quick update

Friend and family,

I only have a few minutes at the Internet café to write this up. The last few days have been great. So far, no signs of malaria despite polls that indicate a 50% chance of me contracting the disease. But of course I still have a week to go.

The people here are amazing. Very friendly. The local food is awesome. Except for a few specific dishes… Much of my time is spent meeting with Tom and the local pastor and his son, who is charge of the FLAME school. We have had productive conversations so far, and it´s been interesting for me to learn how easy it is to miscommunicate across cultures and some of the challenges and pitfalls of international missions work.

There is much to write about. I will note some of the things here and remind me if I forget to write more about them: the pet monkey 2Pac, the kids´ fascination with digital cameras, the amazing experience of sitting in on African church services (and I got to teach twice… they´re very eager to hear from American Christians, though we have no special qualifications). It is pretty amazing to be breaking bread and sharing communion with brothers and sisters in Christ on the other side of the world.

Thanks again for your prayers.