I have been in Cape Town for about 48 hours now. My first day here, on Friday, I slept in till about 11:30. I woke up and went to a training program for some of what we will be doing down there. This was very difficult to stay awake during since it was for several hours. I did learn a few cool things during that time though. I can now juggle (well almost) and I can make ballon animals! Be jealous. :)
On Friday I did a good job fighting jet lag and didn’t go to bed until around 11p.m. Today though, I messed up twice. I woke up at around 11 and at noon I sat down on my bed for what was supposed to be a brief moment and then slept for three hours. A couple hours later I slept from 6 - 8. Not good! Well, now I am wide awake and at least I have the energy to write this blog! I figured I would use this time to update you on the rest of my journey here.
Well last time we talked I was trying to have a conversation with that intimidatingly large man on my right during the plane flight from Johanesburg to Cape Town. Well... That
didn’t work out too great. When flying on South African Airways, alcohol is free. And this man certainly was aware of this, as he consumed a great deal of it! For the rest of the trip the man drank increasing amounts of wine while mumbling German underneath his breath. He just sat there and kept talking to himself, so I decided to talk to the man on my left. He ended up being a resident of Cape Town so it was great to listen to the things he suggested I should do before I leave in a couple months. Of course we talked about the World Cup and overall it was a good experience talking to him. On the flight earlier I sat next to a woman who was returning on a business trip to her home of Cape Town. I figured if you’re going to sit next to someone for 18-20 hrs you might as well get to know them. She was a very nice lady with a great accent. It was like an Australian accent combined with an English one, absolutely wonderful!
Traveling internationally is something I have not done in a very long time. I usually love flying, simply because I get to sit next to and meet new people, I get a ton of reading done, and obviously I’m getting somewhere I need to be all at the same time. You will find some very interesting people on a flight like this. “People watching” is pretty fascinating, and not in a creepy way I promise. During our unscheduled two hour lay over in
Senegal, I got to ease drop in a conversation going on to my left. One girl had grown up in South Carolina (?) and then moved to Cape Town for high school. She then went to college in San Diego, California I beli
eve. She was on her way to Johannesburg to meet with some of her friends to do volunteer work for a couple weeks. She also said very nonchalantly that she was going to see a couple World Cup games... No big deal. Then she was going to Tanzania to meet her boyfriend and, I’m sure, do other interesting stuff there. Another lady she was talking to was from Iowa on a business trip to Cape Town. I need to work for a company like that! Traveling really is a great way to hear interesting stories and meet interesting people. I met someone like this at the Cape Town airport.
When I got to the airport I discovered that my bags hadn’t made the flight. Sooo... I went to S.A.A. Baggage claim where I met a great guy named Brandon. Brandon was unbelievably helpful in assisting me. He told me that my baggage would arrive on the next flight, but that would take an hour. My flight had already been delayed by this point (we were about 45 minutes late) and I was worried that those who were supposed to pick me up had le
ft. So Brandon walked me out of security to check and see if this was the case. And of course, they were not there. My phone doesn’t work here, so B
randon helped me by calling the office where I was to work but they did not pick up. I also did not have the address for where I was staying so I had no idea where I was supposed to go. There I was, standing in a foreign airport hoping my luggage would be on the next plane, without a working phone, and no idea where I was supposed to stay that night. Thank God for Brandon.
Eventually we did get a hold of someone from Living Hope (thats where I am staying) and they helped direct me to the house. - more on that in the next blog (if I remember). Brandon and I talked for probably a total of 30 minutes walking back and forth thr
ough baggage check and security. He asked me why I was here and I told him. He seemed very interested in the work I was going to be doing there and kept asking questions. I thought it was just because he wanted a good tip at first. But then he told me that he too was a Christian and that his dad had actually helped start and was the head of the Methodist Church here in Cape Town. I felt very blessed to have run into him and for the encouragement he gave me. He asked me to come speak at there church sometime, I gave him my number and hope to hear from him, just hope he doesn’t ask me to speak! I only knew him for about an hour or so but he was one of the most genuine people (I think) I have met in a very long time. I also saw the lady I had the pleasure of sitting next to on my earlier flight from D.C. Mariette, thats her name, was at the baggage claim for the later flight that my baggage had finally arrived on. It was pretty cool to see her and Brandon meet, too of my favorite people in South Africa (really the only two I knew), and talk with one another. Mariette had given me her card in case I needed anything while I was in Cape Town over the next 10 weeks and Brandon had already helped me. Awesome people. I think that God often chooses to show himself through others and it is always a blessing to meet those who He is working within.
I’ve met several others since then, and since I want to make sure I no longer bore you with this blog, I will write about it in another entry!
Also, I have raised just over half of the money I need to stay down here, but we are still trying to raise the rest through people like you! Thank you once again for reading this blog and praying for my trip this summer. I pray that you have a blessed day!
If you are interested in donating to my trip this summer read on... If not, thank you for your prayers and see you next week!
If you would like to give, your donation IS TAX DEDUCTIBLE!
Please make the check out to The Church At Severn Run
And make sure to put “Josh Sheppard’s mission trip” in the note at the bottom of the check.
Please do not mail it to my college address, but rather mail it to my home address, it is:
Josh Sheppard
8203 Joshua Ct.
Laurel, MD 20708
God Bless,
Josh Sheppard
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