africa.

we're here!
we arrived in johannesburg, south africa on monday night. may 18th was the longest day of my life. we left at 4am from oxford, and traveled for a full 24 hours. we arrived in africa at 4pm the same day. and then drove for over an hour to get from the airport to the refilwe base. like i said, longest day EVER.

refilwe is a fairly large organization that includes schools for kids of all ages, day cares, farming, trade school, accommodations, orphan-care, community building, health care education, and more. we had expected to be living in tents here for the next few weeks, but to our surprise and delight we were given a house to stay in! three bedrooms, one (weird) bathroom, a small kitchen and a little living room is ALL OURS. so nice.

the beds are especially appreciated, since most of us have been participating in hard physical labor for the past two days. i am sore. really sore. our projects so far have included day care, going into townships with health-educators, and helping the maintenance crew construct a new fence around the perimeter of the base. i've been raking, hauling trees and digging holes. it's dirty, sweaty work. and we're tired. but it's great to see the progress we're making! refilwe has been having trouble with break-ins and theft, so we are assisting in the effort to make the place more secure.

the people here are amazing servants of Christ. today we went to the small church service held every morning before work begins. it was amazing. we got there relatively on time, but the place was empty. so we walked outside to wait, and all of a sudden we hear glorious harmonies erupting from the hall. we head back inside and see that a handful of africans have wandered in and begun the service with an impromptu worship session. never in my life have i heard a sound that was so simply beautiful. no introduction. no hymnals. no pomp. no circumstance. just praise, the way it was meant to be. i pictured God smiling down on these african children of his, and it brought me to tears. i can't wait for 8am tomorrow morning!

well, the computer room is about to close, so i have to say farewell for now. but i will keep the updates coming as often as possible...
-love from africa-