Trip to MN and SD

It was sure great to see so many of you on our way back home through Minneapolis after a friend's wedding in SD. Thanks again, Aunt Alison and Uncle Mark for all the work you did! We had a wonderful time! Once again, my pictures are all backwards in order...

Hannah


A picture of Sam when we pulled in our driveway



The miracle God did on the plane ride home

Chillin' in the hotel room

Todd and Sam at the wedding

Country Church Wedding

Windmills in the middle of nowhere

Visiting with Aunt Alison

Hanging out with Great Grandma

Yummy grilled supper

The Newlyweds

Us at the wedding reception

Braai

Last night we had a braai (which means barbecue) with all of the orientation people plus some others that were around at the Hands at Work Village. We had Boerwors sausage, mince (which is hamburger) and chicken on the grill. Jed did a great job barbecuing. Everyone brought their own meat and something else. I made a crazy cake, someone had a pasta salad, there was a fruit salad with guavas from off the trees around here, crackers and cheese, and juice to drink. We had a great time. The occasion was a good-by party for Mkhuleko, who had been here for three weeks and was now returning to Swasiland. He had come to learn about accounting for the Community Based Organization there. He was such a nice young man. I have pictures, but Brooke is in Zambia with the laptop, so I can't put them in with this update.
The first week of June, Jed, Brooke and I are going to Swasiland. I will be able to visit Mkhuleko and meet his mother. In order for Mkhuleko to go home, he has to take taxis. He said he will leave about 7 in the morning and ride 7 different taxis for about 12 hours to get home. By car it would take about 5 hours. A taxi is actually a van. They are a form of transportation in Africa. The taxi driver waits until his van is full and then he goes to the next stop. There you get on another taxi and wait for that one to fill up and he drives you to the next stop. You can get all over Africa that way. They really don't have a timetable because you don't know how long it will take for the taxi to fill up. I see them along the road here all the time. In Masoyi there are lots of taxis because the people take them often. So you wouldn't have to wait very long for one to fill up here.
We are done with orientation so next week I will start working with teachers at the centers. On Monday I will be going to Cork. It is a very poor community about 45 minutes away. I am very excited to be able to begin working with kids and teachers. I also hope to be able to help a woman called Bussie. She is the country representative for South Africa and she is very stressed out. I would like to do some things to lighten her load a little. Not sure what I can do, but perhaps God will show me a way.
I have enjoyed talking to my other orientation members about what things are like in their countries. The other members (besides Mkhuleka) are from Zambia, Kenya, United Kingdom, Canada, and one girl whose parents were missionaries in New Guinea most of her life and then they went to the Phillippines. I have been learning about the "bride price" in Africa (about 15 cows), kidney pie in the UK, and all kinds of cultural differences. It's been so interesting and lots of laughs!

South Africa Day 3

Had an awesome day watching Jed as he started his Junior Achievement group at Masoyi Home Based Care. He had 19 teens, but there were about 70 children there altogether. Some of the others came for the youth program, but most came hoping to get some of the free food. They had a chicken stew like thing, pap (which looks to me like a really thick Cream of Wheat), cold beans, cole slaw and juice. The trainers for Jed's program are in their late teens and early twenties. The kids were very polite and seemed interested. Some of their questions and answers were so interesting. For example, they thought that there were more people in rural areas than in an urban area. They also felt that T-shirts and short pants as well as a dentist were wants rather than needs. That was also true for meat. When you see how and where they live you can begin to see why they think that way. It was fun to watch Jed at work.

Last night we babysat for some Hands at Work volunteers from South Africa. They had three children. One was in bed (the two year old adopted boy). The 2 1/2 year old girl and the 5 year old girl were our responsibility. They had such adorable English accents! Jed and Brooke are great with kids and it was really fun watching them interact with the girls. They are staying in practice with their babysitting skills so Jodi, Kathy and Sandy don't need to worry that they will be out of practice when they return to the States!