Arrival in South Africa

Yes, indeed....I'm here! I arrived in South Africa safely yesterday morning. I'm now settling into life at Pangani, a hundred-year-old guesthouse in Pretoria North that serves as the hub of our learning and community for the year. It's home for us participants, as well as a few of the staff. There are four other participants here with me--Carissa, Katie, Sarah, and Tyler--plus five staff members who will be working with us as mentors and teachers throughout the year.

Although we sort of began with a dinner and game night last night (Apples to Apples!), our official kickoff will be tonight with the Sunday night braai--a BBQ which NC holds weekly as a time to welcome those we meet in and around Pretoria, and to learn together as a community. And, of course, to eat! We start orientation in earnest tomorrow, and this will run for about three weeks.

As noted before, I'll be updating the blog weekly and posting daily photos when I can. That said, during the next three weeks of orientation, I won't have much time to focus on email and other things Internet--I'll only be online on the weekends during this time. Daily photos will probably continue to be posted in batches and backdated--but that doesn't mean I won't be taking plenty of pictures. You'll just have to be patient. =)

I'm excited to be here and to dive into all there is to learn and experience during my time here. I appreciate all of you back home and around the world who have played a part in my journey here--and in all that God has done and continues to do as I seek to follow Him more fully. Keep in touch and don't be strangers!


Small note: If you're getting my email updates, you'll notice that I totally plagiarized myself and the above is pretty much the same as the email I sent out about 10 minutes ago. If you're not getting email updates, and would like to, please email me using the handy "email me" link in the sidebar, and I'll add you to the list.

Halfway there...

"One more day, just one more day, then I'm done / One more car ride and one more rising of the sun..." (Rosie Thomas)

I arrived safely in London on Tuesday. The past couple days have been great times of hanging out with a couple of good friends: Sarah, a former co-worker from days gone by, who introduced me to NieuCommunities in the first place; and Jude, my Welsh "little sister" from past mission trips to Wales. I haven't done much of any consequence, but have enjoyed relaxing and sleeping, and wandering randomly through London--on foot, by bus, and by Tube.

Tomorrow I will head for Heathrow in the afteroon, pick up my bags from left luggage (it's 6 pounds per bag per day, Justin), and set off on the next leg of my journey to South Africa. I'll be on the same flight as Katie, a friend from last year's NC Road Trip and one of my fellow participants for the year. I'm excited to be on my way! Looking forward to sharing more soon.

Daily Photo

In an attempt to keep you all updated constantly, I've set up this site for daily photos. Now I just have to keep it going.