To quote a fellow South African in Dave Matthews...don't drink the water.

That quote has no relation to anything I am going to write, but I thought about it on the way over to South Africa. It rang as a good title if the water did turn out to be harmful, which thankfully it has not! The water is actually very nice and refreshing in case you were wandering, which you weren't, but now you know!

In more relevant news, today was an exciting day! After a few days of sitting around today I was able to explore Cape Town and I quickly realized how amazing a city it is. One cannot ask for too much more than oceans and mountains all from the same vantage point. It really is breathtaking. The passage of Isaiah 40 comes to mind as I write about what I saw. The culture here is also very interesting to say the least. There are a mix of several different cultures and it is interesting how they interact. I have enjoyed learning bits of pieces of South African history, culture, language, etc. already in my first couple of days here, and I am excited to see this knowledge expand as I work.

Today is my first day on the job. The Warehouse truly is an incredible place to be. There is so much work being done here, and it is very evident to see that this is the Lord's work. Even as I type this I can overhear conversations about children in need to poverty to helping entrepreneurs. I am quickly realizing my inability to describe all that goes on here, but hopefully the wonderful agency analysis that I have been assigned by Union to complete will help me to articulate these thoughts! I will be leaving shortly to go look at two houses that I will potentially be staying in. I am pretty nervous about the decision at hand because each house has it's strengths and weaknesses. One provides a better social network but is farther away from the Warehouse. The other is closer but the social network is nonexistent. This could come across as a trivial concern, and I realize that, but it is a concern nonetheless.

I am anxiously waiting to get to work with my team, but sadly they are not all here at the moment so wait I must! I have found that I will have 3 young adults that I will be conducting case studies with so that is exciting and nerve-racking, all in the same moment! This week will be one of orientations and meetings with different staff members within the agency, but hopefully field work is not far around the corner.

Thank you all so much for your prayers! I cannot tell you how important they are to me. I mean that from the bottom of my heart. The transition has not been an easy one, and will continue to be challenging, but this is where I am supposed to be so I can rest in that! Psalm 31 and 34 have continued to be passages that have comforted me! God has set my feet in a spacious place...