Greetings from Namibia!

So I made it to Namibia, and it was quite a journey!

I didn’t get much sleep flying and ended up missing my flight in Joburg! It was kind of terrifying when the woman told me that I was too late to make the plane and that the next flight was full. It’s fairly scary being temporarily stuck alone in a foreign country. I had to walk outside through customs and go to the front gate where I waited in line for a while at the South African Airlines counter. I was very frustrated and my mind was racing, having no idea what I would do if I couldn’t get on another flight soon: who I’d call, how I’d contact anyone without a cell phone or how I could pay for a changed flight. Thankfully, I told the woman at the counter what happened, she typed into her computer for a minute or so and said, “Okay, you’re now on the 1:20 flight.” That was the same flight the other half of the group that spent the night in Joburg was taking, so I was very relieved. It was a huge relief then when I saw the faces of my teammates walking toward me in the airport. Then, on the plane, I got upgraded to Business Class and had one of the best meals of my life, some wine, and good conversation with the man next to me who works in the Namibian Government.

God definitely watched over me and got me to Namibia safely, just not at all the way I had planned! Already I’m learning major lessons.

We were greeted at the airport by many smiling faces of some of our Namibian teammates, Vanessa, Vicky, Living, and Emmanuel. They were very excited to see us, and we immediately shared hugs and warm hellos. Driving back through the countryside in our 30 person bus, “The Coaster Deluxe,” we took in the beautiful Namibian countryside, which in this area happens to look fairly similar to the southwest. Mostly flat, with large mountains jutting up almost out of nowhere.

Since then, we’ve been here at a camp in Okahandja spending time getting to know each other, meeting more of our team, learning about what we’ll be doing, praying, worshipping, and playing soccer and Frisbee. Tomorrow morning we’re splitting into two teams for 10 days. Like I said earlier, my team is headed to Otjiwarongo, where we’ll be spending time at an orphanage, visiting some high schools to talk about abstinence, helping out at a chapel, visiting a hospital, and doing a bit of painting.

That’s the plan, anyway. Who knows what will actually happen! That’s Africa!

We’re all really excited to get out into the country and start meeting a lot of the people. We’ve done a lot of waiting, now we get to start doing!

It’s amazing that I get to spend the next five weeks here. Every day is so beautiful! There’s never a cloud in the sky and the sun is always shining. It is chilly at night and in the morning, but it’s nothing a kid who spent the winter in the Big Apple can’t take.

God is already working in me in big ways. He’s starting to work his way into places I haven’t wanted to let him. It’s pretty freaking exciting. Scary, but awesome and exciting.

Okay, I can’t promise how often updates will come. Internet is not easy to come by here! Hopefully up in Otjiwarongo we’ll be able to go to an internet café often. We’ll see.

Either way, I hope everybody is great! I love and miss you all!