Lost in Faith

Day 7b and following
Leaving the airport we headed to Grahamstown where Rufus and Almaire live and the future home of Emily Duggan as she student teaches at a private school there.  It is clear to see that Grahamstown is a different city.  It is not African but more a British feel.  It was there that I encountered “load sharing” for the first time.

Load sharing is the South African electrical companies way of handling the demand for electricity they can’t meet.  When we entered town we noticed that the traffic lights (called robots) were not working.  Candy and went to the local museum to catch the history of the area while Almaire shopped.   When we were both finished we tried lunch at a small restaurant and discovered it was dark inside!  No electricity in a part of the town.  The electric company moves the blackouts around South African to manage the demand for electricity.  Without notice the power just goes out, no storm to blame.  The odd thing is that we walked across the street and they had power.   South Africans just shrug their shoulders and say, “That’s Africa!”

About an hour north of Grahamstown is “Mayim” or the name Rufus and Almarie have given their hunting farm.  The name means “healing waters,” and it was just that for us.  Two days to rest, reflect and dream with Rufus and Almaire.

An extra added feature was the presence of two hunters from the US.  We were able to see the spoils of their hunts as well as go with them which Candy did all Sunday afternoon while I watched the British Open or The Open Championship as the rest of the world refers to it.

In this short pause we had a chance to reflect on our time in the Transkei and plan with Rufus and Almarie some next steps which I hope to get to in this edition.  (I am back in Mthatha at the Hilltop Guest House waiting for breakfast and depart to Bukwini for the Child Sponsorship Program today. )

Michael Hale joined us Sunday evening for an early morning departure for East London.  On the way into East London, Michael received a call from one of his adopted daugthers who informed him that a man had asked to marry her and he had “Lobolo,” or the bride price ready.  The question is how many cows is Lumka worth!  Michael took it in stride since this is the third time this has happened.

We arrived in East London and met our counterparts in a welding store.  Bill Jahnke had two pages of building equipment that we needed to purchase.  So the girls (Bill’s wife Marilyn, daughter, Katie, Kristi Fair and Candy) split for some sightseeing and shopping while the men visited building supply, trailer shops, hardware stores, welding stores, building supply stores to acquire the necessary materials for the assembling of four classrooms in September.  (My Greek professor would be proud of that last sentence, Ephesians 1:3-14 is once sentence, my English teacher would have a heart attack!)

It was a long and potentially rewarding day in East London.  We found several people who talked as if they could be big help.  Now it remains to be seen if they help as much as they talk.  The two pages of drills, saws, gloves, cutting torches, welding materials and such are being quoted by several different companies and will be available for pick up in the coming weeks.

The key factor will be if the containers will arrive in time and when they arrive will the trucks be able to off load them on to the pillars being built for the foundation.  Tomorrow (Thursday) Bill Jahnke meets with the container company to get those questions answered.   If all goes as planned by the time the team leaves in September, Bukwini Junior School will have 4 new classrooms.

It was long day so we retired to our accomodations at the Gonubie Beach Guest House (just down the hill from the Whitehouse).  Not to shabby to sleep where Michael Caine slept last week and Richard Gere will sleep next week.  The rooms are nothing to write home about but the view is.  The Indian Ocean consumes the entire horizon and demands your attention.   Hard to describes so ask Michael or Richard next time you see them.

We spent a great evening at the Sports Bar close by watching South Africa close out England in Cricket and I still have no idea how they keep score.  Everyone was excited to get to Bukwini the next day but we had a long drive ahead of us so we eat and went to bed early.

Eating by the ocean was a rough assignment but I managed.  Before we could leave we had a meeting with a trailer company to talk about designing a trailer just for our application.  Pretty pricy but if this container strategy works we’ll need something on the ground like this to hold the equipment we need.

Finally on our way to the Transkei, we stopped just across the Kei River at the Ultra City (Shell gas station C store).  It was delightful to help Marilyn, Bill and Katie understand the Transkei, history and culture, AND how long you have to drive to get places.  We pulled into Mthatha about 2 pm dumped our luggage and headed for Bukwini to let Bill and Michael lay eyes on the land that we hoped to place the containers.  An hour later now 3:30 pm we drove into Bukwini.

After an hour of congitation we crammed back into the Van and head back to Mthatha for dinner.  It is always good to get off the highways before night fall in South Africa and we managed to just escape the dark.  Mike’s Kitchen was our evening rendezvous spot and it had free Wifi, unheard of in South Africa.  It allowed me to upload a bunch of photo to my picasa site (www.picasaweb.com/royemoran)

Up at the crack of dawn for a full day in Bukwini.  Today was big day in Bukwini because Daniel and Kristi Fair would be distributing the Orphan Care Packets provided by the generous contributors from Shoal Creek.  We arrived at 9:50 am as did the grocery store delivery truck that supplies the food.   The food was packaged in tidy plastic sacks to be easily carried by the families picking them up.

There has been quite a turn around in the leadership of Bukwini.  Since the death of Chief Ndamase, his sons have failed to lead well so a committee has taken over led by Eric Njenjani.  He is a stern looking 50 year old guy who doesn’t take crap off anyone.  I love working with him.  Last week he was putting his Toyota truck back together after replacing a head gasket.  I asked him if he likes doing mechanic work and he shrugged, “NO.”  He said that he only did it for himself.   I wondered where he learned to take the head off an engine and he said he watched someone do it once.  Eric is unemployed but makes a good living planting a large garden and constructing fences and other structures for people.

Dan and Kristi have put together a slick operation including name badges for each family.  Whoever gets the food for the orphan must have the name badge with them or they don’t get the packet.  42 orphans showed up for food packets today.   The families were grateful and the committee excited that the poorest of the poor are being helped.

Much discussion about the September trip ensued.  Seeds that need to be brought, pumpkin, corn, cabbage and potato.  We are trying to plant gardens for the homes of the orphans and committee members will look after the gardens and teach the household members to tend to their gardens.

The school rooms commanded most of the attention.  I drew a picture for them of a house that can look magnificent on the outside but have a rotten family on the inside.  Much like a school that has great facilities but it’s teachers don’t teach.   I ask them to demand that their children learn to read, write, and think.  Further that if it takes them going to school and teaching themselves they will.  My rousing speech got a warm reception, even a round of applause.

Bill and Michael headed down to the school while I plied my orators trade with the council.  Stakes and laser level in hand they laid out the batter boards and corners for the pillars that the containers will be placed on.  Now the trick will be keeping those stakes in place until Michael gets back.

We finalized our plans with the council including building, gardens and concrete floors and headed for Port St. Johns.  A beautiful drive takes to the Wild Coast of South Africa.  PSJ is a convergence of Africa and the backpacking culture.  When you meet and hang out with Michael Hale you discover that PSJ has a feel of the surfing culture, real laid back.
After hitting a few entreprenuers along the way, we checked into Cremorne Estates.  Sitting at the confluence of the Umzimvubu River and the Indian Ocean.  The cliffs that sit on each side of the river provide a majestic invitation to the ocean.  On the other side of the cliffs sits Michael Hale’s house.

Michael and his adopted Xhosa daughters live on the edge of a cliff in a location (small village).  Before you feel sorry for Michael, you must see the view.  There maybe views that equal this but none better.  Michael is developing an exclusive vacation destination right in this village.

On the edge of the cliff sits a thatched roofed, two story bungalo he has built to market to those looking for unique vacation adventures.  His hope is to generate 15 to 20 jobs in the location with this house.  The only thing between executing this strategy is about $50,000.

Michael and Candy reworked the floor plan and identified furnishings that will be built by those in the location.  When finished it is finished it will be a place that provides vacation memories of some and a livelihood of many people who have no chance for employment.  If you ever get near you must go and use the toilet, a unique experience that will give you a story to tell!

Dinner with Michael and his girls at Geers, a restaurant on the beach.  Lumka used to work there but is leaving for 6 months of Bible School at Bathurst.  Rufus and Almarie run this school thru Pondoland for Christ.  Lucia, Michael’s other daughter is still looking for her place in life.

It is clear that Lucia is bound for a life of service to Jesus.  The girls (Candy, Mariln and Katie) joined Lucia group on Wednesday night after dinner.  From 6 to 9 pm they sat in a rondaval discussing of all things, SEX!  Candy was able to give them a view of sex that is not conceived of here.  Sex for men is simply a slam bam thank you ma’am and for women it is a about fertility and bearing children.  They have the procreation part but have no concept of the recreation part of sex.  It is all hard and not soft and intimate.

Just before dinner I checked out reservations to make sure I new the time of our flight.  I had a small heart attack when I saw that our flight left on the 24th Thursday not on the 25th which is Friday.  For some reason I had Friday fixed in my mind.  I had to ask the group forgiveness and reorganize our trip to leave early this morning (Thursday) to make it to the airport.  Right now we are 90 minutes from the airport at 10:45 am with a flight leaving 12:35.  The pucker factor is high!