Saturday, July 20, 2013

Placement!

Hello wonderful family and friends!

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately. I have been working at the wonderful and beautiful camp called Good Earth Village in Spring Valley, Minnesota this summer and I have not had a ton of time to blog.

A couple of weeks ago, I received an email with my placement for YAGM!! I cannot explain the excitement I was feeling when I opened that attachment. After calming myself down, I read the letter that told me I would be living and working in Soweto, South Africa! Soweto is a large city located just outside of Johannesburg (see the map below). While there, I will be working for the Diakonia AIDS Ministry (DAM). This organization is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (ELCSA) and ministers to people affected and/or infected by HIV/AIDS. I found this website that does a good job of providing an overview of DAM and the services offered there: http://www.charitysa.co.za/diakonia-aids-ministry.html. While I do not know what exactly I will be doing with DAM, I have accepted the fact that I will not know everything in advance, and I must instead discover many new things once I arrive.

I am so excited to begin this journey of living, working, and involving myself in the community of Soweto and DAM! Thank you to everyone who has been by my side throughout this journey so far.

If you would like to stay up-to-date while I am in Soweto, here are a couple of ways to stay in contact:

     -My email address is emilycdahle@gmail.com. Please don't be afraid to shoot me an email - I would love to stay in touch!

     -Obviously continue following my blog! I will update this as often as possible!

     -My mailing address while in Soweto will be: Emily Dahle, c/o Diakonia AIDS Ministry, Box 1210, Roodeport, 1725, South Africa. Feel free to send me letters, postcards, etc. I love being pen pals!

Finally, here are a couple of maps to show you all where both South Africa and Soweto are located:

Much love,

Emily :)