Musings from Graceland

OUR LAST FULL DAY IN AFRICA

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Friday, 2/1/08

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Today is not only our last full day in Africa,

but also my & Jim's 17th wedding anniversary. I'm really missing Jim & so badly wish I could communicate with him.

We've had a break in at our guest house. Daughter A witnessed part of it so we are waiting up til she gives her statement to the policemen.

The thieves were interrupted so only got away with a couple of cellphones. It seems they were also attempting to break into our room as it's window was partly opened & I know I didn't open it --- neither did the girls. Almost everyone was gone tonite including the owners. A, B, and I had gone over to Bobby and Jo Carol Elliott's house for supper & when we came in, A saw the thief in Jennifer, Lisa, Ty, etc's room. She didn't realize it was a thief til a few minutes later when the rest came home & found stuff disturbed & missing. As we were going in our room, A heard footsteps behind our room.

As we wait for Anna's turn to testify, I'll write more about our day.

We left the guest house a bit after 5:30 this morning in an open-sided bakkie. It's the kind of safari vehicle seen in movies, etc. There were no seatbelts which freaked me out a bit...okay...MORE than a bit. Here we are, NO SEATBELTS as we race down curvy, hilly, African highways with nothing between us and the road but a low wall that came up to our mid-torso. So I'm praying and trying to be okay with the whole set-up while A & B are loving it.

We arrived at Kruger around 7:00. Immediately we saw waterboks go racing across the roadway just at the entrance. Our driver/guide Hiney was in his mid-twenties --- very knowledgeable and personable. He grew up a t Kruger as his father was a park ranger. He was able to tell us much more about the park it's, animals, and the details of life there than I ever got on the two times I did Kruger unguided during the time I lived in Swaziland.

Among the animals that we saw were hippos, crocodiles, baboons, bats, giraffe, 2 kinds of rhinos, elephants, tortoise, antelope, and many others.

A great day but we were totally wiped out by the end. A & B passed out on the way back to Nelspruit. I was too excited and busy taking pictures. Surprised?

Hanging out with the Elliotts at their home in Nelspruit. They are Southern Baptist missionaries and lived in Swaziland at the same time as I did in the 80's.

Well, that's the end of my diary entries concerning the happenings of our Swazi trip. There are a few pictures of the day we left (of course) but I didn't journal about them. I may or may not post some of them later on. But for now, that's the story. We had some incredibly wonderful times and I'm so very, very thankful that God let me have this time together with my girls and the incredible fellow travelers. Though that trip is over, I have a feeling that the REAL journey will go on for a long, long way before it's completed.