I'll be home one week from today!

Well I made it back to South Africa. Dara and I had quite a pleasant 15 hour bus ride to Maputo (capital of Mozambique) on which we had comfy seats, A/C, tea and sandwiches. It was nice to be able to see more of the landscape, and process leaving Mozambique. The land is very green now after the rains, hilly, and has lots of banana and mango trees. We spent a couple of nights in Maputo, explored the city a bit, bought last minute souvenirs, and made it to South Africa on the 15th.

We left Mozambique with mixed emotions. We were sad to leave Carlos and his family, the volunteers, and the friends that we had made, but we were glad to see everyone back in South Africa, and are excited to see our families and friends back home soon. It was quite a strange feeling to leave our Mozambican family and the volunteers behind. Most of the people there have no hope of ever leaving Mozambique, as just surviving day to day is a challenge. While we get to go back to North America with every opportunity before us, they will continue to live off their gardens, strive to be a light in their communities, and struggle to rise above AIDS and poverty.

Last week Dara and I went to Cape Town for four days as we heard that it was very beautiful, and a must-see. We enjoyed our time, and got to go to Table Mountain, Robben's Island (where Nelson Mandela stayed as a prisoner for so many years), and did all of the touristy things. It felt really weird being a tourist after all the time we spent with suffering people in the community.

I think it would be easy to go back home and slowly forget about our time here. To forget that there are 7500 new children becoming orphaned every day, and to forget about Carlos and the volunteers who work so hard to care for these kids. I pray that I won't forget, and that I will be faithful with what I've been shown.