Good Morning Jordan….

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Commence Week 3 summary

So week 3 already eh? Wow.. Soweto seems a lifetime. This week is about rest, travel, and introspection. I think if we do the first two we might get around to the third.

            So Sunday morning we all met back at the church after a weekend with our host families and attended Waterkloof Dutch Reformed Church for our last time. We then said our good byes and drove to Hartbeesport. It’s not too far from Pretoria and kind of pretty. Looking off of the guy’s building’s veranda at the mountains I was reminded of when we stayed at Sunnybrae last semester. Then I heard this crazy bird squawk like a crying baby and knew we weren’t in Kansas anymore.

            For most of this week we stayed at the Good Shepherd Retreat Center. Like most every other building here it was made of brick. It was a beautiful place with lots of pretty flowers and plants and it overlooked a lake. There were also the biggest slugs I’ve ever seen in my whole life. They were massive! So you can tell I was more drawn to the flora and fauna. The students however were drawn to the pool. Like moths to a flame, or perhaps more appropriately, like a golden lab to a ditch, they spent most of these days by, in, or above the pool. Learning to back dive, seeing who could jump the furthest, and who could get the darkest  sun tan in the short time we had.  The time was set aside for relaxation and I would say that it was mission accomplished. We also used this time to refocus ourselves individually and as a group, on God. We had several worship times, 2 prayers occasions, and of course small groups and mentoring.

            For those students who go crazy being cooped up with nothing to do but relax and mellow by the pool, and watch the grass grow, and listen to the birds, and observe the beauty of creation (by this I mean the mountains and the lake) there were a few other arranged events to occupy oneself. Walking to the store to buy anything was the consumer’s choice, and a large number of the group went to the Cheetah Reserve to spend some time trying to catch up with the world’s fastest animal. 120 km/hr.

            The rest was important because we were preparing for the mentally strenuous task of riding in a bus for 20+ hours across vast distances as we drove from Pretoria area in the Gauteng province to Cape Town, which is all the way near the ocean on the south west coast.

            It was a long drive. Loooong. We left at 5pm so as to be awake for the Great Karoo (think big desert with neat mountains every now and then) and as usual some people slept, some couldn’t, some stayed awake, and some just got very surreal. Jason bought a rugby ball at one of the stops so whenever we stopped (every 1 ½ to 2 hours) we’d go outside and throw it around to wake up/warm up. We ate breakfast at a Wimpy’s. It’s kind of a fast foodish place and they’re all over here. We went through the longest tunnel I’ve ever been through. I tried to hold my breath through it but had to give up or pass out. We passed a fire on the side of the road in a town that had a lot of vineyards. And we saw more really different stuff. Different mountains. Different animals. Different plants. We even passed two baboons.

            The distance those earlier pioneer trekked and across such terrain was incredible. Their task was massive. We drove it in 20+ hours in a bus. They had big wagons that didn’t move very fast. They’d travel maybe 15 km a day. It gives you more respect for the ancestors who came before and worked very hard to provide for what we’ve now become.

            Tune in next week for Week 4: Melkbosstrand/Cape Town

Goodbye Jordan

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