Greetings from Africa

I just wanted to let all of you know that I finally arrived safely in Durban at 11 am on Sunday. I spent all day today at a clinic in a poor area of town. I love love love my host family. They are so kind, hospitable, and loving. They are members of the African Gospel Church, and they pray together every night. I am looking forward to going to church with them. They call me their daughter, and my "mom" and "dad" are already making me feel at home. They really love hearing me try to speak Zulu. Their 2 year old girl, Sisi, doesn't speak English, but that doesn't stop her from coming into my room and talking to me nonstop in Zulu. Thanks for all your prayers. I will update again soon.

New prayer request

I have time (eleven hours!) to kill in London, so I thought that I might update you all. My flight from Dallas to NYC got diverted to North Carolina for a couple of hours because for some unknown reason the air traffic going into JFK was too high. I missed my connecting flight to South Africa, and the only flight I could get was the next day. So I spent all day yesterday at JFK, and I am now in London. Unfortunately I have an eleven hour layover in London, and I am too tired and jet lagged to gather enough energy to go explore the city. If all goes well with my next two flights, I will finally get to Durban on Sunday morning. God has been teaching me a lot about patience and solitude over the last couple of days, and I have to say that I am thankful for technology like Ipods. Please pray that I make it safely to Durban after four days of exhausting travelling, and that I quickly recover so that I can begin orientation .

Leaving on a jet plane

My bags are packed, I am completely immunized, and I am ready to embark on this journey to Africa. I found out that I will be living with a nurse, Mrs. Shezi, and her husband. They have two daughters who are 22 and 24 years old and go to the university. They also have two grandchildren who are 2 and 8 years old. I am really excited to get to know the family, and I am thankful that I will have the opportunity to live with some South Africans who are my own age.

My flight leaves at 10:50 am tomorrow (Thursday). Coincidentally, tomorrow is my 21st birthday. Flying to Africa is not quite the way that most people celebrate turning 21, but thanks to Carrie I will be eating Kahlua-filled chocolate on the plane. In case you were wondering, I will spend a total of 20 hours flying 9677 miles. I fly from Dallas to New York, New York to Senegal, Senegal to Johannesburg, and Johannesburg to Durban. If everything goes according to plan, I will be picked up by my coordinator at 8 pm on Friday. Hopefully I will be able to update again some time in the next week.

Thanks to all of you who have given me love, prayers, and encouragement over the last couple of weeks. And thanks to my Trinity friends (you know who you are) for the amazing care package full of chocolate.

Prayer requests:

• That my flight will go smoothly, with minimal stress. (As you could imagine, I am a bit nervous about flying almost 10,000 miles by myself.)
• That God would give comfort and peace to my parents.
• That I would completely rely on God's strength and power as I adjust to life in South Africa.
• That God's peace would fill my anxious heart, and that I may "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer" (Romans 12:12).

I am so excited about the next two months, and I am so thankful to have so many friends and family in the States who are praying for me. I love you all, and I will see you in two months!

South Africa here I come!

I leave for South Africa in less than two weeks. I will begin my two day plane trip on May 24, which coincidentally is my 21st birthday. I am so excited about going, but I am also getting pretty nervous. I have a lot to do before I leave: get a typhoid shot, buy a tuberculosis mask, get scrubs, buy a webcam, and pack. A couple of weeks ago I got the list of the other students who will be participating in the program. They are from all over the country: Hawaii, Duke, Boston University, Maryland, UC Berkeley, and even Canada. I am really thankful that I have two weeks to recover from finals, rest, and prepare for my two months abroad!