Confusion in Cape Town

22JAN2005 :: xx:xxpm :: B-747, Somewhere over central Africa :: Seat 54J
Were up at 8am this morning; showered and had a light breakfast of yogurt, fruit salad, and toast. Packed up all of our stuff and hit the road around 9:30am. Saying good bye to Cape Town proper, we headed out toward the airport to see one of Kate's friends who has been serving with a YWAM HIV/AIDS ministry called Beautiful Gate. We had arranged by eamil in the previous weeks to meet her at their ministry center in the slums of the metro Cape Town area. We had no problems finding the place and arrived about 10 minutes past our appointed meeting time. Upon arriving, the gate gaurd couldn't get ahold of her via phone, so we were let in to try and find her. We were met on the way in by a group of departing DTS-ers that she had gone elsewhere to go shopping. They also told us that she had been expecting visitors last weekend, and was dissapointed when they didn't show. They didn't think that anyone with her had a cell phone, so all was lost. So we didn't get to see Nicole, though we have been closer to one another in Africa that we would have been each at home in North America; it was disappointing. So that freed up some time for us to go to the Kirstenbosch botanical gardens, which we had hoped to see, but didn't think we would be able to get to. We drove the 20 minutes back toward town to the gardens, which are nestled up against Table Mountian and surrounding peaks; it is quite a beautiful place, with stunning views and peaceful paths and meadows scattered thoughout its hundreds of acres. We enjoyed strolling about for about an hour, trying to appreciate the large collection of flora and fynbos they had assembled there throughout the centuries. Then we lunched at a restaraunt in the gardens that was very good. I had a chicken sandwich that was quite good, while Kate experimented with an ostrich burger (She found it to taste like beef, only had a different texture). Then we changed into our travelling atire, stuffed a few more things into our bags, and made off for the airport for our 3:30pm flight. In the next 30 hours, we ride on four airplanes over three continents and spend about 24 hours in the air. I made the mistake of returning our Avis car in the international drop off lot, when we really need to go to the domestic terminal (or first leg was to Johannesburg). So we got to take a little half mile stroll with around 250 lbs of luggage, although we did have a cart to assist us. Spent a long time trying to explain our complicated flight itinerary with the local SAA ticket agent. We finally were checked in, and learned that we are on a different flight from Franfurt to Chicago than we intially had planned, but that it would get us to Cincinnati about 3 hours earlier than we expected. Had an uneventful flight to Johannesburg in an SAA regional jet. Upon arriving in Johannesburg, we made our way to the Lufthansa desk to get our boarding passes, and the boarding passes for our flight to Chicago. We learned that we were indeed on an earlier flight out of Frankfurt on a United 777, which we were glad to hear (I much prefer the 777 to the 747), and that we had pretty good seats on both of our long flights. Hung out in the terminal for a while, then grabbed a magazine and a chicken sandwich, and proceeded to the gate for boarding. When we finally got on board (it takes a long time to load 330+ people on to an airplane) we found we were in the back of the airplane in the section where the fuselage narrows; our row was the first row to have only two seats instead of three, leaving us a whole lot of room between us and the wall. Got settled in for the long flight on a nearly full airplane. Got away without much of a delay, had some dinner, watched a movie (Wimbeldon), read most of the Newsweek I had purchased, and tried to sleep. It has been good to catch back up on the goings-on of the world. Slept fitfully until they served breafast at about 4am, and we landed at about 5:30am in Frankfurt.

Day of high culture

21JAN2005 :: 10:17pm :: Cape Town, South Africa :: Cape Colonial Bedroom
Slept in a bit this morning and the got up, had breakfast, cleaned up, and headed out to the Groot Constantia Winery for a bit of touring and wine tasting. We got there about a half hour before one of the hourly tours, so we walked around the grounds a bit. This is the oldest vineyard in all of South Africa, and is one of the five in the the immediate area. They have an old manor house that has been turned into a museum, and an active winery. We took the wine tour and learned all about how they turn grapes into fine wine; pretty interesting mix of art and science/technology. Also tasted five varieties of wine, and learned the finer points of wine-tasting. We actually liked all but one of the wines we tasted. After our tour and tasting session, we went down to one of the restaraunts on the property and had some lunch; I had a good salad with chicken, while Kate had some roasted veggies on ciabatta bread. We then took a little self-guided tour of the old manor house, which was interesting. Then walked around a bit more, and headed down to the wine shop. We got three bottles, one each of the ones we liked from the tasting. Left the winery and did some driving around Constantia, enjoying the scenery and architecture. Then headed back into town, and went to the Mount Nelson Hotel, which is a high-class English hotel. They were serving 'high tea' and we partook of a pot of Rooibos tea and a multitude of lovely pastries. They had some incredible scones, which were made even more delicious by cream and berries. All was quite delectible and the atmosphere was very old English. We left there and stopped at an internet cafe to check email and get a little net time. Then swung by a grocery store to fetch some tape, and a variety of tea that Kate enjoys. Came back to our place to relax a bit. Headed up at quarter til seven to the Table Mountain gondola; they offer rides to the top of Table Mountain, and were running a half-price evening special. Unfortunately, the operations were suspended at 7pm due to high winds; we were sad that we didn't get to go up. We headed over to Camp's Bay and walked along the beach for a bit. The wind was very strong and blowing across the beach, painfully sandblasting our skin. The water was also numbingly cold. So we strolled around for about fifteen minutes, then retreated to the car. Came back to our room and showered of the sand, then ran out to have a pizza dinner at a local pizzeria; it was quite good and cheap. We have been consistently having dinner (with drinks) for around US$20. Returned to our room and did some repair work to one of our bags, which have been brutalized by the latest round of air travel. Kate sewed up some tears, and then we taped over them. Got most of our stuff packed up and were into bed around midnight.

Mandela and Robben Island

20JAN2005 :: 10:17pm :: Cape Town, South Africa :: Cape Colonial Bedroom
Got up at 7:30 this morning and we got cleaned up. We grabbed a couple of muffins on the run and headed down to the dock, then caught the 9am ferry to Robben Island. Robben Island is the Alcatraz of South Africa; an island set about 5 miles offshore of Cape Town, Robben Island has been a prison of one sort or another since the Dutch set up there in the mid-1600s. During Apartheid, political prisoners were kept there, the most famous of which was Nelson Mandela. We got a bus tour around the island, then a guided tour through the maximum security prison. It is a very interesting and moving place. It is a shame that such a beautiful island has been made a place of imprisonment for such a long time. It cool to see some good that the Lord has worked out of it: in bringing all of the political leaders of different SA cultures into one place, great leaps in the democracy of future generations were made. Also, many prisoners were able to study and earn university degrees while imprisoned there, all the while being subjected to hard labor, unrelenting demoralization, and other atrocities. We got on the noon ferry and returned to Cape Town in a very strong wind. Then had lunch at the waterfront at a Mexican place; I had some fish and spanish rice, while Kate had chicken nachos. We did some more shopping in the afternoon, securing the last of our gifts. Had some beverages at a little coffee shop, as we were tired from the wind and sun. Ran downtown and picked up one last thing at the street market. Then returned to our place for a rest. Took a nap and read some out of Phillipians 2. Challenged to be a humble servant like Christ was, obedient even unto death. We then went out to take the cable car gondola up to the top of Table Mountain, but it was closed due to high winds. We took a few little scenic drives and got some great views of the city. Had dinner at a Thai restaraunt that was outstanding. Afterwards, retired to our room, and watched some tv. We happened upon a historical show on Mandela's life, which was very informative. He is touted as being pretty much solely responsible for the peaceful transition of government and end of Apartheid in SA. Need to learn more about him. Wrote in journal and went to bed.

Very far South

19JAN2005 :: 10:17pm :: Cape Town, South Africa :: Cape Colonial Bedroom
We got up this morning and layed around for a half an hour. Showered and went to breakfast on the front porch of our place. Had some good yogurt, tea, eggs, and bacon. We returned to our room, collected our camera and jackets, and headed off in the Corolla. Went for a bit of a drive downtown, then over to the waterfront to get our tickets for tomorrows trip to Robben Island. Then headed southwest on the Victoria Road along the coast. Followed the coast pretty much clear to the south end of the Cape Penninsula. Wound around some residential areas that looked exactly like similiar areas of California; it's an odd sensation knowing that you are in Africa, but feeling like you are in California. Drove over some mountian passes, along some stark sea cliffs, and through some cute coastal towns along a drive similiar to the 101 south of monterey, but much shorter and not as pretty. Very nice drive though. Arrived at the entrance to the Table Mountain National Park, which is the very southern end of the Cape penninsula, which contains the Cape of Good Hope (southwestern most point in Africa). The fee to drive the last few kilometers down to the point was a little steep for us (we bought a postcard instead), so we turned around and headed north, up the other side of the penninsula. Stopped and had an incedible lunch at a little pub in Kalk's Bay. They served up some excellent butternut soup, and Kate had pasta with mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes in a cream sauce, while i enjoyed some chicken cordon bleu. It was very, very good. We continued north through the suburbs of Cape Town and returned to down town. We stopped and did a little shopping for gifts at a market in a downtown square. Then drove out to the waterfront to a new shopping mall there. Did some looking around and saw a movie ("Garden State" - good film, but lots of foul language). Had dinner that was ok and returned to our place.

Grand depart

18JAN2005 :: 10:17pm :: Cape Town, South Africa :: Cape Colonial Bedroom
Got up at around 7am this morning; showered up and stripped the sheets off of the bed. Checked email and had some breakfast. Finalized some of the packing and washed the dishes (not gonna miss the "2 large plastic bowls" method of dish washing). We went to our last Bible study and prayer meeting. Finished the packing, and talked through a few things in the office with Chuck. Said our goodbyes to everyone and set off with Chuck and Carol at around 10:15 or so. We stopped in Windhoek to go to the bank and then we grabbed a snack and drink at the Mugg & Bean. Headed out to the airport. We were told (as we feared from reading the website) that we had too much luggage; we had three big bags that weighed a total of around 80 kg. We were informed that we were allowed to have a total of 50 kg for the two of us, and that we had to pay N$29 (~US$5) for every kg (~2 lbs) that we were overweight. So we owed them about US$150, but the lady said that she would do us a favor and not make us pay. The agent beside the one helping us repeatedly suggested that we give her a tip for her favor. So we gave the lady N$20 as we left. We went through immigration and then the lady (not our agent, the one beside her) comes running over and suggests that we give her a bigger tip, after all she saved us a lot of money. We were kind of stunned that this lady came running after us and gave her some more money; so what started off as a favor (or so we thought) ended up as a bribe. It kind of left a bad taste in our mouths, as the last thing that happened to us in Namibia. Probably should have handled the situation differently, but it happened in such a weird way. Anyway, we got off with no other problems. When we got to Johannesburg, we stopped to use the restroom, and then cleared immigration. We arrived at the baggage claim area to find one of our bags out in the middle of the baggage claim area, and the other two no where to be seen. After some looking around, we found another one on the end of the stopped baggage carousel, but were still missing one. I went over to the SAA baggage information stand to inquire. He needed my ticket, so i had to go back over to where Kate was to get it; while walking there, I saw our final bag sitting by a column in another baggage carousel area. We went through customs with no problems, and then had to re-check our bags at the transfer desk. They took two of them with no problems, but told us that one of our bags was too big to check there, and we would have to take it to the ticket counter. We then walked for a ways outside to the domestic departures area, drove our luggage cart up 4 sets of ramps, and finally got it re-checked. Had an uneventful flight to Cape Town, and no more baggage claim problems. Picked up our white Toyota Corolla at Avis, and got headed into town. We arrived at our B&B earlier than we had expected to, and there was no one around. So we drove downtown and did some sightseeing at 8:30pm. Not much going on downtown, but we found a McDonalds and had to stop (aren't we hopelessly American?). Had some excellent nuggets, cheeseburgers, and fries. Our car alarm was acting up, and went off like 3 times for no reason. Made our way back to the B&B were showed to our room. Carried our stuff in (as the car alarm went off repeatedly - for no good reason). I went out to check on the car; tried to open the locked doors and gave the car a few good bounces, and the alarm didn't go off. Hopefully we won't be awakened in the middle of the night by it. Our place is pretty nice, but not air-conditioned. It is actually pretty hot and humid (84 deg at 11pm), but we have a ceiling fan. We watched some "Who's line is it anyways?", took a shower, and hit the hay.

Last full day in Namibia

17JAN2005 :: 9:55pm :: Okahandja, Namibia :: Bedroom
Today was our last full day in Namibia, and it was good; not too terribly exciting, but it finished well. We cut out of the prayer and Bible study meeting early to head over to the Ark in Okahandja; Kate was going to review the progress they had made since she had trained them last month, and to finish trainging on one particular subject. We were disappointed at what they had not done, and tried to encourage them in the way that they should enter the financial data. On the way back to the center, we stopped to pay our phone bill, and quickly ran into the bookstore in Okahandja to grab a couple of magazines for our flight(s). We got back to the center and Kate took care of a few things in the office. At 11:30am, Kate and I, Carol, Dante, and Juliet loaded up in the Kombi and headed for the airport to pick up Chuck and Berdian. We got there at around 1pm, and they cleared customs soon after that. We headed back to Okahandja; we got a call from Hein, asking us to pick up some container import permits in Windhoek on our way through town. We stopped at the appointed building and let Berdian off; he returned a half hour later with the paperwork Hein needs to continue the process of importing the Operation Christmas Child containers. He'll be off to Walvis Bay tomorrow to continue the process. We made it back to the center and grabbed a bite to eat. It was warm and humid this afternoon. Did some packing, and have most everthing ready to go. We have three 25 kg (~55 lb) bags. Spent some time with Marcus putting together a patio table that came on one of the containers; we were missing several nuts for the bolts, but managed to get it to stand up. Hein grilled up some burgers for everyone at the center; they are excited about us going back to Dayton, as they will now have some friends there (they are coming for four months in mid-February). All 15 (plus or minus a couple of babies) residents of the center had a good meal together, in honor of our going away. We had ice cream and peanut butter cookies for dinner, then sat around til 10pm, talking and watching the stars. Got a good look for the last time at the Southern Cross. Tried to implant in my memory what Orion looked like, so I can compare it to his position as viewed from Ohio. We will miss the friends that we have here. We came back up to our flat, wrote in my journal, and Kate wrote out a couple of cards. Sticky and tired, and went to bed.

Tomorrow we'll be off to Cape Town, South Africa for a few days of rest and relaxation before we begin our journey northeast-ward. Might not be any posts for a bit.

Regarding Heaven

16JAN2005 :: 9:55pm :: Okahandja, Namibia :: Bedroom
Slept in til 9am this morning, which was very nice. Had our left over french toast casserole for breakfast, which was nearly as good as the first time. We got a load of laundry in the Holzhausen's machine (the common machine is broken). We ended up doing two loads, and had to rig up an additional clothes line for our wet clothes; it was pretty humid today and stuff wasn't drying too well. Spent some time packing up clothes and other stuff. Ran over to Pick 'n Pay to grab some chicken and lettuce for making salads. Had a ham sandwich for lunch, while kate had a salad and some pesto on bread. After lunch, we hung out with Nika for a while up in our room; she's so silly and fun to be around. We looked at pictures for a while, talked about her family coming to Dayton, and played around with a little ball of sticky-tack. Swept the floor for the last time. Spent some time reading a book entitled "Heaven" by Randy Alcorn. He has been researching Heaven for a long time and has written a book presenting his beliefs on a whole host of questions about it. I have heard Rob teach a series on Heaven a while back, and this added some more to my own understanding of Heaven. He bases everything on the Word, and the idea that heaven will be a physical restoration/resurrection of the present world. The earth, the universe, and us believers will be restored to a pre-Fall/Curse state, and operate the way God designed us to. He goes through some interesting implications of this and other references we find in the Bible. It is really fascinating to think of the place where we who have taken the Lord Jesus Christ as savior will spend eternity; I can't wait to go there! It's going to be incredible. He discusses the size of New Jerusalem (1400x1400x1400 miles!), eating "meat," families and marriage, travelling around the restored world, and animals, to name a few. I would recommend it to anyone who can get their hands on it. The power went out a few times today. We hung out downstairs with Carol, Elfie, Hein, and Nadine for a while, discussing various things. Had chicken on salad for dinner. Listened to a sermon from Apex about making decisions, based on Ps 34:4-5. Trusting in God and placing Him in the "driver's seat" is critical as we make decisions. Secondly comes our own wisdom/understanding, but we are not to lean on this; and we must always acknowledge the Lord in all that we do. Read a bit more in Phillipians then. Reading in the middle of the first chapter, where Paul explains that he really believes his imprisonment has served to advance the gospel, and then talks about the dilemna of wanting to be with Christ, and also wanting to be here on the earth to serve the believers. It takes on a different perspective as we prepare to leave here sooner than planned. I pray that our time here and our early departure will in some way serve to advance the gospel. We are also torn, desiring to be here for the arrival of our church team, but also greatly desiring to be home. Not exactly the same situation as Paul, but I can draw parallels to his situation. Wrote in my journal and hit the hay.