Familiarity among the Unfamiliar

I'm starting to feel a little less like a tourist here in South Africa. I'm establishing a routine of sorts, which is comforting, since I'm a creature of habit. On the other hand, it's a different routine depending on the day of the week. But I actually like that - it's more interesting than being at a desk all day.

I spend two mornings a week at the Living Grace homeless ministry in Muizenberg, two mornings at the Living Hope home office in Capri (where I do sit at a desk ... well, actually a table in the kitchen, but you take what you can get), and four afternoons at Red Hill helping with the after-school Children's Club. On Friday mornings I go to Living Grace to speak at the pre-breakfast devotional, then head out for a work project in one of the townships.

I have five housemates, and thus five new friends who have been very welcoming to me. I'm the old guy - they're all in their 20s and early 30s - so I appreciate them not making me feel old. I'm at the same location where our Bluffton team stayed, a 15-bedroom, B&B-type house. Another team is coming in a few weeks, but right now, with only a few people here, it's quiet. And cavernous. I know, I know, a mission trip to Africa should mean I'm sleeping in a hut and going without a shower for days on end. But most of this area is very European. Some call it a first-world city in a third-world country. Anyway, some needs are universal, whether it's Cape Town, Mumbai, Bangkok or Bluffton.

Thanks to all who have prayed for me throughout this venture. Thanks also to anyone who has emailed me encouraging thoughts or posted comments on this blog. It's good to know there's an audience. One of my favorite Dilbert strips shows Dilbert standing at his mailbox sorting through the day's mail. "Occupant ... occupant ... occupant ... occupant," he says. Then, in the last frame: "Ahhh, Dilbert. I get mail, therefore I am."