I wasn't very good at updating while I was gone. I apologize for that. It was kind of a torn thing - I didn't want to be on my computer while I was there, you know? But I did want people to feel involved and part of what was going on. In any case, I'll be updating more about the trip now that I'm home. For now, here are a good chunk of pictures that I narrowed down a little from the 4,000 I took. Enjoy!
Traveling via London, arriving at The Farm, and having a culture night with the Academy (high school) kids:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2066892&id=68601067&l=c63a804c3a
ASP Camp:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2066899&id=68601067&l=8bf832172d
and
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2066905&id=68601067&l=fcc52683b6
Bridges of Hope Academy:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2067165&id=68601067&l=04b881c9c2
Aquila Safari:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2067166&id=68601067&l=455c1a1bc6
Robben Island & Cape Town with the facilitators:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2067167&id=68601067&l=0d649db830
Birthday Party, Bonfire & Goodbyes:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2067201&id=68601067&l=ad80b00d11
Love,
Erica
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
ASP Camp
Well, ASP (After School Program) Camp is well over now! We had one day to rest and then the Academy kids (high schoolers) came back from Easter weekend ready for us. We've had a blast with them these past few days, but first I'll talk about camp... (this was written a few days ago)
We have spend the last few days playing games in the sun, jumping on the trampoline, swimming with way too many kids in the pool (who mostly don't know how to swim haha), making crafts, singing songs in Xhosa and English, and sharing lots of interesting meals together. It has been wild; there are so many kids here!! But it's just like any other church camp - we have morning and night talks and testimonies, and cabin times afterward. Some of our students have had really cool stories about their kids sharing prayer requests and asking good questions and having discussions. We're really excited about what God is doing in the lives of these children and the facilitatiors we've gotten to know.
No one has gotten sick or hurt (besides the normal scrapes and bumps of camp), and we really didn't have any jetlag or trouble adjusting. God has taken such great care of us! The weather has even been great :)
I can't think of too much else to update on... I think my brain is a little scrambled from the low sleep and mixed languages around me! Haha. Sorry if this has been rambling or if I haven't given you all the information you were hoping to get! Feel free to ask any questions, specific or general, and please continue praying for us! Pray that this last day and a half of camp can be really effective in getting the kids to understand what kind of relationship they can have with Jesus. And pray especially for the facilitators; a good half of them are not committed Christians, and we've gotten to be good friends with them and care about them a lot. Pray for sleep for our team, but other than that we really are doing so great! We just want to be effective leaders for our kids!
Missing you all!
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
We Made It!!
I'm so tired, I have to go to sleep, but I'll post the email I just sent out to all the parents and supporters and expand more later! Love - Erica
Hi everyone! We made it!!!! ☺. It is currently 9:25PM here in Franschhoek and we feel like it must be at least 3AM. Haha. It was a looong journey (which we expected), but everything went quite smoothly minus a few small bumps along the way (also to be expected!). We didn’t end up with much time in London, but we did get to walk around and get some fresh air as well as catch a few photos of Big Ben and Parliament. It was a fun couple of hours together!
South Africa is beautiful. It’s very green with big mountains and long rolling wine country. Just beautiful! On the drive between Cape Town and Fraschhoek we got to see where all of our kids have come from or will be coming from, a township called Phillipi (and a few other townships which are very close by). It was just a long stretch (probably a mile or two long) of tiny shacks lined up along the other of side of a wall beside the freeway. Very impoverished, and very sad. But I think it was good to see that, so we get an idea of what these kids are getting to escape for the week they’re at camp (or for 4 years for the ones who go to the Academy).
Tonight we had a fun cultural night with the Academy kids (high schoolers who live and go to school here). I’ll give more details later, but it was really fun and they made us chicken's feet for part of our dinner - cultural for sure!☺. Tomorrow morning the College Team starts teaching at the Academy, and our team will prepare for our 80 ASP kids (2nd through 7th grade) to come to camp (at 10AM)!
We’re a little bit exhausted, but mostly thankful we get to be here and excited for what’s coming.
Keep us in your prayers, of course! At this point what we need prayer for is just some good rest and to make sure we’re prepared for camp.
We’ll try to update every few days; the internet is a little finicky. But know that we’re very safe here and already having a blast with the Academy kids and the staff. God is so good to us!!
Sending much love from the Southern Hemisphere,
-Erica & The Team
PS: Please feel free to pass this email along to anyone else you know who might want to be updated! I don’t think we ended up getting a full list from every student before we left.
Hi everyone! We made it!!!! ☺. It is currently 9:25PM here in Franschhoek and we feel like it must be at least 3AM. Haha. It was a looong journey (which we expected), but everything went quite smoothly minus a few small bumps along the way (also to be expected!). We didn’t end up with much time in London, but we did get to walk around and get some fresh air as well as catch a few photos of Big Ben and Parliament. It was a fun couple of hours together!
South Africa is beautiful. It’s very green with big mountains and long rolling wine country. Just beautiful! On the drive between Cape Town and Fraschhoek we got to see where all of our kids have come from or will be coming from, a township called Phillipi (and a few other townships which are very close by). It was just a long stretch (probably a mile or two long) of tiny shacks lined up along the other of side of a wall beside the freeway. Very impoverished, and very sad. But I think it was good to see that, so we get an idea of what these kids are getting to escape for the week they’re at camp (or for 4 years for the ones who go to the Academy).
Tonight we had a fun cultural night with the Academy kids (high schoolers who live and go to school here). I’ll give more details later, but it was really fun and they made us chicken's feet for part of our dinner - cultural for sure!☺. Tomorrow morning the College Team starts teaching at the Academy, and our team will prepare for our 80 ASP kids (2nd through 7th grade) to come to camp (at 10AM)!
We’re a little bit exhausted, but mostly thankful we get to be here and excited for what’s coming.
Keep us in your prayers, of course! At this point what we need prayer for is just some good rest and to make sure we’re prepared for camp.
We’ll try to update every few days; the internet is a little finicky. But know that we’re very safe here and already having a blast with the Academy kids and the staff. God is so good to us!!
Sending much love from the Southern Hemisphere,
-Erica & The Team
PS: Please feel free to pass this email along to anyone else you know who might want to be updated! I don’t think we ended up getting a full list from every student before we left.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Just Sittin & Waitin!
Well I just typed out a whole message & then it deleted! But we are still sitting in the airport to board - we were supposed to take off at 340 & it's now 515! But you have to just let go of the control & trust the Lord with the time He's given to you! I think we're finally going to start boarding. Pray for patience & endurance! We're still really excited & positive, but wearing a little thin from 5 hours of sitting in the airport :)
Love,
-Erica
Love,
-Erica
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Aaand Panic.
The past couple of days have been total panic for me. Not really because of going to Africa; more because of what I'm leaving behind and will have to come home to - school. I guess I didn't really think missing an entire week of school would be too big of a deal. I guess I wasn't really thinking at all! So after a whole day of tears yesterday and feeling pretty ready to drop out of school, I stopped being ridiculous, prayed for awhile, and now I'm fine. I mean, don't get me wrong, those stresses and fears and anxieties are still there, but something inside me just picked them up and handed them over to God. Let go. So today I am spending my emotional energy being thankful and learning how to trust. I don't have any reservations or even fears or anything about the actual trip - that part I learned to trust God with a long time ago. It's the rest of life I'm still trying to control! Haha. Anyway, pray for me - that I would continue to learn how to "let go" and how to trust. And selfishly, pray for my classes, that I can keep up and pass them all.
T- 3 DAYS!!!!
Love, Erica
T- 3 DAYS!!!!
Love, Erica
Sunday, March 29, 2009
South Africa; T- 7 Days
Hello everyone! I decided to start this blog separately to kind of track my travels and give people an opportunity to come along on the journey with me here. In one week from today, I will be co-leading a missions trip to Cape Town, South Africa with 4 other leaders, 14 high schoolers, and 5 college students. Crazy! I'm nervous and anxious, but SO excited!! It's going to be an amazing experience, and we have a really incredible team of students. Here is a letter I wrote explaining the trip and where my heart is. Feel free to check it out and contact me at any point along the way! I'll do my best to update often while we're gone. Keep us in prayer!!
Love, Erica
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 2009
Dear Family & Friends,
I hope this letter finds you all doing well and loving life! I am in my final semester at Biola University; it seems impossible that time could have flown by so quickly. My college experience has been an incredible one – I’ve had the chance to get involved with our new student orientation program every year, which has definitely grown me in many areas. I’ve made great friendships, learned from truly brilliant professors, and gotten to live in beautiful Southern California. What a gift! Now as my university days are coming to an end, I’m trying to figure out what comes next. My degree is in Journalism with an emphasis in Public Relations, and I still love music and photography, which leaves many diverse career opportunities and a girl with too many interests to choose just one! But I am confident that God will continue to shape my direction and be with me along the way.
I am writing to you now to tell you about a beautiful opportunity I have been given during this last semester of school. In just a few weeks I will be co-leading a group of 14 high school kids from Rolling Hills Covenant Church in Palos Verdes, CA on a missions trip to Cape Town, South Africa! I am so excited about this incredible journey God will be taking us on, and how he will use us to impact the people there. We will be leaving from Los Angeles on April 5th, and arriving in Cape Town the morning of April 7th (it will be a LONG travel experience!). From there we will drive about an hour to the township of Franschhoek, to a “farm” called Bridges of Hope Academy. Our time there will be split into two separate weeks and we will leave Cape Town April 19th and arrive back in LA on April 20th. Let me tell you a little bit about what we will be doing each of these weeks and the children we will be working with:
-Bridges of Hope Academy – This is much like a boarding school for high school aged kids who have been orphaned by AIDS, and many of them are actually infected with AIDS as well. While we are there we will be teaching them in their classrooms, tutoring them, giving them Bible lessons, and teaching them more liberal subjects that they don’t have the funds or means to learn about, such as drama, music, art, and some sports. We will truly be building friendships with these kids, and be giving them opportunities to accept Christ for the first time, to grow deeper in their relationship with Him if they already have one, and to have some good conversation and answer some of the questions they have about being a Christian.
-Eagle’s Nest: After School Program – This is a combination of summer camp and a Vacation Bible School program for about 80 elementary school kids who have just finished a school program through the Academy. The theme of the camp is “Jesus Has Not Failed Me Yet” and we will be working with interpreters to teach the kids about Jesus, most likely for the first time ever. We will be playing games, doing crafts, teaching lessons, having “cabin times” and everything in between with these kids! We will also be ministering to the interpreters as well as the kids, since many of them are not Christians either.
I cannot believe God has given me such a great opportunity to travel, to build relationships, and of course most importantly to share the amazing news of the life we can have in light of His grace and love for us if we just accept His gift of salvation! I have tried my best to be prepared for this trip in all of the ways I can… logistically, emotionally, and spiritually. I’m writing not only to tell you what’s going on in my life right now and share my experience with you, but also to ask you for diligent prayer over this next month as we finish preparing, as we go on this journey, for our integration back into the fast pace of American life and for the weeks of debriefing and wrestling with the ways God will teach us and grow us on this trip.
Here are the ways you can pray for us:
- Team strength and unity as we travel, live, and work together for the first time.
- The finances necessary to make this journey possible.
- The hearts of our high schoolers, that they would let go of their expectations and be open and prepared for what God has in store for us there.
- Many hours of safe travel for our entire team.
- Our strength physically, mentally, and spiritually, as we are sure to face many battles during our time serving the Lord.
- Boldness and courage in interacting with another culture, people group, and language we are unfamiliar with.
- Wisdom, discernment, and openness in how God will have us serve and reach the people of South Africa.
- Our leadership team – Whitney Vidlock (a very close friend!), Chad McNicol (my boyfriend!), Jordan Munde (a great guy!) – as we do our best to lead these students and learn to let God lead us and mold us into the kind of leaders He wants us to be.
Since I am going on this trip as a leader, I have the incredible blessing of being hugely financially supported by the church, but I do still have to raise a percentage of my personal expenses, which total around $3500. I truly am not writing this letter to ask for your financial support, especially in this economy, but if you feel God tugging on your heart to support us, you can make out a tax-deductable check to Rolling Hills Covenant Church (do not write my name anywhere on the check!) and email me for the address (I don't want to post it on this blog!).
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this letter. Going to Africa to serve the people there has been something on my heart for a number of years, and I am ecstatic that God is giving me such an opportunity! And I get to share it with you all!! If you would like to be updated during and after our trip, please send me a quick email (or comment on this blog) and I will add you to our email update list (or just check back here, I'll be updating this blog as well!). Also, if you can commit to praying for us, it would be a great encouragement to know that, so feel free to email regarding that as well. Don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or comments! And if you have a few moments, please update me on your lives and your families; it’s hard to keep people integrated into your life during the college years!
So much love to you all,
Erica Sawrey
Email: erica.sawrey@gmail.com
Bridges of Hope - http://www.bridges-of-hope.org/index.php
Rolling Hills Covenant Church – www.rollinghillscovenant.com
Love, Erica
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 2009
Dear Family & Friends,
I hope this letter finds you all doing well and loving life! I am in my final semester at Biola University; it seems impossible that time could have flown by so quickly. My college experience has been an incredible one – I’ve had the chance to get involved with our new student orientation program every year, which has definitely grown me in many areas. I’ve made great friendships, learned from truly brilliant professors, and gotten to live in beautiful Southern California. What a gift! Now as my university days are coming to an end, I’m trying to figure out what comes next. My degree is in Journalism with an emphasis in Public Relations, and I still love music and photography, which leaves many diverse career opportunities and a girl with too many interests to choose just one! But I am confident that God will continue to shape my direction and be with me along the way.
I am writing to you now to tell you about a beautiful opportunity I have been given during this last semester of school. In just a few weeks I will be co-leading a group of 14 high school kids from Rolling Hills Covenant Church in Palos Verdes, CA on a missions trip to Cape Town, South Africa! I am so excited about this incredible journey God will be taking us on, and how he will use us to impact the people there. We will be leaving from Los Angeles on April 5th, and arriving in Cape Town the morning of April 7th (it will be a LONG travel experience!). From there we will drive about an hour to the township of Franschhoek, to a “farm” called Bridges of Hope Academy. Our time there will be split into two separate weeks and we will leave Cape Town April 19th and arrive back in LA on April 20th. Let me tell you a little bit about what we will be doing each of these weeks and the children we will be working with:
-Bridges of Hope Academy – This is much like a boarding school for high school aged kids who have been orphaned by AIDS, and many of them are actually infected with AIDS as well. While we are there we will be teaching them in their classrooms, tutoring them, giving them Bible lessons, and teaching them more liberal subjects that they don’t have the funds or means to learn about, such as drama, music, art, and some sports. We will truly be building friendships with these kids, and be giving them opportunities to accept Christ for the first time, to grow deeper in their relationship with Him if they already have one, and to have some good conversation and answer some of the questions they have about being a Christian.
-Eagle’s Nest: After School Program – This is a combination of summer camp and a Vacation Bible School program for about 80 elementary school kids who have just finished a school program through the Academy. The theme of the camp is “Jesus Has Not Failed Me Yet” and we will be working with interpreters to teach the kids about Jesus, most likely for the first time ever. We will be playing games, doing crafts, teaching lessons, having “cabin times” and everything in between with these kids! We will also be ministering to the interpreters as well as the kids, since many of them are not Christians either.
I cannot believe God has given me such a great opportunity to travel, to build relationships, and of course most importantly to share the amazing news of the life we can have in light of His grace and love for us if we just accept His gift of salvation! I have tried my best to be prepared for this trip in all of the ways I can… logistically, emotionally, and spiritually. I’m writing not only to tell you what’s going on in my life right now and share my experience with you, but also to ask you for diligent prayer over this next month as we finish preparing, as we go on this journey, for our integration back into the fast pace of American life and for the weeks of debriefing and wrestling with the ways God will teach us and grow us on this trip.
Here are the ways you can pray for us:
- Team strength and unity as we travel, live, and work together for the first time.
- The finances necessary to make this journey possible.
- The hearts of our high schoolers, that they would let go of their expectations and be open and prepared for what God has in store for us there.
- Many hours of safe travel for our entire team.
- Our strength physically, mentally, and spiritually, as we are sure to face many battles during our time serving the Lord.
- Boldness and courage in interacting with another culture, people group, and language we are unfamiliar with.
- Wisdom, discernment, and openness in how God will have us serve and reach the people of South Africa.
- Our leadership team – Whitney Vidlock (a very close friend!), Chad McNicol (my boyfriend!), Jordan Munde (a great guy!) – as we do our best to lead these students and learn to let God lead us and mold us into the kind of leaders He wants us to be.
Since I am going on this trip as a leader, I have the incredible blessing of being hugely financially supported by the church, but I do still have to raise a percentage of my personal expenses, which total around $3500. I truly am not writing this letter to ask for your financial support, especially in this economy, but if you feel God tugging on your heart to support us, you can make out a tax-deductable check to Rolling Hills Covenant Church (do not write my name anywhere on the check!) and email me for the address (I don't want to post it on this blog!).
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this letter. Going to Africa to serve the people there has been something on my heart for a number of years, and I am ecstatic that God is giving me such an opportunity! And I get to share it with you all!! If you would like to be updated during and after our trip, please send me a quick email (or comment on this blog) and I will add you to our email update list (or just check back here, I'll be updating this blog as well!). Also, if you can commit to praying for us, it would be a great encouragement to know that, so feel free to email regarding that as well. Don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or comments! And if you have a few moments, please update me on your lives and your families; it’s hard to keep people integrated into your life during the college years!
So much love to you all,
Erica Sawrey
Email: erica.sawrey@gmail.com
Bridges of Hope - http://www.bridges-of-hope.org/index.php
Rolling Hills Covenant Church – www.rollinghillscovenant.com
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