mugg and bean

We've now been in Durban almost 4 full days, and have been sleeping a good bit of that time. We're staying in a suburb of Durban called Pinetown. Honestly, I've felt right at home from the minute we got here. I love the weather- cool in the mornings and evenings, but warm during the day. I love the way people dress here- WELL. The Zulu language is BEAUTIFUL and I've enjoyed trying to learn it. Speaking with clicks, though, is a lot harder than you'd think. For instance, my friend's name is Xoli, which is pronounced *click*-oli, and i literally have to stop everything I'm doing when I'm trying to say her name, which can be awkward when you're walking through a mall jam packed full of people. Ahh there's one thing that is a bit stretching for me; there are SOOO MANNNYYY PEOPLLLEEE. crowded crowded crowded everywhere! I'm learning not to carry much with me, and to make sure I put a jacket in the top of my bag so that someone would really have to dig to steal stuff from me. Luckily, no one on my team has been robbed. I was most nervous yesterday when we went shopping in downtown Durban. It's a bit of an odd sensation because Durban is a big city with big skyscrapers and big businesses, but it's also entirely African. In structure, Durban is not so different from New York City, but in nature or culture, Durban is a different world! Until we went to Highway Church (about 2 blocks from our flat) this morning, I was one of about 20 white people I'd seen since arriving in South Africa...13 of the others being my team mates. Highway, however, is full of white people, and we're not really sure where they come from, haha, cause they're nowhere around us. I absolutely loved the service this morning, and felt a freedom there like I've never felt in church before. The church leaders actually allowed teenagers to speak up and women to speak up and they were so welcoming to us YWAMers, who are honestly not always so well received by the church.

So, tomorrow is our first real day of ministry. Tonight we're doing a prayer walk around our neighborhood where we'll be doing lots of ministry. I have kinda mixed feelings about it. I'm kinda nervous and kinda excited!