Thanksgiving Saturday

We enjoyed a Happy Thanksgiving, American style, yesterday. The day was filled with cooking, eating, sharing time with friends and an unusual twist, telling South Africans about Thanksgiving. The people here are intrigued by the US and our formerly British friends (that is they came from England, not that they are former friends!) were a bit surprised that the US fought England for independence from British rule and taxation! A fun time was enjoyed by all, even the children. There is nothing like having grandkids to enjoy...our own grandkids or someone else's.

Today has been a relaxing Lord's day and it is nice to relax as usual. It is sweet to fellowship and worship with fellow believers so far from home.

The lemons on the trees outside the house are ripe and we have enjoyed fresh squeezed lemonade almost every day. Yum.

90 degrees today and no air conditioning.

About the Photos:

Yes, they all rode the 4 wheeler at once...this is NOT the US. We did not go 50 MPH however.

Isn't she cute? Lindie

Susie and Amber wrapping gifts for the hospice day care party this week.

Unexpected Mission

Yesterday was Bob's first day on "The Job" and it consisted of preparing a garden spot and planting the garden. There was discussion of the size and amount of veggies to be planted and we realized that soon there would be children here and they would need food! That is an exciting thought.

Before noon on Friday Bob saw an opportunity that he had not expected. Two unsaved guys a little older than Bob stopped by the jobsite for a visit. A mission field within a mission. Peet (prounounced Pee-it) is a neighbor with whom the guys have developed a friendship. Peet shared some "spinach" from his garden with Brian & Lois. Spinach is a popular veggie here. The other guy is Donnie. Donnie likes to visit and will spend an hour or so each visit. Bob had the opportunity to talk to him about the Lord and began to share the gospel. Please pray for these opportunities.

Susie helped around the house and did some yard work. The house Brian and Lois are living in has a huge yard that they must maintain.

After lunch grandpa took Liam to the town center where the Air Force had a display of 6 helicopters (we think that is the entire Air Force). Liam loved seeing them and wanted to wait for them to take off. That simply meant they had to spend some time in the ice cream shop! The copters all left within an 5 minute time period. Folks, this just would not happen in the US. There were no fences or anything restricting people when they lifted off. The police did move people back but they were still really close to the action. The guys got a little dust in their eyes but it was worth it! Then back to work.

God is good...

God is great...
He worked out so many details to make our trip to SA happen.
• tickets with frequent flyer miles with an overnight in Atlanta to save us a bundle
• flight delay provided for flying out a day later w/ no overnight to make it even more convenient. (long sweet story here)
• refund of prepaid non refundable car rental that we didn't need in Atlanta
• privilege of working in SA, in some small way supporting the harvest
• supportive pastor, church and family. Special thanks to Joel & Stephanie Newman who got their family up early to take us to the airport and to Bob & Liz Schultz for seeing us off!


Well, I am going to attempt to journal--I don't have much experience but would like to share with those of you who would like to read it! Also, my memory is not the best so I would like to be able to look back in a month and see what we were up to! Here goes...

We arrive in SA in 2 hours! When I think about it I am overcome with emotion. A dream that we have had for 35 years is coming true! God has seen fit to allow Susan and me to serve Him beside Brian, Lois, Louis and Amber!!! We count it an honor and privilege and are humbled by this experience.
God is great all the time!

1 Samuel 12:21 And turn ye not aside: for then should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain.
22 For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make you his people.
24 Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.

God is pleased when we acknowledge what He has done for us and He is Great!

How about some fascinating information?
We are on a Boeing 777-200 that has 278 seats, a range of 10,840 miles and two huge engines each with 110,000 # of thrust. Our 14 1/2 hour flight from Atlanta has been smooth with only a couple of hours of minor turbulence. Our speed has been 630 mph most of the flight-- the fastest I have ever moved! That is getting very close to the speed of sound, Mach 1!
These huge planes amaze me...capable of carrying hundreds of thousands of pounds at an altitude of 37,000 feet for more than 14 hours. How do they hold enough fuel to accomplish this? I don't know but sure am glad they do!

We did arrive safely after a turbulent landing. Susie got a little motion sick due to the up, down, back, forth, slow and fast motions all seemingly happening at the same time. Our 3 hour road trip to Welkom took us 5 hours due to traffic. Thanks to Tom Tom we found a "detour" that no doubt saved us some time.