The americans are here….yahoo!!

Everyone from the states arrived safely after a couple of long flights.  Out of the 12 that came, a few weren’t feeling so well, but still fun to see their tried eyes and smiling faces.

It was a VERY busy week.  Our first few days were spent in Pilanesberg National Park.  We saw some of the big five (rhino, elephant, and lion).  But the most memorable experience for all was the bull elephants we encountered within minutes of arriving at the park.  Rob was driving the quantum (a 14 passenger van) and pulling a small trailer, and I was driving our car.  As the elephants slowly walked down the middle of the road and approached the quantum, Rob wasn’t able to back up because of the narrow road.  Eventually we were both forced to pull over and allow the 2 HUGE elephants to walk by.  We also had to turn our engines off, as not to agitate them.  I wasn’t in the quantum (but have heard many great stories from the boys).  In our car (all the girls), you could have heard a pin drop as they slowly walked by.  I am not sure if we were able to fully appreciate their size and beauty, I was so nervous my legs were shaking and eye contact was limited.  Everyone has their own version of the story, but now we can reminisce about the up close experience we had with them.

On Wednesday, we did the feeding program at Cornerstone.  Nathi gave the message (Karabo translated) at the church service they did.  There were close to 180 people who were also fed a meal and given veggies to take with them.  Our group did a great job of handing out meals and veggies and finding shade as often as they could in the heat.

On Thursday (Thanksgiving day for us Americans) the kids picked up bags and bags of trash around Camp Eden.  Dawn was busy working on a few projects at John and Lorna’s house, while Rob worked with Jim and Mike to finish the washing area that will be used for VAC camp.  This area will allow the kids a place to wash dishes and brush their teeth.

The Stultz’s and Michele spent the day preparing Thanksgiving dinner for 60 plus people.  Oh – the food was amazing!!  We had turkey, ham, green bean casserole, creamed corn, stuffing, mashed potatoes, homemade rolls, and a fabulous pumpkin dessert.  The meal was a huge hit with thanksgiving decorations and a devotion by Jim to end the night.

On Friday Mattias (the camp cook) helped roast chicken and cook rice as we packaged 140 containers for a feeding program in Johannesburg.  This one was geared towards a younger crowd.  Louisa (in the picture below) has been feeding anywhere from 40 – 130 kids each day on her own.  We had all the kids sit down and we handed them each a container of food with an apple and a sucker.  As we have seen in the past, most of them will eat only a few bites and take the rest home to feed an entire family.  Louisa has a heart for her community.  She lives among 5,000 shakes (totaling around 20,000 people) and this is her way to help.  Some of the blessing baskets we will be assembling when the Sulwer’s and Kochan’s arrive will be going to this area.

The week was FULL of new experiences and eye-opening events.  We couldn’t be more blessed then to spend Thanksgiving with such a great group of friends.  Each night the men led us in devotions and we could reflect back on God’s hand in all that we did.  The kids played and played and played until their eyes couldn’t stay open any longer.  Thank you so much for taking the time out of your already busy schedules to spend a week with us in Africa!!  You guys will always have a place to stay, if and when you decide to return.