Afrique du sud

I've been in South Africa for over a week now, although it feels like I've been here much longer. Most nights I am asleep by 9, but I could sleep earlier if I wanted because I'm very tired. I usually sleep 9 hours a night, which is more than normal. I've heard this is common for people in a new culture. I'm staying at a Christian conference center just outside Johannasburg called eMensi. A lot of the last week has been spent doing orientation work for Seed, but I got to see a bit of he city as well. 

 

Last Wednesday, we had a tour of Soweto. Soweto is a neighborhood in the south western part of Johannasburg, where blacks lived during appartide. Although some parts of the neighborhood have improved since the end of appartide, there is still a lot of poverty. We visited Nelson Mandela's former house, where we learned about his legacy. We also visited the Hector Peterson museum. This museum honors the 500 schoolchildren who were killed in the Soweto uprising. This tragedy is the spark that started the anti appartide movement. Our tour guide said remembering this tragedy makes him very angry, but also that he is proud of the sacrifice these children were willing to make for freedom. The history here is violent and oppressive yet the people have a resilient and uplifting spirit. I'm inspired by their faith and their struggle.

 

 

 

On Sunday, we went to a local church in the morning and a zoo in the afternoon. The church was small but full of spirit. The zoo was large but the animals were equally full of energy. I got to see a lion roar and there was a very friendly elephant. We also went to the mall. 

     

A group picture at church

 

 

Elodie with Zebras

Moise at the mall

 

I found out today that my visa for the DRC has been approved. It will arrive on Friday and I'll fly to Kigali, the capital of Rwanda on Saturday. On Sunday, I will drive for six hours to Bukavu, where I will cross the boarder into the Congo. I will live in Bukavu with my 8 group mates for a month. I'm not sure where I will be after that. 

I'm sad to leave South Africa but excited to get to the Congo. This is where the real adventure begins. I hope your all doing well. Bye for now.

Au Revoir

Hi Everyone. My name is Jacob and this is my Africa blog. I'm going to be posting about my experiences in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where I will be living for the next two years. I'm not sure how often I will have access to the internet, so my posts may not be as frequent as some hope, but I'll try to update as often as I can. I'm gonna do some words, and some pictures, and maybe some other stuff too. I hope you all enjoy living vicariously though me for the next two years.

These two years will be spent serving with Mennonite Central Committee, an organization dedicated to peace and development work. I'm serving through an MCC program called Seed. I'm excited to be in this program, because it means I get to work with a group of young adults from a variety of different backgrounds and cultures. The group includes me and seven other people. Their names are Michelle, Aaron, Mariam, Moses, Steve, Elodie, and Sharon. Sharon is from Canada. Elodie is from Burundi. Michelle is from Rwanda. Aaron, Mariam, Moses, and Steve are all from the Congo. I also have two leaders named Karen and Serge. Karen is from Arizona and Serge is from the Congo. I'll write more about the group in future posts.

Tomorrow, I'll wake up at 7 and my parents will drive me to the airport in Denver. I'll fly from Denver to Atlanta and then from Atlanta to Johannesburg, the capital of South Africa. The flight from Atlanta to Johannesburg is 17 hours. I'll be in South Africa for two weeks for an orientation. I will meet some of my group members and begin to learn more about the work I'll be doing in the DRC.

Anyway, that's all I have to say for now. I'm sure I'll have lots of things to say or write by this time next week. So you know, pray for me and send me all your positive vibes.

This is a song by Koffi Olomide. He is one of my favorite Congolese musicians so far.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hax0fSHnAO4

Goodbye America. See you in two years.