Postscript

In the midst of getting set up for our lives in South Africa, both of us have been busy assisting Wycliffe staff that live in this area.  I’ve been providing consulting help to Wycliffe South Africa on their branding strategy, while Jeff has been helping with computer repairs.

In the last week or so Jeff has worked on three computers in person and completed one remote repair.  Today, he is making a house call at two colleagues’ home office helping them sort out some issues with their email and another software program.  Next week he’ll be doing some long-over-due updates on another colleague’s computer.  The team here seems glad to be getting some assistance from Jeff.

Wycliffe staff based in South Africa serve in a variety of roles from raising awareness of Bible translation and opportunities for involvement, to administrating donated funds, to having direct involvement in Bible translation projects located in other southern African countries.  While Jeff will serve many different offices in Africa, he will be a main source of IT support for this team.

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Yesterday, Kenyans went to the polls to vote for or against a new constitution.  There had been wide spread fear that violence, like during the last presidential election, would erupt on the day of the vote or after the results were announced.  Many people in Kenya and abroad prayed for peace, and so far, there has been no substantial violence.

The new constitution was approved by about two-thirds of the Kenyans who voted.  It will replace the previous constitution from 1963.  Please continue to pray for peace especially as the long process of implementation of the new constitution begins.

Read the articles linked below to learn more about the referendum, voting day and Kenya’s new constitution:
Q&A: Kenya’s constitution referendum
Kenyans vote in referendum on a new constitution
Kenyans back change to constitution in referendum
New Kenyan constitution set to pass despite church opposition

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In view of the Hillbrow Tower in downtown Johannesburg is the Ellis Park Stadium, home of the Lions rugby team.  We went there on an outing with some Wycliffe colleagues.  One of them had received some free tickets that they shared with the group.  This was our first time attending a rugby game.

The Lions were playing the Bulls, and red and blue team flags were waving all around the stadium.  Rugby is very popular in South Africa.  We saw Invictus earlier this year–a movie set just after the end of aparthied that featured the Springboks, the South African national rugby team.  The final game of the 1995 Rugby World Cup featured in that movie was played in this stadium.

Rugby is an intense game with regular scoring and constant action.  Between the swift tackling (with no protective pads!) and the occasional altercations, sometimes it looked brutal.  The game consists of two 40-minute halves.  Unlike in American football, there is no break after a tackle; the play just continues until someone scores, the ball goes out of bounds or there is some infraction.  Rugby is played in several other African countries including Kenya.

Overall, we quite enjoyed our first experience with South African rugby.

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We are so thankful for everyone who has been praying about this move.  On Saturday we boarded a plane in Nairobi headed for Johannesburg.  Just four hours later, we were at the O.R. Tambo Airport collecting our baggage.  Praise God that everything went smoothly on both the departure and arrival ends of our journey.

We’re staying at a guest house run by an American couple from our organization.  This was my third time to stay there and Jeff’s second; it’s where we’ve stayed on our previous trips here.  It feels quite familiar now, and it’s home while we complete some paperwork, shop for a car and participate in some orientation.

Shortly after we settled in, a group of Wycliffe colleagues that live in the area came to the guest house to welcome us to South Africa.  They were all familiar faces, as we’d met everyone before on previous trips.  One couple, who lives here and works for Europe area, was with us in Austria just three weeks ago.

While our jobs focus on serving the whole continent, we’ll also be able to work more with these colleagues than we have before.  We’re looking forward to that.  Already Jeff has been asked to help someone with their email, and I now have time to consult on social media with someone working for Wycliffe South Africa.

Tomorrow we begin processing paperwork.  We will start off the day early standing in line waiting for a traffic registration number.  This is an essential document that will allow us to purchase and register a vehicle and get a local drivers license.

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Our bags are packed and sitting by our front door.  Our house is in order for the people buying our household.  Our car we delivered to its new owner today.  We said our last good-byes to friends and collegues.  It’s time to leave Kenya.

I was switching out my SIM card in my cell phone from my Kenyan SIM to my South Africa SIM.  It’s just a four hour flight, but everything will be new once more.  A new home, a new office to work from, a new car, new friends, a new church…and a new phone number.  It’s a transition we’ve been anticipating for a few months, and now it’s here.  However, I have to say that this still feels more like “see you later” than “good-bye.”  I anticipate that we’ll both be back through here for work meetings in the near future.

We leave at 5am tomorrow morning–just nine hours from now.  We’ll catch up with you from Johannesburg.

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