Getting there is half the fun!

Well, as promised, I am back to tell you more about the amazing things that the Lord is doing around the world...and within the Davis family!  So as you have heard, this mission trip to Cape Town including the short but amazing time in Culcheth, England was incredible and truly life changing.  Really it was.  If you are reading this and have even a little bit of a desire to go on a mission trip to another culture...DO IT!  Don't talk yourself out of it like I have done so many times before.  The Lord will truly change you.  You will come back to your own culture and context with a more holistic view of the church and of what it means to do ministry wherever you are.

So if you will bear with me I'd love to share my experience with you.  So first of all, getting to Cape Town takes a little while.  As in 2 days of flying and sitting in airports...but was it ever worth it!  We took off from St. Louis for a quick hop up to Chicago where we then boarded a plane for London.  We flew overnight to London and landed the next morning about 11:30 local time.  We had a 7.5 hr lay over in Heathrow before we flew back out for Cape Town, so we saw the sights in Heathrow (because Heathrow is more of a city than an airport!)

Then we rested for a while until time to board our next overnight flight to Cape Town!  And Yes, that means I didn't see a bed or a shower for 2 days.  The flight was around 11 hrs and unfortunately I didn't sleep quite as much as I would have liked, but when we arrived in Cape Town that next morning adrenaline kicked in as saw the MTW missionaries we were there to serve with along with several other staff from the Student Y (the campus ministry at the University of Cape Town).  So that whole day we struggled and failed at times to stay awake the whole day so that we could go to bed at normal local time.  Here are a few casualties...

Hanging out and awake at the moment!

The McGinty's (the MTW missionaries who work with the student Y and were our wonderful hosts for the trip) had us hang out at there home and cooked us a wonderful South African meal called Bobotie which had ostrich meat in it.  They also let me try some of the Biltong (very similar to what we call beef jerky) made from Kudu meat.  So my first day in S. Africa and I have eaten 2 animals that I have never had before!  Oh, and I learn a little bit about how to play cricket!  

Here is my pitiful attempt to "bowl" the ball...

Well, if you're still with me, stay tuned for more later.  I hope to tell you all about week 1 in Cape Town next time, but for now... I gotta go to bed!