A new adventure....to SOUTH AFRICA

Wow....the LORD is so good. He provided the funds needed to make my missions trip to Knysna, South Africa, in less than four months time. I left on August 12, 2013. I had anticipated that I would be very anxious, but the Lord gave me a great peace about the whole trip.

I set out for the Cleveland airport at 7:00 am, I went to Washington-Dulles and then arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa at 5:30 pm on August 13, with one small stop in Dakar. I was never so happy to have a flight come to an end. I stayed in Jo-burg for the night with a single missionary lady and then went back to the airport bright and early. I finally arrived in George at 10:15am which was about an hour late. Bryant and Sharan Crane, missionaries in George, gave me ride. My final destination was Knysna and I arrived a 11:30am. I actually did not feel too bad. I had lunch with Bryant and Sharan, Amy Blackburn, and Dave and Julie Rudolph. Then we went to Ntinglani for the feeding. The people are beautiful and it is sad to see that most of the children do not have much.

My first week here was quite busy. Amy was trying to teach me just about everything in a very short time. Thursday morning, we had a ladies breakfast, had lunch with Julie McFadden, and then went to a winter warmer. A very busy day.

Friday, included banking, post office, and to see the heads. Then we went to the Restaurant at the Heads, what an amazing view. Then we headed to the craft market to look for some souvenirs. Amy decided that it was time for me to get behind the wheel, it was quite scary at first, driving on the wrong side of everything. We went grocery shopping and while doing this, I was trying to figure out the difference between Rand and USD. It is kind of easy right now, because the exchange rate has been $1 to 10 Rand.

Saturday was a down day, which was kind of nice. Amy did have me pull in and out of her drive several times, since it is kind of tricky.

 Sunday, we had services at Lagoonside Baptist Church and in the township. Both services went well. I ended up holding a baby through Sunday School at the township. The children were so welcoming and loving. After church, we went to Rudolph's for lunch and then headed to Sedgefield for Missionary Leadership training. I was able to meet a couple more missionaries working in this area. I drove home in the dark that evening and it went fairly well.

Monday, we went to the school for opening assembly at 8:00am. I was able to meet the children and the headmistress. We then explored around Knysna a little bit, then went and had tea or coffee in my case. The coffee takes a little getting used to here....it is VERY strong. In the afternoon, Amy taught Fun Club at the school, which is what I will be taking over starting September 2. We went out to dinner with Dave and Julie and then I helped Amy get ready to leave.

Tuesday, we left at 10:30am for the George Airport. The view on the way is beautiful. We ate lunch at the airport with several missionaries, then said our good-byes to Amy. Dave and I went to get my rental car. They almost gave me a heart attack when they quoted my price as over 70,000 Rand, which is equivalent to around $7000. Thankfully, I had the voucher from the rental agreement made and they gave it to me for the original price around $2200. The LORD is good. Julie and  I went to the mall in George for a while after. That evening, we had Bible Study, which was quite enjoyable.

Wednesday, I thought I would sleep in and do nothing, but my body did not agree with me. I ended up getting up early and doing laundry and cleaning. Glad I did because it was really rainy and windy in the afternoon.

Thursday, I ventured out to town for the first time on my own. I keep telling myself that one of these days I will be able to conquer Amy's drive without difficulty....not sure why everything is built on a hill around here :) In the evening, we had the winter warmer, which was very nice.

Friday, I was able to find my way around town much better today, and I accomplished getting out of the drive without any difficulty. Dave, Julie, and I met to discuss the ministry schedule over the next couple of months. I am going to take advantage of getting used to the area while I can.

So far, I am thoroughly enjoying the people and the area. Looking forward to the ministry opportunities to come. Very thankful that the Lord has given me the opportunity to come to Knysna.