I'm Finally Here in Africa!

I made it safely. Couple glitches along the way, but I made it. I came without a visa or round trip ticket and was warned that I may not make it into Africa. They require a ticket showing I am leaving sometime and we had never heard of not needing a visa for more than 90 days. I did bring a letter from Inter Outreach here in Cape Town that states what I am doing and how long I will be here. Plus a letter from Covenant of Faith saying they are sending me with their blessings. The guy in customs at Cape Town airport asked if I have a visa and a ticket. He said "you're really supposed to have a ticket to enter, but you have a letter, so I'll let you in anyways. I can only do 90 days, but you can get an extension in 60 days." So, here I am.

The house is great! Very South African - even has a couple of living areas outside with TONS of plants and greenery! Looks like mom was here :-) It's a pretty large ranch house with many sitting areas, bedrooms and 3 bathrooms with showers (very diff than our bathrooms, though). I will have to take some pics and send them to you.

I have two housemates (1 is a roommate); Deborah is from Zimbabwe and is very sweet, Colleen is from Cape Town and is very fun, she is my roommate. Deborah has been here for 1 1/2 yrs at the house and knows the ins-&-outs very well, which is great. Colleen is very outgoing and social and has already introduced me to some people. Both of the ladies are the same age as me, in love with God and attend the church that I was hoping to go to (Marge goes there, as well). Deborah has shown me the area and how to use public transportation- we went to the market, Chinese store (this is where they buy cheap stuff, too -lol) and Internet cafe (for when I can't use this one). I'm 15 minutes from the ocean driving: it's a little cold for that right now. I did go to Marge's house to help her clean for a showing; she lives at the ocean and has amazing views - you can also see the soccer stadium, for those of you who are interested.

I have attended cell group with Colleen and met a few more people. Two of the ladies & I instantly became friends - they are also friends with Colleen and Deborah. We went to a (never ending) worship service last night till midnight. It was about a 1/2 hr drive and had a great time clowning around and talking. They are all so much fun and Godly women, they also are very relational and deep people - they don't just settle for short answers, they keep asking till they get deeper - I love it!!! Roommates and friendship are two of the things I prayed about before leaving and I am still pleasantly surprised at God's awesomeness!

I still can't tell how safe it is to walk around here. Everything is surrounded by gates and locks, but told it's safe if I walk over the bridge, not the quick way. I guess Deborah does it often enough. It feels a lot safer than Joburg, but I have already heard stories. I can't make phone calls here unless I get a calling card, so I can't even contact anyone, which feels weird. I have to wait for Marge to contact me. I kind of feel like I'm on a prayer retreat, which someone else decides when it ends. It's strange to be at everyonelse's mercy: transportation, phone calls, instructions on how to do things here and even food for awhile.

I just got up enough nerve to go to the market by myself today. Guess what? I made it just fine and even enjoyed myself. It was kinda strange to pay 10 for most items like milk and coffee, 15 for cheese and have a total of 90. Kind of makes your heart skip a beat until you remember that rands are 7:1 with the $. Then, it's not so bad.

Marge was unable to meet with the church Tuesday due to car failure, this is now rescheduled for next Weds. We are all waiting to see how everything will play out. Good thing I've been getting practice at this. In the meantime Marge has me reading materials and networking with other people doing similar things here. I will be attending a couple of trainings at Straatwerk soon and joining Justice Acts, which is a committee set up to help prostitutes.

I still can't believe I am here. I got quite nervous after London, when they were unsure about my coming in without a visa to go to Cape Town. Now I can relax a little and enjoy being here. Some moments I'm quite excited and others, I'm asking myself "what the heck am I doing here?" Life is definitely not going to look the same.