July Prayer Letter - I have arrived!

June 12, 2015 - It is 3:39am and I’m currently at the Dubai International Airport awaiting my final flight to Johannesburg. The 14 hour flight from Seattle to Dubai went well, though I didn’t really get much chance to sleep since I was in the middle of the middle row of seats.  I think my next flight is supposed to be a window seat, which would be wonderful!

My emotions are rather confused at the moment with excitement about leaning to live and serve in South Africa mixed with sorrow after saying good bye to my parents and aunt yesterday. Driving away from my home of the last twenty some years is very bittersweet.  Although I may return there in a few years, it will never be the same because I will be changed.

Once I arrive in Johannesburg later today, I should be met by someone from the university for the ride into Mafikeng (about 4 hours).  I’ll finish this letter off over the next few days as I know more about my situation there.

June 14, 2015 – I arrived safe and sound at O.R. Tambo airport in Johannesburg on the 12^th and even my luggage arrived with no complications.  The university sent a driver and van to meet me and bring me to Mafikeng and the ride was quite exciting as we traveled at speeds of up to 140 kilometers/hour on two lane roads!   I did utter a few prayers along the way and thankfully we arrived without incident.

Currently, I am staying in a two bedroom bungalow on the university grounds just a few yards away from the small animal clinic.  Although I’ve unpacked and started to settle in, I may end up moving to a 2^nd story flat in a nearby neighborhood when one becomes available.  This bungalow is nice from a safety point of view (it is within direct site of the university’s 24hr guard shack), but it is a bit noisy as there is a busy road close by and I can’t really open the blinds because of all the people walking by. 

The house is furnished with basic furniture and kitchen supplies, but yesterday I went shopping with Mrs. Emery and started getting some the other things I’ll need (cleaning supplies, hangers, laundry soap, food basics, etc).  I have quite a list of items still needed and should cross off quite a few tomorrow when we travel to Klerksdorp about 2 hours away.

Dr. Emery and I also started the car buying process yesterday and will continue looking tomorrow in the larger towns of Klerksdorp and Lichtenburg (1hour away).  At this point it looks like the Hyundai i10 is the front runner and hopefully I can get a 2013 or 2012 model so there will still be some warranty remaining. 

Church today was a pleasure and I was remembered (from my visit last year) and greeted warmly by many of the members. 

June 16, 2015 – Yesterday the Emery’s took me into the much larger town of Klerksdorp; a 2 hour drive from Mafikeng.  They had several appointments there and we also wanted to look at the vehicles available there and do a bit of shopping in some of the larger stores.   The Lord truly blessed our search when we found a 2009 1.4L Honda Jazz (Honda Fit in the US) that was just at my price limit.  It has much better acceleration than the i10 and is just a bit larger to better accommodate future teams.  It even has air conditioning, power windows and locks, and an axillary port for the stereo so I feel quite spoiled compared to my Chevy Aveo at home.

The difficult part, was figuring out how to pay for it.  I had hoped they could just run my debit card, but apparently cannot use debit/credit cards for such large amounts.  Eventually we settled on wiring the money to the Emery’s South African account so they can do and EFT transfer for me.  I can’t wait to get a bank account settled here so these type of things won’t be such a big deal in the future.

Today is Youth Day so it is a national holiday and no one is open so it was a good chance to just stay home and finish settling in.  I enjoyed a long lie-in (slept in) and then took a leisurely walk around campus.  In the afternoon, I washed and found places for everything I purchased in Klerksdorp such as baking sheets, food storage canisters, a mixing bowl, etc.  This evening, the Moreos (pastor’s family) have invited me over for dinner.

My address here for mail is PO Box 5041, Mmabatho 2735, South Africa.  It can take several months for mail, especially packages, to arrive and the mail is somewhat unreliable so please do not sent anything valuable.  If sending packages, please mark the contents as “gift” on the customs slip to reduce the customs fees I have to pay here to pick up the package. 

I look forward to sending you more stories next month!  Until then, please pray for safety and energy as I travel to Kenya for a conference next week.  Please also pray that all the final details needed to settle in here (bank account, internet connection, phone, TV, etc) go smoothly when I return and that I will be able to start working at the clinic soon.