Final thoughts...

I just want to thank everyone who was praying for my mom and me and those who supported us financially. Thank you to those who came to the trivia night. It was a great trip! I was very grateful that we were able to support Jody and encourage her along the way. I know that she was definitely ecstatic to share her little portion of South Africa with us. I pray that as you look at the pictures and the recap of the trip, that you too will be blessed. Please feel free to share this with those you might think will be interested. (If you could also share with friends that attended the trivia night, that would be awesome). Just a reminder, I will be traveling to Zambia June 28-July 12. Please keep that trip in your prayers as well. I will try to do a blog like this when I get back so you can see the difference in the two countries and the two trips.

THANK YOU!!!

The above map is of the area we were in. If you look at the red star (Greytown) in the middle of the map, and travel north, you will find Tugela Ferry. If you travel south of Greytown, you will find Durban.

**Just a quick reminder...if you start at the bottom (Germany) and work your way to Friday, March 28, 2008, you will see the trip in chronological order.

Friday, March 28, 2008

Our airplane from Durban to Johannesburg

Durban International Airport....

We're going home--How sad!!

Scenery between Greytown and Pietermaritzburg

*Note the log cabin

Shanties on the edge of Pietermaritzburg

If you look closely, there is a monkey

Thursday, March 27, 2008

The ladies made wordless book bracelets to take

back to those who were not able to come to the seminar.

One of the ladies practicing the wordless book and the meanings

behind the colors.

Tandi (a nurse at the Hospice)

My group of ladies with the bags they received

Sharing my birthday cake with the patients at the Hospice.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

One of the home based carers
Today and tomorrow, we will hold a seminar for 70 home based carers.

They will be encouraged and will be able to relax.

We taught the ladies how to knit and crochet.

Of course, there has to be dancing.

The ladies were very grateful of the supplies they

received and the new skill they learned.

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!!

i'm not saying how old i am!!!

I will say, it was the best birthday ever!!

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

I know this is probably not an appropriate picture, but she is just sooo cute!!
I did see some wildlife....hmmm
Mary (left) & Jody (right) Florence, a home based carer.

This lady was one of the last ladies we saw during a home visit.

She was diagnosed with AIDS recently.

She lives in the rondavel in the background

with a gentleman. Her husband died within the past 10 years. She recieved a

food parcel and protein drink mix.

The lady with the grey shirt is a home based carer.

I'm really bummed!! I couldn't get this to be right way. Oh well....

This is at the Umsinga Top.
Mary on her cell phone in the middle of nowhere....

note the rondavels, goats, and mountains in the background.

We saw this lady on the side of the road making a broom.

OUCH...Where was the sunscreen today? For those

who don't believe that I got any sun on the trip...here is the proof!

Monday, March 24, 2008

After spending time at Philinjalo, Jody took us to the market. Who could resist this picture?

Some of the male patients attempting to complete a puzzle. Because some of the men are very ill, completing this puzzle did take a lot of effort on their part. At the end of the day, they were pleased with themselves that they were able to complete the task.

The lady in the purple is one of the female patients at the hospice. We spent time with both the females and males, sharing Jesus. We also gave the ladies sun catchers to paint.

One of the ladies at the hospice that cleans.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Joan Dutton instructing mom on crocheting.

Here is a huge tree on the Dutton Farm. I am standing at the base.

Easter Dinner at the Dutton Farm. Samp & Beans, ham & veggies, & a roll.

Dessert was ice cream & fruit.

These are some of the sheep on the Dutton Farm. After Easter dinner, we got a tour of the farm with Tony.

If you look closely, the two children are from Kyalesha. They both have books and balls from the gifts that we left there yesterday. They were so excited about showing the books to both Ruth (in the green).

Saturday, March 22, 2008

The lady between us is Mary. She is a registered nurse with Philinjalo Care Center and also a traslator for Jody. Mary and Jody make several home visits weekly. Mary is also the manager for the Home Based Carers (HBC). The HBC group, visits numerous people in there area to scout out who needs medical help and who is doing better. When a need arises, they contact Mary and a home visit by the nurse is made. There are over 260 HBC, but there is still great need. The area that is covered by Mary is 600 square miles. The terrain is very mountainous and arid. Cars are only a scarce. Feet are the way to go. Each HBC walks thousands of miles every year.

On the bed are several of the items that were collected to take to South Africa to hand out to kids and some facilities.

This little guy was at Kyalesha, a step-down facility from the Pediatric ward. Here, families come and stay with the children so that they can learn to administer medication and better care for the child. We were able to provide lots of toys to the facility, so that they can learn better fine motor skills and also have devotions. At first, the kids were not sure what to think, but later on, they were having so much fun!!!

Today, included a trip to Greytown to obtain the food needed for the 2-day seminar coming up. We found lots of great buys, including milk and eggs on the shelves. Somehow, it keeps. I guess they don't have all of the rules and regulations that we do. We ended up with 3 full carts of food to feed 70 ladies for 2 days.

Here are a few kids with a mind challenging task.

This is Mary with one of the toys. It is a small camera that shows various pictures of Bible Stories. It is somewhat like the popular viewfinders, but much smaller and cheaper.

Friday, March 21, 2008

GOOD FRIDAY!!

Today, was spent traveling to Peitermaritzburg and spending time at African Enterprise. Because it was Good Friday, all of the schools were closed. Majority of the Zulu people take full advantage of the holidays and travel to their family in all parts of South Africa. Several churches spend the weekend having tent meetings or family camp type meetings. We were fortunate to go to a conference at African Enterprise and attend some meetings on Friday. We met numerous people that Jody had known from the church in Peitermaritzburg. For Jody, it was good to spend time with her church family. African Enterprise is like a retreat center with very beautiful grounds. As you can see, there are several waterfalls and flowers.
This picture is of my mom and her good friend Jody Eaker. Jody is a missionary with World Partners. We were fortunate enough to stay with Jody and encourage her. Our visit is the first time that anyone from America has come to see Jody and participate in the ministry here and encourage her. It helps to know that Jody can share her experiences with some who know more what she is talking about.

In the distance, you can see Bamboo growing.

If you live anywhere that has gotten WAY TOO much snow this year, this may be the best sign ever. Here in Indiana, the roads are filled with numerous potholes due to the amount of snow we have gotten and the amount of plowing that has been done. It is quite annoying to drive down the streets here dodging the numerous potholes. If they would put a sign like this up, maybe that would clue you in that you will be dodging potholes and could maybe miss a few of them. Hmmm...Wishful thinking.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

The picture above was caught on the way back to Tugela. We saw several children sledding down a huge hill. As fun as that might have been, the concerns of them getting hurt were greater. Unfortunately, there was no snow to make the landing a bit softer. On the left stands two children and a carer of one of the patients we saw. We were able to take food to each of the homes we visited. We were also able to take some toys for the children. This baby received a Prayer Bear, while the older boy received a small soccer ball.

This little boy and a few of his friends were sitting on the side of the dirt road (if you really want to call it a road) just hanging out. We stopped the bakki and gave each boy an airplane that said Fly with Jesus. At first, they didn't know what to do with 3 Americans stopping to give them a toy. After they got the full blown demo on how to fly the airplane, they had the biggest grins on their faces. As we traveled further to the home visit, we saw them again with their airplanes.

Matron took us to this scenic river en route to a home visit. The kids were on their way home from school for the extended holiday break. They decided to take a dip in the river.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

This baby recieved a Prayer Bear that was given to us and put together by the kids at Groveland Missionary Church.

A lady on the side of the road making a grass mat.

Today was spent traveling for a home visit for a guy who was a double amputee due to diabetes. We visited a few people, but due to the amount of time it took to get to each home, only a few could be seen each day.

Lots of pictures, but not enough room to share all of them. Pictures hopefully will bring some insight as to what we saw and the area we were in. Mom and I took a total of 3000+ pictures. Some good, some not so good.

In the picture of the two ladies in the garden, you can see some typical Zulu dress. The lady with the purple cape is married. Ladies who are married, wear the cape and also a cowhide skirt under their fabric skirts.