Pictures from South Africa...

So, here are my first pics:
This is kathryn, heidi and me on the plane. we stopped in Dakar but didn't get out of the plane. The flight crew comes thru and sprays this stuff, and it's gross.

Woah! check out all that luggage!

This was our last leg of our trip. It started with an 17 hour (DIRECT) flight. We spent the night in a guest house in J0hannesburg. Got on a 4 hours bus ride to Whiteriver. Then, finally, Jeremy and Jen picked us up and we drove 15 minutes to our house. Whew....

This is the view from Heidi and Kathryn's room. It's quite lovely! The weather has been pretty nice too. February is the last month of summer here. So, I'm hoping that it will only get cooler from now on. :-) But you know me; I don't care for hot weather...

how to know that you're not in the states anymore...

...when you see a sign indicating that hippos may be crossing the road. apparently they migrate from pond to pond at night. who knew?

here...

We're here. In South Africa! We made it safe and sound. And when i say 'we', i mean me and the Hodge family. We stayed last night in a cute little guest house near the airport. After lunch we will take a 4 hour bus to White River where our friends will pick us up. It was cloudy when we got in yesterday but it's a beautiful day today! That's it for now; more to come...

rainy days and… monday

It has been pouring for most of the day. And I’ve been out in it. I ran a few errands and a saw a movie with a friend. I’ve changed my pants twice today because they keep dragging in the rain. Oh well. What can I do? I already packed my galoshes. Actually, I’ve packed most everything. It’s hard though. Somebody is moving into my room after me, but I’m still here till Monday. So, I can’t pack all of my winter clothes yet. And I’m still using my bed. Anyhoo, I have to finish soon; did I mention I was leaving on Monday?!?

I’ve got a golden ticket.....

Well, I’m going to South Africa! I bought my ticket last night. :-) I’m actually leaving on the 4th of February, instead of the end of January. My friends, the Hodge family, were going to be leaving on the 4th from NYC, and I was able to get a ticket on the same flight. Sweet! Even though it’s a 17 hour flight, I get to spend it with my friends! I wouldn’t have been able to do this without the support of all my amazing friends and family. I was just so blessed by the money that came in to pay for my ticket. Thank you to everyone that helped! I have to go, they are throwing a ‘going-away’ party for me…

i break for art...

So, ever since i've been home from my Christmas break, i've been working toward my trip to South Africa. Or doing things for our YWAM base. I've been packing. I've been organizing. I've been going to the bank and post office. But i haven't been taking time to paint; to be creative; to use the OTHER side of my brain. So, after a decent day of packing on Wednesday, I decided to take a break and paint on Thursday. :-)

nothing fancy. I was just really wanting to use these colors. I'll probably paint over it someday... oh well. :-)

Resent South Africa Update....

Hello everyone, I just wanted to keep you up to date with my up-coming trip to South Africa. I was in Texas for the holidays and I had a chance to speak at New Hope and New Rivers. From the feedback that I’ve heard, it seems that both went well. J At New Hope, I was also able to display some of my artwork and sell it to help fund my trip. I sold 6 paintings and raised $800! I still have some left, if you want to take a look, please check out my blog: www.kellyjoramsey.blogspot.com I still need about $1100 for my ticket and art supplies. If you are interested in partnering with me and the work that is happening in South Africa, please take a look below. I have a ticket reserved for January 30th so I can be there by the first of February.
Also, I’m looking for anyone who feels called to helping me monthly. I lost one of my biggest monthly supporters right before Christmas. She lost her job, so you can understand why she had to stop. I will have to pay about $300 for rent while I’m there, plus food and gas(for getting around). If you are interested in helping my monthly, please see below. On the plus side, somebody will be renting my room out in New Haven, so I don’t have to pay for that while I’m gone. You can also pray that my car will sell. I felt like God is asking me to give it up, so it’s on Craig’s List. Of course, if it does, the money will go towards my trip!
Thank you all for the prayer and financial support that you have all shown me through these past few years. I know that this trip is the next step that God has for me, and it makes it so much easier knowing that I have the support of my family and friends. I won’t be able to mail any updates while I’m there but I will be updating my blog and I will have email access. Please email me if you want to be on my email list. Otherwise just check my blog, I hope to update it once a week. J Thanks again for all your help!

*kellyjo

To contact me:
203-887-8375 cell
andimvanessa@hotmail.com