Friday

Wish I could have written yesterday, but we drove to the "bush" as the South Africans call it, and the bush is a place without internet access. We in Ohio might call it "the sticks" or "the country," if you will. "The bush," though, is an amazing place in Africa.

Africans call it a "game farm." As an American, I was wondering why one would play scrabble near some stables. Didn't make sense. But a game farm, as I have discovered, is a nature preserve full of animals in natural habitats. Awesome. I'll get to more of it later.

Friday began as my guide Chris and I went to a small private school in Mamelodi (the extremely poor area I mentioned earlier in the week) to volunteer our services for when the students arrive in January. 98% of the students, teachers, and administrators there are black, and it was interesting for me to see the guarded nature with which even the administrators took our presence at their school. Although I might have a better understanding of their position had my people undergone apartheid... Long story short, we're going to work together. They were wonderful people and we will most likely learn more from them than they from us. As usual.

Next, we ventured to a hotel called the Farm Inn where there are stuffed lions and deer-like creatures all over the walls. All tastefully done, of course. We are going to bring the students there near the beginning of our trip. Bonus: they can offer us time with lion cubs and a mini-safari. Can't wait.

After lunch, we journeyed to perhaps the most emotional place I have visited in Africa. Our partner school assists a small nursery for babies with HIV, TB and other congenital deformities. I spent an hour there holding babies with AIDS, watched a baby born without a brain in silent suffering, and saw the beautiful sadness of a one-year-old child who survived an abortion attempt. Once again, words cannot describe.

The pictures are coming.

Finally, we finished the day at the game farm. A safari. At night. We drove the cruiser on makeshift roads through the wilderness, shining a spotlight upon the night around us. We saw Kudu (a large type of antelope), monkeys, and even zebras. Zebras. I couldn't believe it. Once again, the pictures are coming. I hope.

At one point, we turned off the lights and looked at the night sky above, and I beheld the greatest single spectacle of stars these eyes have seen. For a moment, I saw and felt God in his stars, and the world of Africa and America stood still. It was beautiful.

I miss you all. I miss my family. But I am blessed, and I love Africa. More is coming.