“Home, Home on the Range…” African Style!
(Wednesday, March 22, 2006)

Today was our second attempt to go to Spionkoff Game Reserve. The weather was nice in the village but as we got closer and closer the fog just kept moving in. They said they would still take us out so we stood around for quite a while waiting for them to get our horses ready. Finally, just as we were getting paired off with our horses, the rain started coming down. But, our guide took us on out anyway! Shortly down the trail, however, the rain stopped…Hallelujah! Because we were on horseback, we could go off the trail and right up to the animals without startling them too much. We saw Gnews, Wildebeast, something like Antelope, Zebras and Giraffe. We were 10 feet from almost 25 giraffes! Some said they saw a Rhino off in the distance but most of us just saw their evidence left on the trail. There were a few exotic birds, too. The scenery was breathtaking. Wendy said, “I feel like I’m on a real live African Safari.” And Ryan’s response was, “Well, Wendy, you are!” We even saw baby Zebras and baby Giraffe (can you tell this is Becky and Wendy writing!). It’s amazing how God made each animal unique and special. He truly is a craftsman and we all are His creation!

Our next stop was the Kwala-Zulu Weavers – a shop where the native women make craft items to sell, and the money goes back into the community. We stocked up on candles, rugs and African masks. We also warmed up with a cup of coffee at the Waffle Hut.

Next we headed up to JD and Barbara Borgman’s house. Their ministry, Ubuntu Partners, work alongside of Agathos. Their house is on the most amazing piece of property with a view that is truly God’s country. The combi couldn’t make it up the dirt driveway so we had to hike the half-mile trek up the hill. But it was so worth it! They served us a delicious lunch that included homemade Apple Pie! We even had napkins (a luxury we’ve done without at the cottages). After some relaxing fellowship time, we headed back down to get the combi out of the mud and headed to Estcourt to post our blog.

After dinner, Pastor Welcome led a time of worship and devotions for the team and some of the older kids who hadn’t gone to bed yet. He spoke on Romans 3:23 – 25.

Today was a wonderful day!

* Submitted by the team