Beautiful Cape Town trip!!

Hi all!

Cape Town Adventure!

I’m back safely in Botswana after an amazing adventure in South Africa! At 5 am Saturday 25 September, we embarked on our journey of 1700 kilometers down to Cape Town. It was all of the YFC Botswana staff except Koekoes, the director’s wife, who stayed back to hold the fort. So eleven of us, including our new German volunteer Kathrin, packed into two vehicles and started the long journey. Thankfully, we had a trailer as well to tow most of our luggage.

Car Trouble…and sweet Redemption!

About 6 hours into the drive, the KIA car I was in started to have issues and was overheating. After waiting for an hour or two at a gas station while we tried to assess and fix it, we thought we’d fixed it. But as we drove just a few minutes through the town, the heat gauge went crazy high, so we had to pull over again and call in a mechanic. It was something with the alternator and belts…not sure…but all I know is it would take 5 hours of work to fix it with a part they didn’t have and couldn’t get that day (Saturday late afternoon of a holiday weekend). Hmmm…it was nearing sundown and there we were, 3 hours from Britstown where we had accommodations for free that night at a guesthouse owned by Christians who know E.J., our director. We spent a couple, few hours there stranded.

After many phone calls, and group prayer in a parking lot…things ended up working out quite beautifully. Another man from near Britstown who knows E.J. paid to put all of us up in a motel/resort called La D Dah! He also paid for us all to enjoy KFC take-out for dinner! Amen! Then this same guy left at 3:30 am the next morning to drive his bakkie (pick-up truck) all the way up the 3 hours to pick us up. So we left our broken down car with the mechanics to fix while we were gone, and then we drove in his truck and our other SUV back down to Britstown, where we dropped him off. He was donating his truck to us for the whole week to drive down to Cape Town and back! The people at the guesthouse prepared us really nice food for the day to take with us.

Such beauty!!

The rest of the journey down to Cape Town was thankfully uneventful and completely gorgeous! Perhaps because we haven’t seen rain in several months in Botswana and thus it is very dry, brown, and yellow (not so much green), as was a LONG stretch of northern South Africa, eventually driving through mountain passes and through lush valleys with vineyards, blooming flowers, rainbows was extremely beautiful. It would be beautiful no matter what, but I think to us the contrast was so great that we were just in awe. And then eventually, we ended up at the ocean in Cape Town as the sun was setting over the water.

We spent that night with kind host families from E.J. and Koekoes’ church (they are from Cape Town originally). We got to the church first the next morning to reconvene, and there was a piano in the church. Feeling the urge to tickle the ivories, I asked if I could play. With their blessing, I enjoyed playing a piano for only the second time in Africa (we have a keyboard at the office, but I’ve never played a real piano in Botswana…the other time was at Karin’s parents’ house in Johannesburg). I love playing a real piano so this was a beautiful start to what would be another amazing day.

Shortly after that, we drove to the seafront in Cape Town and got out to climb on the rocks. For some of the Batswana staff and one of the Canadians this was their first time ever being at the ocean.
Then we piled in the vehicles again and drove another hour or so up and along mountains hugging the coastline to go to Hermanus. Growing up on Lake Huron, I love water…and I also love mountains. Never before had I seen them together in such beauty. But there we were, driving through the mountains next to the ocean. The YFC Southern Africa staff conference was at a Christian retreat camp near Hermanus called Wortlegat. It was absolutely beautiful. I will post pictures on my facebook, but for those who don’t have that, you can check it out on their website: http://www.wortelgat.org.za/photo.php

It is on a large lagoon (lake) that feeds into the ocean, nestled by the huge mountains. Each morning, I had my ‘quiet time’ of prayer/journaling on a little rock peninsula going out into the lagoon…so I was looking at a large blue lake hugged by the towering moss-covered mountains on the other side. Yeah. Amazing. The times I spent there with the Lord will not be forgotten— truly the most meaningful part of the trip. I hope to share more about that in a later post. But first, I’ll just fill you in on what happened…

YFC Southern Africa Staff Conference

So there were about 200 YFC staff and family members from all over Southern Africa. Most of the YFC Botswana females all stayed in one cabin, but somehow I was assigned to stay in a different cabin with three South Africans. Interestingly enough, one of them, Thoko, happened to be one of my roommates at the last conference in South Africa back in August! Another one, Khosi, found out from a phone call that her friend’s mom was died unexpectedly in an accident that day. Khosi asked me if I knew what she could say to comfort her. Given my experience of the accident and losing a parent unexpectedly, I was able to share some things that I’ve found comforting and helpful.

We had all our meetings outside in a huge white big-top tent because there was no building large enough to seat us all. The YFC South Africa dance/drama team called Buyela lead worship. They stayed here in Botswana with us for 2 weeks back in March so it was great to see them all again. The daily structure included worship, a morning devotional teaching, personal reflection time, great meals, and great speakers. The director of YFC for all of Africa, Thomas Rasane, was there and shared with us one of the nights…the last time before his retirement. We had a goodbye celebration to honor his 30+ years of service in YFC.

In the afternoons, we had free time to enjoy the beauty of creation around us. The first afternoon, we drove back into Hermanus and walked along the cliff path along the coast. We went down into one of the coves and waded a bit in the ocean for the first time, and climbed on the rocks. Then as we walked further along the path, we could see whales in the ocean! We could see them blowing water out of their blowholes and flapping around! It was so cool. First time I’ve seen whales in my life. The second afternoon, we hiked all the way with staff guides to the retreat center’s private beach on the ocean. It took about 45 minutes to walk there, but it was worth it—huge sand-dunes along bright blue water. We ran down the sand dunes...hiked up again…ran down…etc. And we went swimming in the ocean! The group who had hiked out there the day before hadn’t entered the water to swim because it was cold. Oh, but we did!! It was awesome with huge waves…some of which crashed over our heads.

The last afternoon, we went kayaking on the big lagoon nestled against the mountains. Then we went on a ferry boat trip around the lagoon with almost all the YFC Botswana staff and others. For some of the Batswana staff, that was also their first time on a boat. Needless to say, it was a memorable, enjoyable trip for us.

The Long Journey Back to Botswana

The next day, Friday 1 October, we left on the two-day journey back to Botswana. It started as a slightly different route from before, through rolling green fields against the backdrop of mountains. Then we drove through canyons winding through rock “walls” of mountains on either side. Again, just beautiful and awe-inspiring. We spent the night in Britstown at the house of the man who had leant us his truck for the week. Other people brought us a home-cooked dinner and muffins for breakfast. Then Saturday, we returned the pick-up truck and reunited with our fixed KIA car (station wagon-ish…it seats 6) and drove back to Botswana. Along the way on our drive we saw many animals— flamingos, mongoose, zebras, monkeys, babboons, ostriches, springbok, gemsbok, impala, dassies (rock hyrax), fat sheep, goats, cows, donkeys, cats and dogs, and many assorted weird-looking birds. At the La-D-Dah motel on the drive down, there were also a random assortment of swans, geese, ducks, and rabbits. Rounding out our trip back to Botswana, I drove the KIA the last 5 or 6 hours to give the main drivers a break. We were blessed with a beautiful sunset in Botswana over the hills, making it back to Mochudi by evening.

Adjusting back to life and HEAT in Botswana

It is technically spring here in Botswana…but really it feels like summer, especially after being in the coolness of Cape Town and Hermanus. There we utilized 3 or 4 layers of shirts/coats to stay warm in the evenings (if you look on a map it is one of the most southerly points in Africa)…but E.J. said the high temperature our first day back in Botswana was 40 degrees Celsius. I don’t know what that means, except “wicked hot.” I just now converted it on the internet, so for all the non-Celsius-literate peeps like me, that means 104 degrees Fahrenheit!! Welcome back to the Kalahari! One perk of the springtime here in Botswana is the vibrant purple blossoms that are in full-bloom on trees all over. Never seen that before. Imagine huge maple or oak trees that are totally purple—no green leaves, just purple flowers. Quite stunning. Not quite sure how that happens without rain for several months, but it’s cool.

Unfortunately, the school schedules here in Botswana are still so long that extra-curricular activities like sports and clubs have been cancelled for the time being. Therefore the Real Life Revolution abstinence club we’ve been trying to launch and all the Scripture Union clubs are postponed until further notice. The school will not allow clubs after 4:30pm when the 9 hour school day ends. The school counselor told me yesterday to just hope and pray that things change. So…let’s hope and pray!

In the meantime, we will use this time to work on the radio program to encourage abstinence. And I will also help out with the Kids Club for elementary-aged kids here in Mochudi. Also, we are working out all the details with Face the Nation and the school for me to be able to drive the troubled student I mentioned in a previous post to get free professional counseling in Gaborone. Now we need the mother’s permission through a signed letter, but I haven’t been able to get ahold of the student to get her mother’s name and address (the mother lives about an hour away from the school where the student boards). So prayers are welcome that all of this can fall into place quickly.

Running Adventures

And finally, to end on a more positive note, the other day I went running in the evening. As I did, I heard “Emily!!” from my little friends I pass by quite often. Then I decided to take some new paths and roads (this temporary “lostness” is how you figure out how everything connects) and I was really not quite sure where I was. Then I heard, “Emily!!” and some of the same little kids, Rose and Lame (Lah-may) came out to greet me. I told them if they hadn’t just greeted me, I would’ve been unsure where I was (the dirt/sand roads and houses all look very similar with no road signs anywhere).

Then as I continued running, the other group of kids I often pass, who had seen me coming, yelled “Emily!!” and were in the road ready to run with me. So off we went, 5 barefoot kids and I, running along the dirt paths of Mochudi. They always giggle and apparently think it’s the funniest/coolest thing to run with me. It makes me smile too. We reached the point where, as usual, they got too tired, then stopped and yelled goodbye—“See you tomorrow!!”—and we parted ways. My last run before the Cape Town trip, I took a new route and the kids there had never seen me…with glee, they screamed “Lekgoa!!” (white person) and came running towards me, embracing me in a group hug…literally clinging and hanging off of me!! I decided if I ever need a boost to my self-esteem, I can just past there again, haha.

A minute or two afterwards, I thought I needed to take a certain path which would lead right to our house, but I wasn’t sure. I was looking down the path trying to decide if that was the path I was thinking of, when I heard the people at the house right there getting my attention and pointing that I should go down that way. Sure enough, it was the path that about 25 meters later comes out at our house. So yeah, strangers here in Mochudi will mob-hug you and/or help you get to your house! They know where we live better than we do sometimes! Not sure if that is comforting or slightly creepy, but I’ll go with comforting! Yeah, it’s just that a house full of white people is very rare…well, even just white people are quite rare in Mochudi…so if people in this neighborhood see us, it is a very reliable, accurate assumption on their part that we are from the YFC staff house.

Thanks for your interest. Have a great day!!
Kagiso (peace),
Em

P.S. Tomorrow is my parents’ wedding anniversary (they were married October 6, 1973)…so prayers are welcome for my mom, as it understandably might be a hard day for her. Thanks!