A week of South Africa: Day 7

We had so much fun at Earth Lodge. It was incredible. I have never before or ever since stayed in such a nice place. Each night they would serve dinner in different places around the lodge. It was the first place I ordered fish to eat (King Clip) and I actually really liked it! For those who don't know me, this was a very big deal.

The room we stayed in was out of this world. We even had our own private pool. At one point they had to put ponds around the resort in order to stop the elephants from drinking out of them. Lilly, Jamie, and I could not resist the photo opp.. Thank goodness for the shutter release cable!:)

A week of South Africa: Day 6

They called it khaki fever.
Unlike in America, it is a social norm that after high school (white) men and women would take a year or two and work for a resort/game reserve before attending college. They would be tour guides on safari's, live in the middle of the bush wearing hiking boots and shorts, and entertain guests from all over the world. Some would end up doing this for the rest of their lives where others it seemed to be a right of passage. During our stay in South Africa we went on a total of 12 safaris. We got to see the majestic big five (lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, and rhino) running freely in the wild among MANY other animals. Lesley, Jamie, and I even got to have tea with giraffes on a private game reserve.

While with the mission trip group we were fortunate enough to stay at the coolest little game reserve that had tons of "khaki fever" kinda guys. Of course Lesley, Jamie, and I made friends with them and Loren (one of the guys) had a rugby game in a small town near the lodge. So we hopped in a truck and headed to our first rugby game ever. The entire crowd spoke Africans along with the guys we went with (they spoke some English), but MAN was it the awesome. They even gave us a bunch of SA Rugby stuff (I think I ended up with a hat).

My uncle (who is actually a cousin), his wife, and their 3 girls live in South Africa and they were generous enough to let us stay with them after the mission trip portion was over. Troy is a pilot for a company called Federal Air. Among other things, they do fly-in safaris with private game reserves like Sabi Sabi. It isn't everyday that you get to stay at a five star resort in the middle of the bush but Troy pulled some strings and all 5 of us got to stay at Earth Lodge. I mean Anna Kournikova and Will Smith stay at places like this, not poor college students. We went on 3 or more safaris a day with a private tour guide. That way we got to see all of the different types of animals at different times of the day. On evening safaris, the guide would pull out a table on the back of the truck and we would snack on cheese and crackers, sip on wine, and watch the sun go in the middle of the bush. In the mornings we would have tea and scones.

A week of South Africa: Day 5

When Lesley, Jamie and I were raising money for our trip, we were also asking local businesses to donate any supplies they could to the cause. We ended up with a ton of stuff, including soap, first aid supplies, deodorant, and toothbrushes. Lesley and I wanted to be as low maintenance as possible so we packed both of our stuff in one suitcase and filled the other suitcase full of the donated supplies. We didn't even pack razors. EEEWWWW. (I think my only accessory was a hair tie). We were going all natural that's for sure.
We weren't sure how God was going to use the mini bottles of shampoo but we knew He would come up with something. We ended up dividing everything evenly into plastic bags and Lesley, Jamie, and I were able to pass them out at an AIDS support group for women.

A week of South Africa: Day 4

We went to a place where women with AIDS would work to learn skills like sewing or pottery in order to support their families.  Some of their handmade things were just beautiful.  I am pretty sure that Matt's paper weight elephant came from there.  

A week of South Africa: Day 3

For the majority of the time spent in Cape Town we worked at a pre-school in Bloekombos (pronouced Blo-Kum-Bosh), a nearby township. We worked with SARFAT, an organization that helps alleviate poverty in Bloekombos through various development projects and programs. Our group helped out with the kids, built a sidewalk, and gave out care packages to women suffering from AIDS.
Most of the children at the preschool either had AIDS themselves or one or both of their parents did. It was heartwrenching to say the least. Those little faces looking up at me had experience more heart ache in their short lives than I had in all of my 20 years. It didn't make any difference to them though. I remember they loved the holes in my jeans. Everyday they would run up to me and stick their little fingers through the denim and laugh and laugh. I couldn't understand a word they said and when I tried to repeat the proper clicking in their native language of Xhosa they would squeal with laughter.

A week of South Africa: Day 2

My cousin Lesley and her best friend, Jamie, were the only people I knew on the trip. I had just come out of a spiritual awakening and when Lesley called and asked if I wanted to go to Africa on missions, I jumped at the chance. I had some money in savings and the rest was raised through the generosity of friends and family.
When we flew into Cape Town (our 4th connecting flight), we stayed in an old B&B called Klein Vredenburg in a small town called Paarl. Paarl is the third oldest European Settlement in South Africa (founded around 1650). We stayed in the guest house (old slave quarters) which were over looking one of the thousands of beautiful vineyards and the Klein Drakenstein mountains. It came complete with skeleton keys and door knobs that were at my knees. (It must have been those short Dutchman who settled there).

We ate breakfast in the main guest house everyday. It was the first place I had experienced French press coffee and warm milk.


Despite the jet lag the first thing we did when we got there was hike the mountains. What an incredible adventure. We were there in early June, which is South Africa's winter months. It definitely wasn't "cold" but it was rainy. Probably the perfect time of year for us Westerners to visit. The heat of the summer months would probably be too much for us.

I don't really remember the stories behind the flowers but I do remember peering out over the mountains every morning feeling overwhelmed with the beauty of God's creation.

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the sky displays his handiwork. Day after day it speaks out; night after night it reveals his greatness."

Psalm 19:1-2

A Week of South Africa: Day 1

A few years back, I had the incredible opportunity to be sent overseas on missions (proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ).  It was a life altering trip that changed my heart and mind forever.  I didn't have a digital camera back then so I took along my trusty Pentax and 30 rolls of film.  Unfortunately I didn't know how to use it very well so I got only a handful of photos that really turned out well.  This was one of them.    

 We were in a Township (basically cinder block rooms given to blacks after Apartheid) where the people used newspaper adds as wallpaper.  The only lyric I can remember was "God's Blessing Cape Town" being sung in very broken English. 

Neil and Erika

I have been dying to shoot in front of this door for months. I am glad Neil and Erika were up for it, even in the freezing cold!