O little town of Bethlehem!

Okay ... here we go .... my first official post. This one's for you Tilden, since I'm pretty sure you will be the only on that reads this. Haha.

So, I arrived in Johannesburg on Saruday at 5:20 P. M. after a very long three day flying extravaganza that involved canceled flights, a run in with 12 blackwater guys, a twenty hour plane ride, and very, very intimidating Senegalese (?) airport security...more than the blackwater guys! As I exited the customs area in the airport, there was a huge crowd off to the right welcoming the South African cricket team home from their victorious tour of Australia. It was really something to watch, although, I don't think it beats out India in the hard core cricket fans department... at least not yet.

South Africa is beautiful. I absolutely love it here. Every thing around me looks like a post card. The people are so friendly, and even though Bethlehem is considered "desolate" it still has quite a lot to offer! We've been getting to know the town over the past couple of days, we even did a walking tour yesterday. It is unblelievable how racist the people still are here. I was told when I first got here that if the people in town see a white person and a black person walking down the street together that they automatically assume that it is YWAM because we are the only people that really mix here. We did go to a church on Sunday that was considered a mixed race church, but even then the people did not sit next to eachother. We got the dirtiest looks walking around the shopping center in town....mostly from the white people.

The base is great...although it is a little more rustic than I was expecting it to be, but I'm definitely not complaining at all. I actually really like it, and I was told we were the lucky ones because we are the first DTS to be here with indoor plumbing.

There are people from seventeen different countries living here. Just in my school we have a German couple (from Bavaria), a guy from the Netherlands, two Canadians, a girl from Nigeria, a girl from England, a guy from Ghana, two white South Africans, two Sotho South Africans, a guy from Pakistan on his way, a boy from Bolivia, a girl from Paraguay, a girl from Honduras, and then a boy from Houston, an older man (62!) from just outside LA, and then my leader is from Kansas, Ariel. Quite the mixer! Dinner conversation is interesting for sure! Today was our first real day of classes. We had orientation yesterday, but today we started the bible work and a book we are going to be reading called Foreign to Familiar, about cross cultural encounters. I cannot wait to get into clases more. I know the conversations are going to be so interesting, with so many people from different backgrounds. Tomorrow we have our first ministry day. There are two squatter camps in Bethlehem. One called Bocholochong and one I don't remeber. Tomorrow we are running a soup kitchen in Bocholochong.

The two Canadian (Mennonite) girls have the most amazing story. They went to high school together in Alberta, and then when they graduated they decided to work for a while and just pray while God told them what to do next. Well they decided that God was telling them to go to Lesotho, even though they didn't know anything about it. When they went they were both 20, and they were just going to go work in a orphanage and rent a house for six months. While they were there working in the orphanage this man brought in his very sick one and a half year old daughter and left her there (she was HIV positive). She was so sick that Sylvia and Wilma ended up taking her to hospital where she stayed for three weeks, and then finally the doctors decided to discharge her with, basically, a death sentence. So Wilma and Sylavia took her in to take care of her, thinking they were just going to keep her safe until she died. Then God worked a miracle, and now she is a bubbly three year old, and Wilma is in the process of adopting her!!! Wilma is only 22 years old she has completely taken care of Elizabeth, nursing her back to health, and Elizabeth is the sweetest little girl, running around the base, just loving on everyone. Even now, while I was typing this she came in to give me a hug and tell me she missed me while she was at pre school. And the looks that Wilma gets while having Elizabeth around town is so difficult to watch, but she just turns a blind eye.

It is completely one thing to hear about AIDS orphans, but now that I have actually come in contact with one it is so much more emotionally difficult then I ever imagined it would be, and I know that sounds ridiculous. Here is this precious little baby girl, and before she was even born she was given a death sentence and has had her life stolen from her because of the actions of others. And this is just one baby. I can't help but think of all the other ones out there who do not have a Sylvia or a Wilma.

Last night in small group we were talking about our expectiations for this Discipleship Training School and why it is that God brought us here ... and I couldn't answer. I have know idea why it is that God has brought me to Bethlehem, South Africa of all places, but he placed on my heart and now I am here. All I know is that he has some big things to show me over the next seven months. Please pray for me, and I am always praying for you.

I am going to be able to get on about once every other dayto post something, so please keep checking. I am going to try and put up some pictures in the next post so please... stay tuned. God bless!!

- C (or D :-))
Hebrews 12:25