Brandon & Julianna Jones

Good news, everyone; we received our visas in the mail today! The South African government has allowed us to come to South Africa (with multiple re-entries!) for the next three years. That was the final logistical detail to us getting to Cape Town, and I tell you what, we are so glad to have visas in hand. We're only one week (seven days!) out from our BIG MOVE! Brandon and I feel ready to go. We've been in this limbo time for a bit too long. It'll feel really great starting out in Cape Town in eight days. There's just a few more things to do here in Norman before we leave. If anyone has any great tips on strategic compression packing, please share! Also, anyone had any luck getting out of an AT&T contract early without paying the penalty fee? We spent the past several days in San Antonio saying goodbye to my family. Now we're back in Norman, but getting iced in as we speak. We're sincerely hoping that our final week in Norman isn't spent inside the LeBeaus' house (where we're staying) eating chili (although Brandon's chili is excellent). In other news, I saw the movie Invictus this week with my parents. I highly recommend it! It was an interesting historical piece set in Nelson Mandela's first year as president of the newly integrated South Africa in 1994-1995. Plus, I saw one of the restaurants we ate at in Cape Town in it. If you wanna know more about what things are like in South Africa, I think it gives a pretty accurate portrayal.

Despite more than a dozen international conventions banning slavery in the past 150 years, there are more slaves today than at any point in human history. Slaves are those forced to perform services for no pay beyond subsistence and for the profit of others who hold them through fraud and violence. While most are held in debt bondage in the poorest regions of South Asia, some are trafficked in the midst of thriving development. Such is the case here in Africa's wealthiest country, the host of this year's World Cup. While South Africa invests billions to prepare its infrastructure for the half-million visitors expected to attend, tens of thousands of children have become ensnared in sexual slavery, and those who profit from their abuse are also preparing for the tournament. During a three-week investigation into human-trafficking syndicates operating near two stadiums, I found a lucrative trade in child sex. The children, sold for as little as $45, can earn more than $600 per night for their captors. "I'm really looking forward to doing more business during the World Cup," said a trafficker. We were speaking at his base overlooking Port Elizabeth's new Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. Already, he had done brisk business among the stadium's construction workers.

Read the whole article. It's heart-breaking but worth it. We are all fools who choose not to see the brokenness in the world. And we are utterly heartless should we decide to do nothing.

Two summers ago whilst in Cape Town, the team I was with helped staff a seminar focused on human trafficking. A local South African group was seeking to raise awareness because they were already beginning to anticipate and see the trafficking problems that the World Cup would bring. This past summer while there, it was mentioned to me that at least one child a week goes missing.

I don't know what exactly we'll be able to do whilst there but I know both my wife and I hope and pray that we'll be able to do something. At the very least we know and accept the call Micah 6:8 lays before us: to love justice and mercy and to walk humbly before our God...

Brandon and I have been back in Norman for less than a week, and things are both more peaceful and busier than I expected. Work. I quit my job before Christmas, so thus have been a woman of leisure the past several days while Brandon slaves away for his last bit of time as an employee of the University of Oklahoma. His last day will be Friday. I kind of wondered what I'd do all day while Brandon was at work, but have quickly learned to fill my time with productive, organizational bits as well as a plethora of social engagements. Friends. Brandon and I are trying to fill our last few weeks in the States with as much time with the people we love here as possible. I've managed that a bit better than Brandon so far, as I've been able to hang out with dear friends on winter break during the day while he's been at work. Our calendar is filling up rapidly, however. We would love to hang out with YOU (yes, you, gentle reader) before we leave. Give us a call or drop us an e-mail and we'll set something up. Community raising. Brandon and I have felt so supported and provided for on our journey towards moving to Cape Town. That's continuing this month. Our father has provided for all our needs financially so far. We're still far behind our goal of monthly pledges for after the church-planting training ends this summer, but feel very confident God will provide for those needs in his perfect timing. I've realized that we really put off community raising here in Norman until the last minute. (Probably because we already felt very supported by our community here at Norm Com.) Most people know of our plans in general, but we're trying to get together with many people that we haven't actually met with to share the details of our plans. If that's you, again, let us know and we'd love to share with you and answer any questions you may have. Getting ready. I am very thankful that we sold and gave away our stuff and moved out of our apartment last month. It would be a huge headache to try to do that now. However, there's still a lot of things to be done in preparation of our move to another country. Not least of which is the visa. Brandon and I's goal is to send all our paperwork for the visa in the mail tomorrow to hopefully hear back within a week from the consulate. I'll keep you posted how that goes.

As of today, Brandon and I have one month until we leave for Cape Town (whoo hoo!). We would appreciate all your prayers as we begin to tackle our enormous to-do-before-we-leave list, as well as say goodbye to friends and family that we love. Brandon, who thrives on change, is doing much better than I, but we definitely need the Lord's grace to live this strange phase of our life well. Also, if anyone in Norman wants to hang out, please let me know. I want to get all the time with people here in the states that I can! Brandon and I head back to Oklahoma from D.C. tomorrow.