Here I come!!

Prayer requests

Alright, before we get to the prayer requests for South Africa, I have a little clarification, thanks to Katie Hill :) Even though South Africa doesn't do Daylight Savings, the U.S. does so the paper they gave me was correct: Until the end of March, I will be 10 hours ahead of California time, and then when you all switch for Daylight Savings, I go down to 9 hours ahead. Okay...thank you Katie for clearing that up :)

Now, prayer requests! Although I'm sure these will change once I get to SA and learn more about exactly what it is that I'll be doing, I thought of some things that I would love prayer for right now in regards to this huge adventure God has put in my path.

1. Missing family and friends. I've never done anything like this before, and I know it'll be hard, feeling like I'm missing out on everything going on at home.
2. Adjusting to the culture and learning to be respectful of it.
3. Developing friendships. There are about 60 people going and I'm so excited to see what relationships God has in store for me while I'm there and we all go through this crazy experience together.
4. Safety. Obviously this is a big one. Safety physically, safety from illness, safety emotionally and spiritually....just everything safety.
5. Gain a deeper understanding of who God created me to be and what He has planned for me. I know I won't be able to walk away from this trip unchanged and I'm so excited for that. Just pray that He would really open my eyes to how He wants to use these 4 months to help me grow and mature.
6. And most importantly, pray that I would be able to see God every day, in everything I do. Whether it's in a class or through relationships or even in the midst of poverty...that His presence and His light would just be evident in that place and in my life.

Okay, that's all I can think of for now. Again, I'm sure I'll have more in about a week. :) Thank you all so much for your love and encouragement! It makes it easier to leave knowing there are people who will be supporting me back home. :) Love you all!

Logistics

Okay, before I get into all the details of South Africa, I first have to say that the Lord blessed me MAJORLY last night. I went to Adorn (Reality's college group) with Lauren and it was absolutely wonderful. Then we went to Lauren's friend Caitlin's house, and I have to say, her family was soooo great. I had just met these people but felt as though I was a lifelong friend. They were all just so inclusive and kind and absolutely hilarious! I was laughing the whole time. And then, as everyone was leaving, Caitlin's mom said "Wait, before we all leave, can we just pray for Alex and her time in South Africa?" I was so touched. We all sat around, holding hands, and these people who were complete strangers just an hour before, prayed for me. It was so encouraging in the midst of all the stress and anxiety I have about leaving. The whole night, it just felt like this is how Christian's are supposed to treat others. It was a beautiful thing.

ALRIGHT! In other news... :) Here are some details about my trip that people have been asking. I start the trip in Pietermaritzburg, which is near Durban, and am there until the beginning of April. During this time is also when we do our outreach and help the local community development programs. After that, we go over to Cape Town and spend the last month of our journey in that beautiful city. Our flight leaves out of Cape Town on May 5th.

I will have an address that people can send letters/packages to. This address only works though until the beginning of April. I'm not sure what my address will be yet in Cape Town. It takes about two weeks (if not more) for mail to get from the US to South Africa...just something to keep in mind :) Here's the address:

African Enterprise Center Attn: Alex Gennaro

1 Nonsuch Road

Chase Valle

Pietermaritzburg 3201

3200 KZN

South Africa

Addresses are a little different in other countries ;) Also, I'll have internet access so feel free to find me on Facebook or email or Skype!

Email: agennaro90@gmail.com

Skype: alexgennaro

Ichat: agennaro330

I fly out of LAX on January 21st at 6:00am and arrive in Johannesburg, SA in the evening on the 22nd. I'm not sure what my internet situation will be from when we arrive until we reach Pietermaritzburg, but if you email me, I promise to respond eventually! :)

I'm trying to think if there's anything else....hmm...Oh! The time difference! I'm a little confused because the paper they gave us said at first, I will be 10 hours ahead of California time, and then after Daylight Savings in March, it will be 9 hours. But this website I just looked at said there is no Daylight Savings time in 2010 in South Africa. Hmm....So I'm not sure. But it's either 9 or 10 hours! :)

Okay, I know this is a lot but I think that's it!! I'll be posting again soon with prayer requests for my trip, but I think this is enough information for one post :) Please let me know if you have any questions for me!!

Just some thoughts...

I woke up this morning...around 11:00am :)....and realized that exactly a week from now, I will be on a plane to South Africa. What?!?!? And I go back to APU even sooner! It's just crazy that it's really happening. This has been a dream of mine for sooo long and now, here it is. God provided this crazy opportunity for me to go and He worked out all the finances and applications and...all of it! I just can't believe it.

One week from now. One week!!

I still haven't packed. I've made more progress: I've separated the clothes I will definitely bring from the clothes I might bring. So I guess that's something :)

Also, for those of you who have been asking, I DO have an address there that you can send things to! I'll be posting that soon.

I've just been praying lately for rest. It's been crazy trying to get everything done, and trying to process this huge opportunity that awaits me, but I have just been asking God for rest in my soul. For trust that He knows I can handle this.

Alright, I think that's enough random thoughts for today :)

Lists, lists, lists!

Wow it's been awhile. Life has just been absolutely crazy lately. I feel like my "to do" list for South Africa is never ending. I cross one thing off, and then think of three more things to add to it. I'm not sure I'll ever feel totally prepared and ready. But I realized today that I'll pack what I pack and I'll just make do with whatever I have once I get there. I'll figure it out somehow! :)

It is slightly ridiculous how many lists I have though. I have a list of things to put in my suitcase, a list of things I need to get done before I leave, a list of things to put in my carry on, a list of things I need to do once I get back to APU...too many lists. Lists. Lists. Lists. (That's a funny word when you say it a lot...)

Anyways, it's been a weird preparation time. I don't really know what to think. The reality of what is about to happen is hitting me. I'm about to go live in another country for 4 months. That's crazy!! I don't really even know what to say about it because it's just so surreal still.

I'm excited to just be there. All the preparation for it and anticipation is killing me, and I'm excited to get there and know more about what it's like. Right now, there are so many unknowns and I'm ready to eliminate all those and just...just be there.

Well, I should probably get back to packing. Or, at least, pretending like I'm packing... :)

Disaster

My room is an absolute disaster right now. I have a very narrow pathway from my door to my bed, and my bed to my dresser, and that's about it. Everything else is covered.

Yet, the chaos is organized. There is a...well, let's just call it an "area" for lack of a better term...there is an area with some stuff to take to South Africa, there is another area of stuff I brought home from school and will need once I get home from SA, and there is another area with stuff I brought home from school and won't need until I go to Seattle in September.

Organized chaos.

14 days until I go to APU. 16 until our flight leaves. WOW. Hopefully my room will be a little more organized in two weeks.

Oh hey 2010

These "new year" posts have been popular lately, and I'll be honest, I wanted to copy everyone else and pick my top 10 favorite pictures of 2009 in order to commemorate the wonderful year that it was. However, as I was going through my iPhoto, I discovered that I have 74 albums from 2009 alone. Some of those albums have hundreds of pictures in them, one topping the charts with 472.

472 pictures in one album. 74 albums. I'm supposed to pick a top 10???

The truth is, 2009 was a great year. I learned more than I could ever imagine; I literally laughed at loud as I was going through my pictures, remembering all the funny times with friends; I got to travel the world; I gained new, wonderful friends at APU; I found out I get to spend the first half of 2010 in South Africa; I finally gathered the courage to decide to transfer to Seattle; and I learned how to follow the Lord into some really hard places that I would have never expected to travel to. 2009 was full of surprises, good and challenging.

But none of that can be summed up a handful of pictures.

I'm excited about 2010. If my New Year's Eve is any indication of how this next year will be, it's bound to be a thrill :) Haha but seriously, I'm excited about it. Lots of new things will be happening (South Africa and Seattle) and I'm sure God will continue to put challenging surprises into my life and help me grow. And maybe by then, I'll be more decisive and have a top 10 :)