Special Features
Second day in Angola (Leena's 2nd Angola Trip Blog Post)
August 4th, 2011
Second day in Angola post from Leena's Experiencing Hope Blog
Experience Hope with Leena! 1st Post Article: Inspired (Project Hannah Africa Consultation), 2nd Post Article: So Many Reasons to Smile (South Africa, Project Hannah Consultation), 3rd Post Article: Tartaruga marinha (First Angola Trip Post), 4th Post Article: Second day in Angola. And, link to view more of Leena's Angola photos (with captions!).
And, don't miss Founder Marli Spieker's letter after her first 2 weeks in Africa (including the Project Hannah Africa Consultation Leena blogged about!).
Tuesday
Today we had a wonderful day. Last night I was feeling homesick because of the drastic changes and culture shock we were going through. Both my mom and I wanted to just go home. We were feeling very exhausted and simply done. We prayed that God would be our strength to get through the last couple of days. He definitely had something wonderful in store for us!
Alice picked us up along with Adelberta and Noe and we went to the beachside where there was a nice market. Amiga amiga, everyone called to us! They all wanted our ‘american money.’ We bought a couple nice things, along with my tartaruga (turtle). Next up Alice wanted to spoil us! She brought us to this VERY nice beachside restaurant for lunch! It was gorgeous! There were palm trees, an open eating area, and the service was wonderful. Speaking to the waiter was difficult because of the language barrier but the ocean was absolutely gorgeous. Alice, my mom, and I walked along the beach in the ocean and had a lot of fun. It was something that really helped my mom and I because the beach is something we are familiar with, and it was a nice treat from all the culture shock we had been going through. Alice is such a sweetie. I feel like I have a connection with her, and like she is a close aunt or sister to me. We have a lot of fun together even though we can’t communicate very well. Laughing, splashing, and chasing crabs was a nice, relaxing way to spend our lunch. Next we went to visit a listener of PH [Project Hannah] and Woman of Hope. This lady had had epilepsy and had not been able to walk for 30 years. She happened to come across the PH channel on her radio one day and loved it-she started listening regularly for two years. Eventually she called the PH women and they came to visit her. One month ago she realized that Christ is the only way to freedom. After praying the ladies encouraged her to try to stand up! SHE DID. The Lord performed a miracle in her life. As we were sitting there listening to her story she got up and started to walk! It made me tear up to see this woman so happy and strong. MY mom and I both really enjoyed meeting this woman and hearing firsthand how PH [Project Hannah] really works and how it is very meaningful in people’s lives! We took a lot of pictures and asked her if we can share her story to Canadians-she agreed. There is much more to her story but I don’t want to give it all away because my mom is writing a letter about it to her sponsors. After this meeting we went to a prayer meeting that some PH [Project Hannah] listeners were having. They sang us a welcome song and talked to us for about an hour. It was so nice to meet these wonderful, beautiful women who gather together each week to pray for the hurting women in Angola and all over the world. After the meeting we drove to the peninsula of Angola where there was this GORGEOUS restaurant on another part of the waterfront. We had a cappuccino and a lot of fun chatting. Alice and I played with some kids on the beach and had a nice moment watching the sunset. I really am going to miss her-she made a huge impact on my life the past few days. We said our goodbyes and headed back to our little room where we packed and slept.
We are learning a lot about the culture here. “Africa time” is the strangest thing to get used to. No one cares to wait, or cares if they aren’t rushing. At lunch my mom looked to Carol and I and said “This is strange. I’m stressing because we aren’t hurrying!” Seems to be that Canadians really do go, go, go ALL the time and never take the time to relax.
Tomorrow we attempt our 35hr journey back home. Both my mom and I are dreading it because we simply just want to be home and hate airports. Well, I don’t mind it too much but I just hate the airplane food!
What a great way to end our trip. We have met some amazing people, and seen some life changing things. We have witnessed the power of prayer first hand, and seen the miracle of Christ shown in so many women’s lives. Africa will always remain in our hearts, and a part of our hearts are left here in Africa. Praise the Lord for a trip full of blessing and stretching. See you soon, London!
Leena posted that they've arrived in Canada and to stay tuned for Angola photos - we'll post them when she does!
