We arrived into Johannesburg airport in early November an it was so lovely to be met there by Dennis Hilman and Bishop Louis! We've been travelling quite a bit—but we are rarely met at the airport by people we know. Usually we arrive an arrange our own transport to a local hostel. Things tend to be pretty straight forward—sometimes, though, there are glitches. When we flew into Cape Town, for example, our pick-up bus was late and weren't answering their phone. We sat for over a half an hour and waited until someone finally came. Then when we got dropped off, our hostel was twice as expensive as we had thought. It wasn't a terrible experience—it was mostly just annoying—but it did make a huge contrast to our pick-up in Jo-burg!
In Jo-burg, we disembarked from the plane and collected our luggage as usual, but then as soon as we walked through the doors into the general area of the airport—there was Dennis with a huge grin on his face and flowers in his arms! Hugs and smiles followed as we met him and were introduced to the Bishop (No, he didn't bring chickens to the airport--I just couldn't find another picture of him. He's the one on the right. Dennis is in the picture above.). Then we were escorted to the car, driven to the home we would stay in, and taken out for lunch—wow—royal treatment! Along the way we exchanged stories and news about mutual friends and family, shared what each of us had been doing in the mission field, and heard about all the plans for the month ahead. A bit like heaven, eh? :) There too we'll be met by a Family Member who will be waiting with smiles and arms open wide to receive His children...
During our time in the Randfontein area (a suburb of Jo-burg), we stayed with a wonderful couple, Chris and Henrietta, and their two young daughters, Cheron and Elisha. Ruth, Henrietta's mother, also lived there during the week to take care of the kids. Cheron was almost four and quite the handful! Every morning starting at about six our bedroom door would open and she would peek in to see if we were awake. Sometimes she would tire of just looking and so she'd come over next to the bed and say, “Are you awake? What are you doing?” :) She actually spoke mostly Afrikaans, but her English did improve quite rapidly while we were there! (Thanks again to all of you guys for letting us stay.)
The following three and a half weeks were busy! We can't quite believe they're over, in fact. We spent our time praying, sharing, teaching, playing, making frogs, singing, visiting, and developing Sunday School materials in Tswana. We visited seven different church congregations, two schools and two clinics (in the picture, we're playing with the kids at one of the clinics), a home for kids with cerebral palsy, and lots of private homes. We also had time to attend the Mission and Harvest Festival and the Youth Revival, as well as to lead the Sunday School Training. I'll pick out one or two stories and write them out with more info in the next entry.
We did have some free time while in Randfontein too...and we managed to fill it one way or the other. :) On the way back from one of the villages we visited, for example, we stopped at a lion park and were not only able to pick up the baby lions, but also go to go in the pen with the five month old lions and pet them! Very cool! We also went on a game drive with a great guide who showed us everything from the dung beetles and red-backed toads to the wild lions and black rhinos! Other downtime fillers included, but was not limited to, donkey cart rides, dinner parties, and atching SA's Got Talent! (Note: Scroll back up the the first picture and look really closely in the grass behnd Dennis--you should see two lions!)
We arrived into Johannesburg airport in early November an it was so lovely to be met there by Dennis Hilman and Bishop Louis! We've been travelling quite a bit—but we are rarely met at the airport by people we know. Usually we arrive an arrange our own transport to a local hostel. Things tend to be pretty straight forward—sometimes, though, there are glitches. When we flew into Cape Town, for example, our pick-up bus was late and weren't answering their phone. We sat for over a half an hour and waited until someone finally came. Then when we got dropped off, our hostel was twice as expensive as we had thought. It wasn't a terrible experience—it was mostly just annoying—but it did make a huge contrast to our pick-up in Jo-burg!
In Jo-burg, we disembarked from the plane and collected our luggage as usual, but then as soon as we walked through the doors into the general area of the airport—there was Dennis with a huge grin on his face and flowers in his arms! Hugs and smiles followed as we met him and were introduced to the Bishop (No, he didn't bring chickens to the airport--I just couldn't find another picture of him. He's the one on the right. Dennis is in the picture above.). Then we were escorted to the car, driven to the home we would stay in, and taken out for lunch—wow—royal treatment! Along the way we exchanged stories and news about mutual friends and family, shared what each of us had been doing in the mission field, and heard about all the plans for the month ahead. A bit like heaven, eh? :) There too we'll be met by a Family Member who will be waiting with smiles and arms open wide to receive His children...
During our time in the Randfontein area (a suburb of Jo-burg), we stayed with a wonderful couple, Chris and Henrietta, and their two young daughters, Cheron and Elisha. Ruth, Henrietta's mother, also lived there during the week to take care of the kids. Cheron was almost four and quite the handful! Every morning starting at about six our bedroom door would open and she would peek in to see if we were awake. Sometimes she would tire of just looking and so she'd come over next to the bed and say, “Are you awake? What are you doing?” :) She actually spoke mostly Afrikaans, but her English did improve quite rapidly while we were there! (Thanks again to all of you guys for letting us stay.)
The following three and a half weeks were busy! We can't quite believe they're over, in fact. We spent our time praying, sharing, teaching, playing, making frogs, singing, visiting, and developing Sunday School materials in Tswana. We visited seven different church congregations, two schools and two clinics (in the picture, we're playing with the kids at one of the clinics), a home for kids with cerebral palsy, and lots of private homes. We also had time to attend the Mission and Harvest Festival and the Youth Revival, as well as to lead the Sunday School Training. I'll pick out one or two stories and write them out with more info in the next entry.
We did have some free time while in Randfontein too...and we managed to fill it one way or the other. :) On the way back from one of the villages we visited, for example, we stopped at a lion park and were not only able to pick up the baby lions, but also go to go in the pen with the five month old lions and pet them! Very cool! We also went on a game drive with a great guide who showed us everything from the dung beetles and red-backed toads to the wild lions and black rhinos! Other downtime fillers included, but was not limited to, donkey cart rides, dinner parties, and atching SA's Got Talent! (Note: Scroll back up the the first picture and look really closely in the grass behnd Dennis--you should see two lions!)
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