I can hardly believe that it was a week ago that I flew out of Des Moines...to be honest it feels like so much longer than that, but in a good way. So much has happened, and I have been quite busy since the DTS started! This update may be sort of long and random, but will hardly even begin to describe all that I have experienced. Here it goes...
Our school officially started on Sunday, the 1st of September. We had a lovely welcoming dinner that evening, but I'll admit that it was a little bit of a rough day for me. My dad was only able stay in South Africa for a short time and had to fly out on Monday, so the days leading up to that were difficult as I wasn't wanting to say a final goodbye. At that point I didn't really know anyone too well yet and I just wanted to be home! But GOD IS FAITHFUL and He gave me the strength I needed to get through. He gave me the promise that He would give me strength that I needed for each moment, and I didn't have to worry about tomorrow. Since orientation week started on Monday, I have been keeping busy with class time, reading, making wonderful new friends, and time with God, and really haven't had any trouble with homesickness...praise the Lord! I'm sure that there will be times where I wish to be home again - but I trust that God will give me the strength for those moments too. 5 months DOES seem like a long time right now...but in comparison to a lifetime it's not that long, right?
There are a total of 10 students in this school - 6 girls and 4 boys. The neat thing is that there are 5 different countries represented: South Africa, Germany, Finland, Brazil, and America. There are so many different cultures and personalities, and I have really enjoyed getting to know everyone. It is such a fun group of people that is passionate about serving God. I know that it's going to be an amazing 5 months full of deep conversations as well as lots of laughter. The students, the DTS staff, and the Ten Thousand Homes (TTH) staff all feel like one huge family. I'm serious...these people are amazing.
Today we had the chance to go out and take a tour of the surrounding communities that we will be doing outreach in during the first 3 months. It was so amazing to see the impact that TTH has made by bringing HOPE and HOME to the people of South Africa. God is working in truly amazing ways, and I am so excited to be a part of it!
One way that we are part of this family is by playing our part through daily work duties. I'm on supper prep with two other students, and it is so much fun! There have been tears shed in the kitchen (from cutting onions, that is), great discussions, and lots of laughter.
Our classes started on Monday, and this week we have learned about things such as the history of Ten Thousand Homes, intercession and prayer, making the most of your quiet time with the Lord, showing hospitality, and community outreach. Simply listing off each of the topics does not do them justice...I could write entire blog posts on each of them! But for lack of time (and fear that my fingers would fall off from all that typing!) I'll just stick with listing them :)
God has been challenging me through the things that I have heard in class, as well as through my quiet time with Him and the book we have been reading ("Is It Really You, God?" by Loren Cunningham). I'm looking forward to all that God is going to teach me, and pray that I am open to listening to His voice and obeying Him!
It's crazy how cold it is...in AFRICA of all places! It actually is a lot warmer here than it was in Johannesburg, but I'm still wearing a sweatshirt or sweater most of the time!
Alright, I'm going to wrap this post up with a couple of prayer requests:
- That God would continue to work in my heart and that I would hold nothing back so that I can be open to what He wants to teach me.
- That God would work through this team to bring His hope to the surrounding communities
Thank you so much for your prayers! So long for now...I'm off to check out what all the commotion in the kitchen is about...it has something to do with a lot of laughter, singing, and clapping...
(I just realized how many exclamation points and references to laughter I used in this post...I guess that is just a hint at how much fun I'm having and how excited I am to be here!)
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| The hotel room that my dad and I stayed in when we flew into Johannesburg |
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| This is the building where all of the students and DTS staff are housed. |
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| The setup for the welcome supper was so fun! |
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| Two of my beautiful and super sweet roommates, Eveliina (from Finland) and Ida (from Germany) |
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