JBay 9-16

Finally arrived, whew it was sooo long but so worth it. My first flight was only 7 hours to Amsterdam which was quicker than I expected, I sat by the isle next to a german man who spoke not one word but put in his ear plugs and on his sleeping mask and away to dream land he went. Hahaha so that was a longgg flight, I did not sleep at all, I read letters people had given me (thank you if you wrote one) I started reading Blue Like Jazz (LOVE IT!) anddd watched a couple movies.  I get to Amsterdam and I’m pretty sure I over packed, but no big deal I won’t run out of anything haaha, had to wait for only a couple hours until my next 10 hour flight to Johannesburg. That flight was a little better, I sat next to this older couple who basically have traveled the world and are now onto South Africa for 8 weeks, they were super nice, and very good to sit next to.


I arrived at the airport in Johannesburg and was greeted by Jenna the girl who took me for the night and welcomed me into her BEAUTIFUL house. Seriously, wow I was blown away by her house, it  was in ehh platoria or something, whatever the capitol of SA is that is where she lived, in a very rich and overly secured part. We had to go through 3 gates of security just to get into her house…I guess it makes them feel more safe…haha but wow the family was soo nice, already this culture is so much more welcoming than anything I have ever experienced. I love it.


I talked with Jenna and her mom for awhile then went to bed to be awoken at 4am so I could catch my 630 plane..and surprisingly it was not bad at all, I was super awake (I know weird I’m never a morning person, Africa changes you, ya know!) I get on my plane without any trouble and it was a very small plane and a very short ride, only about 1 ½ hours so that was very nice.


Ok this is where it kind of gets interesting…ok not really so I get to Port Elizabeth and it’s actually chilly outside, like SUPER windy, it felt like a cold football game night, which is fine by me but EVERYONE was wearing winter coats I kept laughing to myself. The airport itself is very small, so I did not get lost (I am proud to say I never lost my way in any airport) but I was sitting and waiting in the airport wondering, “where the h are the fricken people that are supposed to pick me up!!!” I found internet I could use (it pays to be a tourist) and checked my email to make sure they were still coming, I had nothing from them so I was like ohhhhkayyy then. I decided well I should try calling someone, so I ask to use the phone, they direct me to this pay phone, I don’t have a calling card so that’s annoying. I ask where can I find coins, they say nowhere…hahah I was pretty frustrated at that point, so I just was like WOW SCREW THIS, and sat down because one thing I have realized is if you say your going to do something now, its usually like an hour later it ends up being done. So I sat and waited for 40 minutes until this man comes up to me “are you going to ywam” and I forgot his name, but he was one of my drivers to the base. Pastor Robin also was in the car so that was a fun ride. We ended up getting a bit lost on the way to the base but its all good. I got shown around while we were driving, oh my, its gorgeous wow I love it. But the first thing I get asked..well told is “Rachel your gunna die…” hahaha Pastor Robin kept telling me, “Rachel, you gunna die, you gunna die.” I just told him to bring it on.

It is already crazy to me how much we are used to in America, after not even a day of  being here wow uhhh guys you have it reallyyy good! Their playgrounds oh my nothing and trash all over, (they do have KFC and a McDonalds). That is besides the point.

Ok now about the base, its located in a pretty low income area, what you might call a slightly niceish slum. It is right near the little Jbay town, which is fantastic. Right when I got there, I was shown to my room, everything is locked, we all get keys and we have to lock our doors when we are in and out of the dorm. The room we are staying in has two rooms filled with beds, and then in the middle of us are the bathrooms. I share a room with two girls as of now, Lisa who is from Germany, and this Brazilian girl…can’t remember her name ha. On the other side is a girl named Vernica who is from South Africa, and a girl Charlotte from England. We have a guy coming from Jordan tomorrow, he is escaping, was a muslim and converted to Christianity, so I am super excited to hear his story. Everyone is crazy here, I feel like I’m living in a gospel church HALLALUIAH! The DTS that is here now, just finished their lecture phase and are leaving Monday to head out to India (which is the place we probably are going as well, India or Madagascar I guess, but that could change) I have already had some pretty intense conversations, everyone is so eager to know you and hear your story which is pretty neat.

The food I heard is pretty bland, but so far I like it. Not high class or anything, but I was not expecting that haha. A lot of coffee, tea, rice, and peanut butter. (that is what the girl I stayed with in Johannesburg told me anyway) I have to do my laundry by hand, we’ll see how that goes. I walked into town today to buy a SIM card, ended up getting it for free, I’m still not sure how it works. I can’t manage to make calls..yeah and you have to pay hourly for the internet, which is why this is so long, because I am writing the blogs on word before I use the internet, so I can just copy and paste. Thinkin like my daddy, whats the way I can use the least money. The base it pretty small, sorry I keep jumping around I’m not sure how to organize my thoughts right now they are all over, I have too much to say or to explain. I’ll do more explaining as I stay here longer, but the ocean is a two minute walk.

We wake up at 530 every morning to do a half hour jog…530 AM. Wow shame but its all good, I’ll get over it. So we do the half hour walk, and then we go to the beach to pray for an hour. There is a lot of praying here, the holy spirit is very very relied on, which is good, its different, something I’m not that used to. When at chapel this evening it was lots of speaking in tongues and jumping dancing crazyness. Very African I fit right in hahaha.

The beds are average whatever, we just share bunks but the dogs bark alllll night because they run all over. So I made sure to get earplugs for tomorrow night. Mmm yes well that’s it for the day.