the trip

I made it!

I am in Africa!!

It is so hard to believe. The trip was LONG and not so much fun, but I am here. Unlike October, all but one of my flights were on time. The issue this time was sleep, health and turbulence. When I left Wednesday morning my stomach was in knots. I know Africa is where I need to be, but saying goodbye to my family and friends was hard and getting on a plane by myself was even harder. All of the flights were full of turbulence due to some thunderstorms that I seemed to be flying into, that added with the fact that hotel I stayed in in New York was having problems with their alarm system (since the fire alarm went off 3 times in the night), I only had about 5 hours of sleep from Wednesday to Friday night when I got to Beautiful Gate. Just so you all know, riding on a plane for 18 hours with stomach issues is not fun. PRAISE THE LORD, I was in the row right in front of the bathrooms and on the aisle. You don't need to know the details.

Last night Brian from Beautiful Gate picked me up and we were able to get my 30 day visa right away. This means I have 30 days to extend the visa, which shouldn't be an issue. We then stopped by the hotel my friend was staying at and I was greeted with a big "Pastor Tim" hug. It was great to see someone I knew right away. Brain then brought me to BG and I meet my roommates and went to bed. It was nice to just lay down, rather than sit up for a change. My roommates left for the weekend, so I had the house to myself.

Enough of the boring details...

I was out playing with some of the children this afternoon, when "my boy" came outside. He didn't see me at first, but with one call of his name, his face lite up and he ran to me. It was an amazing feeling. For about an hour he and I (and 8 other kids) just walked around the playground. It felt so good to be with him again.

One of the boys here has some special physical needs. When the Krolls were here 3 years ago, he was barely walking. In October when we were here he was walking with a severe limp. Now you can hardly tell. He is running around with the other children and having fun. He does have a little limp, but it doesn't stop him.

Tyler, your little buddy is still here and I showed him a picture of you and him in October and you could tell he remembers you.

Keith Lori, Tyler, Anita, Rog, Mary and Sara, you guys should see the wall it looks great and the sandboxes are in as well.

Lindsey and Lindsay, when you get here, it will be just the 3 of us in the house. I can't wait to see you guys.

Thank you all for your love, support and prayers. It was so hard to walk down the terminal alone on Wednesday, but God is in control of this trip and I am trusting Him. Sunday I am going to a brai (BBQ) with Pastor Tim and his team as well as Natate Edward and his family. I can't wait for some African BBQ!!!

love to you all from Lesotho.