a south african request....

today i got my first email from my younger sister since she traveled to south africa last week. she flew from portland, oregon down to johannesburg where she stayed the night.  the next day she caught a bus to the town where she is working called tzaneen.  she is working as a christian missionary through an outreach group known as Alon International, and she is working at an orphanage located on a farm.

she has had a roller coaster ride the first week.... in a new country where she does not know anyone, no communication out from the farm, homesickness, hard work!!!! but she has made some new friends from all over the world, and gets to care for some of the youngest orphans there.  she says their stories from before the farm are absolutely heart-breaking, and i can only imagine.  she said one child was literally found in a pile of garbage in town, but is the happiest child!!  she loves showing the kids card tricks, which they have never seen before! i'm going to be sending her a book of card tricks (which, by the way, i had no idea she could do....) so she can keep wowing them with her slight of hand!

her main concern is lack of communication.  she can get into town about once a week to make phone calls or use the internet at a local cafe, but that's tough to not talk to anyone back home (or anyone there!) when you are so used to the ease of communication like we are here in america.  in her email she asked if caleb and i could find her a cell phone to use down there.  someone is going to get an africa SIM card for her, but her current phone that she was using here in the states does not have a SIM card slot.  she wants to be able to make phone calls, text, and have internet capabilities.  all of that she will be able to do once she has a phone.  we aren't providing her with a plan, she is accommodating that on her own, she just needs the actual phone itself.

so, my question to you friends.... does anyone have a phone they have recently upgraded from that can handle texting and internet (what phones don't nowadays?!) and has a SIM card slot (without the SIM card of course.... no use for an american one!)?  she said that the Nokia and Sony Erickson are the most popular among the staff.  if you would be interested in donating it, let me know in the next few days and i'll pay you for shipping via paypal to MY american address and i'll forward it on to her in s. africa.  please send me an email at taprilcrosier @ gmail dot com if you are interested!!

also, if you would like to stay up to date on her travels, or support her in any way, follow her missionary blog here!  she will be heading to London next summer/fall to work with YWAM (youth with a mission) and travel to another (currently undecided) country with them!