From Phoenix SkyHarbor to Mafikeng

It takes a long time to get here. Four hours to Washington – Dulles, a couple of hours at Dulles, 7 ½ hours to Dakar, Senegal, about an hour waiting there, almost 8 hours to Johannesburg, about 1 ½ hours going through customs and getting bags, and finally a 4 hour bus ride to Mafikeng. Everything went like clockwork, and we do thank God for that. It turns out August 2 was Grace's birthday. About an hour before arriving in Jo'burg, as the locals call it, we gathered around her seat and serenaded her with Happy Birthday. She was just a little bit embarrassed, pulling her blanket over her face. Happy Birthday, Grace!! We were met at the airport by Ron, the trip leader who'd been in South Africa since the prior week, and Bill and Susan, the short-term mission coordinators for Helping Hands, and whom most of us met in March at a meeting at La Casa. It was nice to see those familiar faces after such a long journey. Walking outside the terminal intoa very pleasant 65 degrees was also very nice. The fact that it was dark by 6:00pm and the temperature wasdropping very quickly, quickly reminded us that it is winter here. On the way to Mafikeng, we stopped for dinner. What better way to be introduced to South African cuisine than eating at – McDonalds!! Almost identical to what we have at home except you can order a cup of corn as an alternative to fries. We started out at Sky Harbor at 6am on the 1st. We ended our long journey at the house in Mafikeng at almost midnight on the 2nd.

~Noel Olmut