Days Three and Four: PopUP and Edendale

On Monday and Tuesday, we went to PopUP, a community outreach program which stands for "People Upliftment Programme," and Edendale Independent School, a local private school mostly attended by black students. Both of these organizations we organized through Doxa Deo, the school in Pretoria previously attended by Duhann Jacobs (a junior at CHCA and a member of our trip to South Africa).

Monday's service consisted of hearing much about the ministry of PopUP. This program actually began as a homeless shelter, but over the ten years of its existence it has changed into a community service center. The goal of PopUP is to teach basic work skills so that people have a chance to get a job in the workforce. Amazingly, PopUP has an almost 85% success rate. We spent the afternoon at PopUP gardening and sorting clothing for the poor communities.

The girls on the bus on the way to PopUP. You can always tell that I do not snipe photos, because the girls are smiling happily. This is one of my favorite pictures of the trip.

This is our group after our morning program. Portia is the woman in the pink shirt in the front. She attended the PopUP program last year and offered her testimony to us in the morning.

Many of our students with the PopUP learners during the tour. This was a knitting class, and the teacher (seated in yellow) gained some valuable advice from our students about purses and clothing.

While I didn't get a good picture, the next class we visited was one of the highlights of our trip. The Africans in the class wanted us to sing for them, and the only thing we could think of was the National Anthem. Frankly, it bombed. Maria and a couple of the girls held strong, but we folded before the ending. After that, the group in the class sang the South African National Anthem to us, which consists of Zulu, Afrikaans, and English. It was an amazing experience to hear.

Karen Hordinski with Portia, one of PopUP's many success stories.

In the early afternoon, we had a chance to play with many of the children in PopUP's orphanage called Pop Kids.

Alysse and Chloe with the children.

After our day, we returned to Doxa Deo school to journal and reflect. This is our group sorted throughout the courtyard before meeting their host families.

PICS FROM EDENDALE

Mrs. Jacobs cleaning and sweeping outside. What a blessing she has been to us this week.

A pic I sincerely wish to have had a "before" and "after" shot. Suffice it to say that this room was an absolute mess before we arrived. The students cleared away the rubbish, swept, and mopped. Outstanding work.

The staff room at Edendale where we met in the morning.

This room had been an absolute nightmare. These desks and chairs were stuffed to the sides, filling the halls with dust and dirt. Mrs. Jacobs led the students in organizing and cleaning the room. Again, an outstanding job by our group.

One of the classrooms which was completely re-done by our group.

After a long day of work, the group is done for the day. This is a few of our students relaxing with colddrinks (a South African term) after a hard day.

Nate Post trying to snipe a photo of me. He didn't succeed. Also notice the Queen Sniper herself in the background. (She also didn't succeed.)

Dylan began playing this game after our work day. He would spin around as you see for ten seconds, and the try to run in a straight line.

It didn't work. He fell quickly. We who were watching laughed long and hard.

Then Victoria tried her luck...

Definitely running to the right....

And down she goes.

Overall, it was a wonderful two days of service to begin our trip's mission work. Our host church Doxa Deo heard from both PopUP and Edendale with wonderful reviews of our work over the first days. Over the next two days, we continued our work in Mamelodi.

Until then, cheers.

Day Two

Yes, we are finally again up and running. I hope today to go through the week in photos. I will get as far as possible as we are now in Sun City and heading out for our safari later this evening.

It has been a wonderful week. The children are doing so well. On Sunday (Day Two), we left the Farm Inn early and ventured about an hour's drive away to a lion and rhino park. One of the first things we saw was the last still-growing cave in Africa. Here are some pics below.


Our group as we arrived at the park. We were waiting for the next tour of the cave.

There were about 100 steps down and then we took a lift about another 200 feet into the ground. It was eerie and dark. This is our group heading down the steps into the cave.

Darkness. These stalactites (or are they stalagmites???) have been growing in the cave for thousands of years.

This was one of the more spectacular sites in the cave. It is called Mother Mary, a natural-grown cut-out of rock which looks exactly like a woman with her child. Amazing.

After we left the cave, we drove to the lion and cheetah feedings. By the time we reached them, the lions had already devoured their prey and were laying far away. We did, however, get a good look at the cheetahs.

If you look closely, you can see two or three cheetahs next to the blue car in this pic.

Then they came closer.

And even closer. They eventually passed us by and headed to their feeding. Cheetahs are amazing animals, particularly because of the small whimpering sound they make.

Zebras right next to our bus. The lion/rhino park reserve has a huge amount of land, and we happened to get lucky and see some wildlife.

These two rhinos were right next to our bus as well. Rhinos are incredibly peaceful, and they're vegetarians. Interesting facts about animals with such weapons.

Back at the park, many of the students played with lion cubs. Didn't get many great shots of the students with the cubs but used many of their cameras. There were also hippos, snakes, and a cheetah race. You will be glad to know that Katie Jonas actually defeated a cheetah. She did get a head start, and the cheetah was tired, but she still technically won.

On to one of our jokes this week. Many of the students will try to "snipe" me with a photo when I am not looking. I would never partake in such immaturity. This is Ronnie sniping me. She didn't get a good shot, though. I did.

After we returned home from the park, we met our host families at Doxa Deo school. The students have had outstanding experiences with their host families, and many have already expressed the desire to return to South Africa again. Some have even been invited back.

On Monday, we started the service portion of our trip. While we had only been in Africa for one weekend, it already was beginning to feel like home.

Still Here

Yes, we are still alive and kicking.

Sorry about the lack of recent updates, as internet availability here is scarce and unpredictable. I was secretly hoping that I would have a family with wireless internet capability. I was wrong. Suffice it to say that I am sitting here at an internet cafe in a mall while the students shop. That is what I have been reduced to.

But that's okay.

We have seen and experienced much this week. Much of it has been beautiful, but we are also struggling with some difficult questions about poverty and justice. Just spending a day at a health clinic in one of the poorest areas in the world (which we did today in Mamelodi) has taught us as much. And yet, we stay in homes which rival the wealthiest. It is truly a feeling of ambivalence.

And we are learning much.

So sad to say, it may be a few days on pictures. I am assuming I will have some capability for pictures and internet at Sun City, and most likely will post more then. I am at 700 pictures and counting. Not sure if I can post them all.

Until very soon, cheers. Keep praying for us, that we may see the world and learn its reality. And that we may continue to do it safely. God has been faithful so far.

Thank you all. We'll speak again soon.

The First Day in Photos

South Africa is so beautiful in the morning.

I awoke at 7AM today to the sounds of chickens and roosters and lions roaring in the distance. In South Africa, the sun rises at about 530AM and by 600, it is like mid-day. As I walked out at 7, it was seventy-five degrees, sunny, and reminded me of noon at Coney Island.

And I think the students like it, too.

I have uploaded some pictures of our first full day. I hope you like them. Please rest assured that we are safe and sound, only 8000 miles away. We could not have had a better first day.

Enjoy the pictures. And the clever captions. We'll speak again soon.

These first two pics are of a group of South African from Mamelodi who were eagerly awaiting our arrival. They did an African tribal dance for us and welcomed us to their country.

Okay, that first caption was not entirely true. This group from Mamelodi was actually awaiting the Crossroads group, but we came in first and they mistook us for them. (Seriously, shouldn't they be able to tell apart twenty white people from Cincinnati?) We still enjoyed their dance, and the vuvuzelas. You will enjoy hearing these at the World Cup.

Our group on the bus. They were very cramped today. Beginning on Monday we will have a 22-seater. This one falls just short.

One of the coolest things we did today was visit Loftus Stadium in Pretoria. This is the site where the semi-finals of the World Cup will be played. And we were there.

The boys, being boys, in the stadium. The only thing our guide (left) asked was that we don't walk on the grass. No problem.

The ladies, and more stadium shots.

Our whole group at Loftus. And yes, I am wearing a Bengals jersey. Proud of it.

The Union Building of South Africa, where the offices of the President are located. The students had seen this on Wednesday during the movie Invictus, so it was nice to see it in person.

The view from the Union Buildings. The large soccer ball in the middle is near Loftus.

At the Union Buildings, there are various shops and places to buy souvenirs. This was one of the vendors. He was very nice, but DID make a joke about having more than one wife. Right after this picture.

After we returned, we had a game drive (mini-safari) at the Farm Inn. This is the group in the back of the cruiser. Fitting picture.

These are Wilda beasts. Not the most attractive animals.

This Cheetah was beautiful. While the large animals at the Farm Inn are kept in cages, none have been taken from the wild and placed into captivity. That makes me feel a bit better.

Our guide Benny went into the cage with the cheetah. He paid for it with a bite. Just kidding, he is not really getting bitten by a cheetah.

Benny then brought a lion cub named Jack Sparrow on board our cruiser. Jack was grumpy, but he was a real hit with the students. A beautiful white lion who will be deadly to humans in about four months.

This is Apollo. He is very large; about 600 pounds. We were lucky to see him move since he sleeps about 22 hours per day.

Awwww... I think Jack is holding Paiten's hand.

This was a nice move by our hotel. No, I don't know what Etvall is.

Victoria was very happy to sit in front of the cruiser on the way to our Tribal braai. Did I mention she was happy? And excited?

The survivor-like wooden area where we had our fire and cooked the meat for the braai.

Alysse, Morgan, Victoria, and Paiten just before dinner.

There is quite a story with this monkey. He was very unhappy with us and was jumping, screaming and threatening us for quite some time. He didn't like me at all. At one point, he threw something at me. Yes, I think it was that. Gross.

Our great dinner crew grilling above the fire at the braai.

Our girls with Mike, one of the dinner crew. An outstanding job. We were very appreciative of him and the staff.

Grady had his turn. And forced me to take a picture.


Overall, it was a wonderful first day! We will post more again soon. Pray for us.

Safe in SA

Our flight landed this evening at about 5:20 PM South Africa time. We are safe and sound in Pretoria, South Africa this evening. Thanks be to God.

As I write, the students are nestled cozily in their beds at the Farm Inn, hopefully resting their bodies after a flight that was every bit of 16 hours. Wow. Even having made the trip before, it really takes your breath away.

We arrived to the sound of lions roaring in the distance. With any luck, we will see some tomorrow. Saturday we will see the Union buildings in Pretoria (where the President and the South Africa government resides), go on a mini-safari in the afternoon, and conclude the day with a traditional African braai. The children are excited. I know I am.

Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to post some pictures here, as our group seems to have an exorbitant number of Nikon and Canon cameras. Perhaps we can let you all see what we have seen through this medium.

The students have been wonderful. We are exhausted. Hope everyone back in the States is well, and I will update the blog as much as I can.

PS. Today was 77 degrees. So sorry to hear about the snow.

One More Day

We leave tomorrow. We are now packing and preparing, and I may not sleep tonight. Somehow that's okay, though. I can sleep on the plane.

Meteorologists are calling for over 6 inches of snow in Cincinnati tomorrow. Of all days. Good thing they are wrong a good percentage of the time. Maybe they'll be wrong again. Probably not, but somehow we'll manage.

I cannot wait for the mountains, the plains, the hills, the soil. Alan Paton, in one of my favorite books, says it better than I ever could:

There is a lovely road that runs from Ixopo into the hills. These hills are grass-covered and rolling, and they are lovely beyond any singing of it. The road climbs seven miles into them, to Carisbrooke; and from there, if there is no mist, you look down on one of the fairest valleys of Africa. About you there is grass and bracken and you may hear the forlorn crying of the titihoya, one of the birds of the veld. Below you is the valley of the Umzimkulu, on its journey from the Drakensberg to the sea; and beyond and behind the river, great hill after great hill; and beyond and behind them, the mountains of Ingeli and East Griqualand.

The grass is rich and matted, you cannot see the soil. It holds the rain and the mist, and they seep into the ground, feeding the streams in every kloof. It is well-tended, and not too many cattle feed upon it; not too many fires burn it, laying bare the soil. Stand unshod upon it, for the ground is holy, being even as it came from the Creator. Keep it, guard it, care for it, for it keeps men, guards men, cares for men. Destroy it and man is destroyed.

Where you stand the grass is rich and matted, you cannot see the soil. But the rich green hills break down. They fall to the valley below, and falling, change their nature. For they grow red and bare; they cannot hold the rain and mist, and the streams are dry in the kloofs. Too many cattle feed upon the grass, and too many fires have burned it. Stand shod upon it, for it is coarse and sharp, and the stones cut under the feet. It is not kept, or guarded, or cared for, it no longer keeps men, guards men, cares for men. The titihoya does not cry here any more.

The great red hills stand desolate, and the earth has torn away like flesh. The lightning flashes over them, the clouds pour down upon them, the dead streams come to life, full of the red blood of the earth. Down in the valleys women scratch the soil that is left, and the maize hardly reaches the height of a man. They are valleys of old men and old women, of mothers and children. The men are away, the young men and the girls are away. The soil cannot keep them any more.

Until tomorrow. Remember your passports.

Back to South Africa

It's been a long time.

Reading through this blog again, now six months later, is like coming home to a place you've always known and loved and wished you could see again. Suddenly I remember more vividly the sights and sounds and smells... and I know I will experience them all over. Again. And it makes me smile.

It is also a reminder of my near-famous ability to make promises and not always follow through. Goodness, how many times did I write "I'll write more soon" and not write any more soon? Too many. If you're wondering what I'm talking about, check the previous post and look at the date. Enough said.

The story of this trip, however, beautiful as it was in July and August, is not yet finished. It has just begun.

We leave on Thursday, January 7. Fifteen students. Two adults. And me. Not sure where I fit in there. Right now, it is ten degrees Fahrenheit in Cincinnati. It is eighty-five in South Africa. We'll take it.

At the risk of sounding redundant and too promising (and we all know how that goes), I hope to update this blog as time allows while we are in South Africa. More is coming in the next couple of days before we leave.

Until then, cheers. We will talk soon.