T...I...A (this is Africa)

What an amazing continent is Africa. Full of beauty, diversity, pain, joy and nature’s splendour.

Saying farewell to the children at Akaniyuka was painful and emotional, both for us and for them. We had bonded so strongly with them and it is a hard to realise that by coming and leaving that we are adding to their sense of loss, some having only lost their parents in recent months. We prayed for each of the 38 individually (see pic) and it was a special time. We promised to return.

David and Kathryn are doing a wonderful job there and it is a joy for us to see how much they have grown and matured into effective ministries.

Our last two days in Uganda were spent visiting the Queen Elizabeth National Reserve, one of Africa’s largest and natural game reserves. We were blessed to be able to see so many birds and animals in their natural environment. It was a special moment when we came across a large lion with his mate. They were just relaxing about 50 metres from the road and they gave a us a great display. We saw an elephant in the distance and many other critters. On the boat, we ran over some hippos and got to see the African crocs which look quite different from our Aussie variety.

Saturday saw us fly off to South Africa and having to say farewell to Liz our daughter in Jo’Burg as she returns to her family in Brisbane. She had an experience in Uganda that she will never forget and the children loved her.

Our old friend Noreen Hallam, who is the SA director of the YWCA, picked us up and we are staying with her until Rod and Jan Best can get down from Botswana (Monday). We ministered at Petra, Noreen’s church on Sunday and had a great time over lunch with her pastor, Keith and Anna Coster……..kindred spirits.

It has turned very cold here in Jo’Burg and there is snow around on the mountains. We look forward to exploring some of South Africa and we will be especially looking out for some more animals to enjoy. The South Africans are revelling in their huge win over the Australian Wallabies on Saturday – the first rugby game we’ve been able to watch for ages.