I'm in Africa--woo-hoo!

Praise the Lord that the weather didn't factor in for my travels the last 20 hours. To my mom's tears, I walked into Detroit Metro ready to go. I was pretty excited today! The first flight was small..53 people total. I didn't really talk to anyone, however, I noticed two little children in the seat kitty-corner from me. I wrote in my journal:
"The girl is probably 8, the boy six. He is excited, she is scared. They hold hands as we ascend. The weather is overcast and cloudy, but once we fly above the clouds, the sun is shining brightly. This brings a slight smile to the girls face. Her mom now clutches her hand across the aisle, so she is being held by both her mom and brother. The tears begin to flow in a steady stream. The boy trys to comfort her by telling her to think of it as a cable car...only a little higher. Her mom breaks out some oreo's, and the tears lull. She is ok the rest of the flight, and falls asleep just before we land. Although this story may seem silly, the example I took away from it was this. There have been many times that I have been scared or fearful, and the Lord graciously holds His hand out for me to grasp onto. The comfort He gives enables us to get through those times. What a great reminder of His love for us!"

The long flight was good. I sat with a lady who was going to South Africa for business. She didn't seem like she wanted to talk...we had casual conversation a few times, but that was it. There was a beautiful little baby girl I met. She was adorable, and did a wonderful job on the flight. I thought this was the best international flight I had ever been on. The crew was sweet, and kept us well fed and hydrated throughout the flight. I watched a few movies, and read a bit. I had no trouble through customs, (I found out from the Embrees that unless you are South African, they won't even check your luggage) and Ella spotted me right away. Bronwyn was with her (3) and we got to know each other on the way home. I was greeted by Hannah (7) and Max (6) and then met James, as well as Denali, their bulldog. The kids are not the least bit shy. They took to me right away, and I am looking forward to getting to know them more in the weeks ahead. We ate dinner outside on the patio, as the weather was probably low 70's. It is beautiful here, and I am looking forward to getting to know the culture, as well as the people better this next month.

* Founder's week at Moody has been going on all week. It is so amazing to think that even though I can't be on campus there in Chicago, I can listen halfway around the world LIVE! (Go WCC!)

I will post my address next time for those of you who would like to write to me...I would love it! And I will have easy access to e-mail these next 6 weeks, so please let me know how things are going with you!