Pictures from SA 2009

One of the first photos I took when I arrived in South Africa. This is of Edendale Community School about which I have written. A wonderful facility and surrounded by the mountains and hills of South Africa.

Pretoria. A beautiful view from the Union Buildings. The hills always seem to surround you here.

Me and a Sitting Man overlooking Pretoria.

One of the main government buildings of South Africa in Pretoria, with the South African flag flying overhead.

A lovely gentle-woman selling merchandise outside the Union Buildings. If you look closely you'll see her wearing an Obama-Biden sticker, which is why I took the picture with her. (Note: I am not stating any current or previous endorsement of any political candidate in any previous election. My official position, as always, is neutral.)

The Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria, marking the Afrikaners' Independence Day of December 16. We went to the top. Nice view.

Me with dangerous stuffed animals at the Farm Inn. I told you it was tasteful.

One of my favorite but most heart-wrenching shots of my trip thus far. This is the slums (the SAs would call them "sqatters' camps") of Mamelodi. About three miles from here are some of the nicest and wealthiest estates in all of South Africa.

This little boy is just one year old and HIV positive, and last week I complained because I couldn't get a wireless connection at my house for an hour. God forgive me.

This is Hannah, the woman who runs the AIDS Babies nursery I have written about. One of the most courageous and kind women I have ever met.



This little girl survived an abortion. She has permanent brain damage and cannot hold her head straight as you can see here.


Hannah is saddened to see signs that this little boy--who currently is being treated for TB-- may be HIV positive as well. I held him for about twenty minutes, and when I put him down to see if he could sit up, he cried and begged for me to hold him again. I cried as I picked him up.



In Afrikaans, the word "thank you" is pronounced "Dankee" and sounds a lot like the animals you see here. I made my new South African friends laugh when I told them I was going to go for a ride on the "Thank You."

This is our safari cruiser, or as the SAs would say, our "Game Drive" cruiser.

A beautiful animal we saw on the safari. Can't remember its name, but check out the horns. I walked right up to it in the jungle and took this shot (I was told they are peaceful; this one was).

You can just see me here in the Game Drive cruiser on the red clay roads.

Zebras' butts. They must work out.

There is no Afrikaans word for "monkey"; they just say "monkey." This is a "monkey," and there were about eight of them in this tree.

This zebra walked right in front of us.

This is the best shot I could get of the giraffes, or as the Afrikaans speakers say, "Camel Horses." Interesting. I cannot tell you how awesome it is, though, to see giraffes in their natural habitat. It was a spectacular sight.

We're going to "Sun City" tomorrow (Sunday) to see the Big Five: Lion, Buffalo, Leopard, Elephant, Rhinoceros. There were rhinos and leopards somewhere within the game farm today, but we missed them. 7000 acres and we couldn't find two rhinos. What are the odds.

Anyway, the trip planning is coming along well. We are excited to bring the students down here and see the tremendous beauty, but also the great needs, of South Africa. I am humbled to be here, to be alive, and to be enjoying this beautiful earth God has given us. Please continue to pray for me and South Africa.