Randomness. That is the theme of today's blog post. I am going to give you little snippets of what my past week has been like and maybe it will give you a flavor of the randomness of what constitutes life.
Monday
* Most of the morning I spent at the South African Museum by the Company Gardens. I learned some fascinating animal facts: Did you know about the pygmy shark? It is around 15-20 cm long and lives deep down in temperate and tropical waters. It camouflages through photophores on its belly which produce light to match the amount of light filtering from above. That means that this animal manages to live without casting a shadow! I also learned how sharks have a great sense of direction. They basically have a built-in GPS, consisting of ampullae of Lorenzi which are filled with electrically conductive jelly. Small hairs at the bottom of the ampullae detect changes in electrical polarity. This keeps them in tune with the earth's electromagnetic field, as well as alerting them to the electromagnetic fields of other living creatures.
* I spent the early afternoon at the National Art Gallery. Because the South African Museum is under construction currently, they gave me a free pass to the Art Gallery. Then I met with Caryn for a hike in Newlands forest.
* In the evening I played Liar's Dice with Zac and Hope after supper.
Tuesday
* I spent the morning with the Sunshade ladies. We talked, drank tea, and had an exercise class together. I had some intense conversations with a couple of the ladies about their lives and God. I find that can be quite draining!
* In the afternoon I helped out at the Jubilee Health Center. This included singing and dancing in the staff kitchen with Ma Rosemary, the cleaning lady, and praying with patients.
Wednesday
* I spent the day volunteering at Jubilee Health Center. The nurse, Rachel, and I had a really good chat with a diabetic man. We were able to help him understand his condition better, and empower him to take good care of himself since he is already starting to experience neuropathy in his feet. Then I had the opportunity wash his feet, put cream on them, and pray with him.
Thursday
* Schoolwork and reading in the morning
* I walked to Claremont and spent the afternoon with a good friend. We had lunch and shopped at Cavendish, where I got the comfiest pair of pijama pants, as well as a nice shirt and some new flip-flops (or 'slops', as they call them here)
* In the evening I helped serve at a fundraising/awareness dinner for the Message Trust, South Africa. Andy Hawthorne, founder of the Message Trust, spoke, as well as Tim Tucker, National Director of the Message Trust in South Africa, and some of the men whose lives have been changed through the Message's prison ministry and Gangstar Enterprises. The goal of the Message is to raise up a generation of urban heroes, and I am very impressed by the work they do! Some of my friends at Jubilee are also part of their new Eden initiative in the Salt River area, which is somewhat similar to the MoveIn movement in Canada.
Friday
* Volunteered for the day at Jubilee Health Center
* In the evening I joined Gravity (the young teenager group at Jubilee) on an outing to Supertubes in Muizenberg. This is a waterslide park by the ocean. What a blast!!
Saturday
* Morning: I helped serve at the LifeGroup Leaders Training at Jubilee. I also managed to sit in most of the sessions, and I learned some practical things that I hope to use as an IMPACT leader next year at Prairie Bible Institute.
Sunday
* Church service at Jubilee in the morning
* I spent the afternoon with Shaun and Wendy's family. Wendy works at Jubilee, and they are keen to befriend me and introduce me to life in Cape Town's townships and surrounding areas. We had lunch at their home, and then went hiking in Tokai forest. I saw a cork tree for the first time!
* After the hike, they dropped me off at Jubilee for the evening service.
...And so one week is past and another starts! Life can only be boring when one loses sight of God, His work in the world, and the wonder of His creation. I wonder what randomness and insights this week will bring.
Monday
* Most of the morning I spent at the South African Museum by the Company Gardens. I learned some fascinating animal facts: Did you know about the pygmy shark? It is around 15-20 cm long and lives deep down in temperate and tropical waters. It camouflages through photophores on its belly which produce light to match the amount of light filtering from above. That means that this animal manages to live without casting a shadow! I also learned how sharks have a great sense of direction. They basically have a built-in GPS, consisting of ampullae of Lorenzi which are filled with electrically conductive jelly. Small hairs at the bottom of the ampullae detect changes in electrical polarity. This keeps them in tune with the earth's electromagnetic field, as well as alerting them to the electromagnetic fields of other living creatures.
* I spent the early afternoon at the National Art Gallery. Because the South African Museum is under construction currently, they gave me a free pass to the Art Gallery. Then I met with Caryn for a hike in Newlands forest.
* In the evening I played Liar's Dice with Zac and Hope after supper.
Tuesday
* I spent the morning with the Sunshade ladies. We talked, drank tea, and had an exercise class together. I had some intense conversations with a couple of the ladies about their lives and God. I find that can be quite draining!
* In the afternoon I helped out at the Jubilee Health Center. This included singing and dancing in the staff kitchen with Ma Rosemary, the cleaning lady, and praying with patients.
Wednesday
* I spent the day volunteering at Jubilee Health Center. The nurse, Rachel, and I had a really good chat with a diabetic man. We were able to help him understand his condition better, and empower him to take good care of himself since he is already starting to experience neuropathy in his feet. Then I had the opportunity wash his feet, put cream on them, and pray with him.
Thursday
* Schoolwork and reading in the morning
* I walked to Claremont and spent the afternoon with a good friend. We had lunch and shopped at Cavendish, where I got the comfiest pair of pijama pants, as well as a nice shirt and some new flip-flops (or 'slops', as they call them here)
* In the evening I helped serve at a fundraising/awareness dinner for the Message Trust, South Africa. Andy Hawthorne, founder of the Message Trust, spoke, as well as Tim Tucker, National Director of the Message Trust in South Africa, and some of the men whose lives have been changed through the Message's prison ministry and Gangstar Enterprises. The goal of the Message is to raise up a generation of urban heroes, and I am very impressed by the work they do! Some of my friends at Jubilee are also part of their new Eden initiative in the Salt River area, which is somewhat similar to the MoveIn movement in Canada.
Friday
* Volunteered for the day at Jubilee Health Center
* In the evening I joined Gravity (the young teenager group at Jubilee) on an outing to Supertubes in Muizenberg. This is a waterslide park by the ocean. What a blast!!
Saturday
* Morning: I helped serve at the LifeGroup Leaders Training at Jubilee. I also managed to sit in most of the sessions, and I learned some practical things that I hope to use as an IMPACT leader next year at Prairie Bible Institute.
Sunday
* Church service at Jubilee in the morning
* I spent the afternoon with Shaun and Wendy's family. Wendy works at Jubilee, and they are keen to befriend me and introduce me to life in Cape Town's townships and surrounding areas. We had lunch at their home, and then went hiking in Tokai forest. I saw a cork tree for the first time!
* After the hike, they dropped me off at Jubilee for the evening service.
...And so one week is past and another starts! Life can only be boring when one loses sight of God, His work in the world, and the wonder of His creation. I wonder what randomness and insights this week will bring.
