Well, we are officially on our way to start our new career as missionaries! We began our trip by driving to Ohio to visit Josh's grandparents. From there we drove to Nashville, on our way to Alabama. In Nashville we were able to spend some time with Josh's uncle. Finally, today, we made our way down to Birmingham, AL where we will spend the next few days being a part of a conference at one of the local churches. We are looking forward to spending time with our collegues and learning more about South Africa and our work there.
So far we have learned a few things about South Africa that we did not know. First, the AIDS virus is spreading very quickly throughout South Africa. The need to educate the people about the seriousness of the disease and how the disease is spread is so great. OneHope missionaries are often called upon to teach teachers about the disease so they can teach their students. There is so much misinformation going around about AIDS, and the effects are devastating.
We also learned more about the place where we will be living. It is a lodge on a game reserve, and it is large enough to host many interns at one time. It sits on about 2500 acres of land, and is in a rural community. The closest small town is at least 30 minutes away. We have seen pictures, and we are excited to see it in person.
We will leave for South Africa on August 28. We will fly from Ft. Lauderdale, FL to Atlanta, GA. From there we will fly straight to Johannesburg (15 hour flight!) Then, it is just a 3 hour drive to the Hope Lodge.
For now we will sign off. It is late and we have been traveling all day and are looking forward to a great night's sleep! We will keep you posted!
How exciting. The lodge and game reserve sound pretty cool. Ministry to aids victims and their families could be a new direction for One Hope that you guys would be right at the beginning. Keep the blogs coming. Love you, Dad
ReplyDeleteThis makes me so excited for you! It must be exciting for you to find out details about your ministry. Wonder what kind of game is on that reserve??? Is there room in the lodge for guests? I had heard that AIDS has been a big concern in South Africa for a while; what a difference education can make. Thanks so much for sharing, for giving us specific things to pray about, and for keeping us in the loop. Love you! Phyll
ReplyDeleteHey Josh & Kelly (I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you, but I used to work with Josh)! I hope all is well with you're trip(s)....I didn't realize you had to move about the country before leaving to South Africa. It sounds exciting....you'll have to post some pictures of the reserve you are stayiing at. We miss you here at Optima, and it (although I've always been the quite type) seems alot quieter with you gone. Oh, I kept your nametag in case you ever come back...lol...It was great working with you, and I hope you and your wife Kelly have a wonderful (and safe) trip. God Bless and I'll blog you sometime later. -BL
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