Day of Rest and Reflection

Hi Everyone! This is Brittany writing (finally). Today was our second and final free day of the trip, and it was much needed as we are about to gear up for the second wave of campers to come. We had the opportunity to go on a safari in a private game preserve called Aquilla. It is about 2 hours from where we are staying, and Eric drove us there and back (he's getting really good at the whole left-handed shifting!). The preserve is 11,000 acres big and full of really cool African animals. We drove around the perimeter in open-air jeeps for 3 hours, and managed to see 12 different types of animals (including an African Dung Beetle... despite the fact that they hang out around piles of dung, they really are quite cool to look at.) Even though the place was pretty touristy, it was neat to be able to see so many animals close up!
After the safari we drove back and spent the afternoon relaxing and reflecting on what has happened and what we have left ahead. I managed to have a solid hour of quite time walking the Bridges campus. It was nice to have time to thank God for the great things that have taken place so far. Last camp I really connected with a few of the kids and enjoyed seeing changes that took place in their life over the course of the camp (both big and small.)
I was in a cabin with four other 12- year-old girls and a fellow leader from the after school program the kids attend during the school year. One night, a girl in my cabin was unusually talkative. She was conversing with the other girls and leader in Xhosa, when all of the sudden the leader doubled over in laughter. When she caught her breath, she translated for me and told me that the first time the little girl saw me she was shocked to see how white I was; apparently when she saw me take off my shoes that night I was wearing white socks, and she thought that was the color of my skin! The second day I had a handful of kids come up to me and pet my hair; they called it "soft" and wanted to brush and braid it. It's so funny to see what the kids think of us!
Anyway, it's been a great experience so far, and I am so glad God paved the way for us to come on this trip. I can't wait for the next group of kids, although I am nervous about the number of kids that will be here. There will be almost twice as many as there were last time. We'd appreciate your prayers for continued strength and energy as we gear up for this next camp. Most of the members on our team have experienced some form of illness now, and are trying to quickly recover before the kids come in two days. Please pray especially for Denise who is battling a cold and has pretty much lost her voice. She'd like it back before camp starts!
Well, I think that's it. Here are a few pictures from last camp and our safari today. Enjoy!

Denise and I with some of the other leaders. We all had a lot of fun together!

The girls in my cabin loved playing with my long hair!

We saw an elephant on our safari!

And a giraffe too!