So let it be.

This weekend has been wonderful. My roommates and I overslept yesterday—rookie mistake—and missed going to the Old Biscuit Mill with the majority of the group. We were pretty sad that we missed this Cape Town Saturday tradition, but Ish lifted our spirits when he told us we would be the first people at The Green Market and that we could experience the Biscuit Mill next Saturday. I told you he was great!

We ate lunch at a precious pizza and pasta place while we waited on the rest of the Global LEADers to arrive. After bargaining with locals for random souvenirs at the market, we decided to walk to the V & A Waterfront for groceries. I’m proud to say that we survived our thirty minute walk through downtown Cape Town without any tour guides or iPhones. We did make a few wrong turns, but we were all happy to be navigating and experiencing the city on such a direct and personal level. The most exciting part of the escapade took place on the Waterfront itself, where we happened to see a seal swimming toward the dock. When we wandered over, we found several of them lying next to the boats. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never seen a seal on my way to Kroger in Athens.

        After grocery shopping at Pick-n-Pay, we managed to pile eighteen people into one cab and seventeen in another (great South African bonding) to head home. We spent the night cooking in our apartments, talking on the balconies, and watching the boys attempt to play baseball with sticks and rocks out on the beach. I ended the night at the hotel bar with Matt, an aspiring businessman from the UK, Joseph, the bartender from Zimbabwe who gave us free key chains, and my ADPi girls who love chocolate cake just as much as I do. We probably won’t like it so much when we come home penniless, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.

The highlight of the weekend, WITHOUT A DOUBT, was church this morning. We went to Hillsong, which reminds me very much of North Point Community Church but on an international scale. Our entire group of 101 didn’t go, but we had enough J.Crew scarves and Ralph Lauren polos in the audience to attract attention to our American selves. We let out a stereotypical loud cheer when the pastor mentioned that there were visitors from the States. I loved it!

        Two years ago, Mary London invited Anna Marchman and me to a Hillsong United concert at Verizon Ampitheater. Never in a million years did I think Anna and I would attend a Hillsong church together in another hemisphere. Thank you, God, for having such awesome plans for us.

May 2009 in Alpharetta

May 2011 in Cape Town

"There must be a God, I believe it's true.
We can see His face, when we look at you." - Matthew West

          The message this morning was about living with pressure. Jon Norman, the pastor, listed the top ten most pressurized careers (PR executive was #2, great) and gave a brilliant perspective on how to handle the pressure and stress of life. According to Norman, “If you’re under pressure right now, you’re exactly where God wants you to be.” He insisted that “pressure creates character” and that we should cope with our occupational, educational, financial, social, and other pressures by:

1) Applying spiritual release to natural pressure
Even youths shall be faint and weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:30-31

2) Applying wisdom
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. James 1:5

3) Applying the joy of the Lord
Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah 8:10

His sermon was great, and the joy in that church was indescribable. It was so cool to talk with the volunteers, pray with the locals, and worship the same God I worship back home with people on the other side of the world.

We ended the afternoon at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden, where I had the pleasure to spend time with “The Golden Girls” (Emily DeJarnett, Emily Gregory, Anna Marchman, and myself) and the honor to meet Vince and Barbara Dooley. The gardens were beautiful, but I’m sad to say that this is where I lost the program from church which contained my sermon notes and the phone number of our new missionary friend from Montana who invited all of us to his home—where we could sit in the hot tub and watch penguins roam the beach. ROOKIE MISTAKE TO THE MAX. I’m sorry, team.

“We have to stop speaking about the Earth being in need of healing. The Earth does not need healing. We do. Our task is to rediscover ourselves in Nature. It is an individual choice. And how or where do we begin? We begin exactly where we are right now, when we look at the world as a mirror when we discover that our sense of freedom and authenticity is linked to the well being and authenticity of others, and that includes the animals, the trees and the land.” – Ian McCallum

On the way home, E-Greg and I had the most engaging conversation with our cab driver, Lanz. We told him about the differences between North, South, East, and West in America and convinced him to say that Georgia is his favorite state whenever his next group of tourists asks. We also talked about this beautiful city he calls home, the diversity of this place we call Earth, and the global family we are beginning to sense, appreciate, and love.

I’m not going to lie, I’m pretty upset about leaving that dang program at Kirstenboch. I want my notes and my group wants that phone number! But, I’m going to try to let it go and remember that there are better ways to spend my energy—which I’m running low on right about now. I learned this morning that “Amen” means “so let it be.” And you know what? I’m in South Africa. Vince and Barbara Dooley are here. I have 24-hour access to chocolate cake and ice cream. I'll just have to deal with being forgetful and losing my notes this one time. Amen? Amen.

 “We’ve got to keep smiling.” – Jon Norman