I'M ALIVE!
Hey Everyone! So sorry for the delay in contact...hopefully you weren't too worried mommy (& mommies plural)...i have been doing a LOT of traveling. This was my first opportunity to use the internet, as I disclose my travel itinerary thus far, i'm sure you will understand. I will try to make this e-mail extra saucy, for I will be hitting the road again tomorrow, and it might be a while till my next e-mail.
A recount of the past few days:
Sunday, May 18th: The day began with 2 church commissioning services. I was so blessed as many a church member and loved ones came forward to lay their hands on me in prayer. Sending people out in prayer is SO moving and powerful...I still feel empowered. The day continued with an iced coffee from starbucks and an 8-9 hour flight to London. On the planeride I was originally placed between two women and their small children...I came to the conclusion that this was argumentatively "the worst seat on the entire plane." Passerbyers would often cast me a look of sympathy. 2 children crying. 2 mothers lecturing and cooing, both in different languages. No tv screen. No hope of napping. The situation was quite humorous actually...as worst case scenerios often are. I couldn't stop smiling and giggling to myself. I even wondered if the woman who had scheduled my flight had a secret grievance against me. On the upside, I noticed that the mother to my left talked about herself in the third person as "the momma" on a consistant basis AND I was somewhat successful in convincing myself that extra legroom was MUCH more pleasureable than the latest movie releases...ha ha somewhat successful. Although the women were very friendly, I was very thankful when an airline stewardess offered me another seat. I was then placed next to REBECCA, a recent highschool graduate, a writer and a Christian. She is seeking direction on what to do with her life...we talked about God and YWAM and about allowing God to plan your future. It was a very fruitful conversation.
Monday, May 19th: I spent an 11 hour layover in London with two of my YWAM friends that I met in New Zealand, Lucie and Rach. I got to see Lucie's hometown, I ate duck for the first time in an English deli, and conversed over fruit and carrot smoothies. I then jumped another 12 hour plane to Cape Town in South Africa. Aside from sleeping, I spent a majority of the time talking with an older French woman. She was warm and inquisative about my faith. We talked about my calling from God, my lifestyle, and my security in Him as a solo-female-traveler. We swapped addresses and agreed to be pen-pals...she is anxious to hear about my travels and how God moves me...a personal relationship with God is a new concept to her and I'm excited to write her upon my return to the US. God is moving. It is amazing what God can do with in a 12 hour planeride.
I arrived in South Africa early Tuesday morning and immediately took an airport shuttle to the train station. Contrary to the info given in my "Lonely Planet" book, I was a bit surprised (however unfrustrated and unafraid) to discover that there are NO trains that run to Windhoek, Namibia. Luckily a taxi driver directed me to a nearby bus station JUST IN TIME to catch the last 20 hour bus into Namibia...and GOD IS SO GOOD! Get this:I arrived at the bus station SERIOUSLY 10 MINUTES before the bus was scheduled to leave, if I had arrived any later I would have had to wait two days in "not-so-safe" Cape Town ALONE for the next bus! Crazy huh?!? When you allow God to plan your way and trust in His direction, you experience His faithfulness, His stragic genius, and HIS PERFECT TIMING!
On the 20 hour bus to Namibia, I sat next to a girl who had recently just quit college mid-term (Namibian, I am having a difficult time remembering her name). In the seat in front of me sat a young talkative young man named LOREN (South African). It is strange, yet totally understandable, how quickly conversations turn from a surface-aquaintance-intensity to deep-and-personal, when you decide to answer the following questions raw and honestly:
"So what brings you to South Africa?"
"What are your travel plans?"
"And what do you do for a living?"
ha ha these are inevitable, unavoidable and natural questions that EVERY person asks, my answers are atypical, my answers reveal Christ. Life is funny. Anyhow, LOREN is a devout follower of Scientology (not sure if that is the correct spelling, but Tom Cruise is also a beliver), but he was very interested in Jesus. So interested in fact that this is what turned him around and prompted him to join our girl-to-girl chat. He asked many a good question about Jesus and I learned a good bit about his "religion" as well. "Your a Christian? That's so cool." Perhaps, my favorite question that he asked was concerning my conviction about Christ, salvation, and life after death...and how my conviction even moved me to share what I believed. The girl next to me wasn't as interested as Loren, but I believe some serious seeds were planted...God is moving.
When my bus arrived in Windhoek, I was again overjoyed to find a free shuttle to a very reasonably priced hostel. Loren is here also, but he is now reunited with his girlfriend and is somewhat unaccessable at present. However, I have made 4 new friends. We laugh a lot together and I enjoy their company. Jaqueline and Jon are from Holland, and are in their 30s. And Christian (Germany) and Lindsey (UK) are 20 and 19, and are just now traveling after 5-11months of volunteering. We are renting a car and traveling to through the Namib Desert and through Etosha wildlife park. All non-Christians to my knowledge. Pray for me, love you all! Peace out!
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