Summary:
1) Safari - AMAZING
2) Our Cape Town home - comfortable and homey -
however the wifi is spotty
3) In general - we're tired from doing so much!
4) Our first afternoon of serving at a safe house
for children - humbling and joyful
5) Driving on the left side - not so bad (it's
the shifting with the left hand that's hard to get used to!
I am sorry it's taken this long to share
an update.
While on safari, we did not have wifi for the
first three days; and the second three days, we were so exhausted that during
our free time, we took naps / showers and barely could keep up with downloading
photos to the computer.
The safaris were AMAZING!
Our schedule:
5:00 AM wake and be ready to go for 5:30 game
drive, stopping for a coffee break (picnic!)
9:00 return to lodge for full cooked breakfast
free time until lunch (1:00 at one lodge; 3:00 at
the other)
4:00 evening game drive, stopping for
"sundowner" drinks (sunset picnic)
8:00 return to lodge for dinner
to bed to get up and do it again!
The first place we were - Umlani Bush Camp
- had no electricity (kerosene lanterns in the rooms). The second place
was more luxurious....
The animals were beautiful and we were quite
close to them - often venturing off road in our open 9-seater range
rovers.
Tons of giraffe, impala, zebra, cape buffalo. We
also saw a leopard, cheetah, hippo, rhino (including the rare black rhino),
kudu, nyala, water buck, hyena (carrying an impala leg in it's mouth),
elephant, warthog, tons of beautiful birds...
We said good-by to Mike Saturday Feb. 1st
and he headed home (to deal with extensive water damage to our
home from a burst pip just 3 days after we left!) We are most
grateful to friends and family for coming to our rescue without hesitation -
Mike is managing the next steps re: insurance / repairs....
This our first week in Cape Town,
my mom is staying with Sophia and me at the Renaissance Lodge (our home for
these 6 weeks). It is simple and comfortable. Many of the rooms are around the
patio which surrounds the pool (which Sophia LOVES having right outside our
door of course).
On Monday we spent the afternoon at a
safe house for children who were placed there because their parent are
addicted / prostitutes and cannot care for them. Most of the kids are suffering
from fetal alcohol syndrome or other cognitive deficiencies. It is run by a
saint of a woman Eliese who lives in this small ranch house with 10 kids (ages
2-10). Sophia was right at home playing with the older girls and caring from
one of the youngest girls. She is eager to return next Monday.
Today we had no work projects so went to Seal
Island out of Hout Bay. Seal Island is an outcropping of rocks covered with
hundreds of seals who love to play in the water around the boats that come
bringing tourists.
We've worshiped at the Hillsong Church
which is like attending a rock concert with 1,500 others, but it's all about
Jesus! Sophia is quite drawn to it and very moved - doing her best to pay
attention to the 45 minute sermon displayed on a video screen. It is inspiring
to see so many people expressing their love for the Lord with such passion -
but I miss the quiet of our smaller more traditional church. I'll see if I can
find a little local place to attend as well.
Wifi here at the lodge is spotty
and Skype does not seem to be working. Tonight is the first time I've been able
to access the internet from our room. Normally I have to go to the dining or
living room (or on the patio where the sun is HOT and the wind picks up in the
evening.) And even though we can sleep 'til 7:00 or 8:00, I'm still quite tired
at the end of the day.
I don't know if photos will make it to the blog -
I'll try that another day.
We are blessed to be here in this great city and
serving with these most inspiring people.
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