South Africa - 14 (Journal Day 9)

Monday, August 24, 2009

Today is our last day in Cape Town. I will say that Cape Town has been my favorite place to visit and I love the culture and the Coloured people. They are so precious. We fly back to Johannesburg this afternoon to minister at another Dutch Reform Church there. Then we have to be at the airport late Tuesday afternoon for our 17 hour flight home with arrival in Atlanta on Wednesday, August 26th at 7:15 a.m. In some ways I feel as if we have been here a month, and in other ways it doesn’t even seem like 9 days…

This picture is of Claudia and Errol Wesson, native Cape Townians and the most delightful people I met my entire trip. That is Brother John Kubia in the middle with them.

John has been in South Africa for over a month, and will be headed back home with us. He was here with the group from our church that ministered in Zimbabwe last month, and then he stayed over for our trip to South Africa.

This morning we went to Simonstown, a very old and wonderful community on the Cape. I bought some gifts for my family from the outside vendors. As we were walking, Rev. Wesson told me that these were whale bones in the front garden of this home.  From their home in Fish Hoek, he and Mrs. Claudia can hear the whales in the bay!

Then we went to see the penguins! Yes, there are penguins in South Africa. They are very loud – they honk like donkeys. I had no idea. Look how cute they are. What a sight. I wish my son Jonathan could have been here to see the penguins. I think he would have enjoyed them most of all!

 

 

We went back to the Wellwood Lodge to get our things ready to go back to airport in Lanseria. The Wellwood was a nice place to stay, but I never got over the face that we were behind 4 locked doors. First, there was a locked gate at the fence surrounding the lodge, then an iron door in front of the lodge door, then the door to the lodge, then our actual room door. That was really unsettling to me. I did not dwell on it - I am very claustrophobic. There were also bars on the all the windows. We were reminded often to make sure everything was locked.  The owners assured us there was not a lot of violent crime, but a lot of thievery and petty crime.  Here is a picture of our home away from home the past 4 days. That white square panel on the wall to the right of the curtain is the HEAT. There is no central heat air. None.

The flight to Lanseria was uneventful; however, there is an excitement bubbling in my soul that I am going home!  I’m so ready to see my little grandson Zeke, our sons and their wives, my family, and my church family. I have seen so much and learned so much, but I’m telling you, I miss my family...and 9,000 miles across an ocean is a long way when you are a small-town home girl like me.

When we got back to Johannesburg and arrived at the Golden Crest Lodge, fatigue began to creep in. (Here there were only 2 locked doors, but the entire area was surrounded by a high concrete fence and electric razor wire.)  My husband insisted I stay at the Lodge while he went to the church with Brother John Kubia. He asked me to repack and organize our luggage, so that is exactly what I did tonight. I got a lot accomplished that will help us for tomorrow, so I’m glad that my sweet husband insisted that I stay “home.”  He said that the church tonight was not as receptive as the churches in Cape Town had been, but I believe it is the formality of the Dutch Reform Church. That is exactly what we experienced in the Northwest Territory as well. The people on the Cape were the friendliest of all!