Home Again, Home Again..

We made it home! After a very long couple days and a few delays we made it back safe and sound to PA. The journey home was an eventful one: three hour drive to Durban airport, flight to Johannesburg, two hour delay because of storms in the airplane, eight hours to Dakar, hour and a half layover because of security checks, another eight hours to Washington D.C., missed flight in the morning, mechanical issues on one plane and finally on another plane to get home...37 hours in all (plus longer for the two Iowa folks)!

Since we weren't able to update after the safaris I will now (from the comfort of my office!).

Saturday we drove to St. Lucia for our lake cruise and night drive. The lake cruise was two hours of hippos and crocs in their natural habitat. It was incredible to see just how huge the hippos are. The crocs were sunning themselves on the beach - a safe distance from us!
The night drive started out great - we saw a herd of zebra in a field, but after that there wasn't much else that we saw.

Sunday morning started early as we left the hotel at 5 a.m. and headed out for the all day game drive at the Hluhluwe/ Imfolozi Game Reserve. Around 6 a.m. the day started out with a giraffe and impala right away. Throughout the day we also saw rhinos, warthogs, zebras, elephant, cheetah, water buffalo, lions and baboons. It was fascinating to see all of these animals in the wild. We were hoping to see a large herd of elephants, but we were happy to see the one that we did. The only animal of the Big 5 (elephant, water buffalo, rhino, leopard, lion) that we didn't see was the leopard..a very successful day! The day ended around 4 p.m. as we headed back to the hotel to relax and get packed up.

The trip was truly amazing. To be able to travel this far to do such good work is a blessing. On behalf of the group, I thank all of you for your support and prayers throughout our travels.

I will be posting some photos of the house and our trip here on the blog, now that I have more availability (and speed!). Hopefully within the next week I'll get those up.

Until then - hamba kahle!

Saturday, September 26

Yesterday was the last day of building. We didn't finish the house completely but we did get a lot done. A couple of the walls are complete while some still need some block laid. Considering that we had a couple days of rain, with one day cut short, we completed a fair amount. At the end of the day we had a short dedication service for the house with all of the team members, Pastor and Margaret. She was very happy and appreciative that we were able to come here and help her out.

This morning we are getting ready to check out of our hotel and head to St. Lucia for a few game drives (safari). In the next two days we are going to be doing a river game cruise where we will be able to see hippos, crocs, eagles and hopefully other exotic animals! This evening we have decided to do a night game drive to see the nocturnal animals and tomorrow will be a day long game drive.

I'm not sure of the Internet availability that we'll have the next few days, but if we have any at all I'll be sure to post!

Since I haven't been able to post any photos while we are here, I will post a few when we get back to the states.

A few more days of travel until we are home! Thanks for keeping us in your prayers!

Thursday, September 24

A lot of progress was made today. One wall of the house is completely done. It was very warm today - a few of us got a few too much sun! The day started with mixing up daga and laying block. Today was Heritage Day in South Africa so our builder ended his day at 3:00. The rest of the day was spent moving more block to the work site.

During the day a few of us played soccer with the kids, as they were off of school for the holiday. After work we were able to give the kids some of the donated items we brought - crocs, school supplies and toothbrushes with toothpaste.

This evening we toured a castle near the village we are working at. We had a traditional South African Braae, dinner included chicken, steak, lamb and farmers sausages. The owner of the castle also owns six ostriches and a peacock as pets.

The weather was much warmer today and sunny the entire time. Much better than the rain of the past two days! Tomorrow will be warm and sunny as well. We plan on getting the rest of the brick laid by the end of the day.

We'll remember the sunblock tomorrow! Cheers!

Wednesday Sept. 23

Today was a full day of building. The day started with mixing daga and laying block. Another truckload of block was delivered just before lunch so we had to haul it up the hill to the build site.

The weather is cooler than yesterday - about 64 degrees - and a misty rain in the afternoon.

After the work day we got cleaned up and headed to a local steakhouse called Butcher Boys for a fantastic dinner.

Tomorrow the rain is supposed to stop and get a bit warmer so we are anticipating another full day of work.

Until tomorrow...Cheers!

Finally!

So...after more than 24 hours of travel time we have arrived in Africa and have started our project! As you have read, we have had some technical difficulties with the internet and getting connected but we have finally got on. Here is a rundown of what we have done so far: Friday into Saturday was all travel. We landed in Durban around 8 p.m. and to the hotel at 9 to get situated and ready for the week. Sunday we attended service at the TShongweni Lutheran Church and met some of the people from the village. Later in the evening we had our orientation meeting for the week. Monday started our work week, which consisted of moving many many concrete block from one pile to another and finally up to the build site. All involved were (and still are) sore from that project. We also started laying some of the block for the house...mixing the concrete (daga in Zulu) and learning the process. Today - Tuesday - consisted of mixing more concrete and laying more block. The weather was much cooler than yesterday and raining so our work day was cut short. Tomorrow looks to be a bit warmer so we hope to get some more block laid.

Everyday that we've been here we have had the children from the village come up to talk and play with us. The lady that we are builing the house for - Margaret - has been at the site everyday talking with us and telling us about her family. She is excited about her new house and tells us to "work fast."

I hope to get some photos posted soon, considering our internet availablity I hope its not a problem. Continue checking back as I hope to be able to continue to post our days activities. Please keep our team in our prayers!

OOPS!

If you've followed this blog since the group left for Africa, you've probably noticed it hasn't been updated yet. Unfortunately, renovations to the hotel have temporarily disabled the WiFi capabilities -- so if the hotel gets the connection up and running, they'll start posting their experiences and pictures (we hear there are TONS of pictures). Either way, keep the group in your thoughts and prayers as they continue to serve on the other side of the world!

Keep checking back...

Almost Time!

We are down to one day before departure! Bags are being filled and itineraries are being finalized. In addition to our mission of building and ministering, the week includes fellowship opportunities like: a safari, visits to the local church and dinners out.

Everyone is looking forward to the time spent in Africa, but not the long travel time to get there (almost 20 hours).

Check back daily to follow along with us during our adventures!

Welcome!

Welcome to Concordia Lutheran Ministries' blog space. Initially, we plan to use this page to update you on the status of our international mission work... then we'll see where it goes from there.

Starting on September 18, we will be posting from South Africa during a mission trip that will find us building a house and getting to know the local congregation. From the 18th through the 28th, check for daily updates from the mission site. There will be a few Concordia employees and board members, as well as some Lutheran church members from across the U.S. on the mission trip.

Check back soon for some pre-trip thoughts. We hope you enjoy!