Six months

It’s hard to believe that I’ve already been here for six months. Looking back it seems like I’ve come such a long way, but it still feels like I have so much to learn. (How to deal with these stinkin mice in my ceiling for instance!) Being on the “foreign” mission field has given me an entirely different perspective on what it means to be a missionary at home and also helped me understand how to be a more effective foreign missionary. It’s grown my appreciation for and sensitivity to other cultures as well as revealed the arrogance of my own. And most of all it’s forced me to rely on God in a practical, not just theoretical, way.

But there’s still so much to learn. I’m looking forward to the team coming in July so I’ll get to experience our short-term missions trip from the other side. What is it like having a team come interrupt my regular schedule? How is it they add to my ministry while they’re here? What’s the impact they leave behind after they go? These were some of my main questions when I first came, so I am quite looking forward to the learning opportunity.

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The visa saga continues. After months of trying to apply for different kinds and lengths of visas, the agency I was using finally decided they were just running into a brick wall and referred me to another agency that might be able to help. But our friend Sylvia, from Hope’s Promise, said that if I was ever having visa troubles then I should contact her. So she made some calls and happens to know someone who knows someone high up that might be able to help me out. So I faxed him my original application yesterday and now I’m praying like mad that he can work it out so I don’t have to go to South Africa for a few days and come back under a new tourist visa. In trying to decide whether to follow up with this guy over the phone, I decided it would be better to pester God about it than him since God’s more forgiving. :) I would appreciate your continued prayers in this matter as well. I’ll let you know how it goes.