Hello all from the far land of Camrose, Alberta. There are officially 26 days till we board the plane, that’ll (hopefully) land in South Africa. We are very, very excited as we anticipate and prepare for our journey.

Last week here at CLBI, the second year students continued to focus on prepping for our trip and learning about what culture is. This has been exciting and also very intriguing because there are many things that we do in our culture that can seem very weird or even wrong in other cultures. We’ve been reading the book Foreign To Familiar for class and it has caused us to think about how culture will affect our experience in another country. I’m sure there will be numerous embarrassing moments yet to happen once we hop on that plane and venture into a complete and unfamiliar culture. BUT team South Africa is ready to take on the wooooorld. Okay, not really but we are trying our best to practice having an open and flexible attitude, ready to learn, as the day draws closer to departure.

Just like any experience, it is hard to anticipate what will await us spiritually and emotionally, but we know for sure that this trip will be both challenging and incredible. We find comfort knowing that whatever happens, we are not alone. We serve a God that is constant and faithful, and although there will be times that will have us weak and confused, we can rely on the unfailing love and compassion Christ has for us.

So, we begin the countdown, to a place where our feet have never set foot before, to a sky our eyes have never seen, and to a time where we will experience our Saviour in unimaginable ways. We are Team South Africa.

-Kelsey

Photo from left to right:

Mariah, Russell, Grant, Kelsey