Arrival! And, seeing tomorrow.

After a long trip, 25 hours total, I arrived in Cape Town. I can't fully explain the range of emotions I was feeling: Excitement at the opportunity, apprehension about starting something so different, sadness at leaving the people (and animals) I love. I've never regretted my decision, but I've awoken the past three mornings with a nervousness I haven't felt in quite a while.

I moved into my flat today. I have a great view of the Atlantic Ocean, with beautiful sunsets. That will be a nice way to end the days. Getting set up was a bit of a chore - it's a bit like moving out of your parents' house for the first time. You have absolutely nothing to your name except clothes and hand-me-down furniture. I wandered through the grocery store throwing stuff into my cart seemingly at random: Paper towels, soap, sponges, tea, Coke, napkins, etc. etc. I haven't even thought about food yet, since that will be even harder (do I really need 10 pounds of sugar? a quart of oil?) I'll probably shop everyday for a while.

I'm starting to take pictures, and I'll post a couple once I have a permanent Internet connection. It's tougher to do that at an Internet cafe.

I've been meeting up with a group of people from Minneapolis everyday. They're from Open Arms, the non-profit group that I'm on the board of. They're here to see the townships and distribute food parcels on Tuesday (300 pails of staples, including flour, sugar, corn meal, beans, and oats). They're here until next weekend, so I'll be hanging with them meeting people and figuring out what I should be starting to work on. I've heard that I'll be starting at the clinic on the 10th. That will be different, to say the least.

Saturday we spent a couple hours with Rev. Spiwo Xipile, the pastor of the JL Zwane church and leader of the community center where I'll be based. He told some very powerful stories. The messages from one of them is really sticking with me. The first was about a young man who did not have the education to get into college, and did not have any job prospects. When Spiwo was counseling him to have hope and work for tomorrow, the man said "You can not ask me what I will even be doing on Friday. Do not even ask me about tomorrow. I only know what I will be doing today. I cannot see tomorrow. " Spiwo said he had never considered what it means to lose all hope, or how to help people who are in that position. For a man as powerful and experienced as him it was quite an admission. For me, it's something to consider as I try to find my way around his people and look for ways to help see new tomorrows.

More to come. Totseins vir nou.