"Does God laugh in Chapel?" "Of course He does!"

Due to ongoing blogger issues, photos will not be presented in the convenient stye of in-and-beside the text

Welcome to Mariya uMama weThemba Monastery!!!

The 30-hour travel went incredibly well. I arrived at Port Elizabeth airport, where Brother Robert and Stephen picked me for the final leg of the journey. 1 hour, 45 minutes later, we pulled into the Monastery campus. And let me tell you, this place is peaceful.

Below are pictures from our back porch.

The guest houses, monastery, chapel, and school are located on the slope of a hill, resulting in a variety of scenery.

School is off until Monday, so the days are free for exploring and moving in.

2 days in, here are my first impressions:

-Again, this place is peaceful. In addition to a beautiful environment, everybody here feels calm.

-The monks are wonderful people. They have a spirit of humor, of warmth, and of sincerity. Each one has already reached out and made me feel at home

-Because the guest houses are open to anyone, there is a revolving door of people at the monastery. This has already yielded great conversations with people, including talks about life as priests and monks, and pondering God’s sense of humor

-Lots of ways to get involved. Between the monastery and the city, there are a plethora of opportunities for further engaging in the community. Recreation, service, you name it.

-This year will be a delight

There are no weekend plans other than catch up on sleep and keep settling in. Lots to explore and do, but oh such peace to it all.

Oh, did I mention this is in South Africa?!