We've arrived!

Greetings from South Africa! The past few days have been full of flying, layovers, and more flying. We safely landed in Johannesburg yesterday evening (local time), and stayed at a hotel overnight. We leave for White River today, and if all goes as scheduled, we will be there later this afternoon.

Saying goodbye to family and friends has been difficult, but I am excited about this new adventure that God is leading me on! I am sure that the 5 months will fly by quicker than I can imagine.

Just for fun, here are a few little differences from the US that I have noticed in the few short hours that I have been here:

- Time change: We are 7 hours ahead of "Iowa time", so my body is still trying to adjust to going to bed at what feels like the middle of the afternoon, and waking up at midnight.

- Season change: It's Spring here, so temperatures are a lot cooler. This morning the temperature was 39 degrees when I woke up...a bit chilly when you are used to temperatures in the 90's!

- Driving on the "wrong" side of the road: Minor detail, but I'm going to have to keep reminding myself that we ARE on the "right" side of the road.

I can't promise consistent updates on this blog as I want to be careful of how much I am on the internet, but will try to post some photos and stories as I get the chance. Thank you so much for all of your support through prayer and words of encouragement! It has been such a blessing to me!

(Perfect combo for a airport layover....)

I can count the days on one hand and four fingers

Yes, the time is flying by and the day of my departure is getting closer with every passing second. I'm trying to cherish the moments I have with family and friends, as I'll be boarding a plane before I know it. Right now there are mixed emotions...I'm SO excited about the months I will have in Africa, yet I'm sure I'll miss everyone back in the States as well.

Thankfully there was only one vaccination I still needed, as the rest I had gotten before going to Mali several years back. So today I had a lovely time getting a needle in my arm...actually I was in and out of the nurse's office in almost less than a minute. Why can't all trips to the doctor's office be that quick and simple?

My sister, Sarah, and her friends have been busy making adorable "pillowcase" dresses to send along with me. I will then be able to give these dresses to girls in Africa and share the love of Christ in a real and tangible way. It will be exciting to see how God uses this! Many thanks to all of the girls who have put so much effort and dedication into showing love to girls half way around the world.

The lovely group of girls (some with completed dresses and others with dresses in the making) that put so much effort into sewing the dresses

List making, shopping, blessings...and more shopping

It's amazing how much stuff you use each day. Seriously...I've been working on my packing list, and I'm finding just how much I use. Lots of it's little things - stuff like sunglasses, lotion, shampoo, soap, towels, pillow, pens, notebooks...that kind of stuff. But I'm not kidding when I say that all those little things add up quickly!

So my mom and I made a shopping trip. I'm happy to say that we found pretty much everything, and only a few items are left to check off my list. I'm not one who gets super excited about all day shopping trips, so I'm quite glad that it is done :)

It's been so neat to see how God has been providing for this trip. I'm blessed to have so many people who have supported me and are behind me in prayer - I can't even begin to explain how much of an encouragement that is to me!

I'm SO excited about this, and can hardly believe that I'll be leaving in a little over 3 weeks. Oh, how time flies!

(a favorite photo from my time in Mali in 2009)