Arriving at night time in Cape Town really helped to not get keyed up for the week ahead. Being dark and all, it was hard to see anything versus arriving in the day time and having the opportunity to see all the sights, watching people living life. I think it would have kicked the adrenaline in overdrive with anticipation, wanting to get started right away. Maybe it’s just me but by us arriving at night it helped me to stay calm and actually get a little sleep that first night.
I am not a morning person and for me to be up and about before 7 is a very rare thing. I woke at a little after 6 and was thankful that I did not feel the least bit tired or dragging as I typically do most morning. Jimmie had gotten up even earlier than me and had decided to venture out to see what the breakfast scene was like around our location. I decided to make some coffee and study God’s word in preparation for my short teaching time on Thursday with the EPIC students.
Arriving at the lodge the night before we had no way of knowing that the Indian Ocean laid just a couple of good 3 woods away from our front door. I love the water, always have and so being able to look out my window and see the ocean first thing in the morning was a sweet song to my soul each morning and a great way to start every day! The seaside community we were staying in is called Muizenberg and is a surfer’s paradise. There would always be dozens of surfers in the water by 6 am or so getting an early jump on the waves. Truly was an incredible way to start each morning.
Terry Hilliard and his son, Jeremy, arrived at our place around 9 am to give us a complete rundown of their ministry, Bridge 4 Hope, a brief history lesson on South Africa as well as setting expectations and the agenda for the week. We were able to get a better understanding of what Apartheid had done to the South African nation and the devastation it brought on most of it’s population. It’s been 20 years since it ended but the effects are still very much evident as you drive around Cape Town and see the disparity between the haves and have not’s. I will cover that in more detail in a future post. For now, I will just say it’s a travesty of the human spirit and I was once again shocked at how cruel we can be to one another.
We then went for a short walking tour around Muizenberg. It was once a thriving Jewish community but now only remnants remain. The buildings and atmosphere definitely have an European feel to them. As I said, this is a surfer’s paradise, so there are a handful of different surf shops located within the main area or boardwalk as it were of Muizenberg. Several fine clothes shops and specialty stores are sprinkled in as well, creating a quaint little area for the tourist to check out. For me, the coolest part about this area was all the different waterfront cafe’s and such. My favorite of these was a place called Empire Cafe. Although it was small, it featured a balcony area that had big windows that opened up to a spectacular view of the beach and Indian Ocean! And just to add a little flare, there was a train track about halfway between the cafe and the beach.
When we had finished the walking tour we made our way back to the lodge so that we could pack up and head out to Beautiful Gate in Philipi. Beautiful Gate is an orphanage that partners with Bridge 4 Hope by allowing them to rent space at their location. As we loaded up the van for the ride out, I was thankful that God had allowed me the opportunity to come to Cape Town and was getting excited to see what was in store for the remainder of our time in this most beautiful of settings.
Peace and thanks for reading!!
Thoughts of Life 