Well, it only took 24 hours, four planes, four lost bags, VERY little sleep, five movies, and lots of food, but we finally made it into Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa! We were met at the Port Elizabeth airport by our new SA friends, Jumbo and Virgil, and promptly went shopping for stuff for our house. Once that was finished, we drove into J-Bay to meet Jumbo and Virgil’s wives, Carike (we call her “Creek”) and Gail, respectively, for a great dinner right on the beach. I was deliriously tired, and neither of us had really slept or changed in way too long, so we returned to the house and flopped on our bed for our first night in our new home.
The past two days we have been really busy getting our house ready for our students when they get here next week and learning about the SA culture, even mixing in a little bit of the Afrikaans language. A large part of the culture here is a meal called a “braai,” which is being fixed here in our house as I write. A braai would be a lot like a barbeque back in the states, at least in its mode of preparation (on a grill) and its popularity. I haven’t met much food, regardless of the country, that I haven’t liked, and the smells are fantastic coming from the patio, so I’m sure I’ll become a big fan of the braai!
On a personal note, this whole experience continues to amaze me. I think about where I was a year ago – planning a wedding, nice, safe job in suburban Philly, getting ready to move into a great house – and it blows me away what the Lord has been doing. I look at Christina still and ask her what in the world I’m doing here. Don’t get me wrong, I love it here and know beyond the shadow of a doubt that the Lord has called both of us here, but to think that I’m not just vacationing here, but that this is a long-term thing still jolts me every once in a while.
Nevertheless, I am stunned by how gorgeous this place is and can’t wait to get everything started. The team comes in one week, and even though there is so much to still do, I want it to hurry so that the students can join in on what the Lord is and has been doing in Jeffrey’s Bay. Please pray for their continued training in Georgia, that the Lord would be preparing them in exactly the right way for their time here. Please also pray for me and Christina that we would be able to prepare ourselves for what God would have for us and for our time of leadership here.
Keep on checking in for updates, and we’d love to hear from you!
Glad to hear y’all arrived safely. That is quite a plane trip isn’t it! When we spend the summer in Swaziland I woke up nearly every day with a giggle exclaiming, “I’m in AFRICA!” I know that God is going to bless your ministry there and teach and show you marvelous things that you haven’t even imagined. Enjoy…. enjoy….enjoy! Greet Jumbo and Creek and Virgil and Gail for Seth and I.