We made it!

Hello followers!
Our first full day here in George, South Africa is coming to a close, but looking down at my desktop clock, I see that it's only 3:30 in Atlanta. It's insane how much of a difference six hours really is...

Anyway, I'm writing to you from the Laughren's house here in George, where the rest of the group is hard at work on the crafts we'll be using this week in Graaf-Reinet. I'm supposed to be helping them out, but I definitely wanted to wrap this up and update our family and friends back home with all the events that have taken place over the past few days. I would have updated sooner, but there was no free wi-fi in our hotel in Johannesburg, and we've busy all day today, as well. But now I'm finally able to fill you in on our adventures!

On Thursday afternoon, we all met at the church office and were prayed over by several ministers, elders, family and friends. Everyone circled in the conference room, Scott Schade and my dad (Andy Daugherty) led the main prayer, and soon after, we were off! Phillip Zook drove the "blurple van" to the airport, while Jackson Bailey (my significant other of 3 years) followed behind carrying Matt, Toju and myself to allow for more room in the van for luggage and the rest of the team.

Once we arrived at the airport, we said our goodbyes to Phillip and Jackson (which was much harder than I personally expected, but all is good), and checked in our luggage. God was definitely carrying us through the entire airport experience, and that was evident in the fact that everything was so easy. There were no unnecessary hold-ups, everyone had everything they needed, we never got lost, we had no need to rush, and we didn't even need to ride the train because our terminal was close to the entrance. Best of all, none of the team was pulled to the side by the TSA at the security gate! Hooray!!

After boarding the plane, we soon discovered that we didn't even need to pack our own entertainment for the flight. Each seat had a personal touch-screen television with a headphone jack (which did not require an extra converter like they used to). We had access to a wide variety of full-length movies, popular TV show episodes, music, games, and the ability to see our flight's progress, GPS location and arrival time. It was really cool! I can't speak for the whole team, but I personally wasn't bored a single moment during the flight. I know at least three of us (Stefanie, Matt and myself) watched "Tangled", so everyone had something to enjoy.

Sleep was a bit difficult during the flight, mostly due to the lack of leg room, but otherwise, it was a relatively comfortable flight. For some of us, though, sleep came easily. Toju even fell asleep on a stranger's shoulder! To my knowledge, no one got sick or was completely miserable. In fact, Stefanie and Wanda had a nice little bonus on their row--a very attractive gentleman named Brett who was also headed to a missionary field, sat beside Stefanie. He was very friendly, and I have a feeling it was difficult for Stefanie to part from him. Haha!

Fourteen hours later, we landed safe and sound in Johannesburg. We met up with Pete Laughren after retrieving our checked luggage, and immediately exchanged our U.S. dollars for South African currency called rand. Pete led us to our hotel, which was conveniently attached to the airport, where we were able to [finally] take our [much needed] showers! We met back in the lobby an hour later and made our way to the airport food court, and all enjoyed a delicious meal at none other than, Nando's! For those who don't know what Nando's is, it's a great Portuguese chicken diner where the Laughren's are renowned for taking their missionaries every year. According to Stefanie, they ate there at least six different times back in 2006. I don't know how exaggerated that was, but regardless, our whole team enjoyed it.

Our team's stomachs full of real, not-airport food, we happily headed back to our rooms and went to bed relatively early. The next morning, however, came much too early for some of us. Due to the size of the plane to George, the team had to split up. Terri, Matt and I had to meet up with Pete and Andy in the lobby at 5:00am to catch some breakfast and the 6:50am flight. The rest of the team was able to sleep a little longer in order to catch the next flight that wasn't until around noon. But, I must admit, the early flight wasn't all miserable. Not only was the flight an hour and a half, but it was very smooth, and the crew was friendly and funny. They cracked jokes constantly during the flight, which kept the atmosphere light and comfortable. To top it all off, the first team (Terri, Amy and Matt) witnessed a breathtaking sunrise as we took off, and a full, beautiful rainbow as we landed. It was incredible. God's beautiful creation never ceases to amaze me.

The first team landed in a very rainy George, where we met up with Fran and Denzil who drove us to their home. And let me just emphasize: the scenery here is absolutely gorgeous. Ashlyn will be taking plenty of pictures this week to show you, but even with her amazing photography, it won't do George justice. The Laughren's house is at the foot of a beautiful mountain range, and even in the middle of winter, everything looks so green, fresh and clean. I was amazed at the beauty of it all. Even the Laughren's home is beautiful, and their generosity is endless.

OH! As some of you may know, because we are in the southern hemisphere, June is the middle of winter. And believe me, it feels like it, especially without central heating in the house. When we arrived in the middle of the day, it was in the mid-forties, plus it was raining. Yikes. I know I definitely should have packed more layers, but someone *coughcoughmymomcoughcough* told me that I didn't need to pack a big heavy jacket, and that I'd be fine without it. Thankfully, though, the Laughren's had a surplus of blankets and sweatshirts to loan out, and I'm warming up slowly but surely.

When the rest of the team all arrived and we all settled in, we went straight to work. Pete and Fran filled us in on the week's activities and the basic ground rules, and pretty soon we were working on crafts. Which, believe me when I say, is not as easy or simple as it sounds. We are conducting VBS for between 500 and 700 kids this week. For Monday's craft, for example, we had to bag 500 baggies of cotton balls and glitter, cut out 800 hearts out construction paper, and tape together 500 sets of paper chains. Admittedly, our mission work is not as laborious or straining as the work done on other mission trips, but it's not exactly a vacation, either. It's good to be reminded that we're not just here to spend time with the Laughren's and other host families, but we are here to spread the love of Christ to hundreds of beautiful children who need to hear it. And that's such an awesome thing :)

After an hour or so of craft-making, we went out to eat at a local eatery called Harry's Cafe. Yet another delicious meal with lots of fun fellowship.

So, in conclusion, we've really had a blast so far! Our team has been bonding and continually growing closer with laughter, teamwork and quality time together. Tomorrow we'll be attending the local church in George, then heading out to Graaf-Reinet for the rest of the week. Hopefully I'll be able to update again tomorrow, but, as Pete said in our meeting this evening, there are two main rules in the Laughren house. 1. All activities are subject to change and flexibility. 2. If you are an inflexible person, please refer to rule #1.

Goodnight, followers!
Please continue to pray for us as we travel another four hours tomorrow, and pray that we all stay well and that our bodies adjust to the drastic temperature change.