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It was a long day of travel.  We left the Indianapolis airport at about 7:00am on Tuesday, May 12^th.  We arrived in Johannesburg on Wednesday at about 6:00pm South Africa time (which is about 6 hours ahead of Indiana time).  Surprisingly it was already dark outside.  Upon landing in the airport there were a few scares.  Lisa couldn’t find her passport, Drew couldn’t find is guitar, and I couldn’t find a piece of luggage.  God had his hand upon us though, Lisa ended up finding her passport on the plane and Drew and I found our luggage after going to airport luggage claims.

                We met several Campus Outreach Johannesburg staff when we got to the airport.  They took us to our Guest House where we had pizza and snacks waiting for us.  It was neat to see how well the staff thought for us.  The Guest House that we are staying at is incredibly nice.  There are four bedrooms, four bathrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, and a family room.  Each room has four students to a room.  I am rooming with Jeff, Zach, and Roy.  Outside there is a small patio, some grass, and a small swimming pool.  Brett, Maggie, and the girls are staying in a house right next to ours.  Our houses are surrounded by a ten foot wall with an electric fence on the top of it.  This is pretty common in Jo-burg.

                On Thursday we had an orientation with some of the COJ staff and then traveled to the University of Wits (pronounced Vits).  While there, we met several of the students in COJ and walked around the campus.  The campus holds about 35,000 students.  We were able to see where we will be spending our time laboring on the campus.  I have been partnered with Roy and we will be stationed in the Men’s Residence called the “Campus House.”  Thursday night we participated in a Bry.  This is basically a barbecue where they grill out sausages.  After we ate there was some dancing, games, and prayer.  Many of the COJ students attended the Bry.  I was surprised at how well I connected with the students.  They are very friendly and loving, plus they are pretty humorous (I was able to connect with this quite easily)!

                Friday we went to the Apartheid Museum.  It was unreal.  My heart broke for the people of South Africa.  I couldn’t believe how unaware I was of what happened here in recent history.  I was taken aback when I discovered that some of it had occurred in my lifetime.  I could see why Nelson Mandela is such an icon here in S.A.  He brought unity to S.A. and helped to end the Apartheid.  After the museum we went to a place called Rondo’s.  I guess this place is pretty famous here in Jo-burg and after eating it I knew why!  We finished the day with a “C.O. Perspectives” night.  We met the other Campus Outreach Cross Cultural teams from C.O. Augusta and C.O. Atlanta.  There was a lot of perspective given about the world’s needs and our role in world evangelization.  I was challenged by how little I know about the world and its needs.  Yet I am excited that God calls men like myself to bring forth the gospel to the unreached places of the world!  Yesterday (Saturday) was our Sabbath, a day of rest.  We spent the day purchasing the items that we needed and just getting rest.

                God has already challenged me in so many ways since I have been here.  I have seen a lot of sin in my life in the past few days, but with God’s grace I am trying to put it to death.  We are reading a book called Humility by C.J. Mahaney.  We are also studying the character of Jesus through reading the book of Luke.  This shadows our theme for the summer, which is Imitate (1 Cor. 11:1).  There is so much more to tell, but it will have to wait until next time.  Post any questions you have, I would love to answer them.  Please begin praying for the men I will be ministering to.  We will hit the campus tomorrow (Monday).  Pray that I would connect well with them, pray that I would point them towards Christ and challenge their world vision.  We will primarily be running alongside of the student leaders on campus and pouring into them as we, together, pour into the students they are discipling and ministering to.  What an incredible opportunity!  I am so excited for it!  Also, please pray that God would continue sharpening my character to imitate Christ Jesus our Lord.  Thank you all!  Let us all stand on Christ’s life, death, and resurrection.  It is by grace we have been saved through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9)!

Our patio, just outside of our house

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