Sunday morning we were awakened to the sound of birds as Wendy forewarned us. They were not the song birds of Kansas, but  loud calling birds that sounded like monkeys fighting.   We had a wonderful breakfast including fresh fruit and visited around the table. We had a chance to get to know our team members from Russia and the Ukraine, Natalia and Alena a little better.  Then we boarded the bus to the Methodist Church. 

The church is an all brick building with one large room for worship.  Comfy chairs lined the rows for us to sit and they provided video screens with part of the readings translated into English, just for us.  The people welcomed us with smiles, handshakes and hugs. The women wore bright colored dresses with matching headbands. There were many small children amongst the congregation. Suddenly one woman started singing and the others joined in. They used a drum and bells along with clapping to keep the rhythm. The melody was hypnotic and we tried to follow along with the words. Multiple languages were spoken with very little English, but the message was well received. The title was “prayer without ceasing”.

After the service, an old man introduced himself and told us that his mother was Nelson Mandela’s sister. He said he was proud to have us visit his church. 

Then, with Antoinette as our guide, we toured Pretoria and stopped for lunch.   After lunch, we went to the Union Buildings. They are where the government is conducted. The 2 buildings are side by side representing the British & Afrikaans.   There we saw a giant statue of Nelson Mandela. 
We had a few minutes to relax and then we walked to service at West View Methodist Church which was much like the Foundry service at Rez with contemporary music and casual atmosphere. After church we gathered in the lapa outside our B&B for our devotion and reflection of the day before going to bed. It was and packed day with many new sites, sounds, and new friends.  I love Africa!

Our day started with much excitement & anticipation. Wendy’s brother said a prayer for us, as we gathered at the airport.  The short flight to DC was uneventful, before we boarded the SAA flight to Johannesburg.  We were happy to find that the plane was empty enough to let us stretch out. That is until we landed in Accra, Ghana , and many new passengers got on. The last leg of the flight was crowded and we were very happy to disembark when we landed in Johannesburg. Getting through customs was quite easy & we were able to exchange our Dollars for Rand in the airport. It felt quite rich to have 2 500 Rand, (equal to $200). 
We piled in 2 vehicles for the ride to our home for the week. Our host, Nic, from the B&B was gracious and a good guide pointing out areas along the route. It may take a few days to train our ears to his strong accent. 
It was rather strange riding in the front seat of a vehicle with the driver on the right. And going backwards through a traffic circle was a bit unnerving since they drive on the left side of the road. We arrived at a lovely B&B and enjoyed a tasty dinner of homemade chicken pot pie & rice. We met 2 young ladies from Russia and Ukraine who joined us on the mission. 
Most of us fell asleep quickly with the luxury of stretching out our legs in a comfortable bed. It was so pleasant sleeping with the windows open due to the mild temperatures and the sweet smell of flowers in the breeze. 

Author of Today's Post is Kaci

Today was full of emotion! We spent the morning full of joy as we created crafts and played games with the beautiful children. We also celebrated the Director of Ditshego’s birthday. She does so much for the community of Mooiplaas and everyone wanted to honor her special day. During the afternoon, we were able to share and reflect in small groups about our amazing week. Everyone wished we could stay longer! The day ended in tears as we said goodbye to our friends and prepared to return home tomorrow. It has been an incredible week in South Africa! We have all been blessed by this experience.

Author of Today's Post is Kaci

Today we were given the gift of playing with the children. After teaching about recycling, we made jump ropes out of plastic bags and played games with plastic cups. We were also blessed to serve alongside our friends as we painted a container and made eco-bricks out of the trash.  This week has been full of laughter, joy and friendship. Our team will have an emotional time saying goodbye to the people we have come to love tomorrow. Instead, we will say see you later as we all hope to return to this beloved place.

Author of Today's Post is Kaci

Our day overflowed with blessings! While we planned many service projects for our trip, we also stumbled upon many other opportunities to serve.  Our team began at the clinic and spent time with those needing medicine in the community.  Our favorite part was soothing the unhappy children with hugs. We also witnessed several students learning how to use computers for the first time. Their incredible smiles say it all! We came with lessons about recycling to teach the children, however the people in this community are experts. They taught us how to fill empty 2 liter pop bottles with trash and plastic to create “bricks”.  They will be using these bricks to build a fence for their chickens. Talk about being resourceful! We love learning from our friends in Mooiplaas.