It's been quite awhile since I've updated this, mainly because of a busy spring semester.  The blogging is about to pick up again though--I found out in early March that I'll be spending this summer serving a church in South Africa, Durban to be specific.  The church is Pinetown Methodist Church (www.ptnmeth.org.za), and is located just outside the city of Durban.  Durban is a city of roughly 2.3 million people, and is located in the Kwazulu-Natal province along the Indian Ocean coastline.  As many of you know, the HIV/AIDS epidemic in many African nations is reaching tragic proportions and threatens to wipe out an entire generation.  Kwazulu-Natal has the highest rate of infection of all South African provinces, with some 37.5% infected in 2003 (http://www.avert.org/safricastats.htm).  Who knows what my time there will bring?  I plan on getting as much of it as I can on this space, for my own benefit, and for those of you who would like to read as the summer goes along.
   How did I come about this program in SA?  The Divinity School sends four students each summer to serve churches in South Africa, a program facilitated by Dr. Peter Storey (see my blog entry on May 25, 2004).  I was looking for an even greater learning experience, one that would once again take me far outside my comfort zone.  There is a lengthy application and interview process.  13 applied and 4 were accepted;  I am still amazed and humbled that I was picked as one of the four.  And so I'm going, to serve and to learn, as ignorant about what waits for me as I was when I headed to Greenleaf and started this blog a year ago. 
   So tune in.  I'm going to write every step of the way, so you can keep up if you want.
                                                                              For now,
                                                                                      Chris