Departures are so hard. Having to say goodbye to someone that you’ve spent every day with for almost 3 months is not easy. Now multiply that by the number of girls I spent everyday with… We had such a beautiful…
I have finally surrendered to Cape Town winter and accepted that it is here. After going to a Cape Malay cooking class, I walked out of my teacher’s house in Bo-kaap to find a massive hail storm–an unusual event for…
This week we finished up our service to the Alturo family. And what an amazing way to end this experience. After battling an infection during the recovery process, Laura is finally able to return home. The tumor was benign and…
First of all, we finished off the retreat splendidly last week! Besides the intense bowling and Mexican night.. We also underwent the grand and slightly dangerous experience of go-cart racing, several rounds of bilingual games at the park, many fun…
A slight feeling of patriotism is in the air for many Americans living in Cape Town. President Obama visited Cape Town two weeks ago as part of his State visit to South Africa. In addition to Obama’s visit, we just…
Every week brings something new: this one has brought me the honor of being called Mămicuța (Mommy), a title bestowed upon me this week by my girls. While those who usually stay with the girls are away, the responsibility has…
This week, we continued our work serving the Alturo family while their daughter recovers from surgery. Here’s what a typical day looks like: 10am-12pm: Maria Paula and I cook both lunch and dinner. Usually something like chicken breast, baked potatoes,…
Moments come and pass so quickly. There are good ones, challenging ones.. and not a spare one at the Beauty from Ashes center:) As usual, this week has been “hoppin,” and it’s not over yet as we are in the…
This week took an unexpected turn…in the best way possible. While this week we had yet another Supervacas vacation bible school in the neighborhood of Prado, I only participated in the first two days. On Monday we received word that…
Recently, I expressed my dismay at a bathroom that charged me one rand (ten cents in the US) to enter it. I asked an acquaintance with me, “What’s the point of charging R1?” She answered that it was to keep…