First Day in Welkom

We made it! Daddy, Kaci, and I had a safe trip without any big hiccups.  Our first flight was delayed about forty-five minutes and the flight to Jo’burg boarded on time.  I think the most frustrating thing was my fault!  I had packed as much as I could ahead of time, right after Christmas.  For my birthday I got another suitcase and decided to switch bags and use my new suitcase as my checked on bag. The issue was that I forgot to transfer my lotion, toothpaste, conditioner, and sunscreen into the suitcase and had it on my carry-on instead.  Big no-no for airports! The good part was Mommy was still there and able to take it home so it didn’t have to be thrown away.  

I couldn’t sleep much on the plane, maybe an hour total. Last night I was able to sleep for five hours, but I haven’t been tired all day, which is a blessing! So I don’t really feel like I have jet lag yet.  

Kaci, Daddy, and I on our way to Johannesburg

Close to Johannesburg

            Once we landed and went through customs and picked up our luggage, Brian and Lois drove us the last three hours to Welkom.  Fun fact: in South Africa the speed limit is 120 mph on the big road (similar to the interstate, only I don’t know what it is called) and you drive on the left side of the road!  There are also a lot more trees than I thought there would be.  There are pines trees and palm trees, and several others that I don’t know what they are.

            Monday we had orientation the morning, then Uncle Brian took us for a drive around part of Welkom.  Welkom has a lot of mining, although not as much as it used to, but you can still see the mines.  We also stopped at the cemetery.  There are two sections, the baby section and the adult section.  The graves were marked with everything from cardboard or tin to marble headstones.  Often the baby section would have bottles or something the babies had used on top of their graves.  When you look at all the graves it puts a lot more perspective on the HIV/AIDS epidemic. 

           We stopped at a fast food place to pick up lunch on our way back to RHV.  My meal was a quarter of a chicken seasoned with lemon and herbs served on top of French fries.  It was very good, but it was too much to eat for one meal!  When the kids came home from school I helped with homework for a few hours and then played with them for a little while before supper.  After supper we talked and went to bed.  And that sums up my first day in Welkom!  

             

Four Days Until Departure

Only four days left until I begin the journey to Restoring Hope International Village in Welkom, South Africa where I will be staying for a little over nine weeks.  If everything goes as planned it will take around twenty-four hours from the time I leave my house to the time I reach the Village.  But the beginning of this journey really began several years ago.

My Mom met Bob and Susie Niehoff and their family around twenty-five years ago at her church in Iowa.  Since then, their son, Brian and his wife, Lois, have moved to South Africa to help families, especially children, who were suffering from the global AIDS epidemic.  They started their own organization, Restoring Hope International, which is a children's home that they have built.  They are currently providing love and care for twenty-eight children.  If you would like to learn more about RHI you can visit their website: restoringhopeint.org   

In the last ten years that Brian and Lois have been in Welkom, we have received updates and e-mailed occasionally.  For about as long as I can remember I have loved reading missionary biographies. It was always really neat to be able to be in contact with Brian and Lois and hear about what was going on now instead of a hundred years ago.  Around eighteen months ago, my sister and I began sponsoring a little girl through RHI, which was another connection.  Then in summer 2015 Brian and Lois were able to make a short visit to our home, which was actually the first time I remember meeting them.  After praying for a long time I believed God wanted me to go to RHV.  I wanted to be very sure that I was doing God's will and not my own, because for years I have wanted to travel and be a missionary in a foreign country, and I love kids!  I did not want to go for my sake, but to do so out of love and obedience to God.  I was learning that ministry is an attitude and a lifestyle. There are so many opportunities to minister to others, big or small, right here at home; and sometimes they are the hardest to do and often the easiest to overlook.  I felt like I needed to be better at that before I did anything else.  But God also showed me that sometimes He will use our desires and dreams to bring glory to Himself.  If we have a strength or a gift or something that we enjoy, we can't be afraid to give it to  God.  If we are truly going to serve God we have to kill all of our idols.  But by worshiping God alone, sometimes He still uses our dreams.  

It didn't work out that I was able to go in winter 2016, I needed to be eighteen before I left and I wasn't going to turn eighteen for two months.  About six months later Bob and Susie visited and said they would be willing to take me home or take me down so that I wouldn't have to travel alone, which was a big concern.  I was able to get my passport and my boss agreed to let me have the time off if it worked out that I could go. (I think I have the best boss and co-workers!)  My Dad decided that he would go with me (And the best parents!  While I'm at it I better add my siblings too!) and we got our plane tickets in August!

I don't know many details of what I will be doing.  I know that I will be helping with a lot of homework and spending time with them.  I'm praying that I will just be useful, able to see what needs to be done and then willing to do it.  Some other details are that my flight from Atlanta to Johannesburg is about fifteen hours long.  Welkom is seven hours ahead of the Eastern time zone and since it's south of the equator it will be summertime there.  Daddy will be flying home about a week after we get there and I am flying home with Bob and Susie at the end of March.

I will try to keep everyone updated.  I have never done a blog before, so please bear with me as I try to figure everything out!