Zulu dancers. The show was truly amazing.

The men wore the traditional Zulu costumes.

Learning the diski dance at work on Friday.

Celebrating SA's score against Mexico during the opening match.

Getting into the World Cup spirit. (L-R): Shane, Ryan, me (yes, that's me!) and Holly.

Lion and Rhino Park pictures:

A lion cub...very calm behind the fence, but once you enter into their territory, they are very scary!

The smallest cubs there...close to newborns

The braii area at the park. We are boorewors, pap (ground maize) with a nice sauce on top, salad, and steak. Mmmmmm!

Buffaloes walking our way. They were literally a few feet from our vehicle.

Mama and baby rhino.

Ke Nako! (It is here!)

It's only been another week but it feels like a month! I am continuing to adjust and learn; it is feeling much more "normal" here now. I am making wonderful friends at the office and it is great to see everyone's smiling faces everyday. At TWR we begin each day with morning devotions, which I love. It is so nice to begin the workday by dedicating it to the Lord. We sing songs, discuss a Bible passage, and close in prayer. My roomate Millie led devotions this week and asked me to play guitar for her, so I was able to lead everyone in some songs. One of the songs, "With All My Heart," has held special meaning for me since being here. It talks about surrendering everything into God's hands and simply knowing Him more.

This week I've worked on creating evaluation forms for an HIV/AIDS project Central Africa. I have also done a lot of research on HIV/AIDS and the statistics are staggering. There are over 33 million people in the world who are living with HIV/AIDS, and over 22 million of them live in Sub-Saharan Africa. South Africa has the largest amount of PLWHA (people living with HIV/AIDS) - 5.7 million. It is so sad to hear about the statistics, yet it challenges me to do something about it. When I hear feedback from listeners who have written in or sent in an SMS (text) I am so encouraged; people's lives are changing and people are finding hope in Jesus Chris. To read some of these responses, you can go to: www.twrafrica.org and look under the Explore Tab - Share Your Story.

Friday was the Kick-Off for the World Cup and it was so exciting! At work we had a half-day and ended work with a braii. The staff room was decorated with all of the different soccer team flags and everyone sported colors of the team they are supporting. I didn't have anything to wear, so I pinned a South Africa flag to my shirt! We learned the "diski dance" (diski means soccer) which everyone knows here. It was hard and quite funny to try to follow.

The Opening Ceremony was at 2 p.m. and the other interns and I went to a church to watch it on a big screen. The spirit here is great! Everyone is so colorful and full of energy. Everywhere you go you hear vuvuzelas being blown (like a blow horn) - even while driving down the road! The church we went to was decorated, as were all of the 200+ people there (supporting South Africa of course). Since we were from overseas they had us sit on the front row to watch the Opening Ceremony and the match between SA and Mexico. What a game! SA and Mexico tied, which means they both are still in the running to proceed to the next round.

After the game, the church had dancers from the show "UMOJA" perform some traditional Zulu dances for us. They were in costume and very animated; it was really something. At one point one of the dancers grabbed the daughter of the people we came with and ran around the sanctuary with her - she was scared but very brave. =)

Yesterday was the first soccer match for the USA and they tied against England. I'm rooting for both USA and SA...hopefully they don't play each other or I'll be torn!

Tomorrow begins a new week and new opportunities. Winfred and I will be travelling to a nearby township to promote the Open Schools program from our department - this program seeks to integrate children who are not in school into school through a tutoring program. I'm looking forward to physically seeing how this works.

On a side note, I purchased a CD-ROM this week that will help me to learn more of the Zulu language. I am really looking forward to it; one of my personal goals for this summer is to learn more Zulu.

Unkulunkulu anibosise! God bless all of you!

"With all My Heart"

In this quiet place with You
I bow before Your throne
I bare the deepest part of me
To You and You alone
I keep no secrets for there is
No thought You have not known
I bring my best and all the rest
To You and lay them down

With all my heart
I want to love You Lord
And live my life
Each day to know You more
All that is in me
Is Yours completely
I'll serve You only
With all my heart

You faithfully supply all my needs
According to Your plan
So help me, Lord to seek Your face
Before I seek Your hand
And trust You know what's best for me
When I don't understand
Then follow in obedience
In every circumstance

The Beginning of a New Thing...

This first week has been a lot of adjusting. For one, I'm adjusting to a completely different experience in South Africa. The previous times I've come to work in villages or with churches, and this time I am working a 9-5 job with a Christian radio station. God is teaching me a lot about trust and waiting on Him - and it's only been one week!

Last Monday I began my internship at TWR. Most of the week was spent just learning about my department, reading a lot of information (on TWR and on the issues that Africa faces), and meeting people. Everyone at the office is very friendly! They have made an extra effort to make sure I feel welcome. The office is very international; people are from all over - I'm definitely not unique in that regard. There is so much to learn, but it just takes time. The most important characteristic I've seen at TWR is a passion for the Great Commission. Everyone who works there wants to see people come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior. That passion is contagious and very motivating. I'm glad to be working with an organization that wants to glorify God the way TWR does.

As far as what I am doing, I am working in the HCY (Health Children and Youth) department on the creative end of the programming aspect. I will be working under Winfred and helping with different aspects in the complete process of a programme (by the way - they call it a "programme" here...haha). Basically, I help with either the creative end (thinking up a project), the middle aspect (monitoring the project to see how it's going) or evaluating the project at the end (feedback from listeners, leaders of programmes, etc.). I will also be doing research for the programming. The programmes I am helping with this summer are HIV/AIDs, getting children into schools, Malaria, to name a few. I'm also helping to create a new programme for Youth.

I haven't driven yet because I haven't needed to - plus, I'm a little scared! Driving in Africa is totally different than the States! The rules are bent a lot more! =) I ride to and from work with my roomate Millie or the Winfred and Juliet, who live right next door.

My roomate, Millie, is great; she is definitely a blessing from God. Millie came to SA in January and is serving with TWR for one year (or longer, depending on how God leads). She has always wanted to come to Africa but was prevented until now. She is a breath of fresh air and such an encouragement to me. She imparts wisdom to me all the time and loves to laugh!

I had a great weekend. Saturday was spent doing laundry, cleaning house, and resting. I went to a popular coffee shop chain to read called "Mugg & Bean." It was really neat to just sit and observe people. There are "American" looking people and also very "African" looking people all living in the same place. It is unusual, but nice.

Sunday I went to the famous Rhino and Lion park in SE Johannesburg. One of the TWR employees took me and the other two interns. We saw lots of animals, and four of the Big Five - Buffalo, Lion, Leopard, and Rhino. We actually got to play with lion cubs! It was not as fun as it sounds...those lion cubs were very rough and a little too playful for me. Their idea of playing left deep bite marks on another guy who was in the pin with us. The "guide" who was with us kept telling me to get closer and teased me because I'm American. He said even Oprah got closer to the lion cubs when she visited. WELL....=)

That's the update so far! I will add pictures soon .

Thank you for your prayers. I really do feel them. God is continually reminding me (and I continue to ask Him to remind me) that He wants me here for now. Last week I read Psalm 121 - I lift my eyes unto the hills; where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the maker heaven and earth...He who watches over you will not slumber nor sleep...the LORD protects you; the LORD is a shelter at your right hand. Those words are a great comfort to me. I can rest knowing that God has provided the way for me to be here and He has a plan in my being here. I am seeking Him for guidance and strength, and wisdom to know what His will is for the future.

I also read the book of Esther over the weekend, and God reminded me that He is in the details! He works everything out according to His timing just the way He wants it to be. So I am trusting Him that His timing is perfect and that my time here in Africa will accomplish exactly what He wants it to accomplish.

Cheers for now!