Last Week Of Ministry

Today was the first day of our last week of ministry on the Race. Next week we start debrief and a week after that we’ll be headed home! On one hand it feels like I’ve been gone forever. Costa Rica feels like a lifetime ago, the memories already getting distant. On the other hand, it feels like my time with the World Race has flown by and it blows my mind that I only have 2 weeks left of this journey. 

Our last ministry placement is in Heidelberg, South Africa. We’ve been here for a week now and it’s been very different than our time in Johannesburg. We are partnered with a church that doubles as a Christian school during the week. Every day we go to the school and split up into different classes to assist the teachers. After school we play sports with the students and then we come home to relax.

I’ve been splitting my time between the 1st grade class and the preschool class. In the morning I’m with the 1st graders. The school is honestly pretty different than any school I’ve ever been to. The students are very independent and do their workbooks quietly. We interact with them when we check their work and when they read to us. 

During their breaks is when we really get to see their personalities come out. The 1st graders love playing this game called “hug attack.” Sometimes this means they sneak up on us and give us big hugs. Other times they try and tap my back while I try to prevent it. They love running around outside, and every day it impresses me how quickly they settle down when it’s time to go back into class. 

In the afternoon I go to the preschool class where we play games with them outside. I try to lead them in some typical preschool games (“duck, duck goose”, “what time is it Mr. Fox?”) but, their favorite game is something they call “Tree.” Here’s how you play: the Americans are the trees and the students are either tree limbs or koala’s or whatever else they want to call themselves. They simply jump on our backs, hang onto our legs while sitting on our feet, jumping into our arms…. anything that will get them hanging on us as if we were actually trees. 

One more week of this and just like that we’ll be headed to our final debrief. Dang. Pray that we will finish strong and savor this last week of ministry on the Race. 

Blessings, 

Kaci