While our friends and families were safely tucked into bed at home in Canada, lost in dream world, I also felt like I was in a dream of sorts. It didn’t feel real from the moment we arrived. The tiny little plane, the rainbow of jumpsuits, the intimidatingly extreme harnesses: each detail is engrained in my mind. From the second we left the ground with our very own personal professionals attached to our backs to the moment I had to inch my way to the open door of the plane and swing my feet around and over the edge, I was refusing to let it sink in that this was reality and not just a unbelievably realistic dream. My professional (Vern) and I rocked back and forth on the edge of the plane (where the door should have been) and before I realized it we were falling, flipping backwards in the air and watching in shock as clouds and blue sky spun all around us. We straightened out and I spread my arms; at this point all I could see where clouds beneath us, slowing getting closer and closer. It felt more like flying than falling. I saw Vern reach around me and pull a little black cord, and all of a sudden it felt like a massive hand had grabbed us from behind, plucking us from out of free fall, and then we were floating, slowly drifting through fluffy clouds of white as the ground became visible. Vern loosened my harness to make it more comfortable, and for a terrifying moment I thought he was going to let me fall. The view I can’t even describe in words; an intricate, large scale painting with greens and blues, the fine lines and details becoming defined as we floated further and further. The building came into view, and I steered (I got to steer!) my way back to the right spot. Two colorful parachutes below me one by one touched down, excited spectators busily snapping photos. Vern took over with the steering, and I lifted my legs up so they wouldn’t get crumpled as the ground approached. The whole thing lasted so long but was far too short, and before I knew it I was on the ground again. Thirty-two ecstatic and slightly relieved faces greeted me on the ground. As the third last group of four, there were only 8 more students left to go before we could all say that we had successfully survived a fall from 10 thousand feet.

- Kayla Pyl

Our time in Swaziland was cut short, but we still got to spend two nights in the country. After a 6+ hour bus ride with no air conditioning in the stifling heat, we arrived at Mlilwane Wildlife Park. We stayed inside the park in grass huts at night, and were warned not to walk off the paths in case the warthogs or hippos were crossing the area. Our first meal there included impala, which we stuffed ourselves with from the buffet. As we ate we watched the crocodiles swim in the pond right next us. Our views the whole time were absolutely incredible, ranging from towering hills to evergreen tree-clad valleys, to the stunning waterfall we swam around on Wednesday. We spent several hours swimming near the base of the waterfall after enjoying small group picnics, before experiencing Swazi cultural dances and exploring a traditional Swazi village. We got in a bit of time at the market to pick up some souvenirs and cap off the afternoon. Many of us spent our last morning in Swaziland by going on a two hour walk at 6 a.m. where we were lucky enough to catch sight of a couple of hippos and crocodiles in the wildlife park.

-Caitlin Dyck

Hey Friends and Family,

We are pleased to announce yet another way for you to track with our journey in South Africa. OTSA 3 now has a facebook page. We invite you to add us as a friend and watch this adventure unfold.

Follow the link below:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100003367738212

- The OTSA 3 Media Team

Upon arriving at my Afrikaner homestay in Pretoria, the first thing I noticed was the prison-like barrier surrounding the yard. My host parents didn’t seem high profile enough to warrant such extreme measures of security, but with a glance at the surrounding area I realized that all the houses in the neighbourhood had the same protection. Coming from Soweto, and witnessing firsthand the horrid treatment of the black people during Apartheid, I quickly assumed that the whites were in fear of the now empowered black majority. But as the week went on and I spent more time with my host parents and immersed myself in the Afrikaans culture, my attitude and perception changed. Attending several braais (barbeques), I saw their friendliness and hospitality. Nothing can amend the atrocities the non-whites had to face at the hands of the Afrikaans’ forefathers, but it is plain to see that South Africans of all backgrounds are trying their make their country a better place for their children. As I learned about the history of South Africa I realized it shares many similarities with Canada. They, like us, are trying to repair the relationship with the native peoples of their country. I have come to acknowledge that I have been living my life contentedly oblivious to all the struggles within my own country. I know when I return home I cannot remain complacent to injustice in my community – I too must be an advocate for change.

- Connor Mabbott

This past week we spent time in Soweto which is a suburb of Johannesburg. Soweto originally was a township during Apartheid. On our first day in Soweto we attended the Vineyard church, which is an African church, and we had the privilege of eating lunch with the church people and playing with all the kids. It’s so amazing how even though we were strangers, and not just strangers but also foreigners, the kids and the parents warmed up to us so fast and were immediately our friends. The next day we went on a tour to Soccer City, the stadium where the world cup was played. It was so interesting after having seen it on TV to actually be standing in the same place as all of those famous players, coaches, and fans. The same day we were also able to see the hostels in Soweto. The hostels separately housed males and females during Apartheid but currently they are being used as homes to many people. The government is working on building new hostels. We also went into a Catholic church and received a tour of the building. We stood in the same place as Nelson Mandela and saw a paper on which Michelle Obama signed. During the Soweto uprising people sought sanctuary in the church but the police shot through the windows at the students both from the inside and the outside of the church.  After visiting the church we went to a museum that is dedicated to those who were killed during the student uprising on June 16, 1976. It was really depressing to see all the photos.

On our next day in Soweto we went to the University of Witwatersrand and listened to a lecture about the school systems and the aftermath of the apartheid. We then went to the Apartheid Museum and spent the whole afternoon there. That was a whole lot more depressing compared to the first museum that we saw. It went into greater detail and it helped me to get a better understanding. There also was a section dedicated to Nelson Mandela. I found that part so fascinating and I kept thinking how great it must have been to just stand up for what you strongly believe in and then end up being president of your country and having a portion of a museum all about you.

On our third day in Soweto we began our service projects. We were split into six groups. My group had five members and we went to Emthonjeni. The first day we went to different houses around the community and delivered food packages to them. All of the people were sick with many different illnesses but the most common illness was HIV/AIDS. It was such a unique experience to get to be invited in so openly to the houses of some of the poorest people living in South Africa. Their houses were nothing more than one roomed shacks but that is all they have and they were willing to share their couch and tell us stories about their lives. I felt so blessed to be a part of that and to experience the hospitality of amazing people. Not many North Americans get that opportunity. It was truly a blessing. Being in the homes of those suffering in poverty you would think that you would find poor people living there. Instead I found people rich in other things that are much more important than money and earthly possessions. They were rich with love, faith, joy, and friendship. I am loving South Africa and getting to experience their culture here first hand.

Kara Klassen

Click on the “Photos” link at the top of the page to see our journey in photographs!

Greetings from South Africa! It already feels like a long time since site 3’s beautiful reuniting moment in the Toronto airport. Many of us were already delirious after traveling to Toronto from our various hometowns, but the deliriousness was far from over. Thankfully, however, everything went smoothly throughout our many hours of traveling. Our first stop was Frankfurt, where we had a good 10 hours to kill. Many people caught a train into town to do some exploring. We boarded the next plane at 10:10 pm Frankfurt time and endured 11 more hours of passing out, waking up, and passing out again. Our plane touched down at about noon, and after gathering our luggage, we stepped out into the long-awaited South African sun. Yep, this is finally happening. Our new home for the next three months. The first seconds of the adventure of a lifetime.

We loaded on to the bus and embarked on an hour-long drive through both city and countryside, on our way to Rocky Valley Christian Camp located in Chancliff outside of Johannesburg. When we arrived, I couldn’t believe my eyes. The scenery was unreal! I felt like I was in paradise. Unfortunately, at that point most of us were too exhausted to get out and explore. We fought to stay awake as we re-grouped and had some food. That evening we experienced our first South African thunderstorm! I had no idea that I had come from a rainy Oregon winter only to get soaked by crazy summer rains in Africa. That night, most of the group was in bed around 9, and even though I set my alarm for breakfast, I awoke to my cabin mates getting ready for a morning hike at 6 am. Many continued the pattern of early to bed, early to rise during the rest of our days at the camp, and a combination of this and still being used to short winter days made our few days there seem endless. We had hours to hike the surrounding hills, explore the creek, play sports and just chill out together.

Just past the creek was another camp being used by an outstanding youth choir, who we eventually learned had sung alongside Shakira during the World Cup. We frequently overheard them as they practiced throughout the day and during our last day at Rocky Valley, a small group of us walked over to check out what was happening. The commotion we heard turned out to be the girls cheering on the boys, who were in the middle of a soccer match. We introduced ourselves and hung out for a while. Before we left, we received free CDs and were invited to listen to the choir practice later that evening! We were super stoked, especially since we had secretly hoped to watch them sing during our visit. After a short Site 3 rugby match, we headed over to hear the choir. We had no idea what we were in for. Earlier that day, the choir director had divided the choir into four groups for a singing competition, where each group had two hours to prepare a selection of songs to perform. The choir filed in and as soon as the director yelled “Are you ready to begin?” the room absolutely erupted in cheers. The choir stood up and began singing to us, the audience, and we were immediately captivated. Josh Klassen even started to cry. Many others began to tear up as we watched each group perform. There was so much raw passion, energy and emotion! We left that evening both completely moved and still trying to make sense of what we had just witnessed.

The next day, we boarded the bus once again and headed to Soweto, where we are currently staying. To finish, I’ll mention that yes, we are all safe and already having a phenomenal time. In many ways, all the preparation and anticipation for this trip has already paid off. As always, your continuing prayers are much appreciated. Until next time, we love you all and we’ll do our best to keep you updated.

Peace!

Kevin Bontrager

Hey team,

So we Outtatowners were just blessed with an amazing week at Camp Squeah in Hope, B.C. (pronounced Skwee-ah –you should say it aloud, I find it fun to say). This week was special because it was Outtatown’s first ever time they had an All-site week like this. This means that Sites 1, 2, and yours truly, Site 3 got to spend four days at the same camp. Sadly Site 4, French Africa, didn’t get to join us because they are kinda in Burkina Faso (Site 4– shout out right here, praying for you guys, keep on rocking out Burkina Faso, my friends). Anyway, the first night was a bit overwhelming with all the new faces. Sure, the guys knew the guys and the girls knew the girls from Guy/Girl Week in Alberta, but having all three different group dynamics meshed into one large group was insane at times. We eventually got used to it over time and had a fantastic week together.

We had the unique and awesome experience of having Bruxy Cavey lead session this week. Bruxy is the head pastor at The Meeting House in Toronto (www.themeetinghouse.ca) and that dude was good. He taught us about the core teachings of Jesus, the early acts of the church, and why Jesus did the things he did and said the things he said. Bruxy also told us about an interpretation of Jesus’ mission on earth: Jesus came to show us his love, save us from our sin, set up his kingdom, and (most controversially) shut down religion (he was wearing a shirt once that said “Know Jesus, No Religion”– I gave him 10 points for cleverness). Bruxy taught us that one of the core things Jesus did for us during his time on earth was to shut down the idea that we have to earn our way to God by works and tradition. Instead, it is our personal and real relationship with our King in Heaven that will allow us to reach God. The most important thing that Jesus taught us was to love. Our freedom to love makes us uniquely blessed.  We all loved our man, Bruxy! I forgot to mention that the guy is probably the funniest pastor I have ever heard speak. I think he had me in tears laughing once or twice. The dude has podcasts and a book called End of Religion free and availible on iTunes, so if you want to get a taste of what we experienced for three days, do it up.

One of the cool things about the all-site weekend was that there was always a lot to do. If we didn’t have session, then we would have activities; if we didn’t have activities, then we had at least 3 separate Dutch Blitz games going on. The activities we had were fun. We had about 6 different activities to choose from in the afternoons. They offered a variety of stuff such as tae-kwon-do, ping-pong tournaments, Tournamental, team sports, photography lessons, crochet lessons, and much more. The highlight of our activities was that one evening we brought in a square dance caller and went square dancing! (We are terrible Mennonites, I know…). I normally don’t dig the whole country experience, but I’ll try basically anything once, so I gave it a shot. SO MUCH FUN! It was nothing but confusing and aggravating, but my rule was, “if you don’t know what’s going on, just do-si-do with your partner”. It was a really good opportunity to embarrass ourselves and to get to know the other people in our Outtatown family.

Lastly, our site had been working on a flash mob for all-sites week for about 2 months and we finally had the opportunity to show it off in front of Sites 1 and 2. The dance was a success and it wouldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t for our lead choreographer and resident dancer, Tedi Gilmartin (if you are closely connected to Tedi, this is where you cheer aloud and say “Atta girl Tedi!”). She dealt with 31 crazy people who mostly don’t know how to dance and she rocked it. I think it’s safe to say that we did very well. The video will be posted at the bottom of the page.

All-Site Week was amazing. We danced, took tae-kwon-do lessons, yelled at each other while playing card games, and learned how to end religion. And I know what you’re thinking; “Sounds like your normal Mennonite gathering”.

–Luke Cassie

 

    

Last weekend (November 3-6), we had the privilege of being guests at Twin Creeks Bed and Breakfast if Abbotsford, BC. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that we all loved it there! (There was even talk of moving in permanently and in a few years adopting some kids )

Our hosts, Pat and Peggy, were so kind and loving. They had bought the home only a little over a year ago (previously it was a group home for a large family) with the intention of doing God’s ministry to groups staying with them.

We had beautiful weather all weekend, so many of us went on hikes through their beautiful property and played games in the garden. Many people also used this as an opportunity to work more on knitting and crocheting projects; I read two novels.

In the evenings, we would often have various movies playing, like “Crazy Stupid Love,” “Into the Wild,” “Stardust,” “P.S. I Love You” and others. We also played a lot of board games and played music (on pianos and guitars etc.).

Everyone looked forward to meal times! Peggy and her team (a.k.a. a group of friends) were amazing cooks and many of us over-ate! (Especially on the last lunch when we had perogie and farmer sausage casserole with caesar salad.) Many of us were also enthralled by the huge drawer of tea that we could drink whenever we wanted; I was ecstatic to find there was also lemon for my tea, which is something I miss from home.

But for me, the best part of the whole weekend was the feeling of living in a home again. (I even washed dishes voluntarily, Mom and Dad!)

To all our friends and family back home, we love you and miss you! See you soon!

With love, Sarah Lazar

 

   

On the first day of the Vancouver Urban Plunge, we did a scavenger type situation once again, which was lovely. It was slightly less programmed and set up than the last one; we just went around the rough and the rich parts of Vancouver in groups of three or four, answered a few questions, and we had to share our lunch with someone as well. It just so happens that the poorest and the richest parts of town are right beside each other, thus making for an interesting day to be sure. I was paired up with two other people and we roamed the streets. We were asked to not bring any valuables like wallets or other such things. One of out later “challenges” was to find dinner for free. We were suggested to go to a soup kitchen and experience what it’s like to not be able eat that night. My group decided that we didn’t want to go to a soup kitchen and take a meal from someone who could use it more. We sat in McDonald’s after asking tons of restaurants if they had any extra food they didn’t need or could give to us for some work in return. It didn’t work exactly, so we asked the manager at McDonald’s and she told us that we should go to the protest down at the Vancouver Art Gallery. It’s a tent city set up with tons of hippies and they were handing out food for protesters there. They had prepared soup and bread and we thankfully asked them if we could have some soup. They said we could if we could do something in return. We gladly washed their dishes and swept their floors and had some super spicy soup! It was a really interesting way to eat dinner for sure. It was also beyond humbling to have no money and no way of feeding ourselves that night. Feeling completely helpless really opened up our eyes. Millions of people feel that everyday and we never knew what that felt like until now.

The next day, I went onto the streets with a few people and offered free prayer! We stood on a street corner all day (we switched shifts) holding up a sign saying “FREE PRAYER”. It was really interesting; we got some happy people willing to pray with us, for their families, for the world. We also had some unhappy people scoffing at us, swearing, and just not pleased with us being there. Some other people went to Union Gospel Mission and to help make chili. Overall, great day.

Then, the next day we had a temple visit day. We went to three temples: Muslim, Sikh, and Buddhist. We had to be very conservative, and I mean VERY. All the girls wore long skirts to the floor, a collared shirt, and a scarf on our heads. It was…informative for sure. We need to educate ourselves in all other faiths and religions to get a good grasp on our own. And we did; I find, however, that Christianity seems to be the simplest and less traditional of all the faiths. There are so many traditions and customs to remember. It’s all so complicated and I was quite overwhelmed by each temple.

The last day we got the choice to go to Union Gospel Mission (soup kitchen) or to do Impact Vancouver, which is just like doing anything to impact the city in a good way. I chose to go to UGM and I had a great day handing out food and talking with people. Julie got proposed to by a lovely man from Sudan and we met the cutest baby named Dylan!
Overall, the Urban Plunge was super informative and it pushed each one of us to see Vancouver in a different way and to learn more about ourselves and the less fortunate.

– Tedi Jean Gilmartin