Grace and I have been in Johannesburg, South Africa for about 3 days now. Friday was spent trying to stay awake after about 32 hours of traveling and site seeing in London. London was a whirlwind of site seeing. We started with a breakfast of 'bacon butties' with Sandra and Ducky in Hammersmith. Then off to Trafalgar Sq, London bridge, Houses of Parliment, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, 10 Downing St, Covent Gardens and the #9 bus.
Cate, Grace's best friend here, picked us up from the airport and took us home to a much needed shower (and a cuppa tea of course). We're staying with Fiona & Cate in Joburg. We've already met and reconnected with many wonderful people. We had tea with Grace's cousins, Robin and Patsy. Robin is working in Liberia and showed me fascinating pictures of their work in Liberia and places in surrounding countries. Cate threw a 'braai' (an SA cookout) on Saturday evening. The food was great and equally great was the company.
Grace keeps asking me what stands out to me as a first time visitor. My first answer was that I noticed all the cool trucks and vans we don't get in the states (pictures later). I also LOVE the weather here - warm & sunny but not hot, just the right amount of humidity. Ice in drinks is rare and free wifi even more rare. Joburg has a lot of smog. Security is prevalent but the people are relaxed and laid back about it.
I've already seen many interesting birds and a few reptiles. I'll post more photos as I get them.
Sunday morning we attended Christchurch Midrand Church. The church was started in 1994 with a handful of people meeting in a small hall. It now includes a church, a school for pre-k through 12th grade, a sports complex and a conference center. The facilities are active 7 days a week between church, school and community activities. About 300 adults and 80 kids attend CCM now. They people are friendly and sincere. I hope to get to know them more in our time here. The facilities are absolutely gorgeous! I hope you agree from the pictures:
Monday we will begin working. We'll spend the morning weeding the vegetable garden at Nokuphila school. Nokuphila school is a new school opened by CCM. It started with 45 pupils last years and has grown to capacity of 80 this year. The kids are all between 3-5 years old and mostly come from the adjacent township. Without Nokuphila the kids would be at home with nothing constructive to do. Many have AIDS or are affected by AIDS. The school is referred to as the 'daughter' of the 'mother' school on the CCM campus. The parents of the kids are charged just 8% of the total cost to educate and feed them 5 days a week. The rest of the money comes from donors around the world. They already have plans to grow the school with a new building. We'll post photos of the school later, hopefully tomorrow night.
On Tuesday morning we leave for Lily of the Valley.
