Little Update...

I would encourage you to check out my sister's blog .I am so proud of her.I feel like she is paving the way for us to follow. It has been interesting since we've gotten here to South Africa in that unlike some other parts of Africa it is possible to isolate yourself somewhat from the needs that are all around you. Not completely. Like on the drive to church you see little children standing in the middle of the road begging or on the way to the gym you see a lady with her five children lying on the sidewalk. But, still you can go back to a nice home and stay behind your fence and ignore it.Beth recently was up in Malawi and she said the difference between the poverty she sees when she goes into the townships and the poverty she saw there, was that in South Africa you can go out to a nice restaurant afterwards. (And maybe be mugged while you are at, but that is another story.)Anyway, we are desperate to find out more and more about the actual needs and find out ways to help.We have run into some roadblocks which I guess isn't all that surprising moving to a new country but we have also been encouraged by the opportunities we have had and some of the ways in which God is moving the dream slowly forward.I am going to begin to work with a group of ten to fifteen men next month specifically on mercy ministries and strategies for showing mercy through the local church.I am beginning to meet on a semi-regular basis with a pastor of a church in a township nearby. He has already met with his church council and began to talk about ways to help us help the community.Marda and I are going to begin the process of becoming permanent residents as soon as legally possible so that we can have orphans Lord willing in our own home.We have met with a young man who potentially could come to down to serve with his wife as houseparents or as a church planter. We'll find out more about that in the next month.I am meeting with several professors and pastors over the course of the next several months to learn more about communicating cross-culturally and I am planning once I finish my doctoral dissertation to begin learning basic Zulu.We are trying to take advantages of the opportunities right in front of us. Like, teaching a pastor I know to read. I am actually looking for a video course to teach him because unfortunately I am only able to see him once a week and we have found that is just not enough.I wish the orphanage was already up and running, that everything was on the go. But I guess this is part of us learning to wait, trust God, pray more and actually develop relationships which in the long run will help us more effectively and knowledgeably serve others.