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.....