The South African Journey Begins

So begins the full day's journey to South Africa. Our Florida compatriots joined us at the gate just before we boarded the plane. It's pretty excitig that this is a joint effort of two conferences. Love the connection! I begin this venture much like i approach much of life: open and expectant to meet God in ways I can't even begin to imagine. This trip is right up my alley. It's about experiencing, learning, and dreaming of ways to forge lasting relationships and ministry partnerships with our brothers and sisters in South Africa. It's about dreaming of the possibilities, the what could be's. So we're going to be meeting with pastors, bishops, and ministry leaders. We're going to meet people who were contemporaries of Nelson Mandela, people who worked with the ANC duriing the apartied struggle, victims of the AIDS pandemic, churches offering radical hospitality to refugees. Nothing envigorates and energizes me more than experiencing faith lived out in another culture. It simply reminds just how big and beautiful our God is and how much we all can learn from each other. So anyway, when everyone at home wakes up on Tuesday morning we will have visited the farm in which Mandela and other ANC leaders were arrested for the famous Rivonia Triall and hopefully finally resting from the long journey. So here's to hoping for a less-than-full flight from JFK to Johannesburg so resting on the 15-hour flight won't be completely uncomfortable. Look forward to sharing more while we're there!