Spending two weeks there together for the second time in our lives opened many new experiences.
Spiritually-
Tutoring preschoolers and 4th graders (mostly) in English. Wow, what an experience. Loving these kids who absolutely love to learn. Watching mama Jessica use her God given gifts was beautiful. 4th graders volunteering to spend 2 hours daily learning, praying, and loving- wow! I’m constantly reminded of the enormous human capital in the world. Souls that yearn for life and learning. Thankful to be included in their journey.
"Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it."
Proverbs 22:6
I'm thinking of a word that starts with the letter game, super fun
Super fun reading the same book in English for the class
Telling the class about the book you took home last night
The game Boggle is a great way to teach English
Abulelwa was answering questions in English, he wants to be a Mechanical Engineer
Graduations! Tshepo and Mlondi both graduated during this trip with degrees. What a gift to be here for this special event which required perseverance and commitment. From getting their gowns to celebrating at the church with a South African Braai. Amazing to be included.
"Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth"
Psalm 127:3-4
Getting fitted for graduation gowns in Durban
Mlondi, Pastor Thwala, and Tshepo after getting their gowns,
see the Indian Ocean in the background?
A traditional South African Braai at the church to celebrate
Three cakes!
Family and friends celebrate together
Mlondi sharing his faith journey
Visiting families and delivering monthly food support- such an amazing gift to catch up with a number of families. Joy in seeing people thrive and sadness in seeing people struggle. Deliveries, stories, time to talk with pastor, and prayers.
“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
Galatians 6:2
Mr Buthelezi's son has grown up, he's taller than I am
Gogo Zulu is doing well, her laugh is contagious
Participating in field day at one of our primary schools- Lalelani. Love these kids! So thankful to be a part of their lives. We had a chance to speak with the teachers, and they have some huge challenges. This school has 1,040 kids. The smallest class is grade R (kindergarten) with 40 kids, the largest is grade 4 with 74 kids. When asked what they need most, the answer was classroom space. The request has been made of the local government but the response is slow.
"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these"
Mark 10:13-16
Not an American school bus
Friends- Linda, Daisy, and her mom Di visited to love on the kids during tutoring. Di told Jessica she had a dream that she was reading to kids, but when she woke, she didn’t know where to find kids. Enter Jessica, tutoring, and Di’s amazing joy…. When I told Di I was turning 60, she said “oh to be so young again.” As I get older I want to be like Di, filled with love, patience, faithfulness, self-control, goodness, peace, kindness, gentleness, and joy. So thankful for examples to follow in my life.
Look at Di's smile, beautiful
Linda spreading love to a former friend, Elihle
Jessica, Di, Daisy, & Linda catching up in front of our mini classroom
Personally-
Friends- Kim, Brian, and their daughters Jordan and Cana have been great friends and guides as we navigate spending more time in South Africa. I love Daisy the donkey, brushed her and fed her an apple…. Absolutely love spending time with them.
Experiencing South Africa- Jessica took me to the Drakensberg Mountains for two nights. A four-hour drive and guidance from Kim on where to go (Jessica isn't so thrilled with 4 hours of South African roads- trucks going super slow, cattle, huge tire/suspension ending potholes, and the most amazing scenery you've ever seen). Jessica was right, the throwback Toyota Starlet rental car is amazing- even when the vervet monkeys trash it with paw prints- looked like they were trying to open the door.
Kim going through the Drakensberg itinerary recommendations, she was spot on. This is the spectacular view from their coffee shop, you can scooter down into the valley. Kim and Brian hosted the local Kearsney college boys in an iron chef competition in their bush camp at the bottom of the valley this past week, super fun.
Experiencing South Africa- Jessica took me to the Drakensberg Mountains for two nights. A four-hour drive and guidance from Kim on where to go (Jessica isn't so thrilled with 4 hours of South African roads- trucks going super slow, cattle, huge tire/suspension ending potholes, and the most amazing scenery you've ever seen). Jessica was right, the throwback Toyota Starlet rental car is amazing- even when the vervet monkeys trash it with paw prints- looked like they were trying to open the door.
South Africa is absolutely beautiful. We haven’t done any real tourist stuff the 16 years we’ve been coming, God willing as we are blessed with spending more time here, I see doing this more in our future.
Royal Natal National Park hiking, the trails were extremely well cared for.
A Kim recommended restaurant that is on a farm near the mountains.
The entrance to our hotel, like being in Montana
A 70 series Land Cruiser, the backbone of Africa
Hiking to see 2,000 year old petroglyphs of the San people LINK
Beautiful creation.
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”
Psalm 19:1
This is actually a full moon, it was spectacular
Special birthday songs from the crèche (preschool) kids. Pastor Thwala and the preschool teachers arranged this special greeting on my 60th birthday. Along with super special letters from all of my kids, time with Jessica in our heart place, this was super special. In 2010 these little ones are part of how Jesus wrecked our hearts for this place, beyond thankful for this journey.
