by Larry Allhands

Today was a very busy and productive day. The morning started with a workout and short run before the bad weather rolled in. When the clouds moved in, Paul (The owner of the B&B) stated, "A nasty personality was coming over the mountains. I love the way the Africans talk in colorful metaphors.

After breakfast, we went to Kayamandi (the village we have been working in). We were met by the team leaders there and discussed the plans for our work along with cultural issues. The main point we focused on was that many transient missionary teams do more harm than good by showing up, handing out blankets and Bibles, and having people accept Christ without affecting change in the culture to help Christians adjust to the change Christ brings into their life. Of course, we believe that we may have the answer in equip with our long-term consistent approach, but as we said today, it will take a long time and we will continue to learn every day.

This afternoon we met with the South African business consultants and after a bit of team building were given our assignments. My company will be a computer training and IT startup company. I am excited about this challenge.

This evening, we had a quick dinner, and then I worked on the wireless network and fixed 6 or 7 laptops for the team (I hate desktop support!) Well, at least everyone’s computers are done, for now anyway.

I am one of the designated drivers for the team and yesterday I accidentally hit a curb when pulling over. I lost a hubcap and feel bad about this, as they are all new cars. It is quite difficult, getting used to driving on the wrong side. The most difficult thing is judging how far over you are from the left curb while driving from the right seat.

The weather outside is very stormy and cold – much like winter in San Francisco. I will wrap up to stay warm tonight.