One of my FAVORITE songs from teaching back home is called "The Hippo Song", and Kenny and I have started to introduce it to some of our kids at the creches. It has been a huge hit so far, especially with this preschool, called Kiddie's Corner. The funny thing is that before singing this many of them didn't even know what a Hippo was (I naively assumed kids in Africa would know all about Safari animals). Now they know, and I love that maybe just maybe this song will stay here even after we leave!

The words go like this (in case you can't understand the cuties in the video):

A HIP

A HIP

A HIPPOPOTAMUS

GOT ON

GOT ON

GOT ON UPON A BUS

AND ALLLLL THE PEOPLE SAID

"HEY, YOU'RE SQUISHING ME!"

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On Thursday night we went to an event called Carols by Candlelight. The group of us all packed our dinners, brought our blankets, and enjoyed a festive evening. We sang carols and watched a nativity play, and most of us didn't even burn our fingers. :) It even got cold in the later part of the night, which made the event all the more authentic--it might not be a white Christmas here, but it's the closest we've gotten to feeling like home.

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KCAfrica: Carols By Candlelight

I rarely drive here in SA because I'm always with Kenny, but Tuesday morning I went to the gym by myself (he had lifted lots of tables and chairs the day before and his back was hurting). So, I got in the car at 5:15 and tried to start it, but it didn't start...it is very common for the car to need the engine revved a bit before starting so no big deal. I rev it and sure enough I'm ready to go. BUT, somehow (I've tried to replay it in my head a thousand times but still can't figure out when or how or why), I put the car into drive still thinking it was in park (!). So I revved the engine yet again and zoomed, literally flew, forward out of our parking space BARELY missing a BMW parked right in front of me! Luckily the wheel was turned just slightly to the left. I jerked forward to a complete stop and the car died. What in the world just happened!!?? I was shaking and once I calmed down about 1/2 way through the drive I got to thinking... God is absolutely amazing! It's not like I would have been hurt physically had I hit that car from a parked position, but we certainly don't have a missionary budget for "stupid Carla moments". He totally protected me from absolute embarrassment and kept us from going broke this month. I am so thankful that we serve a God with a sense of humor who cares about the small stuff! Can I get an amen!?

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KCAfrica: Sleep Driving

Today we participated in a 5k in Cape Town, not so creatively called "The Big Walk". People walked anywhere from 5 to 80 kilometers. Originally the plan was that it would be an event where we could raise awareness about what Living Hope is doing as an organization. About 50 of us from Living Hope had matching T-shirts and we were ready to go, hoping to spread our vision all along the way with the thousands of people who walked. BUT, because it was raining lots and lots our 50 people turned into 20 and our matching shirts turned into rain jackets. The original purpose was lost...but we made the most of it. We had a blast walking in the rain the whole 5 ks and we even got a medal at the finish line. Then, we had so much fun when we realized we had to walk ALL the way back to the car (which was at the starting line). So, our 5k turned into a 10k just like that! This was the first time that our friend Danielle (pictured above) has done a walk this long, and she completed it beautifully. We are so proud!

http://kcafrica.blogspot.com/2009/11/big-walk.html

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