I've Been Sitting, Watching, Waiting...

So my new computer is en route to Mthatha. Unfortunately, it's been en route for the last two weeks and doesn't show any signs of getting here soon. The delay appears to be South African customs in Jo-burg. I guess there's nothing to do but sit and be patient - not someting I'm good at.

In the meantime, the swirl of events at Itipini continues its increasingly frenetic pace and there have been so many blog-worthy moments in the last several weeks, I'm going to have to write a short dissertation just to include them all when I actually get a computer to type on. But the themes will all be familiar - HIV kills people, children are neglected, no one speaks any English, and somehow we all endure.

I've been fortunate to have a steady stream of visitors to my rondavel these past few weeks, friends old and new who're in South Africa and were itching for a trip to Itipini. (A friendly reminder that the offer is still open to all of you, should any of you ever want to seize on it.) In my free time, I've finally picked up the Harry Potter series and have read through the first six books but have now stalled for want of the seventh. (And what a cliff-hanging place to stop!) It's been nice to escape this world and be engrossed in another for a while.

My thanks for those of you who have been sending me those lengthy, newsy e-mails (no better way to support me than writing one of those!). I haven't responded not because I don't want to but because I just can't afford the Internet time it would take to say all I want to. I will, though, someday.

Maybe that computer will show up someday soon and I'll be able to post something that wasn't dashed off in five rushed minutes in the Internet cafe. Until then, well... this will have to do.

P.S. If you're looking for a thoughtful and beautifully-written reflection on mission, check out this one from my friend Kate in the Dominican Republic. It gave me a lot to think about.