We're Home!

Nicole and I arrived back safe in Seattle yesterday. Thank you so much for all of your prayers throughout this trip. God certainly blessed us!

Last Day

Today is our last full day in South Africa. It is crazy how fast 5 weeks has flown by! We celebrated our last day by teaching the first grade class - all by ourselves!!! Yikes! I love those kids to death, but I'm not sure how Leeanne does it every day. I'm tired! The kids behaved better than they have in the past, which was a blessing, and they worked very hard. God definitely answered our prayers and brought us through the day. All of the kids were still there at the end of the day, too :)

We have been saying good-bye to people throughout the week, but this was by far the day of good-byes. We had to say good-bye to most of the teachers and all of the kids that we have come to know and love over the past 5 weeks. Please pray for us as we begin our long journey home tomorrow. It will take us 36 hours from the time we leave Kokstad to the time we arrive in Seattle.

This is our crazy first grade class. Yes, they really are that dramatic ;)

We're Back! (in Kokstad, that is...)

We arrived back in Kokstad last night from our short vacation: the Midlands Meander. We drove for about 4 hours on Thursday, stopping at various shops along the way, before we arrived at our Bed and Breakfast. On Friday, we drove up into the mountains. We took the scenic route, which was beautiful, but very windy and bumpy. Nicole and I both got really car sick... We took a hike up through the mountains to some old rock art paintings. We were assured that this was an easy hike that would take us about 30 minutes. About an hour later, all 4 of us were pretty tired of climbing over rocks! I would really hate to see what a hard walk looks like to South Africans ;)

Yesterday, we drove to a nearby game reserve. We saw a lot of zebra, antelope and buck, one ostrich and two warthogs. No giraffe or rhino :( Oh well. We did have some heart-stopping moments with Allen's Toyota Yaris and one-way roads bordered by cliffs. Let's just say that most roads here are designed for vehicles with four-wheel drive and a high bottom clearance. We spent the rest of the day driving home, which took about 6 hours. Nicole and I barely ate anything yesterday we were so car sick. Thank the Lord we made it home and we are feeling better today!

This morning was our last Sunday here in South Africa! It seems so crazy that we have been here for 4 weeks already! Wow time flies. We enjoyed our last church service here, had tea with Nerina and her family and then went to lunch at the Pastor's home. It's funny how a day with no plans suddenly turns into a very busy day!

The four of us at Howick falls.

This was the little cottage we stayed in. The thatched roof was just beautiful (too bad Nicole was allergic to it...)!

Me and Nic on our hike.

Some of the rock art paintings we saw on our hike.

An ostrich we saw at the game reserve.

One of the shops we stopped at - a chocolate fondue shop!

Still-Had-to-Labor Day

I apologize for not updating the blog yesterday...Nicole and I had a packed day. I hope you all enjoyed your three day weekend, because we certainly did not get a day off :) In reality, yesterday was probably one of our busier days. We started the day off at school, moving from the first grade class to the 4th/5th/6th grade class and finally ending in the office. The older girls are trying to play catch up with their work before the term ends in three weeks, so they are continuously too busy to talk.

After school, we went to the orphanage to hang out with kids for a few hours. Nicole and I were shocked by what we found. No one said a word to us when we walked in - in fact, we had to search for someone to in charge. We could have easily picked up a kid and walked out the door, and no one would have been the wiser. Once we found and introduced ourselves to the supervisor on duty, she asked a little girl to take us to a housemother. All of the kids in the orphanage are split up into 4 houses, and each house has a "mother" who is in charge of the well-being of her 15 or so children. We introduced ourselves to the first housemother and told her we were there to help the kids with homework, play with the kids, take care of babies or whatever they needed. She told us that the kids didn't have homework because of the strike (most kids haven't been in school for weeks), and they were being entertained just fine by the TV. She told us to try another house. We went through all 4 houses that way, with each housemother telling us that she didn't need us.

When we walked into the last house, all of the kids were huddled around the TV like they had been in all of the other houses. We realized, however, that we had walked right into a sex scene, followed a few seconds later by a murder scene! Mind you, these are kids ranging from 2 months to 13 years old. We asked the housemother, who was busy enjoying the TV show, if she wanted us to take the kids outside in the beautiful sunshine to play on the orphanage's playground. She grumbled at us and told us that they were fine in front of the TV. Then she got up and left. A few minutes later, we heard a baby crying from the back room. Since the housemother wasn't there, and none of the kids seemed to care, we both went back to the baby's room. Sinalo, the baby girl, is 2 months old, one of twins who were born prematurely. The poor thing had an extremely wet diaper, and had so many clothes on that she was literally dripping sweat (it was about 80 degrees outside). It was obvious from the first few minutes that Sinalo lacks proper stimulation: she doesn't respond to light, touch, or sound, and she won't follow movement with her eyes. She had had a bloody nose who knows how long ago, and blood was caked around her nose and mouth. She had a really hard time breathing. We cleaned her nose up and changed her diaper (which was way too big - the back reached her shoulders). Then we decided to play with her. After about 30 minutes, she was reacting to sounds and the tickling of her feet. She had a hard time making eye contact still, but she would follow your finger if you moved it slowly in front of her eyes. It was obvious the poor thing was in desperate need of love and attention, and it just broke my heart that she wasn't getting it.

After 30 minutes or so, she started getting really fussy, and she was sucking on anything she could get her hands on. The schedule in her room said that she was supposed to be fed every 2 hours, so it was pretty obvious that she was hungry. We brought her out to the house mom and asked if she needed to be fed, but the housemother said no. Apparently she had been fed several hours earlier, and the housemother didn't want to overfeed her for fear she would spit it all up. They are not open to any advice or criticism, but it seemed pretty obvious to us that you can't just not feed an underdeveloped baby because they have acid reflux! We highly doubt they burp her, either, because they give the babies a bottle in their crib propped up by a blanket and then let them go to sleep. The housemom then grabbed Sinalo from us, shook her a few times (without holding her head), and sat back down in front of the TV. Needless to say, we were furious.

Our plan is to continue to spend time at the orphanage for the remainder of our time here. Please pray for us and for the kids at the orphanage. It is a truly heart-wrenching experience, but these kids desperately need love.

Nicole helping Gugu (1st grader) with her vocab

Me helping Audrey (1st grader) with reading

This is Sinalo. She is 2 months old, but she is so small.

Oink, Moo and a Cock-a-Doodle-Doo

Nicole and I started off our day by baking homemade cinammon rolls. The recipe is one that has been passed down through Nicole's family, and we both enjoy it. Usually we let my parents' bread machine make the dough for us, but today we were on our own! We had to make the bread dough, knead it, let it rise, cover it in butter, cinammon and sugar, roll it, slice it, and then coat it with the topping. What hard work! Allen, Gloria and Nerina told us that they were very good, and I don't think they would lie to us...

We spent the rest of the day doing laundry, cleaning out our flat, getting our toilet fixed (it used to run constantly), reading and napping. After dinner, the four of us decided to play a game. Nicole and I brought Snorta with us for Allen and Gloria, so we gave it a go. For those of you who haven't played, it's a blast! I'll give you a hint: you make animal noises. We just could not stop laughing! All in all, we had a fun day :)

Hard at work making cinammon rolls.

The finished product (minus a few taste tests, of course)

Showing off our Snorta animals.

The 1st Grade I Never Knew

Nicole and I gave our testimonies to the senior class today. I'm not sure if it made any impact (well, I know for a fact they enjoyed the hour they didn't have to work), but God knows! They did have a lot of questions, especially about dating. Oh, teenage girls.

We spent the rest of the morning helping out in the 1st grade classroom. I was assigned to one little girl, Audrey, who really struggles with reading. Nicole floated around the room helping the other kids with their questions and their reading material. For those of you who don't know, I only went to first grade for about a month before I moved to second grade (and I have no memory of what I did experience). So it was interesting to see what I missed out on!

We would have talked to the senior girls this afternoon, but they were all way behind on their studies. So, instead, we helped out in the office for the last part of the day.

The silly 1st grade girls.

Nicole read the kids a story once they finished their work.

I think we forgot to tell you that we tried a new and exciting food the other day...ostrich! Neither of us liked it much...

Hospice

Nicole and I had an eye-opening experience today. We met up with Kokstad's branch of Hospice, which gave us a township tour. We spent the day in Kokstad's poverty-stricken neighborhoods - "the locations" as the government calls them. The government provides housing for the people in these neighborhoods (see the picture below). Hospice brings medical treatment to the sick people living in these neighborhoods.

1 in 3 people in South Africa has HIV or AIDS. The majority of the people we saw today had HIV or AIDS (including the children). Because of their compromised immune systems, these people tend to get sick very easily. TB is a huge problem here, especially considering the small houses they share. Once one family member contracts TB, the rest of the family is likely to develop TB. Those with TB receive daily injections of medicine. Hospice also makes sure that patients on ARVs (for HIV/AIDS) have been taking their medicine twice a day, every day. If they miss even one dose, the virus is likely to grow stronger within their system.

We saw several examples of the good that Hospice is doing in the community. Several people that we ran into, who are fine now, would have been dead a few months ago if not for Hospice's medical treatment. It was very heart-wrenching to see the devastation caused by AIDS, though. So many children have been orphaned by this disease, left to be cared for by grandparents or aunts. It was even harder to see children with HIV or AIDS. It's so hard to look at them and know that they will never lead a normal life: they will always be smaller than other children and underdeveloped, and they won't live nearly as long. It's so easy to feel completely helpless - after all, there is nothing that you can do to cure them of AIDS. But so many of them have smiles on their faces and joy in their hearts. I think they understand better than any of us that this world is not our home.

The two ladies in the back are Hospice caregivers. They live in these neighborhoods, and their job is to figure out who is sick so that the nurses can come and give them treatment. The little girl in this picture was abandoned by her mother. She almost died when she was a little girl, but Hospice brought her to the hospital and nursed her back to health. She is 3 years old now and is living with her grandparents.

This is a school for children with disabilities. The schools in South Africa don't have special education like they do in America, so the woman on the left decided to use her home to educate these kids.

The woman in this picture is the Hospice nurse that showed us around.

Each of these little shacks is a home built by the government. The shacks are literally no bigger than my living room back home, but they house anywhere from a single couple to a dozen family members. Most have electricity, but they do not have running water or indoor plumbing.

A Day on the Dam

Today was a very relaxing day! We did laundry this morning, had quiet time and just wound down. For lunch, we decided to take a picnic up at Crystal Springs Dam (aka lake). Halfway through the afternoon, Leann and Dion (two teachers from Rivermead) and their kids met up with us to have cake and tea. We were hoping to see zebra by the lake (apparently they meander on down to drink from the lake from time to time), but we didn't see any. There are also some monkeys that live in the trees by the lake, but we didn't see them either. We did see a buck on a yonder hillside, though.

Hanging up our laundry, yet again. Lyla, the dog that resides in that yard, decided to pull a few items off of the line today and chew them to oblivion. This is the same dog that wakes us up at o-dark-thirty (i.e. way too early). I'm practicing patience!!!

This is the biggest lake in the area. Yes, that's all of it. Apparently 3 water skiing boats are allowed out on the water at a time, but I cannot fathom how they would all fit!

The two of us by the water.

All of us girls working really hard ;)

Back to School - Finally!

After almost a week, we finally got to go back to school today! Nicole and I spent the first part of the morning in the office creating excel spreadsheets. They were very excited to have two girls with computer experience! Trouble was, they are still using versions of Microsoft Office created back when dinosaurs roamed the earth...so it took a while to adjust :)

After first break, we moved on over to Allen's classroom. We only got to pull a couple of girls out to talk today, as the students had a short work day. It's been really neat to start the process of building relationships with these girls. A lot of them asked where we had been this whole week! It's hard, though, when you can't get around to talk with all of them in one day.

After lunch, we sat in on a choir rehearsal. The students are practicing a song for the church service at the school on Sunday. They are singing "God of this City," by Chris Tomlin. It's kind of funny that most of the songs you hear here in South Africa are from American artists. You even hear American hip-hop walking through the aisles of the grocery stores! In any case, the children at Rivermead Christian Academy don't have regular music classes, so it was rather humorous to see this choir rehearsal (it definetely didn't work like it would have in America).

It looks as if we are going to have the rest of the afternoon to take a nap, read, relax, whatever. But hey, this is Africa - you never know!

The two of us working in the office today.

This is Sophiso, who is the cause of all misbehavior in Allen's class (well, most of it). We caught him in the act of boredom today - notice the clothespin attached to his nose :)

Rather Boring Day

So I have to confess that I don't have a single picture to post from today. Sorry everyone! Today was a rather laid back day. We yelled at the dogs this morning, made lemon bars, went to Bible study and then went grocery shopping. That was about it (boring, I know). Nicole and I actually led the women's Bible Study today, so I suppose that was our interesting highlight of the day. We went through some of the lies and the truths/scriptures to counteract them from the Women's Retreat this past year (this is also the same study we are doing with Gloria). All of the women loved it and wanted the whole study to do! So I suppose Becky and Jayne are going to be famous Bible study authors in no time :)

Sunday Outings

Considering today was Sunday, we had the opportunity to sleep in a little. Ha. At 5 this morning, Lila and Horlex (our lovely 4-legged neighbors) woke up and started playing. At 6, the Catholic church bells started ringing (the dogs, of course, howled in response). Let's just say that by 7:45 (the time for which our alarm was set), I had already spent a large chunk of time in the Bible, finished the section of Bible study I needed to do for tonight and read a few chapters of my book. So much for sleeping in.

At 8:30 we headed off for church service at First Baptist Church. Nicole and I made the front page of the bulletin - apparently they are excited about visitors :) Here is a picture of their worship team. Several of the girls in front go to Rivermead Christian Academy (the school we have been helping at).

The First Baptist Worship Team

After church, we came home and had some down time. Nicole decided that she was in the mood for some of Gloria's lemon bars. Trouble was, we had already picked all of the lemons off of the bottom half of the lemon tree! So, stubborn that she is, Nicole decided to grab out the old, rickety, wooden ladder and grab the lemons up on top! Not only did I think the ladder was going to collapse on top of me, but I also got pegged with lemons as Nicole knocked them off the tree!

Nicole's brilliant idea. I, of course, was not so keen.

Later in the afternoon, Nerina took us to a prayer garden out by the school. It was a nice little stroll through a foresty area. Periodically, they had sections of the Lord's prayer tacked onto trees. It was a really nice place to take a break and meditate on God's word.

Nicole, Gloria, Nerina and me at a river next to the prayer garden.

A section of the Lord's prayer tacked to a tree. Notice it is in both English and Afrikaans.

After we finished at the prayer garden, we went to have tea at Oma Drinie's house. Her husband, Opa Marie, just got back from Malawi. They drove up through Zimbabwe to get there, and he was telling us how corrupt the country has become. They were stopped every 100 km or so and forced to pay the officials each time, just so that they could continue! Some other friends were telling us that 1 US cent is equal to about 60 Zimbabwe dollars. Zimbabwe has the worst economy in the world right now! We also got to meet some other South African friends who had just been to Botswana. Tea time is definetely more than just a time to drink tea - it's a social event that can last hours and hours! It's going to take some more getting used to, that's for sure.

Yesterday

First, I have to apologize for not updating the blog yesterday. Yesterday was a late night (well, relatively speaking), and neither of us had the energy to jump on the computer.

Yesterday was a very busy day! We started the day off at school once again. The teacher in the 4th/5th/6th grade class was gone for the day, so I was asked to lead the morning devotions - 3 minutes before school started! Needless to say, I panicked for a minute. But God was good, and he immediately directed my thoughts to an appropriate scripture. After first break, Nicole and I headed over to Allen's classroom to have some one-on-one time with the older girls. We spent over an hour talking to one 15 year-old girl, Nozi. She had a lot of questions for us about our lives in America, and she wanted us to say hi to Beyonce for her ;) Nozi had a lot of questions for us. Please pray for Nozi - she is so close to giving her life to Christ. But she kept saying she just wasn't ready. We also had a chance to talk to a 14 year-old named Zenande. She was very excited to tell us that she loves that she can talk openly about God at the school. She showed us her favorite Bible verse (Psalm 50), and said she loves that she can ask the teachers whenever she has any questions the Bible or her walk with God.

When we got home from school, we started preparing for a school fundraiser that we attended last night. The original plan was that we were going to the country club to enjoy a nice steak dinner. Well, when we got there, we found out that we were helping to cook the nice steak dinner! Flexibility has definitely become the key word of this trip! Nicole and I helped dish salad, chips (aka french fries) and steak for the customers. Yes, South Africans eat french fries with their steak. We were both very disappointed there were no mashed potatoes. Even their KFC serves chips rather than mashed potatoes. They also cover their steak with sauce - bleh. Anyways, we didn't get home until about 9, which is probably the latest we have gone to bed since we have been here (hence the lack of post).

The two of us talking with Nozi.

The two of us talking with Zenande.

There is a funny story behind this one...On the way home from school, the boys in the back got too loud. So the driver pulled over and told them to get out of the car. They did, and they started running back to school to try and find another ride. 5 minutes later (when we had turned around to get them), they were still running! :)

We started a kind of "secret sisters" exchange at the school this week. The teacher who has the two of us gave us this South African treat - drivoors (I think that is spelt right...). It tastes like jerkied pepperoni. I'm not a fan, but Gloria really likes it.

The two of us dishing up salad at the fundraiser.

Slowly getting used to it...

So before I start on today's adventure, I will clue you in on my experience that occured last night. Nicole and I went to the grocery store with Allen and Gloria. I had just purchased my items when I realized that the clerk didn't give me all the change I was due - she only gave me 50 Rand and I should have gotten 50.05 Rand. So, of course, I asked her for the extra 5 cent Rand that I was due. Well, let's just say I got the weirdest look from the rest of the people in line. Then I got mean-mugged (which, if you don't speak Shannon, means I got a nasty look) by the store clerk. Since my mind wasn't on math at that moment, I didn't realize at the time that 5 cents (Rand) is worth less than a penny. Apparently most people throw them on the ground because they are so worthless. Even beggars won't bother to pick them up off the ground. So, I managed to announce to the grocery store that I was a very ignorant American. Oh well, I learned my lesson.

Today, Nicole and I went back to school with Allen and Gloria. We both felt like we were more in the swing of things today, and I started to feel in my element! I loved getting to work one-on-one with the kids, especially with the ones who seem to struggle. You can definetely tell that these kids don't receive a lot of love and praise, so even something as simple as a "good job!" can make their face light up! It was really encouraging, and I definetely started to feel like I was making a positive impact. The kids are so polite here (the most polite kids I have EVER seen), and they are so easy to love!

Here are some pictures of our day. There was going to be a video, but the internet doesn't want to load it. I'll put it up when I get home.

Me signing off on a student's work.

Nicole with one of the girls she got a chance to talk with today.

Nicole decided to make fresh lemonade (with the lemons from our lemon tree!)

I have had a lot of people say they enjoyed the lingo lessons, so here are a few more terms to familiarize yourself with:

a packet = a bag (either a grocery bag or a ziploc bag)

chips = either french fries or potato chips

a jersey = either a shirt or a sports jersey

a pancake = a crepe

flapjack = a pancake

tekkies (pronounced tackies) = tennis shoes

pavement = sidewalk

tar = road (a tarred road is a paved road)

just now = soon (but really, this could be anytime)

now now = right now

braai (br-eye) = BBQ

jam = either jelly or jam

jelly = jello

biscuits = cookies

If you want to get really complicated, try Afrikaans (a Dutch-English mix that sounds a lot like German) or the local tribal language!

To School Today

We are in Kokstad! Nicole and I decided that we are each going to update our blog every other day, so that you don't read the same things over and over again and that way we don't hog Allen's computer all night :) So check out her blog (on the side) to get the scoop on yesterday. I also figured out that Allen's computer doesn't accept my memory card. So all of the pictures on my blog will be Nicole's, and then I will update with my own when I get home.

Nicole and I accompanied Allen and Gloria to school today. I spent the day helping the 4th, 5th & 6th grade teachers, and Nicole helped out in the 1st & 2nd and 9th & 10th grade classrooms. The school is very different from back in the states! Each student essentially teaches themselves through various workbooks, and the teachers are there to make sure the students do the work :) and help answer any questions. It was a CRAZY day! I was running around the classroom like a mad woman answering question after question, listening to students read, checking off their work, etc. The hours just flew by!

Both of us at the school. It was really cold this morning (like winter in Seattle), but warmed up to about Seattle summer weather by the afternoon.

This is one of the buildings that makes up the school.

Some kids during their version of P.E.

We got stuck behind a herd of cows on our way home from school. Apparently they thought the road was a nice place to roam :)

I thought I might entertain you with some South African jargon I have learned:
a robot = a traffic signal
a zebra crossing = a crosswalk (Note: zebra is pronounced zeh-bra rather than zee-bra)
a boot = the trunk of a car
a buckey = a pick-up truck
a serviette = a napkin
a nappy = a diaper
a que = the check-out line in the grocery store
bananas are pronounced bah-nawh-nas
tomatos are pronounced tow-mawh-tos (but potatos are still potatos)
ask for the toilet, not the bathroom

But no matter how much jargon you use, the kids will still laugh at you because of your American accent!

34 Hours to Go

Wow. We have less than 34 hours until we leave for South Africa - so much to do in so little time! Tomorrow night we say good-bye to Moriah (Nicole's little sister), who will be heading off to St. Lucia for 10 days. The following morning, Nicole and I will come back to the airport for our (bright and early) departure!

On Monday night, our prayer group threw us a going away party. What an incredible feeling it is to know that so many people love you and are praying for you! Nicole and I are so very thankful for our church family, who have supported us through every step of this process. There is no way we would be going to South Africa without their support.

On Tuesday, I discovered that I had developed a sinus infection. Thankfully, I was able to get in to see the doctor right away and get a prescription for antibiotics. The pain and discomfort is slowly subsiding as I continue to take the medication. Please pray for complete healing!

We would very much appreciate your prayers as the time continues to fly by!

Last Minute Details

It's been 4 months since I've posted anything on this blog. I guess that just goes to show you how little things have changed in the last 4 months! It's hard to believe that we have been planning this trip for 7 months now, and the time has finally come to, well, do something! :) Nicole and I are now counting down the days (20, if you were curious) until we leave for South Africa. I think our excitement may have gotten the better of us this weekend, but hey, we have everything we need now! The suitcases are out of the closet (and partially packed), but it still has not really hit us that we are going to be arriving in South Africa 3 weeks from today. I'm sure we won't be able to deny the reality of the situation when we are enduring the 18-hour flight from D.C. to Johannesburg.

As we continue to mark the days off on our calendar, please remember to pray for us! Please pray that the finances for this trip would continue to work out according to God's will, that Nicole and I would not forget to pack anything important and that God would prepare the hearts of the people we will encounter in South Africa (but especially our hearts). Please also pray for our flight times. It seems almost every other day the airlines are tweaking our flight times, leaving us very little time to go through customs in Johannesburg. Obviously, we would love to catch our flight to Durban as scheduled. However, please pray that the Lord's will would prevail and that He would protect us no matter what happens).

Thank you so much for those of you who have been praying!

Starfish

I read a story a couple of weeks back in the daily bread. It touched me, for reasons I couldn't explain at the time, so I bookmarked it. It was the story of a boy walking on a beach. Encountering hundreds of starfish dying under the heat of the burning sun, he started throwing them back into the sea. A passerby asked, “What are you doing?” “Saving their lives,” the boy replied. “Forget it,” the man said. “You can’t possibly save all these starfish.” “Right,” replied the boy, “but it makes a big difference to each one I do save.”

This past week, I had the opportunity to meet with the son-in-law of the woman who is mentoring me through this experience. He has been on both short and long term missions, and he had some wonderful advice to give me. One question that he asked me was, "What do you think will be the hardest thing for you while you are in South Africa?" Honestly, I hadn't thought about this. Nicole and I have talked endlessly about the amazing things we will experience, the people we will meet, and the wonderful things that God will do in our lives while we are there. But I hadn't really thought about the reality of the trip.

I think the hardest thing for me is going to be seeing the need there in Africa, and not knowing what my role is in meeting that need. There are certain things that I know about myself: I know that I love to serve people, I know that I have a heart for other people, especially children, I know that I have a heart for Africa, and thus I know that my heart is going to break for the African people when I can finally understand what life is like there.

My challenge is going to be answering the questions: How do I love and serve these people, especially these children, knowing that I cannot meet all of these needs? How do I come home and pursue my dream to become an international adoptions coordinator knowing that there are too many children for me to find homes for? How do I not let that discourage me? My answer: the same way that the boy at the beach did. One starfish at a time. Even though I can't save them all, it makes a big difference to the ones I do save.

We are OFFICIALLY going to South Africa!

As you all know from my last post, Nicole and I have been carefully tracking the cost of plane tickets to South Africa over the past couple of months. You also know that the cost of those plane tickets has been steadily increasing, and that Nicole and I were very apprehensive as to how we were going to gather the funds to buy the tickets. Well, once again God has proved His faithfulness! As it turns out, the cost of leaving in August and returning in September is actually about $1000 cheaper than leaving in July and returning in August.

After verifying that these new dates would work for the Brittinghams, Nicole and I were able to buy our plane tickets! Yes, that's right, we bought our plane tickets today! And, somehow, God managed for us to do it for $1566.41 each. Wow. We will now be leaving Friday, August 13th (arriving in Kokstad on Saturday, August 14th) and returning on Sunday, September 19th (leaving Kokstad Saturday, September 18th).

Thank you all so much for continuing to pray for us and for this trip. It is so encouraging to see God's hand in this trip in every single step!

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

God answered a huge prayer this morning when Bethany voted to support me and Nicole with Africa this summer. Money has been a huge concern recently, as the price of plane tickets continue to rise. As of yesterday, they had reached $2400 with taxes and fees, which is about $900 more than they were when we began planning for this trip. Needless to say, Nicole and I were praying! And boy did God pull through. We are so thankful that the church decided to support us. God made it possible for the church to support us for about half of our plane tickets, which is more than we even thought was possible!

This has been such a growing experience for me thus far. I have never before had to rely on God to bring in the money, and so far He has been so faithful! I am very excited to see how He brings in the remaining $1625 (assuming the plane tickets don't go up anymore in the near future, which is definitely something you can be praying for).

Nicole and I were also informed today that anyone interested in supporting us individually can make a donation through the church and thus receive a tax deduction. If this is something that interests you, all you need to do is write "Bri for Africa" and/or "Nicole for Africa" (whomever you would like to support) in the memo line of the check and place it in the offering plate on Sundays. You can also write "Bri for Africa" and/or "Nicole for Africa" on the blue offering envelope in which your donation is enclosed and place the envelope in the offering plate.

Thank you all so much for continuing to pray for me, Nicole and for the trip as a whole! I will try my best to update this blog as more updates come.

South Africa, Here I Come!

Hey everyone!
Before I forget, I must publicly admit that I am probably the worst journaler that ever existed. I am, therefore, making no promises concerning the frequency of posts on this blog. I sincerely apologize.
That being said, I have been encouraged to begin a blog to inform everyone about my trip to South Africa this summer. I will be staying in Kokstad, South Africa for 6 weeks, beginning July 16th and ending August 28th. My good friend, Nicole, and I will be working with the Brittingham's (a missionary couple from our church) and the local church in Kokstad to serve the people of South Africa!
Africa is a place that has been on my heart since I was probably 7 years old. I had always planned to go to Africa one day and serve the African people in whatever way God felt best. I am so excited that God has opened up the doors to this amazing opportunity!
Thank you all for coming along side me in this exciting time in my life! I would so appreciate your prayers in these next few months. Please pray specifically that my heart would be in the right place in the coming months and that God would work out the finances of the trip in His will. Thank you so much for your support! I will try my best to keep this blog updated as I find out more details.