Rain, Rain Go Away!!

Another rainy day in Stellenbosch...which meant we weren't able to get anywhere with building which is frustrating, but tomorrow is looking better so we are all ready to get 3 days worth of work done tomorrow! Hoorah!

However, while in Mfuleni we played with all the neighborhood children and took time to get to know each other. The children are all so precious and wonderful, they are fascinated by our cameras so we taught them how to take pictures and their huge smiles and giggles from taking pictures of one another and looking at themselves was adorable. Some of the community mothers from the township who live next door to where we are building cooked us the most delicious lunch - it was a vegetable and meat stew with homemade bread that just melted in your mouth! Everything is so hearty here...full of robust and definitely filling. I love getting to be a part of their community - they are all so wonderful and their strength astounds me, so resilient. No matter their conditions they are able to share and pour out love, we are so blessed to be with them.

To combat the rain our afternoon activity included touring some of the local vineyards in Stellenbosch. South Africa is actually the second leading exporter in wine! Something I never would have guessed. The vineyards were breathtaking - grape vines crawling up the hill sides, the architecture of the buildings to accommodate visitors and touring the wine cellars was an amazing experience. The beauty here is so contrasting - I've found so much beauty in the townships - people, building projects, glimpses of endurance, even their make-shift homes are ingenious, though hardly should be deemed livable and definitely not deserved. But they still hold a unique beauty - that of someones story. Behind those shacks are beautiful stories of coming together as a community and creating hope and support surrounding by tin and leaking roofs. Then the beauty of the country, green hills with rocky mountains engulfed in mist rise on all sides. The architecture and buildings are lovely and have such an elegant ambiance.

I met a girl who lives in South Africa that traveled to Colorado and worked there for awhile at the ski lifts! She told me she'd been in Denver, Boulder, Breckenridge and Frisco...all my favorite places! It's amazing how the South African students know SO much about us - they rival us in American trivia! Plus they are all bi-lingual speaking English and Afrikaans with such ease. It's wonderful making friends from around the world.

Tonight will be devoted to homework and paper writing as we've all fallen behind on our classwork with the excitement of Habitat. Hopefully tomorrow the forecast will hold and we will be able to get some progress going on these houses!! The families anxiously await a new beginning!