The Search for Food and Johannesburg

the past two days have been an adventure to say the least.  when sunday rolled around, sam and i were beginning to get very hungry and tired of eating the miniature pizza that we each bought for ourselves the previous day.  we decided to order some pizza from a local chicken place that everyone raves about.  after struggling to place the call due to the language barrier we finally we able to place our order.  let me tell you a few things that are vital factors when trying to order food.  know your address.  the way that they address their homes are very different than in america.  we are living in plot 2559.  i thought that was efficient enough when placing the order.  well plot 2559 symbolized almost a whole square block.  their on extensions to every local that specifies your exact address.  mistake one.  next, know your phone number.  obvi that's a no brainer.  well, when we arrived, they gave us a local phone that we could use to contact the doctors and to call a cab, etc.  we don't know the number for that phone.  mistake two.  leave your name no matter what.  the person taking my order never asked for my name.  therefore, after waiting for an hour i called back trying to check our order but the caller never took my name so he couldn't trace my order. mistake three. to say the least, our food never came. lesson learned.

monday morning we started at the center of excellence.  we were given a tour and introduced to everyone that we will be working with.  it is an incredible place doing some extraordinary things.  it is very obvious that God is in this place and healing these children.  in botswana, the death rate of children due to aids is 0.9%.  that is remarkable compared to neighboring african countries whose percentages are around 10-15%.  after being there a while we caught a flight with five other doctors and representatives from the COE and left for johannesburg.  we are currently in johannesburg for the networking meeting which includes representatives from the different bipais in the ten african countries and from romania.  although we have been in meetings all day long we have learned so much.  the Lord is doing great things through these doctors and their practices.  it is incredible to see how numbers are started to decline and children are becoming healthy.  not only when it comes to hiv/aids, but also tb and sickle cell anemia.  

continue praying for the doctors and children.  that the Lord may stay present in these places and keep fighting for these children.  
Exodus 14:14

"The Lord will fight for you; you only need to be still."

The Lord is here and the Lord is working miraculous things. Glory to God.

natalie