The Beginning

When I was a freshman in college, I had a sneaking suspicion that the new world I had stepped into would challenge me in new and incredible ways.  I never predicted that four years later I would be writing about my experiences in a place I have never been for all the internet to see.  God works in mysterious ways...

Starting August 24th, I will begin a year of work, learning, and service in the town of Mapumulo, South Africa.  Mapumulo is a small, rural municipality in southern KwaZulu-Natal, about 130 km from Durban.  I'm incredibly excited about this adventure, despite the fact that I know very little about what life will be like during the coming year.  That uncertainty is almost as new to me as life in Mapumulo will be.  I have spent my life making plans: trying to see around the next corner, predicting where I will be, how I will react, and how everything will fit together.  In about a week, I'll be immersed in a new culture, surrounded by a language I can barely begin to understand, and searching for a purpose that I haven't even begun to outline.  I have a feeling it will give the word "challenge"an entirely new meaning.  I can't wait.

Although I have spent the summer preparing for this journey, it still seems like time has flown by.  I have been floored and humbled by the outpouring of support from friends, family, and church members; I can't thank them enough.  I hope and pray that this next step in my life will be more fulfilling, enriching, and challenging than I ever could have imagined, and I look forward to sharing it with you.