FAQ

When do you leave?
I leave the Bay area on Dec. 21. I'll be in SoCal for a little over 3 weeks, spending the holidays with family and friends, before I set off for South Africa on January 15. Due to an extended layover in London, during which I will visit a couple of dear friends, I won't actually arrive in South Africa until January 20th.

What are you going to be doing?
NieuCommunities asks us to wait until a few weeks into the program before we settle on an area of ministry. I've been drawn to ministry in the townships outside Pretoria, and there are many opportunities for service there. Stay tuned and I'll keep you posted!

Where will you be living?
I'll be living in Pretoria North, a mostly Afrikaner suburb of Pretoria, the capital of South Africa. I will make my home at Pangani, a hundred-year-old guesthouse, where I'll be staying in one of the guest rooms and sharing common areas with the team and some of the staff. More info on where I'll be can be found here.

Can I visit you?
Maybe! Email me and check to see what my schedule looks like for the year. I'll know better once I get there. NC has two "Road Trips" scheduled for next year, in May and August, and those are a wonderful opportunity for you to visit and get a taste of what NieuCommunities is all about. Go here for info on the Road Trips.

How long will you be gone?
The NieuCommunities program lasts for 10 months, or more specifically, 42 weeks. I will be leaving Pretoria to fly home on November 12, 2007.

What will you do when you get back?
I hate this question. =) I don't know yet. I'm looking at this year as a time of exploration and discovery--I will be seeking more deeply where God might be leading me in the future--whether that is doing missions or not, staying in South Africa or not, staying with NieuCommunities or not...you get the idea. I have felt drawn to missions for a long while, and I suspect that is where I may end up. I don't know yet what form that will take.

What do you want to get out of NieuCommunities and your time in South Africa?
A very broad answer is: a deeper sense of God's vision for the world, and how I fit into that. The second part of that is where I want to get a bit more specific, and that's the area in which I'll be seeking direction over the next year.

How can I send you letters, postcards, longed-for items from home, and frivolous gifts?
Email me and I'll send you my address. I would love to get mail. =)

How can I donate to your ministry?
Go here to donate online. Search for me by last name, and you'll be directed to a secure form where you can enter your giving information.

Getting started

I promise I will have more up here soon! While I'm away, the plan is to take pictures daily, to blog weekly, and to send email updates monthly. If you'd like to receive email updates, please email me (using the link to the right) and let me know. Check back after January 15, and there should be more going on in this space. In the meantime, I'm posting some answers to questions I keep encountering. If I've missed a question you'd like the answer to, feel free to email!

Grace Upon Grace

In every station new trials and troubles
Call for more grace than I can afford
Where can I go but to my dear Savior
And mercy that pours from boundless stores

Grace upon grace
Every sin repaired
Every void restored
You will find him there
In every turning He will prepare you
With grace upon grace

He made a way for the fallen to rise
Perfect in glory and sacrifice
In sweet communion my need He supplies
He saves and keeps and guards my life

Grace upon grace
Every sin repaired
Every void restored
You will find him there
In every turning He will prepare you
With grace upon grace

To thee I run now with great expectation
To honor you with trust like a child
My hopes and desires seek a new destination
And all that You ask Your grace will provide

Grace upon grace
Every sin repaired
Every void restored
You will find him there
In every turning He will prepare you
With grace upon grace

(Sandra McCracken)