As our African missionary trip sadly comes to a close in a little over a week, I was flipping through some pictures that encapsulate special moments in time during the past 4 months that haven’t been posted online before. Some are quiet times, some more spectacular, some just silly, but all touch upon meaningful events during our journey here in South Africa that cumulatively make it the most amazing experience of my life.
TOWNSHIP CHILDREN
Megan and I have become very attached to many of the children we work with here in South Africa, and the Thato Preschool children are no exception.
TABLE MOUNTAIN
Standing on top of Table Mountain in Cape Town overlooking the Atlantic Ocean felt like being on the tip of the world.
APHIWE GOOD NEWS CENTRE
Pictured here in the Aphiwe Good News Centre kitchen with Lucas Scheepers during the early stages of construction remodeling to convert the small house into a community centre that will serve Tembisa for many years to come. Launch date is next Thursday and we fly back home that evening.
PILANESBERG GAME RESERVE
Getting the camera ready to photograph some wildebeest we’re about to pass while driving through the Pilanesberg Game Reserve where we saw 4/5 of the Big Five game.
HOLIDAY BIBLE CLUB
Studying the bible with the teenagers from our Kempton Park Ecclesia during Holiday Club in January at the Girl Guide’s Campground.
BOWLING
Glow-in-the-dark bowling with the Kempton Park missionary team. It was Lucas’s idea to do some creative preaching: notice the score cards which spell out a 5-word spiritual thought and was quite the attention-getter, creating conversations with fellow bowlers.
CAPE TOWN ECCLESIA CLASSES
A quiet moment reviewing my notes 15 minutes before the first of two bible classes begin at the Cape Town Ecclesia. Our reception there was warm and inviting and their group was a joy to spend time with.
HELICOPTER FLIGHT
Taking a helicopter ride flown by Brother Stephen Blewitt over Johannesburg was really special. We saw the landscape transition from high-rise skyscrapers to township shacks to green prairies with cattle grazing.
FLIP-FLOPS
Getting to wear flip-flops the majority of the days of the week in South Africa was very nice and comfy on the feet, especially in a warm climate!
BICYCLE GIVEAWAY
Only in-country a little over a week, we were blessed to be part of a bicycle give-away to 26 impoverished township children by the local municipality that Lucas and Leona arranged.
BABOONS
Passing baboons along the road on the drive through the Drakensberg Mountains is definitely an experience we don’t get back home in Missouri! We also “accidentally” fed a very perceptive baboon while in the Cape Peninsula.
SATURDAY MORNING BIBLE CLUB
Saturday Morning Bible Club at the “God is Love” crèche in Delmore Gardens was very special for Megan and I. In the photo, the children and I are listening to Megan’s lesson on creation in the book of Genesis.
STREET FUN IN ESSELEN PARK
Playing games in the street with the children on a Saturday morning was always a blast and a good way to integrate with the community to build trust for preaching. The little boy behind me in the photo never left my side during our visits.
SPINNING
Our missionary director Lucas’s spinning class at the Family Fitness Gym was incredible, a great way to end a long day of missionary work: hard physical fitness, great music, and time to let your mind review the day’s projects. Pictured here with Mat Collard from England, one of the other missionaries.
LIONS
Getting to pet lions at a lion farm in Mikiti was a real blessing. Both my arms are still intact, too, which is even more of a blessing.
TRANSPORT
Playing the never-ending game of “How-many-children-can-you-stuff-in-the-back-of-a-bakkie?” This morning, 15 of us squeezed into our pick-up truck to get to Kempton Park Meeting for services.
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