Settling in...

Cool, starry evenings and bright, sunshiny days. Birds chirping. Green rolling hills as far as you can see. South Africa and the YWAM Kruger Park base are absolutely breathtaking.


I still can’t believe I am actually here, yet it feels like I’ve always been here. I don’t know how everything works and have absolutely no idea what to expect – but here I am, so excited about each and every day.

We had time to rest and relax before activities today, Sunday. Resting here is so different from resting in America – no cell phones, TV, extremely limited internet and lots of quiet, sitting and walking. I spent some time this weekend writing out the story of vision, support, struggles and love as I prepared to come to South Africa. It was so good to reflect and remember on the ways my Home has blessed me and been in every detail.

It’s easy to feel uncomfortable and start to wonder where your place is in the midst of transition or when starting something new. Traveling across the world and waiting on something you don’t know much about with people you don’t know anything about definitely fits into that category! What seemed to be so clearly directed in the states with all of you standing behind me to cheer me on suddenly didn’t seem as clear here anymore. And being jet-lagged didn’t help much either.

Taking time to remember each step that God ordained so perfectly has encouraged me, filled me up and reminded me of the ways He works – mysteriously, powerfully, beautifully and in perfect timing. I celebrated the miracles, gifts and love again while sitting on a HUGE rock with an incredible view. Thank you again!

Another thing that helped was remembering that right now, I believe God has me in the role of a mobilizer- being a voice to you at home for the Kingdom of God in international missions. A big part of my passion is to stay connected with you to share this experience with you so that you can learn with me and that our hearts can be transformed together. I felt so much peace when I started praying for y’all. (And I am determined not to give up the word y’all no matter how many people make fun of me! South Africans looked at me today and said, “WHAT did you say?”)

I prayed for Bay Area Community Church – the leaders, the Kingdom heart, the missions prayer group, those who’ve supported me, and the upcoming Africa missions team. I prayed for Mona and V, my family, my Alvin community and my friends. And I felt Home.

I’m excited to share the details and stories with you, and to develop deeper and deeper relationships with my teammates, leaders and community members here as things get started soon. Please pray for us to have open communication. We have to pay for internet by data here and it consumes a great deal of data to load pictures and videos. It’s very important to me to share with you the sights and sounds too, so I will speak to my team leaders to get their input on the wisest way to share. Thank you for praying!

All of my teammates have finally arrived! We went to a brii (BBQ) today to get to know each other and the staff. My DTS (Discipleship Training School) team is comprised of 15 people – 10 girls from Texas, Pennsylvania, Washington, Switzerland, South Africa and Canada, and 5 guys from North Carolina, South Africa and Switzerland. The girls are all in one room with 5 sets of bunk beds, 1 bathroom and not much else. Oh, except for the HUGE frog I just caught under my bed. We are going to get close fast. I can’t wait.
I’ve been very thankful to have time to settle in slowly and adjust to what’s around – we are still all feeling overwhelmed, a little jet-lagged and trying to get to know all 15 people alongside another team of 30 that is staying here for the next 3 weeks. DTS starts early tomorrow morning and we can’t wait!!

I’m definitely still settling in and could use your prayers as I adjust to fully embrace each moment and each student in DTS for their gifts and the ways God works through them. Also, I am the first in our room to get the real Africa initiation and was up all night throwing up with no sleep whatsoever. I was able to eat dinner tonight and, as bedtime approaches, am feeling very sick again. My bunkmate, Elisabet from Switzerland, is a nurse and she’s been constantly filtering and testing the drinking water for bacteria. After 10 tries, she gives up and we pray. Our stomachs have a lot of adjusting to do. Hopefully quickly! Please pray for mine and my roommates’ health as we adjust to new food, new water and a new environment.

Tomorrow it’s official! Can’t wait to tell you more! Thank you for your prayers!

If you would like to send mail (and of course you would), my address is:

Kacy Chaffin
P.O. Box 4450
White River, Mpumulanga
South Africa 1240

Check out the beatiful view! Can't wait for you to get here BACC!

A hot afternoon walk with teammates, Mongo (S AFrica), Michael (N Carolina) and Brittany (TX)

Verrrrry windy ride to the brii with Pinkie (S Africa)