blank since I last blogged... it was just before the crazy hike up Rhino's Peak I think? Yeah, that was insane... and guess what!? I fell again! It really never gets old with me... actually my friend Jeff and I have become quite famous in our Outtatown crew for being the most clumsy and injury-prone... so we're taken good care of... but yet we still fall...

haha, anyways!! Kruger National Park!! We stayed in tents, made our own meals, swam in the pool, and enjoyed a couple game drives!! (ahhh!! saw giraffes, LIONS, impalas, zebras, rhino, crocodile, hippo, snakes (umm, we watched one on the road get run over by an incoming truck...), and elephants! a whole train of them!!) Overall a sweet experience!!!

After Kruger we left for Ukutula Lion Farm!! Out in the middle of nowhere!! But there's lion cubs runnin around all over, so we play with them... then there's the mama lions (and one male) that you always here late at night when you're trying to sleep... kinda freaky actually... they've got some seriously loud roaring skills... aaand there's a pool, and a tuck shop, and cool huts and picnic tables where we've been able to chill and write our testimonies and written reports!

Okay well I'm gonna wrap this up, and go call home!! Right now we're enroute to Heronbridge at Menlyn Mall (HUGE!!) There's a Cinnabon here, and my stomach tells me that I should be finding it.... so here i go.

Thanks so much for taking time to read these blogs, however long and confusing they may be... just trying to keep you informed! Thanks too for prayers and thoughts and emails, it means the world to me!! I'm sure I'll blog again back home, but for now, this could be it until i'm back in Canada!! I'm really looking forward to Grad weekend... lots of crazy celebrations in the works!!

lots of love from far away...