South Africa Here I Come!

It's hard to believe that tomorrow I leave for South Africa. It all happened so fast and it seems so unreal that in two days I will be at my new home for the next ten months. Crazy!

The past ten days I have been at orientation in Chicago with my team, Team Paraguay, and Team Argentina. It flew by and has been a week filled with learning about our personalities, faith streams, racial issues, white privelage, hospitality, and much more. While we had many sessions, a lot of the times that I will carry with me through out these next couple months are the many times spent playing cards: you know you're with a bunch of Mennonites when all your free time is spent playing Scum, Rook, and Spoons. The other night this week during an intense thunder storm, two brothers took refuge in the house we are staying, one in his mid twenties the other four. The older brother, Levi, could not believe that this is how eight teenagers fresh out of high school spent their Friday night - playing cards for hours on end. He didn't seem to mind too much and joined in on Spoons and suggested Go Fish. They ended up spending around three hours with us before leaving us. It was an awesome experience filled with many laughs at his disbelief at the way we lived.

This past week was an awesome experience bonding with the other seven team members. While we had some awkward moments, we are a family now and get along so well. We make fun of each other (I seem to often be the one being made fun of because of my "accent"), we had some theological discussions, and many laughs. I'm certainly going to miss the five not at my location and can't wait to see them in ten months at reorientation.

I can't wait for this journey to begin and I'm anxious to see what God has in store for me. Contiue praying as I worry about adjusting and settling in to host family and job these next couple weeks. The verse that I picked out for this year is Isaiah 41:10, "Do not fear for I am with you;" so far it has proven to be a great comfort for me and I have peace as I begin this next chapter of my journey.