Preparing for South Africa

Well time has eluded me once again and I now sit here staring (and by staring I mean gawking/hyperventilating) at the 5 days that linger between today and the beginning of our South African adventure. I have yet to do laundry, nor pack, but I do know where my passport is- a small step in the right direction!

Our journey to Durban officially begins at noon on Sunday, when we will fly from Atlanta to Washington D.C. From D.C., we will fly to Dakar, Senegal; from Dakar to Johannesburg, S.A.; and finally from Johannesburg to Durban. We will arrive in Durban Monday afternoon and begin to settle into our new home for the next 5 weeks! (and by settle in I mean crash from our 24 hour travel)

For the first three weeks of our project, our team will be working alongside of South African students from the University of Kwazulu-natal in the townships of Durban. The townships, or "slums", are predominately made up of black South Africans and are home to the lowest socioeconomic  class of Durban. We will be spending most of our time working at the local AIDS Hospice and orphanage, assisting in any way that we can.

Township right outside Durban

The last two weeks we are in Durban will be spent on the campuses of the University of Kwazulu-natal sharing the gospel, meeting with students, and working alongside of the the South African Cru staff there. At nights during the week, we will have small group Bible studies, men's & women's community groups, team dinners, and large group meetings (on different nights of the week).

Because we will not have cell phones, and will only have access to the internet via once-a-week visits to an internet cafe, this blog will be our main source for updates on our trip and experience. We will make a point to update our blog at  least once a week with the highs, lows, praises, and prayer requests of our team. We are extremely excited to embark on this adventure and pray that God's glory will radiate greater than we could have ever hoped or imagined!