My South African experience was what I hoped for and much more! All 12 of us would agree that we had a great time and would not trade a single moment for the world. When looking back on everything that we accomplished over the course of a week and a half I would have to say that we did what we set out to do, and that was to get complete strangers to give their lives to Christ. When we would sit the kids down and share with them I truly believe that we got their attention by our positive attitude and personalities. They saw the cross symbols on our shorts and t-shirts and realized that what we were saying was important.
I met many wonderful people on the trip. Nathan, who was the Ocean view community leader made me laugh by telling me that the only thing that he didn’t like about America was the amusement parks because they make the roller coaster carts too small. Clynton, who was our host at the Team House and he helped me mail out family postcards. Nadine, our Team House chef who let us experience the African culture by cooking us the best meals. Kelly and Brodwyn, two young ladies whom I met at the Fish Hook King of Kings Church while playing Chair-Ball. Dr. Thomas, the pastor at King of Kings who gave us an interesting perspective on Barack Obama. Keaton, a young African boy who I told that he had the coolest name in the world. Tom and Cindy, who I met as we were leaving the Johannesburg airport to go home. And last, but certainly not least, Gordon, our bus driver who provided us with humorous sayings and conversations as he would drive us around Cape Town. He was my favorite person on this trip. He was a strong Christian man who really cared about us student-athletes at Belmont. There are many other great people that I met on the trip, but it would take all day to name them all.
As BW told us at the team meeting Sunday night, “I’ve never had a mission team love one another like you all have this week.” We seemed to unite quickly and learn a lot about one another. Here is what I learned about each team member:
Jenny- She has a passion for kids and seems to relate to them very well. She told me that she coaches 14 year olds and I know that she does a great job.
Mick- I got to know Mick more than any other person on this trip because we were roommates. He asks a lot of funny questions.
Whitney- She probably talked the least out of all the team members, but when she did speak everyone listened. She is majoring in Art Education.
Drew- Drew impressed me with his ability to get kids’ attention by doing ridiculous ball handling drills. He also told us that he could beat Yao Ming in one-on-one.
Carly- She is a healthy eater and a funny dancer. I also like her music selection on her ipod.
Stefan- He is probably my favorite rap artist on the market right now. He does a hilarious “Cowboy Bob” impersonation. He also likes to follow Andy Wicke’s every footstep.
Cacy- She is now known for superb British accent and serious bed-time stories. She earned the nickname “Cotton” for her pure jump shot.
Andy- He tends to yell at the goalkeeper even when the goalkeeper has only given up one goal the entire game. He is probably the best public speaker this side of the Mississippi. Our consensus student “team leader.”
Rachel- Was very popular with the kids because she is a great “pop” dancer. She is great with kids, specifically the smaller children.
Tony- Wears many hats for our mission team. He does all the behind the scenes work and would not care if he got any credit. As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t be writing this right now if it weren’t for him.
BW- Without her, none of this would be possible. Has a passion for ministry and children. All of us don’t thank her enough for the experiences that we have had these past few days. Also, I haven’t seen her laugh as much as she did this trip, so I know she had a great time.
From this time until next time.
-Keaton