BSF leaders and new Class Staff

This was a week filled with much excitement and sadness.  It was with great pleasure that I introduced the new class staff (TL, STL, CS and CA) to our class this week.  They will be taking over leadership of this class…and the TL is a South African, the first time a local has been the teacher of the class.  I am thrilled that the Lord has raised up the needed leadership so this class could continue.  His plans are perfect!

But it was also a time of sadness for me as some of the goodbyes have started.  I took a picture of the whole leadership group and posted it here as well.  We are indeed a Rainbow Nation, as South Africa is so aptly named.  There are South Africans (from different descents – Zulu, British, Afrikaans and German), Kenyans, Zimbos (from Zimbabwe), Zambians, Gambians, Indians…oh yeah, and Americans.  In some ways it has given me a picture of heaven…all nations, races, generations & denominations living, serving & praising our Lord together.  What a great experience it has been for me to be here and to have the privilege to get to know these women.  Many friendships were developed along the way…and I hope to come back some day to renew those ties!

Makalali Game Park

After Cape Town, I was home for 2 days and then Theresa and I drove up north to Makalali, a game park near Kruger National Park.  It was like being in the Lion Park only 10x better.  We stayed in a hut out in the bush that had the basics (running water, electricity) but had the feel of a rustic cabin.  It had a thatched roof and an outside shower that gave you a good view of the bush while showering (but a little breezy if I do say so!)  We looked out over a river and bush country.  The first day we arrived, there were hippo footprints leading up to our hut that had been left the night before.  Theresa stuck her foot in the print…apparently, the hippo is a size 7, both length and width!!!!  Anytime we went out at night, we had to be escorted because there was nothing separating us from the wild animals…we were all in the bush together.  And most of the cats do their hunting at night.  YIKES!!!!  Did I ever mention I was a girl from the suburbs????

I did 4 game drives while we were there…1 was rainy and cold, 2 were cold and overcast and 1 was a beautiful day with blue skies.  2 were in the morning (we left about 6:30am and got back around 9 or 9:30) and 2 were at night (from 4-7pm)…these were the coldest…especially after the sun went down!  I actually brought out the long-underwear for 2 of the drives.  We were in a Hummer with an open top (did you catch that…that means there’s nothing separating us from wild animals).  They told us to stay in the vehicles b/c the animals didn’t see the vehicles as “prey”.  But if we stood up or got out, then we might become dinner.  We were able to see many animals up close – 20’ from elephants as they were eating and moving thru the bush (see the pic I uploaded – and don’t you dare ask which one is the elephant!), 30’ from rhinos (momma and baby), saw hippos in the water (several adults and a baby but we weren’t able to get too close), and a couple of crocs whose heads were bobbing up in the water as they stalked an impala.  We had 3 young hyenas that came up to the car b/c they were so curious (it made me a little nervous – I got a good video of it though) and then ran off, frolicking together.  On one of the night drives, we were able to see a lioness walking down the road and laying down for a rest (apparently, lions sleep a lot and do their hunting mostly at night).  We got to see a lot of bok (I caught a video of impala crossing the road after we had passed), wildebeest, warthog, giraffe (2 babies and a few adults), kudu, jackals, and zebra. 

Being on a game drive is different than going to the zoo or the lion park in that, these animals are in their natural environment and the bush there is very thick with underbrush and trees (not sure if it was the Highveld or Lowveld) but we could only see about 10’ off the road.  The rains had caused the bush to be very dense.  So we drove around on dirt roads (think off-roading in a 4 wheel drive vehicle…and if you’re in the back it’s similar to a roller coaster ride…but without seatbelts!), peering to either side hoping to spot something.  Some of the drives weren’t very successful (saw only a few animals in the 3 hrs we were out driving) and some were very exciting as we saw animals about every 10-15 mins.  It’s kinda like a treasure hunt….a lot of nothing and then high excitement when you spot something and you follow the animal as much as you can until they disappear into the bush (where the roads don’t go).  By the end of the trip, I wasn’t getting as excited about seeing bok, wildebeest, zebra and elephants as we saw them a lot.  But the highlight of the trip was the last game drive when we saw a lion and lioness and followed them around for about 30 mins.  They probably were only 30’ away from us…I was very glad they weren’t hungry!!!

It was an enjoyable break and I really enjoyed seeing different parts of the country, all different from Joburg.  In many ways, South Africa reminds me of America…with mountains, seashore, lots of farmland and ranches.  It’s very beautiful..much more so out of Joburg. 

I might only be able to update once or twice more before I leave.  I depart South Africa on May 19 and will meet up with my brother for a few days in Kenya on my way back to the States.  We’ll probably go to a game park at Maasai Mara and I’m hoping to meet up with some FRAs I met at TL Orientation in the fall.  I should be on American soil on May 25.  Looking forward to coming home to all that is familiar…but also sad to leave my friends here.  It was a unique experience that I’ve enjoyed immensely.

Lion Park, Cape Town and yes, I'm still alive

Sorry for the lack of updates recently….I’ve been busy working and playing.  And my playing was in places that had no internet connection.  So I had to wait until I returned to update on all the fun I’ve been having.  It seems I have more than a month to catch you up on.

Back in early April, I got the chance to go to a lion park, which is basically a lion sanctuary as well as a mini-game park.  They have the lion prides separated from each other and from herbivores.  So we first drove thru the section with the herbivores and saw a lot of animals up-close Zebra, bok (Gemsbok, Blesbok…all in the antelope family), wildebeest (another of the antelope family), giraffe, ostrich, and meerkat.  They recommend you stay in your cars, but sometimes we got out to get a better picture.  It was so cool to see these animals standing right next to the car!  Then we moved into the carnivore section.  They had several prides of lions – white lions were the highlight, in addition to cheetahs, hyenas and African wild dogs.  We saw the lions drinking out of a puddle on the side of the road and doing a little bit of mating…although the lioness’ face didn’t look like she was enjoying it!  After touring several of those enclosures (we didn’t dare get out of the car then!), we went to the caged areas where we could pet baby lions and see other juvenile animals that were in the process of being integrated into the herds of existing animals.  I really enjoyed my time at the park…getting up close to these animals…where they were in their natural environment and able to roam freely.  I think maybe I was in a cage (car) and they were free!

We had a 2 week Easter break from BSF (they don’t call it spring break here because…well, it’s the fall).  So the first week, a leader from our class invited me to go down to Cape Town with her.  We rode the cable car up to Table Mtn, hiked around the top, took pics and enjoyed the 360 view of the area. It was a clear day (but windy and cool) and we could see a long ways down the coast.  The next day, we drove along the coastline to Cape Point (the southernmost tip of Africa).  Unfortunately, it was the only day that was windy, really cold and overcast, so we didn’t actually go into the park b/c visibility was about 0.  But we were able to see beautiful scenery along the way (the clouds gather around the mountains..they call it a “tablecloth”).  We did stop at Boulders beach to see the African Penguins – there was a whole colony there.  It was pretty cold and windy so they weren’t up and about too much, but we did see a few go for a swim and I even caught 2 doing a mating dance (or maybe it was 2 males deciding who was king of the sand dune).  It was pretty interesting.

I enjoyed seeing the Indian and Atlantic Oceans along the way and all the little beach towns that we passed.  Because you have two oceans here, they have labeled one side the “cold side” (that’s the Atlantic…maybe with a water temp in the low 60s, at best!) and the “warm side” (the Indian Ocean side with water temps in the low-mid 70s).  You’d think the warm side would be crowded, but it’s not.  The problem with the warm side is the wind is pretty strong over there, so it’s good for things like board surfing, wind surfing, etc. but it’s pretty chilly on the beach.  The Atlantic side is much better if you’re planning on doing mostly sunbathing.  On the way back, we stopped at a beach and spent some time sitting on the boulders, watching the waves crashing in, the lifeguards training on the beach and the surfers riding the waves.  It was quite nice!  The beaches here remind me of California…mountains leading right up to the beach, a lot of rocks (boulders) scattered along the shore.

The next day we went back to Cape Point and it was a beautiful day…with only a little bit of haze.  The wind was pretty strong down there (I understand it’s like that all the time) so I was glad we didn’t try to do it the previous day.  The beauty of the area struck me…I couldn’t stop taking pictures of the beautiful blue water and the white beach…it was so lovely.

The next day was a “free” day as I decided not to go out to Robbin Island (where Nelson Mandela was jailed for 30 yrs).  I was told there wasn’t much to see there so it wasn’t worth the time or money.  So I had a choice…take a tour of the wine farms in Stellenbosch or spend the day on the beach.  Those who know me well know that wasn’t much of a choice.  I spent the day at Camps Beach (Atlantic side).  The day was lovely, warm but not too hot.  When I started to get really warm, I only had to stick my feet in the water for a few seconds (after a half-minute, my feet would ache!) and I was cool (maybe even cold). So there was no chance I was going swimming and I didn’t have a costume with me anyway (cozzie, or as we would say swimsuit).  That night, we walked along the coast at sunset and enjoyed a beautiful sunset over the Atlantic.  The next day we left to come back to Joburg.  Next update will be about the game park.

Victoria Falls

Last weekend I had the opportunity to go to Victoria Falls up in Zimbabwe.  Theresa, the daughter of the B&B owner where I’m staying in Joburg, came with me.  We flew from Joburg Friday morning to Livingston, Zambia.  We had a bus waiting for us that would take us to our hotel in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.  We had to cross the border, get exit visas, pay money, get entrance visas and get our passport stamped.  There were some baboons  at both immigration location – in Zambia, one was eating  papaya  (or poepoe).  In Zim, there were two playing on the edge of the roof of the border checkpoint.  One looked remarkably like my brother…I didn’t know he was in Zim!  :-)  Just kidding bro!  We got to the Kingdom Hotel around 1:30 and were meeting a travel planner at 3pm to plan our time in Vic Falls.  We got that all arranged and then it was time for fun to begin.

At 4pm, we got picked up to go on a sunset  cruise on the Zambezi River (which feeds the falls) and is the border between Zim and Zambia.  When we arrived, there were African singers and dancers that greeted us and performed.  There were maybe 20 people on boat…a pontoon with a roof that protected us from sun and rain.  We traveled down the river (toward the falls) and saw some hippos lounging in the reeds and taking a dip in the fast moving water.  Then we headed up-river and saw an African fish hawk and a long-billed crane.  Unfortunately, because it’s the rainy season, the underbrush is high and the wild animals can find water everywhere, so they aren’t out and about.  So we didn’t end up seeing any wild elephants or crocodiles (I wasn’t so disappointed about the crocs!).  On the cruise, they had finger food and all you could drink.  I was introduced to Mazoe, a orange concentrate that you add water to….kinda like Tang but much, much better.  It was delicious.  I had some every day…but none was as good as what I had on the boat.  On the way back to the hotel, a wild elephant crossed the road ahead of us.  We stopped to let him bass and take pictures.  Fortunately, he wasn’t in a bad mood and our bus wasn’t accosted. 

Saturday, I was picked up at 6:30am to go on an Elephant- back safari.  We went out into the bush and loaded up on 6 elephants…each elephant was ridden by a guide and 2 passengers.  We were given a safety briefing before we started out.  If once we start out into the bush and you see a wild animal, don't jump off the elephant.  If the elephant starts running, don't jump off the elephant.  If you get tired or sore, don't jump off the elephant.  Ok...so you don't want me to jump off the elephant?  I guess they don't like having to clean up human pancakes. :-) Riding an elephant was much like riding a horse, but the body was a little bigger and taller.  Our particular elephant didn’t like loading humans via the ramp, so she knelt down and we climbed up a 3-step stool to hop on the saddle.  We held on tight as Lundi, our elephant got to her feet.  I can tell I’d never be a bull-rider…it was all I could do to hang on & stay in the saddle when she stood up!  The guide told us the elephants are the African all-road vehicles – they call them 4 x 4 x far.  Elephants eat almost constantly – as we walked, they’d wrap their trunk around a branch & rip off the branch or a bunch of leaves.  No wonder they can go far!  They only sleep 4 hours a day or so, the rest of the time is spent eating.  They eat 50-150kg of food a day. No wonder they’re so big!  Elephants are also fast…they can travel up to 40 km/hr for 10 kilometers.  Fortunately, we didn’t need that kind of speed and we took a leisurely pace thru the bush.  I got to feed Lundi pellets that the guide said was like chocolate to her.  He let me feed her and I tried to dump as many into her trunk as possible.  That’s what I’d want, so I figured she’d appreciate it.  I was told that African elephants are different from Asian ones because their trunks have 2 “fingers” at the end…they can pick up small objects with their fingers and their trunk has over 100,000 muscles in it….very strong but also able to do delicate tasks.  As a matter of fact, when one of the tourists was loading onto the elephant, she dropped her camera.  With her trunk, the elephant picked up the camera and handed it to her guide.  I wish I had had my video on for that.  The camera came back kinda muddy from where it fell and with a little bit of elephant saliva, but other than that, it was undamaged.  It was pretty impressive. 

I got back to the hotel around 10am, we quickly changed clothes and headed for the Falls.  We had been warned that we would get wet, so we wanted to wear clothes that would dry quickly.  We got to the Falls and started on the side furthest from Zambia and slowly made our way to the river.  Since it is the rainy season, the amount of water coming over the falls was impressive…I can’t even imagine how many gallons a second are going over…the roar was quite loud.  As we got closer to the middle of the falls, it started to rain…but it was raining up and not down.  The spray from the water crashing over the falls and onto the rocks and water below cause a mist or rain to spew up even higher than the falls.  We didn’t just get wet, we got soaked…like we were in a downpour.  Sometimes the mist was so thick we couldn’t even seen the falls…it was a whiteout.  Even when the mist was “clear”, we still couldn’t view the whole length or depth of the falls…the spray was just too thick.  It was interesting that the park didn’t have any place where you could sit and observe the falls.  They had only a few benches in the park and all were set back from the falls with no view whatsoever.  So we only spent about 1 ½ hours there.  By then we were so wet and our cameras were also getting damp, so we decided we had enough.

We changed into dry clothes and at 2:30, Theresa had an appointment to ride a zip line across the Zambezi (below the falls).  I went along to take pictures and capture the video, screams were included.  :-)  She had fun…I think life is exciting enough without needed to add any.  I stayed on the sidelines for this one.

At 3:30, I was picked up to do another tour – this one was walking with lions.  There were 3 lions that had been rescued…all were about 9 months old.  The Lion Park is part of a conservation effort that has a 5 step plan to re-introduce lions into the wild.  Step 1 is to get them used to being around humans…that’s where I come in.  So we had opportunities to pet them (we were told to pet gently but firmly…what????)  They explained that if we didn’t pet them firmly, the lion would think it was an irritating insect…I didn’t really care to get bit, so gently but firmly it is.  We were also told not to pet their heads, only their backs, from neck to tail.  The lions are very social animals…but also lazy.  So part of their repatriation with the wild is making them to take walks in the afternoon.  But it’s hot and they don’t want to walk…so as soon as they saw a shady spot, they’d crash into it and on top of each other, biting each other tails & taking a little kipperoo (nap).  It was like watching puppies…just with bigger teeth, claws and bodies.  The guides would get them up and they’d walk a little further, but then crash into another shady spot. It was a lot of fun interacting with them…but also I was a little on edge the whole time.  I mean they are wild animals that eat people.  My brother suggested not showering for a few days before walking with the lions…he said lions don’t like dirty humans.  I didn’t take his advice and so was a little concerned that I would look like a tasty morsel.  Fortunately, the lions ate that morning, so after a while, I figured I might be safe (they only eat every 2^nd day).  Then we hung out with 2 lions about 16 months.  We were told the male was “naughty” and so we were to keep our distance from him and not turn our backs on him.  We walked around with them, but they were always in the lead and we were behind.  I much preferred hanging out with the 9 month olds…they didn’t have a serious thought in their head…and weren’t looking at me like a snack.  Then we headed back to the hotel.  I was so tired that I could barely hold my head up thru dinner.  I crashed after that.  That was one long day!!!

The next morning, we got up early and walked up to the Victoria Falls Hotel which was built back in the colonial days of Africa.  It was beautiful both inside and out.  Then it was back across the border, to the airport and back to Joburg.  I was ready to crash when I got back home.  It was a fun, unique experience that was worth the time and effort.  I’m glad I did it.

Random Thoughts….

Sorry I haven’t updated in a while…it has been a busy couple of weeks.  It continues to rain here…every day.  We also have periods of sunshine…but it never seems to last too long.  Fortunately, it means that the temperatures are cooler than normal…mostly in the 70s during the day.  It’s many degrees cooler than what it should be, so I’m very thankful.

I have a few more interesting food stories.  I was asked if I wanted to eat leeches.  You can imagine what my face looked like.  But then Theresa showed me what they were.  Litchis…oh, that’s different.  They originated in China but are grown here in South Africa…I don’t believe they export it to the U.S.  It is a fruit w/ a red, soft shell…about the size of a grape or cherry.  After you peel the shell, the flesh inside is like that of a grape with a pit like a cherry.  It is sweet and juicy…but with a unique taste.

I was also introduced to a bowtie.  Not like the Stan Laurel type….with polka-dots and looking kinda funny.  Here a bowtie is a desert….dough, twisted together and fried.  Then it is drizzled with honey or syrup.  It’s quite crunchy but not too sweet but  I can’t eat more than 1.  Very tasty, though!!!!

We’ve added 2 new leaders to our leaders circle in the last week.  We also had 46 at the Seminar Personal Evaluation.  The Seminar attendance might have been more of a function of the buckets of rain that started to fall right as many were getting ready to leave.  But regardless, I was thrilled with both the new leaders and the Seminar attendance.  I’m excited at what God is doing in our class and how the C/Ms are blessed by studying Isaiah.  It’s been a tough road…this poetry is hard to understand sometimes.  But there has been much reward as well…especially this week in Is 40.  The view of God Isaiah paints is fantabulous…to borrow a made-up word.

While here, I have been noticing many different types of birds.  I never seem to have my camera with me when I see the prettiest ones.  But today I actually had my camera with me when I saw a blue colored crane in an open field.  While I was watching and taking pictures, I could tell he/she was stalking some prey.  While I was still standing there, he grabbed a mouse, rat or frog (I couldn’t tell which) and swallowed it in two bites.  There have been other birds…iridescent blue, some with long tails like a rat, some have a bright yellow bottom, some with red heads and underbellies.  The other night I went walking right at dusk after a hard rain and the flying ants were spewing out of the ground like a volcano.  Near the river, I saw an animal on the ground going after the flying ants that had fallen to the ground.  There were 2 of them…and they let us get within about 15 feet.  It was two spotted owls.  It was hard to see but their heads do swivel all the way around!!!!  They were hopping around on the ground, feasting a the all-you-can-eat buffet of bugs.  Did I have my camera?  Of course not.  Hopefully before I leave I’ll be able to catch a picture of each one.  They’re so colorful and interesting…especially after being in AZ where there are pigeons/doves and little wrens…and that’s it (at least around my house).

I met an American here at the B&B this week…he’s from Rhode Island and is here for a week lecturing at the International School.  We had a rather long talk about religions (he grew up Jewish and now is nothing….but interested in everything).  But we talked about truth, what the Bible says about salvation, whether or not we’re all gods walking around or if there’s only 1.  I told him I was here teaching the book of Isaiah and he said he was interested in ready it.  I think I might point him to Isaiah 40.  I think that pretty much settles it.  We’ll see what happens…he’s here until Friday or so.

That’s all for now…please keep praying for our class and that God raises up the needed staff before the end of the year so they can be trained and ready to go.  And that we have all the leaders to start strong next year.  Love you!