Big News

I found out a couple of weeks ago that my mom received a letter saying that I had gotten an interview with the New England College of Optometry (NECO) and my brother texted me that both he and my mom agreed that I should come back for the interview and then return to Africa to complete my time here

O_O

Let's just say I was SUPER shocked. Because I had called both schools I applied to before making plans for my trip out here to Africa and the responses I received pretty much gave me the OK to leave without the interviews. I even made different plans for what I would do when I returned. Then to hear that this door I thought was completely shut open again was quite shocking. I almost didn't know what to do with myself. As soon as I heard it was like my brain went on speed and I thought about my potential future life in Boston. "God do you want me in boston!?" And then it was like "omyyy"

Since the time I heard it's just constantly been on the edge of my mind and whenever I would bring it forth into my thoughts I would just feel super anxious thinking about finances and the madness of it all so I'd just shove it right back into the corner of my brain. But in the past few days as I'm trying to sort out my return flight to LA to Boston and then back to Africa from there God has been calling me to think THROUGH it and bring all my worries to Him. To trust Him and lay them down at his feet.

With that said, here is what my crazy schedule will look like for the next two weeks

3/24/10- 3/35/10

Take a plane from Harare --> Johannesburg --> LAX

Stay home for a few days (buy ministry supplies/gifts. If you wanna meet up let me know!!)

3/30/10

Fly out to Boston with the bro

Tour the campus/get to know the city

4/2/10

Interview at the New England College of Optometry (NECO)

(Please pray for me! This also happens to be good Friday =I )

Spend the weekend in Boston. I'll be spending Easter there, kind of a bummer cus it'd be nice to be back at church for that. But who knows maybe I can drag my brother to a church with me ;)

4/5/10-4/6/10

Fly back to Johannesburg --> Harare

Get back into the groove of life in Africa

My Feelings/Prayer Requests

1) As you can imagine this was a crazy curveball that God threw at me. It just muddled everything I thought about my future and potentially changed my plans completely. But please pray that I will trust God through this whole ordeal and be filled with the peace that comes with that trust.

2) Even though I am so thankful for such an opportunity a part of me did not want to leave Africa because I dont want to lose the momentum of all that's going on here. Since I've been here God has been developing relationships but even more He's been developing my heart for this place and his people and his will here. And I feel I'm sort've being yanked out for like two weeks. Please pray that I wont lose focus of my commitment here and that this time back in the States would only give me clearer vision into the Greater plan that God has for my life, my time here in Africa included.

As for the update of what's been going on since my last blog post and now, I'll probably just do that one back at home where I have faster internet, maybe even post up some videos!

See you in LA!

First Update from Zimbabwe!

Johannesburg, South Africa to Harare, Zimbabwe

The flight to Harare was comfortable enough. They had this nifty petite-sized sparking apple juice.

I dont really remember what I did on this flight... other than drink this juice...

Once I landed in Zimbabwe I had to buy a visa at the airport before the baggage claim. The form required knowing the exact address of where I'd be staying and my "home address in China" -_- I told them that the people with the address were waiting at the gate so they made me leave all my things + passport with them to go get it then come back. At the gate I was greeted by Brian Jourden, their oldest son Bryson, and Edison. If I had my things I could have just run away with them but alas, I had to return and be the LAST one to leave. At least my lonely luggage was waiting patiently for me on the conveyor belt. Finally I made it back to the gate and we were on our way to their newly bought home in a suburb of Harare, Zimbabwe! Praise God for a house because I know they have been looking house after house searching from city to city for it.

Celebration!!

I just so happened to arrive on the day they moved in! What a celebratory day! To make it even MORE of a celebration it was the Jourden's youngest daughter Bailey's 11th birthday. Thankfully she really liked the Polly Pocket I chose and brought from the states (Pamela's idea) WHEW! This girl is like a polly pocket freak. Almost as crazy as eums was when she was little...

Although that night the house was bare of furniture, it was full of joy and trash. Haha. The first few days were mostly cleaning, buying furniture/appliances/fixing things. Within the last several days we've acquired a dining table + chairs , some temporary gas burners for cooking, a freezer (but no fridge), some shelves, light (minus one night), water (still no hot water though). But God has been super gracious to us by giving us awesome Christian neighbors that allow us to use their showers. *Random* our direct neighbors are Korean. So Edison and I tried to go meet them with Brian and Pamela. But I think they thought we were crazies because they didnt even open the gate. HAHA. Here in the suburbs the houses are behind solid gates with an intercom system and when Brian was asking them if they were korean they just stopped talking to us. HAHA. O well, another day perhaps.

At the House

The Chameleon that Brian get "baptizing" on the head, which then got angry

room + mate, Brittany

chillin / i came back to my room to see that the youngest son had arranged all my pictures on the floor by my bed HAHA

cooking in the dark

crazy leak coming from the lights O_O / walking to the internet

at the garden cafe w/ internet

Currently

So the first week was mostly just settling into the new house, getting adjusted / getting to know my new housemates. This past week we started morning prayer at 5:55am and we're going through Nehemiah as a team. It's been really awesome so far. And I feel like God is putting joy in my heart. I'm learning muchoo. But I will update on specifics of that after some more digesting. Also happening, we've been meeting with a lot of potential local partners in ministry. We met with this one young woman Chipo who's starting an organization to motivate/provide resources for young women to live more independently, because according to her a lot of the women in Zimbabwe are only about getting married after finishing school but a lot of those marriages dont end well so they are forced to come back home and there, without any real skills, have nothing to do and some resort to prostitution. We're meeting with some of the leaders and girls this weekend. So I will definitely update about that. Stay tuned...

P.S- please email me your prayer requests if you havent: Eurrichoi@gmail.com !!

Happy Landing!

Hello! I have finally arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa! Let me tell you a little about my travels here. But first,

Thank you to all who came out to my sendoff. I was truly touched to see each of your faces there.

I was so blessed by your prayers, hugs, gifts. Seriously I was honored by each of your presence.

12+ Hour Layover in Atlanta, Georgia

Mm yea I did not realize my layover in the dirty south was gonna be THAT long until I checked in at LAX. I landed around 5 something A.M local time and my flight wasn't until 6:55 P.M later that night. OMY. So I decided to try and find the cheapest hotel just for the day. But first I had to find someone to ask. I soon discovered that the airport in Atlanta is quite long! Only after reaching the airport services counter did I discover I could've taken this airport metro to get there. But if I did that then I wouldn't have gotten to see this cool 3 hallway-long exhibit of Zimbabwean art/stone sculptures! No joke the Atlanta airport had all these massive stone sculptures and pictures from/of Zimbabwe. I knew I should've taken a picture but I was too cracked out at 6 am to do so. Silly me.

Back behind the airport services counter was a very friendly but very A.D.D elderly black lady.

"What can I do for you, hon?"

"Mm, so I have a 12 hour layover..."

"GASP"

Haha. Eventually she led me to a wall of phones that instantly connected you to all the hotels near the airport. After dialing every hotel on the wall I finally settled for a Motel 6. Dumb move on my part. I thought I would save money by going with the cheapest rate but on the taxi ride there I realized I might as well have gone with the more expensive hotel, which came with complementary shuttle + free breakfast, because the cab fare basically made up the difference even with the 10% discount they gave me off the room due to their broken shuttle. -_- indeed. Another reason the room at the Motel 6 was so cheap is because there is NOTHING near it. Let's just say I was thankful for all the care package snacks. They helped me survive. P.S It was snowing! P.P.S My taxi driver's name was Augustine =) But he got mad at me =( But in the end we became friends and he called me a "strong lady" =) AHAHA

Motel 6

Letter Love <3

The taxi driver back to the airport was much nicer! AND much cheaper! Back at the airport now I still had a few hours to kill. So what did I do? I read all the letters I got at my sendoff! =*) I think the other people at my gate thought i was luny because I would cry, shake my head, then laugh as I was reading them. AHAHA. Seriously though, I was blown away by the thoughtfulness and sincerity.

16+ hour flight (?) from ATL --> Johannesburg

This flight was amazing! I watched two movies 1. 27 dresses (eh) 2. PUSH (finally..it was also eh) Both movies leaned closer to the sucking side. Haha but the best part? I had the entire middle row to myself so I got to sleep laying down! That coupled with dramamine (my favorite!) I think I slept for like 12 hours. AHAHA. So the flight was a breeze and before I knew it I was preparing for landing in Africa!

Two Strangers + Hotel Scavenger Hunt = Funny times

Getting off the plane I did not know exactly who was going to pick me up. I was told either "a tall blond guy or a nice black guy" AHAHA it was the nice black guy and his friend. Their names were Evans and Adonis (friend). Man they were super chill and funny. AND SUPER gracious. Their mission was to find me a place to stay for the night and transportation in the morning back to the airport. First they took me to this small hotel. They told me to guard the car as they checked out the room. They came back and said it was too small. I told them I didnt mind. But they said "No" and we drove off. Next, we went to one called EMPERORS PALACE which was a huge 4 star vegas-like monstrosity. I felt like the freaking queen of Sheba going to Solomon's palace. AHAH. But they were full, as were their two sister hotels. Some kind of convention. FYI! If you're planning on going to Johannesburg for the World Cup you better get your rooms NOW! But yes I was very humbled by the graciousness of Evans and Adonis, driving around and around the airport trying to find me a Nice place to stay, so unnecessary but very kind. Finally they settled to put me in a very comfortable "Town Lodge" where I am now. They left after making all the arrangements, buying me dinner and snacks. I wanted to take a picture of them but I thought they might think it weird. I will try not to be such a picture-coward in the future.

Tomorrow morning I take the shuttle back to the airport. Final destination: Harare, Zimbabwe!

Thank you all for your prayers!! Praise God for such traveling mercies, and please pray that my transport to the Jourdens is just as smooth!

SEND OFF

Hello! Can you believe the time has finally come?? I woke up nervous this morning. Haha. Thank you to everyone who has been super supportive. If anyone would like to show that extra umph of support you can come send me off at LAX tonight =)

Here is my departing flight info:

Monday, March 1, 2010
Delta Air Lines # 2096

Los Angeles International (LAX) to Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson ATL (ATL)
Departure (LAX): March 1, 10:55 PM PST (evening)
Arrival (ATL): March 2, 6:07 AM EST (morning)
Class: Economy
Seat: 30B | Seat is confirmed view/change seats
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Delta Air Lines # 200

Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson ATL (ATL) to Johannesburg O.R. Tambo International Airport (JNB)
Departure (ATL): March 2, 6:55 PM EST (evening)
Arrival (JNB): March 3, 5:05 PM SAST (evening)

Please come to the Delta Airlines Terminal by 9 pm!

Hopefully we can all hang out a bit before I have to enter through the gates. See you all tonight!