Musings from Graceland

UPDATE FROM YESTERDAY & MORE FROM LAST TRIP

The outpouring of responses regarding the remaining items needed for our trip has been amazing. I wanted to take the time to say a heart-felt thanks to all who have donated items and sent us money. I also wanted to give an update on the remaining items that are needed.

Here goes, folks --- the last items needed for our glorious, amazing, upcoming trip to Swaziland!

*Balloons (Bheveni)

*Elastic waisted skirts (HN, carepoint gogos, teachers, and others)

*Laptop Computer - To be used by house parent at an orphan home (HFNM)

*Baby dolls (especially dark-skinned ones)

*Small toys such as Hot Wheels cars, plastic animals, balls, jump ropes, Happy Meal prizes, etc.

*Vacuum-air-out bags so we can fit more stuff in less space (for us to use on trip)

*Size 2 or 3 casual sandals for our daughter LG. Our stores aren't carrying these yet. It is going to be summertime in Swaziland.

I'll update this again in a day or two as I hear from more folks about donations. In the meantime, here is another excerpt from last year's Swaziland trip:

Monday, September 27, 2010

Today is our last full day together as a team. In the morning, Jim and I will return to Swaziland and the others will journey on to the airport in Johannesburg. Elliott the driver and the Brocks (Dennis and Zwakele) will drop them off --- including our Anna --- before returning to S'land the next day themselves.

I am eager to get back to S'land and see my new and old friends alike but yet I also miss the kids and will probably miss them even more once Anna leaves.

Today we did Kruger! And we actually saw all of the African "BIG FIVE"! We woke up at 4:20 a.m., left here at 5:00, and FROZE on the way there and most of the day. It has definitely been our coldest day in Africa so far. When the safari buggy wasn't moving, it was pleasant, but those sideless vehicles offer little protection from the wind, even when the plastic siding gets unrolled.

We did a lot of shopping at the gift store there and Jim and I had tasty meat pies for lunch.

OH! We had breakfast packs-to-go in the a.m. --- boiled eggs, yogurt, muffins, apples, and various soft drinks. For mid-morning tea-time snack we had some fancy packed sandwiches.

Lynn was our tour guide. She is involved with ministries related to Heidi and Roland Bakker with Iris Ministries. She is writing a book and shared some stories with us about how God is moving and working in her life and the lives of others.

The animals we saw included, but were not limited to the "BIG 5" (lions, white rhinos, elephants, Cape buffalo, leopards), giraffes, impala, sables (very rare -- more so than lions), hornbills, water buck, African vultures, hippos, crocs, klifspringers, baboons, monkeys, zebras, etc.

I learned that baby elephants must eat their mom's poop to get essential enzymes.

After Kruger, we freshened up at the guest house and then went for supper at the Detroit Spur located in the Riverside Mall. I had rump steak with monkey gland sauce. I was quite good and NO real monkey glands.

We also got to go to an internet cafe there and I blogged, posted at Five in a Row, visited Betsie's new blog, and did stuff on facebook, including instant messaging Betsie. It was less than a rand a minute (13 American cents) so quite a good deal.

Back at the guest house, Jim and I walked around the lovely grounds a bit, avoided the noisy, guard geese, and then transferred over a bunch of stuff for Anna to carry home.