Youth Day and Diamonds: lets celebrate!!!!!

Day 15 - Youth Day; This is a holiday for all of South Africa. Almost everything closes down and there are speical events all over the country for kids (who have the day off of school). I think it started in 1992. The Afrikaans people were forcing the African children to speak Afrikaans instead of their tribal language. So, in silent protest they marched from their schools through Sweato (south of Jo-burg). Gun shots rang out and a young boy was killed. This was the start of apartied. Since then the day has been celebrated as Youth Day all over South Africa. We went to Bethesda to celebrate Youth Day. The churches from Onderstepoort, Soutpan, Central, Kekana Gardens, a youth group from Iowa, a campus outreach team and a few other groups were there. We had an authentic African Braii. This means you bring your own meat, all grill together, and then mingle when your food is finished. When we got there half of the group decided to mingle on the volleyball court. (Dont dive, its dirt). Tim, Caleb, Ben, Candi and I however, picked it up a little with a ruthless game of soccer. By the end of the day I hurt so badly, but it was so nice to get out and do something strenuous. We sat down to eat lunch, then were back at the games. The African girls play a ruthless game with the jump rope. Dr. Casey and I watched but did not try. There was singing and a history of the day then a challenge about education. Then we had to go home. From the sun I had a pretty good migriane, but it was a good day. I really enjoyed being with Americans, different groups of Africans, and Afrikaans all fellowshipping together. Mr. Zak ran the Comrades marathon today. When we got home we watched the TV to see if we could see him. We did see him twice, but did not see him cross the finish line. He did finish though, praise God! (Unlike last year) I guess this is a monumental thing over here. AND if you have run (or even attempted) Comrades it gives you a certain clout in the community with the people.


Day 16 - We went to the diamond mines!!! "Millions of years" ago a volcano erupted in the area today known as Culinan. A young boy almost 100 years ago stummbled upon some pretty rocks which he used for playing marbles. (They were great shooters) Later a family friend discovered they were diamonds and asked the boy where he had found them. This man, Mr. Culinan offered a pretty price to the owner of the farm where the diamonds were found, not offering the information about the precious gems. The man refused; not until his death, did Mr. Culinan purchase the property. Today the Culinan mines boast the largest diamond ever found (one piece of which is a part of the British crown jewels), the patented Culinan cut (with 58 facets),and a whole bunch of other things I was going to write, but Candi was just driving me crazy and I forgot. Anyway, the mine does not do underground tours any longer, so we had a surface tour. It was very interesting - especially the geology lover in me. (Yeah! Earth Science!!!!) After the tour we were supposed to go to a place that sells the diamonds for pretty cheap, however, the store had closed down. We asked if we could order diamonds at the same cost, I'll let you know. Some of you have already put in your orders and deposited $$ into my account. I'll do my best. After the tour we ate at a fabulous resturant, met a guy that looks like Jos Riebe, and got ice cream from a ding ding ding ice cream truck.

A day in the life of missionaries.

Day 13 - Mr. Zak left for Durban to run Comrades race (89k from Durban to Pietersburg), Sarah got the kids started on school then her, Ben, Nathan and August left to Jo-burg to pick up Dr. Casey and Tim. So Reb, Rebe, Candi and I had to help with school and make lunch for everyone. We managed ok, Dr. Casey and Tim arrived safely, and Mr. Zak got to Durban in time to get rested for the next day. Mary and I practiced our song for special music for Sunday. "Lerato le Jesu la makatsa who nna (Tswana)
The love of my Jesus is wonderful to me (English)
Die lief van de Here es wonderlik vir me (Afrikaans)
El amor de Jesus es tam bueno para mi (Spanish)
(Then sign language)"

Day 14 - Not much happened this day. Candi and I walked around the outside of the house and outbuildings trying to find something to clean and paint, but we really didnt accomplish much and Mr. Zak did not leave us a list. Mr. Zak called, his group was going to drive the route of the race to get a feel for it before they started the run. We watched some world cup later that evening, AND I have now officially seen a complete Lord of the Rings movie (actually I am on #2)! The phones went out today too. That means no internet either and Mr. Zak had the only working cell phone so we were kind of an island.

Hi My name is Tracy, who speaks English?

Day 11 - On this day we went to assit a pastor's wife in Soutpan. Her name is Salome. She has 14 children that she keeps from 8-4 everyday and does preschool type work with them. We expected that she would tell us what to do, but instead she said, "the day is yours," and left. This would've been ok because we were prepared, however, the kids didnt speak any english. We struggled through the day, learned from them, and had fun. During the course of the day a puff adder slithered its little self across the street from the preschool. It was a village event to kill the snake. Reb wanted the great footage so she, camera in hand, ran to the site. She asked if the snake was poisonous and thought the people said no, so she got up real close and captured the whole draging out, bashing and killing of the snake. (This and another video were later lost in the transfer from camera to computer, to all of our dismay). After lunch, Mr. Zak picked us up and took us and the loaded full combie (what they call a van over here) to Stinkwater to drop off all of the free clothes for another orphange. We also bought honey made there and saw the witchdoctor's house. Its interesting how all the people live in shacks and the witchdoctors (yes, plural), live in castles. On the way home Reb and Rebe stopped to get their picture taken next to the fresh fish (no, US history class, not new POWs, real fresh fish). Hungry anyone? When we got home it was a mad dash to get the gormet supper finished before Erin Will (now Debrain) and her husband and baby came over. The meal was beautiful and a success. One of my favortie pasttimes while I have been here is to relax with some Roibos tea and watch the world cup with Ben.

Day 12 - This day was very tiring, but very rewarding. Mr. and Mrs. Harding are a retired couple that used to work with Bethesda. Later they felt burdened to help HIV infected babies be cared for and find homes. Bethesda is unable to do this at this time, so the Harding started their own orphanage type ministry. Many times they get calls from hospitals and get sent babies who were abandoned, found in long drops (like outhouses), or in other ways neglected. Then the Hardings nurture the babies back to health and try to adopt them out. South Africa does not allow Americans to adopt because they believe we are war mongers and we have not signed the habeus corpus bill against kids in the military.What they dont understand is that our ROTC program is not a military full of kids. Anyway, off of the political "box." We had a great time playing with the kids and loving them up! The little boy pictured with Reb, Fetsi, has cerebral palsey. She is so good with kids with diabilities! On the way home we stopped at the mall and drove home through a smoke filled night. Its winter here so there is a lot of preventive burning being done. The plentiful amounts of long grass make for a sky filled with fire and smoke.

More troops!!!!!!!!!!

Day 9 - Rebecca Garyaldhe arrived!!!






It is such a blessing to see how the Lord orchestrated the personalities of the girls so far on this trip!








The 4 of us get along sooooo well! I love these girls. We headed to Jo-burg to: drop Courtney off at a bday party, pick up Rebecca G from the airport and minister at an older folks gathering.









We ate with the folks, sang special music
and Mr Zak showed the ministry. It was great!






Day 10 - I love Sundays! In the morning we went to Central in Pretoria. This is where the Zaks usually go to church. This was an interesting mix. The Sunday school was a bit small and the 4 of us dominated the discussion. It was good to hear different views. Then the church service. They sang a mix of traditional hymns and newer choruses. There are a variety of instruments in the orchestra. After we got to fellowship with people from many different countries and a few groups working here in SA from the states (one with Bethesda and a campus outreach group)
Then afternoon was very relaxing and I think the whole house fell asleep. That evening we went to the Onderstepoort Church and showed The Passion movie. The people were really confused at first because it is in Hebrew and the subtitles didnt work. Soon the problem was fixed and the movie was very emotional. This was a very interesting experience for me. I very much enjoyed the opportunity to explain what was happening to the girls around me. It was also very moving to hold the arm of a girl who was weeping over the same thing I was weeping over too. That movie is so gripping. The whole time I thought, by His stripes I am healed. We are so unworthy of the sacrifice Christ gave for us, but He did and now we need to walk worthy of the calling. WITH JOY!! I was also struck by the flashback to the Tiumphal Entry as Christ drug the cross up the hill. How quickly we change from praise to ourselves. After we werent able to stand around the fire and fellowship due to the many drunk guys so the Soutpan and Kekana Gardens and Onderstepoort Church came to the Zaks to fellowship. On the way to drop them off I had a good talk with Mary (and Gift sleeping), her sister Sara, Sauki, Bongane, August, and Henrick. I really love these people. On the way home, I was very reflective. I really love these people.

Special Homes, New Churches and Wildlife

Day 7 - This was a very full day! In the morning we went to a preschool of almost 200 kids.
There were 6 rooms in the school: toddlers, 4-5 (2 rooms), a sick room, a kitchen, and a nursery. We told Bible stories with a translator, helped with a craft, learned a new word (ema=stop), served lunch and played with the kids.
After that we went to Joanna's place. She takes care of people dying of AIDS and the mentally handicapped. Most of these people would be deserted or their care would use all the family's money. Then we went to Pastor Nicholas' house to drop off some Sunday School Material. He passes it out to churches that we dont know. They were very grateful. His church, shown in pic, was built by Samaria Mission. We will work with Samaria Mission in Mozambique in a few weeks.

Day 8 - I DID IT!!! I RODE A HORSE! I know to some of you this seems like a small feat, but to me it is huge! I am afraid of horses! I got on ok, but as soon as it starting moving toward the water trough I started to cry. I couldnt stop. The white people here speak Afrikaans. It is in the same language family as German and Dutch, so even though the man was talking to me in English, his accent sounding harsh like he was yelling. I tried to quit crying, but this didnt help. After a few minutes I was in control of my emotions, but still holding the reins pretty tight. Overall it was a good experience. The park we went to was a resort in Bela Bela (AKA Warmbad, Warmbaths) We saw: Warthogs, Zebra, giraffes, pythons, impala, eland, vervet monkeys, anteater holes, and various birds. On the horse we could get very close to the animals, and an eland let followed us almost the whole way. After the ride, we went into Bela Bela and Candi and Reb had their first bartering experience. I saw alot of neat things, but I wasnt in the mood to barter. Both girls bought something. Then, we dropped Mary off at Hamenskral, stopped by Bethesda and went home. That night the Zaks gave all the girls the night off, so I chose to go into town with the boys and attend Youth Group. It was about edification so the teens had to do alot of activities working together and building things. The speaker, Brandon (his cousin Bradley is the music leader) did a very good job with the Word. I was very impressed. It is somewhat difficult for me to love and appreciate the Afrikaans at first. I am growing to love the church at Central, but it was a transition to go, as a wealthy person, and minister to them, when a half hour away people were poor and living in shacks. It would be like Brazil sending missionaries to Chicago and telling the people of Illinois about it. The more I listen to these youth leaders, however, the more the Lord humbles me to my need to study His Word more. Before the Youth started, everyone else had music practice and the younger kids had their time. So Nathan and I went exploring. We walked past the U.S. Embassy, which is guarded by South Africans, to a coffee stop called Cafe 41. I walked up to the host and said, "I need a mocha, do you sell mocha here?" I got this weird look on his face and showed us to a table. Other places we have gone for coffee have only served black coffee. Then a waitress came up to us and took our order. A few minutes later the hostess came with 2 mochas. I apologized for the confusion and he took them away. Then our waitress brought our order. I felt so bad I tipped both of them 5 Rand (equivilant of $0.83, which is a good tip). Nathan decided he likes older sisters because they embarass themselves and they have money. After church Mr Zak took us to McDonalds for a apple pie. They fry not bake....Mmmmmm.....

Fellowship, Relaxation and some NUTS!!!!

Day 5 - I was sick this morning. I think it was one of those catch-up sicknesses where your throat, head, ears, skin...everthing hurts and you can sleep it off. I, and the family, were very pleased to see me feeling better by the evening. We all went out to sweep down the house of cob webs.






Then Ben and I climbed up the pecan tree and shook it as the others laid tarps down and picked up nuts.
We have a lot of nuts!! I have been shelling too so my thumbs are pretty sore. Later Sarah and Candi went to a Sunday School meeting. While they were away we got a phone call that our gardener's wife (Felina) was in a taxi accident. So Mr Z and I went to the hospital to care for her and then take her home. We had to go to 2 hospitals because Pretoria Academic has an old and new location. There were no computers, everything was done by hand, the conditions were less than sanitary, and the waiting conditions as well.

Day 6- This was a relaxing day.

We went to the mall to get money, groceries and duvet insides to prepare for Rebecca G and the others coming.

Then when we got home Mary (my new friend!) was cleaning and we made Jimmy John's type subs. We also got to stop at a thrift shop and dig through mountains of stuff looking for something we could use in the church for chairs. Right now at the Onderstepoort Church the people bring their own chairs: plastic, wood, metal, a log, a blanket for the floor, or they stand. We also kept at the endless craking of nuts. That evening, Sarah and Candi went to a ladies meeting at church. They do not have regular Wednesday night services. While they were gone, we got a phone call that Josiah's wife was in a taxi accident (see day 5 - oops, I put it on the wrong day)