greetings from Africa

Dear Family and Friends,

I've made it to South Africa! We arrived yesterday at 9:30 am South African time (which is 6 hours ahead of those of you on the East Cost of the U.S.). After a lengthy line through immigration and customs, we were greeted very warmly by Val's friend, Lena, and her friend, Robin. They drove us out of Johannesberg abuot 30 minutes to a smaller city just north, Pretoria. We're staying now in Robin's lovely home (Lena and her husband, Moses, are just up the street) in Pretoria. I hadn't slept even one minutes one minute on either of our flights yesterday (I don't sleep well when travelling), so I was quite tired, but awake enough to appreciate the hospitality we received from Robin, who had never met any of us before. It was like meeting long-time friends.

After a much-needed one-hour nap yesterday, we set out to see some of Pretoria. Our first stop? The mall! Talk about destroying any pre-conceptions of "Africa" I may have had! :) We exchanged our dolalrs for rand there (1 dollar=7 rand), shopped a bit, and then drove to the top of the valley in which Pretoria sets to visit the gardens around the legislative building for the entire country. Beautiful, and breathtaking views of the city. After a dinner of chicken curry, we headed quickly to bed, as we were all tired--I had only 1 hour of sleep in almost 36 hours, so it was getting painful to stay awake at that point.

Today we've spent a lovely day seeing more of Pretoria. Lena, Moses, and Robin took us to a township nearby; those of you unfamiliar with SA history should know that during apartheid (late 1940's - 1994), African blacks were forced to live in townships away from African whites. Much has changed in South Africa in just the last decade or so, but townships remain (though they are no longer mandated by law), as do squatter settlements, which we also passed. There is rich history here, friends, and to hear our hosts (Lena and Moses are black, and Robin is white) talking openly about race, about reconciliation, and about hope for the country is a humblinh experience that is certainly broadening my faith and perspective. We visited a market and stopped for lunch (spicy chicken and rice for me!), and we are preparing in a few moments to attend a traditional South African braai (prounounced "brie"), a barbeque, at the home of another friend of Val's.

So I should get going. But I wanted to thank you for your prayers--the flight here WAS long, and sleepless, and last night I awoke at 3 am feeling panicked and not knowing why. But I was grateful again to be able to pray, and to experience as I have so many times this year, the peace of Christ, and to rest knowing that others, too, were praying for me. Tomorrow we will attend church with our new friends, and Monday we will take an early morning bus (6 a.m.) for six hours to Ubuntu Partners, a ministry between here and Durban that is involved in all kinds of community development, including an AIDS orphanage and micro-enterprises. At times I struggle to comprehened how I am here, and to tink about my family so far away, and at other times am so excited to think of the all the people we will meet, and the opportunities to learn I will have. Already, in just 24 hours here, I have learned so much.

Please continue to pray for our safety and protection. And pray, also, that I will have moments for connecting with God, and finding again a deep rest and solace in Him. I hope my life, and my faith, will be very much stretched and encouraged by my time here.

I will post again when I can. Love to you all, from Africa, and especially to Jason and my boys. I really miss you.

Blessings,
Missy