{Kruger Photos}

Courtesy of my incredible siblings... Includes the Cape Buffalo from my last post.

Been there. Done that... Or Have I??

Top of the morning to ya!!

So, people have been asking us here: Have you been to the Kruger Park yet??? 

My prideful self has been thinking: I lived here before and went twice. Who needs to go again???

Well, today we went and took Dad for the first time. I was excited because there's FINALLY something in this world that I had experienced that Dad hadn't. ;-) Other than that, I was thinking, "Bah! Been there. Done that!! This is for Dad."

If you have ever been to a game park, you know already how many HOURS you have to drive around, observe, chat, and think. Today... I did a lot of thinking.

You gotta love the splendour of God's creation. Let me just tell you. Before we passed the Paul Kruger Gate's threshold, we saw about 5 elephants. I've seen them before. But they are just as exciting EVERY time.

Then I got to thinking, "These are animals that are not regulated. You are not guaranteed to see THE BIG FIVE every time you enter the park. This is no zoo."

Did you know??? The term "Big Five" was coined by hunters for the lion, elephant, leopard, buffalo, and rhino because they are considered the most difficult to hunt on foot and they are amongst the most dangerous animals??

As a child, I only liked one time I went to the zoo. That was the Pittsburgh Zoo and we went with some orphans from Juarez. My new friend, Karla, and I came up with a game where I learned the spanish word for every animal we passed. Unfortunately, I have forgotten the words. :-/

 Other than that one time, I quickly became bored with the zoos for multiple reasons. I never knew I'd have the chance to go to Africa. It wasn't for snobbery. I just didn't feel right going. Why??

1.) They are predictable. You are sure to see ALL of the animals you want to because they will still be lying in their cage.

2.) The animals are not kept in their natural habitat.

3.) The animals are much smaller in the zoos than in their natural habitats due to health (or bad health).

4.) The animals are fatter than their wild counterparts. 

Etc.! Etc.! Etc.!

Today we were stopped in traffic (At a game park??? Who'd a thunk it??!), stopped in a herd of HUNDREDS of Cape Buffalos crossing the road, stopped because an elephant just decided he wanted to stand guard in the centre of the road, ate lunch looking out at LOADS of sleeping hippos and crocs, watched big sis baboon babysitting numerous little ones, saw baby giraffes eating together, and were awed by the incredibly massive size of the Kudu!!! The list goes on... But my favourite was the wreaking giraffe carcass surrounded by Ground Horn Bills.

Graham: "I have never smelled a carcass that big."

Before we even saw this one, we could smell something AWFUL. A few cars were stopped and people were snapping photos. Disgusting! ... But incredible too. 

I love Kruger! The scene constantly changes. You can go one day and see absolutely NOTHING... (Well, you might see a rhino, a few giraffes, zebras and gazelles... and more zebras and gazelles... and even more zebras and gazelles.) 

Other days you can go and see lions, hyenas, and if you get there at the precise/exact/perfect/on time moment... A leopard or a cheetah. Neither of which I have seen yet. 

With this perspective in mind, I had loads of fun. As I marveled at His creation, I found myself praying to God; thanking Him for animals in their natural habitats that we feel honoured to observe and wonder at. I had a lovely day... And I look forward to going again!

"Well... That's all I have to say about that!"

Random Photo: Mo and I saw this grocery shopping at Spar.... Notice the "Best Buy" tag. TIA, folks. TIA.

What Happens When I Miss Out...

So... I just thought I'd share this in memory of my dear friends in Tyler, Texas... I missed out on Winterfest at Pine Cove because I had to work. But who needs to go when your sister and friends make a video so that you feel at home... Er, I was at home. 

Just thought I'd add something fun to this blog. :-)

"Well... That's all I have to say about that."

MusaweNkosi: Part 2

Part two consists more of our "play time" with the children. 

These three LOVE to pose for cameras. They were cracking Mo and me up because each wanted the centre, so we were mostly getting photos of their shirts because they were too close. But after a while, we got them to cooperate.

We joked and called her "Sheh-beh-meh". She is SUPER animated and spunky. She only speaks Zulu and at one point she heard me asking the girls a couple of times: Is she being mean? (I forget why I was asking this, exactly.) She started repeating what she heard: "A sheh-beh-meh??"

Posing in Craig's specs.

The girls were extremely fascinated with Daniel's hair. It was so funny to watch! I think he enjoyed the free head massage. ;-)

This was our last day; so we took a photo with the children and Dutch team.

This particular house mother grew very dear to my heart. She forced us to really learn simple conversational (greetings) Zulu. She had a tremendous smile and laugh. She reached out to us every day that we came. I love her so much!

The partners in crime.

This is what happens when the boys get a hold of your camera! Daniel actually got some really good photos on his camera. Although I was in charge of his camera, some of the kids would get it from me and take as many shots as they could before I could get it back. Ha!

The little boys dog-piling Lydia.

It blessed my heart seeing my brothers playing with the younger boys. So many older boys and young men invested in my brothers when they were little. Now to see them doing the same, I know, is so glorifying to God and such a witness to me! God is good.

Each day when we laughed, those of who were riding in the bed of the bakki would throw the soccer ball back and forth with the kids as we drove out the gate. Some of the little boys would sprint alongside the car for about 100m too. Good times.

Here is one of the finished products. We taught them to make simple tunics just so they could get an idea of following a pattern. 

We praise God for this opportunity. It went all too fast but we definitely were taught a lot and I know this impacted each of our lives greatly. The Charltons are INCREDIBLE hosts and each day was filled with hearty laughs and deep discussions. I pray that their ministry will be blessed as they continue to glorify God with it. 

"Well... That's all I have to say about that."

MusaweNkosi: Part 1

Top of the morning to ya!

A little over a month ago, Craig, Graham, Mo and I had the privilege of going to Empangeni for two weeks. We were also honoured with the companionship of our new partner-in-crime, Daniel Oliphant, who flew over from Texas to join. I selected 55 photos from our stay that really capture our time there. We learned SO MUCH and we praise God for that opportunity.

 We stayed with an incredible British family - Dr. and Mrs. Charlton. Together, they started an orphanage, MusaweNkosi, which means "God's grace". There, they have 29 children in their care and an incredible staff of house mothers who look after the children every day. 

One of my favorite days was grocery shopping for Musa, which unfortunately I could not find photos of. (I think we were too busy shopping to really snap photos.) Imagine the looks we got when just ONE of our five buggies was filled with 100 loaves of bread!! 

Anyways... Here is part one.

Some of the girls... I believe this was when I was trying to convince them to start dancing again for me. Every now and then, you'd hear music playing and see the girls dancing. They were pretending to be shy when I came to watch. ;-)

Craig, Daniel, and Graham would play soccer every afternoon with these guys when they came home from school.

Lydia is the incredible niece of the Charltons. She spent the last year interning as a nurse in South Africa and her last bit of time serving here at Musa. The kids LOVE her... But after getting to know her, who wouldn't???

Gavin and Elaine were so kind as to take us on a safari about an hour's drive from Empangeni. Daniel had never been; so we were especially excited to take him. Sadly... He never got to see any cats or Elephants (which is REALLY odd). We spent an entire day driving around...

Since we weren't seeing any cats, Gavin proposed that we stop for a picnic lunch... We were sure that would attract some!  Ha ha! ... The whole time, Gavin explained the escape plan if we saw a lion: everyone run BEHIND him or else he would trip us. ;-) 

Spectacular view at the hippo crossing.

The man-bakki.

Twice a week, Mo and I went out to another site with Zelda to a church where she launched a sewing project. These ladies, who were all in their 50s and 60s, could do INCREDIBLE bead work... but none of them were familiar with sewing. It was such a blessing working with these ladies. They had such a great sense of humour and a love for learning.

When we weren't at the other site, Mo and I joined the boys back at Musa where they were painting the buildings for the children.

Lunch time!

It was incredibly awesome when the Dutch team arrived to help paint the exteriors! The job got done so well and so quickly. We came up with a system and worked and laughed together. I love how God works in the hearts of His people all over the world and brings us together like this. Just think... We are all part of the SAME body serving the SAME God and were unaware that God was directing our two teams to the SAME place!!

"Well... That's all I have to say about that."