Reed Mueller

Well, I just have a precious few moments to post today as we’re just about ready to board our Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt…so I apologize in advance that I won’t be very eloquent or thoughtful in this post.

I guess the first thing I want to say is that we are so thankful for all of your prayers and for your participation with us in this dream we’re calling Side by Side. It is a truly remarkable thing we’ve all been invited into…and I am grateful that God has seen fit to allow us to enter into his dream, his story, together.

In fact, I was talking with Jackson about God’s story and how we’re all part of it this morning. There will be more on that in the May newsletter as well as in my sermon upon my return. Aren’t you so glad that I’ve already started thinking about what I’m going to be preaching upon my return.

But there is a lot of traveling between today and when we arrive back home. As of this moment, I’m thinking my next shower will be between 48 and 58 hours from now, depending upon our connection from Frankfurt to Johannesburg and how we quickly we can settle in to our new surroundings after a long bus ride to our first destination.

If that didn’t scare you off you’ll probably be interested to know why the long delay in my basic personal hygiene practices. Well, we have 21 hours of flying time between PDX and Frankfurt and then Frankfurt to Johannesburg. Add to that our 12-hour layover in Frankfurt and you’re up over the 30-hour mark. Then add a five hour bus ride to our first desination which will have no showers and you get the picture. It should be quite an adventure…one that I promise to post pictures of as soon as I have something that might be of visual interest.

On that note, the first pictures to come up should be from Frankfurt if I can find an internet cafe from which to post them. I’ll be on the lookout for leiderhosen…as well as anything really beautiful about this city I don’t know too much about. That post, if it happens, will be the last one until sometime Monday when we get to our first hotel. Should be a lot of fun!

Now, of course, you’re wondering why we’re not getting to a hotel for several days after we land in Johannesburg…the answer would be that we are spending two nights in Kruger National Park, something that Erin has always wanted to do. Should be quite an experience if the indigenous animals cooperate. I’ve even borrowed a GPS device that will allow me to tag all of my digital photos with the exact spot on the globe I took that picture of a lion, or elephant, or something else. Doing this before we ‘officially’ begin our work with World Vision seemed like an easy call given that we’ve already paid for the flight over coupled with the probability that we’ll be wrecked by what we learn about the real state of things in Swaziland just a few days later.

Anyway, when we do get back to Johannesburg we’ll have several days learning about the World Vision sustainable development programs as well as the state of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. From there, we’ll bus more than a few hours to Swaziland and begin to understand the needs there, as well as our (that is all of us in the Side by Side journey) role in it all.

Well, I should be signing off. In case you’re interested, I’ve put together a Google Earth tour of all of our detinations. Just something fun that I’m hoping will help you all feel you’re with us wherever we go! If you have Google Earth installed, just download this file then double click and you’ll be able to begin the journey. If you don’t have Google Earth yet, it’s free and can be downloaded at here.

We are so thankful for all of you and your love and your prayers. Squeeze our kids for us! And remember the God who calls us into his story; what a gift we have been given in this!

In His story with you!
Reed and Erin