Our last night in South Carolina! Wow, three days of orientation has felt like forever and, yet, it also seems like we arrived just yesterday. While it is sad to leave some new friends behind, it is also exciting to look forward to the next 24 hours and two months and the exciting journey they will bring.
To close out our day, our team shared communion and ate some good Southern cookin' for dinner (fried chicken, green beans, fresh bread, deviled eggs, salad and pecan bars). Altogether, a delicious and fitting way to end our time with each other--oh, and we also made cookies about an hour ago :)
The team that is here with us for orientation that is heading to Guatemala will leave for the airport at 3:30 tomorrow morning and we will head out to the airport at 11:30 where we will travel to Atlanta and then a 16 hour flight direct to Joburg.
To be quite honest, I don't think I've ever been confined to a chair and isle for 16 hours and I'm not looking forward to it. Hopefully most of our time on the plane will be spent asleep.
Prayer for patience while on the plane and health while traveling tomorrow would be much appreciated. And, with that, I will bid you good night!
Sala Kahle
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Gogo Wendy
To end our second evening of training, we met with Wendy (our South African guru--or 'gogo', as we call her--to learn more about African culture and practice Zulu (one of the 11 official languages of South Africa). While we are still stumbling with our clicking noises (there are 3 of them in the Zulu language), I think we are finally starting to get the hang of the basic phrases.
Hello-- Sawubona
How are you?-- unjani?
My name is...-- igama lami ngu...
*Oh, and most importantly*
Where is the toilet?-- likuphi itholethe? (they say toilet instead of bathroom because they actually have separate rooms for a sink and a tub)
Needless to say, we are all exhausted and thoroughly ready for a good night of rest. So, I will bid you all adieu and wish you well.
Salani Kahle!
Hello-- Sawubona
How are you?-- unjani?
My name is...-- igama lami ngu...
*Oh, and most importantly*
Where is the toilet?-- likuphi itholethe? (they say toilet instead of bathroom because they actually have separate rooms for a sink and a tub)
Needless to say, we are all exhausted and thoroughly ready for a good night of rest. So, I will bid you all adieu and wish you well.
Salani Kahle!
1 1/5 days = A Lifetime
We are officially half way through our training on the WEC base in South Carolina (almost North Carolina) before heading to South Africa!!! Though only having known 3 members of our team for a day and a half, I feel like I've known them for months--it's funny what spending time with someone constantly can do to the way you bond and form relationships.
The Beginning of An Adventure!
Dear Friends and Family,
This will be the first of, hopefully, many updates about my mission trip to South Africa. In this way, I hope to continue to do life with you, even if several thousand miles away. More importantly, it will be a means of communicating with you the constant work of God in my life, as I know He is and will be so present with our team on this journey.
Even just this morning, I have been greatly blessed with His healing hand through the prayers of a few back in Oregon. At this point, I don’t know for sure what happened, but the best guess I can give is food poisoning from last night’s dinner. Anyway, the results of such were my being sick to my stomach not more than 45 minutes before my flight was scheduled to take off and my being in a lot of pain. But, despite my circumstance, I was able to eventually board the plane and was blessed with a deep sleep that, when I awoke, left me feeling far, far better than when I had started my travels.
At this point, I am seated in an airport in St. Paul, Minnesota, waiting for my connecting flight to Charlotte, North Carolina in about an hour. I do have to say, for those of you who have yet to experience the MSP airport, it is quite lovely. It feels like walking through a recently remodeled mall with arms of terminals and planes attached.
When I arrive in Charlotte tonight, Rainbows of Hope will pick me up and, over the next few days, we (as a team of 7) will train before heading off to South Africa on the 7th.
At this point, a few areas in which I would be grateful for your prayers are: health (specifically as it relates to my stomach and allergies) and for safety in group travel as we plan to leave the country.
Well, as I can think of nothing else worthy of saying about this upcoming trip to South Africa, I will bid you all adieu.
Much Love,
Abigail
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