Florida to South Africa...

What an incredible journey it has been… and it’s only been 4 days so far! As some of you know, it took a little longer then expected to get here. I left Orlando Thursday morning, however due to weather we departed almost 2 hours late! When I arrived in New York I had 20 minutes to get to a terminal that was about 30 minutes away. On the plane I met a man named Martin who was also traveling to South Africa but his next flight would take him home to Zimbabwe. So, Martin and I RAN to the slowest airport train in the world that took us 4 terminals away… and then we had to go through security again and then I got to the terminal. As I ran to the terminal I knew it was too late, it was like a movie scene… I was so tired from running (did I mention I was probably carrying 15lbs with me) that I fell to my knees and cried, only for a second though! Lol…mostly because I was physically and emotionally exhausted and also of course because I knew I had to do some more waiting!!!!! The people who work for South African Airways set us up for the next flight, 24 hours later…

My new friend Martin and I had 24 hours to wait… JetBlue did nothing to help us unfortunately. The supervisor was not very nice but oh well, what can ya do? I didn’t mind staying in the middle of the airport because I had my new friend Martin who was nice and I felt safe having him there. So we found a place with tables and cushioned benches and set up camp! Martin happened to work for Disney also! I had seen him on the plane before we met and I thought I recognized him… well I’m sure I saw him in the Disney tunnel many times. Martin is also a Christian so we had that in common too. I’m not sure if I was meant to miss my flight or not but I know no matter what happens in life, good or bad, God will ALWAYS turn it into good.. and I’m so thankful I had Martin there. He filled me in on a lot of South Africa info and things to do, and what not to do, etc lol.

We survived the 24 hours in the airport and made it on the flight to Johannesburg… and everything was okay with our bags, they were on the flight with us. We made it to Jo-burg and had to quickly part so I could catch my flight to Cape Town… I did and everything went perfect from there. I arrived in Cape Town, got my bags, and finally saw the stranger holding a “YWAM” sign… Vernel is his name. Vernel took me to where a few girls were waiting, we had to wait for the couple from Norway to arrive within an hour. A total of 4 arrived together this day, 4 students, and 3 staff members/leaders were there to pick us up. As we headed to the base, I remember the feeling I had when I arrived in Nicaragua, looking at all of the different places, the mountains, the people… so exciting!

It’s day 2 now and so far we’ve gone on an adventure to where the market (grocery) is, shops, (Coffee!!) shops, and restaurants. It’s like a 3 minute walk from our base and it’s gorgeous. There are a ton of surfers and people on the beach; it’s a little chilly but during the day it happened to be a kind of warm. There is also a really pretty pathway on the beach to go to the next town where apparently there are lots of shops, and things to do. We had lunch at a place on the beach today (me and two other girls in my school).. a place called Sha-bean and it’s owned by an Australian.. his name is Guy and he was very kind!

Sooo… I have 2 roommates so far!! One is Jihye, she is from South Korea.. she is so sweet and usually very quiet, but funny too.. it’s only day two so I’m excited to get to know her and everyone else still.. my second roomie arrived today and her name is Marina, she is from South Africa, we’re the same age and it seems like we have a lot in common. We’re waiting on our third roommate to get here although she might not make it. We will be praying for her. Chirlaine is from South Africa also, she is the first friend I made because we arrived the same day/time. Tahnii-Jae (pronounced Tanny-jay) arrived today from Namibia and is 17, I’m excited for her to be here. The couple that also arrived the same day as I did are from Norway, they’re very kind. So we only have 3 guys in our school for sure, the 4th is David from India who might not be able to make it, praying for him also.

So far I’ve made friends from South Korea, Vryheid-South Africa, Namibia, France, Norway, Jamaica, Brazil, and Australia. There are a lot of people here from South Africa, but SA is huge so they’re from all over the country.

I love all of the people I have met so far, I only mentioned those in my DTS (Discipleship Training School) and the leaders but there are also a lot of other students who are studying the Bible here. They are part of a nine month intensive course that goes through the Bible 5 times! Wow! We also have people staying at the base from different countries who go on outreaches.

I am soo very excited to be here. I can’t wait to see what we will be doing each day and how it’s going to be for me, etc… I feel 100% at peace being here, like this is exactly where God wants me right now. I don’t feel sad or uncomfortable or scared. Just very much at peace. I do think about my family and friends A LOT but when that happens I just pray for them and that God is watching over them. Love you guys!

Our school starts tomorrow so I’ll keep you all updated on what that is like! I have no idea what to expect but I know it’s going to be a lot of work but a lot of fun and challenging things will happen. I can’t wait to see what God is going to do through all of us!!

New word: Hawking
I saw this word on a building along with, No Loitering, No skating etc…Hawking means to sell things on the street… this sign said No Hawking

That’s all for now folks… I love you and miss you all soo very much. If any of you have a prayer list please prayer for our YWAM group just that God continues to provide and take care of us… we have those 2 who might not be able to make it, God will take care of wherever it is they need to be.

I love you all lots!!!

Kelly