Safely arrived

I'm here! I arrived last Thursday, 10/16 around 4:30 p.m. after a total of 17 hours on a plane! It wasn't too bad, though. So I've been here exactly a week today and I'm enjoying it so much. I haven't been able to get online until today, and there's so much to write, but I'll do my best to include all of of the details for all of you.

The first week has gone by so fast. I am currently staying in Jo-berg (that's Johannesburg for short) with a family, the Ressells. They have been wonderful. They have 3 kids, all under 4, and I've been learning so much about South African culture, religion, even politics by staying with them. I attended Florida Baptist Church on Sunday, which is the main church I'm working with that has organized my trip. They introduced me at the end of the service and had me explain how God led me to be here. Then they prayed for me; it was awesome. Monday I went on a hike in Mountain Sanctuary Park. It was beautiful, very similar to Utah landscaping, with huge gorges and rocks that we bouldered up. I got some great pictures which I will try to post later. The rest of the week I have been working on details for a trip I'm taking with Florida Baptist this coming weeked to a town called Bergville. We are doing a Bible "camp" for the kids there, most of do not speak English and have never used a crayon or scissors. In the evenings we are doing a revival and I'm helping with the music portion (playing guitar and singing while Trent, the pastor, plays the djembe and sings as well). When we are not doing the kids camps or the revival we are going to visit people in the village door to door and share the gospel with them. I'm very excited!

I'll share with you some things about Johannesburg and what I've learned so far: Most everyone speaks English and Afrikaans, as well as bits of different African tribal languages, like Zulu or Xhosa (pronounced with a click where the X is). I have learned several phrases, like Sao bona (hello) and Jesu oingitanda (Jesus loves you) in Zulu. Everyone here thinks I have an accent, which is cool. Some people have trouble understanding me, but it's mostly the other way around. =) Jo-burg is a very mixed with the extremely rich and the extremely poor. There are dozens of men who sit on the street corners with their tools, just waiting for work to come their way. There is a lot of crime, so everyone has a gate in front of their house and an iron gate-type door outside the front door as well. You have to unlock them everytime you go in or out. Even the church has gates. There is a car guard whenever you park your car that watches it to make sure nothing happens, and you tip him when you come back. But everyone I've encountered has been very friendly.

Prayer requests: Please pray for the team that is going to Bergville this coming weekend. Pray that there will be team unity, health, safety, and that God's will is done in the lives of the people there. Pray that we rely on His Spirit and be willing to do whatever is required while we are there. Also, pray for me as I stay on after the Florida Baptist team leaves. There is an American team from a church in North Carolina that is coming at the end of the first week, and I will work with them the following 10 days afterwards. Pray that I will be able to adjust and work well with them, and that I will be used during that time as well. Please also pray for a girl named Elisma who I met last Saturday; we visited her in the hospital. She only has one kidney and it has failed, now she is in line for a kidney transplant, which is very hard to come by. Other people in the hospital have been waiting 10 and 12 years for a transplant. Thank you so much for your prayers! I will give another update as soon as I can (probably in another 3 weeks since I will be far from a computer while I am in Bergville).