The Skanky Donkey {Thursday, April 22}

Excuse my language, but that is Afrikaans for something… we’re just not quite sure what yet. Everyday when we are working in the schools we undoubtedly hear “skanky donkey” in the morning school announcements, translated conversation, or just mid-conversation. We are still trying to work it out with Tony and the girls back home, but as of now they have no idea what we’re talking about.

Today in our last school presentation the kids were super cute. We always tell them about the most important page in the book (the page that tells them how to invite Christ into their hearts). We always say “And there’s one very special and important page we want you to remember. It’s page 33! Can you say that with me?” Well this classroom of first graders screams back in unison, “A VERY SPECIAL AND IMPORTANT PAGE!!” It was adorable.

Election/Elephant Day {Wednesday, April 22}

Today is a BIG day! South Africa’s elections are taking place all day, and it is widely understood that Zuma (ANC candidate) will be elected. The larger question in this election is will he get two-thirds majority. It is expected that the ANC party, once in office, will change the constitution so that the new president elected with two-thirds majority will be in office for lifetime. From what I understand, Zuma has very communist views and the future does not look bright with him leading the country. A few weeks ago he was pardoned from the rape charges he had against him. He was supposed to be on trial for rape in his first days as President, but I guess they just scratched it altogether. One of the campaign slogans for a smaller party here says “Put criminals in jail not in government.”

Several of the nationals we have worked with along the way will not even be voting today. Party popularity varies by region, but it seems that the DA party is the second largest party supported, although still in the minority. There is a new party called COPE which split off from the ANC party for this election. There have to be at least 10 different parties running for office… I’m not sure of the exact number… but definitely more options than the States. The ballot here has pictures of the candidates next to their names for those that cannot read.

Since the schools are closed for elections and we needed to stay clear of the polls … we got to spend a few hours this afternoon at the Knysna Elephant Park! It was awesome. We got to touch, feed, and video these gentle beasts. The back of their ears are super soft, but watch out or they will flap you with them! There were also two one-year old babies running around. They had really cute toe nails. What a crazy day!

OneHope {Tuesday, April 21}

During our time here in Africa, Book of Hope has been transitioning to their new name and identity as OneHope… partly because there have been so many new additions to the ministry beyond the books… and there are so many illiterate children that cannot be reached with a book. The GodMan (animated film) is one way OneHope has been branching out lately. They are also shifting their focus to becoming an outcome based ministry, while still striving to achieve the same mission statement [God’s Word. Every Child.].

More information about the “new” OneHope can be found at www.onehope.net.

Back to the Basics {Monday, April 20}

Here in Knysna it’s back to BoH basics. We are in schools, doing presentations, and passing out books. Tony will be our national contact here in Knysna. He and his family live in Mossel Bay, but he is staying with us for the next two weeks in our hostel. It really is incredible to see the sacrifices nationals here make to get God’s Word out to children. Vanessa and Ryan have shared stories of nationals they have met in many countries they have worked in… Some of them are not even paid for the work they do. Tony is a colored, Afrikaan-speaking man….probably early forties. He’s very energetic and easy to work with.

This morning we started off with two HUGE schools scheduled at 8am…. So we got to tackle two 1500 student presentations with three and four people each. All of the schools here speak fluent English so we have had minimal need for translation. I actually miss having a translator, because it gives you more time to think as you’re talking in front of large groups of people. There’s also a heightened sense of needing to put your best foot forward as the students here are much more like students back home. Unlike some of our more rural locations, you have to watch being too cheesy or religious like you would in dealing with any schools back home.

On the other hand, our last school of the day was a half hour drive into the mountain bush…. Where we found one school in a desolate, impoverished area with 27 children all ranging from grades R through 7. It’s unbelievable to me that we can start and end our day in such completely opposite communities.

Drama Training {Sunday, April 19}

Here we are staying at a Montessori school hostel while the students are on their fall break. We have made friends with 17 year old twin sisters, Amber and Bonnie, who are both students running the hostel we are staying in this week. They are very interested in spending time with our group, particularly Jeff and Gio. Amber has a lot of questions about what we’re doing and why we’re here… last night as we were doing our team devotionals she stood in the room listening and by the end of the devo was sitting at the table with us. I’m excited to see ways we are able to connect with her this week while we’re at home. It seems like she is open to hearing about our faith.

After church this afternoon we hosted a BoH training event where we invited church members to join us in reaching their community. We gave a brief explanation of our ministry and our desire to partner with their church… We are here for only a short time and want to equip them to continue the ministry after we are gone. We gave them a demonstration of a typical school presentation, trained them to do our dramas, and invited them to join us at the schools this week.

Welcome to Knysna {Friday, April 17}

Today was our second driving day… We drove through the Free State, Northern Province (middle of nowhere), a little of the Eastern Province, and finally the Western Province to our final destination in Knysna (close to Mossel Bay). The drive was beautiful.

We got in and were invited to the Friday Fair for dinner. Who knew South Africa has fairs just like Columbia City? The place was decked with junkie fair food, picnic benches and lawn chairs, and a man playing interesting renditions of U2, Jason Mraz, Coldplay, and Oasis…

Like everywhere else in South Africa the people here are diverse. There are three main people groups in the Western Province: the white Afrikaaners, colored people (a mix of whites, Malaysians, and blacks- usually speak Afrikaans), and blacks (mostly Xhosa).

Knysna is much more of a first-world tourist location, very different from our normal ministry locations. Here there are beaches, mountains, cliffs that drop off into the ocean… there is wealth, there is tourism, and there is poverty right next door. South Africa is such a diverse country.

Pit-Stop in Bloemfontein {Thursday, April 16}

This morning we left the Farm around 7am feeling very spoiled with such a late leave time compared to normal moving days… but personally quite exhausted after finishing laundry around 3:30am last night. (Don’t worry our driver went to sleep at a normal time.) I love being up that late though because then I can sometimes catch people on facebook. ;)

Today we took the N1 (major ZA interstate… weird to be off the rural roads) all the way to Bloemfontein in the Free State province. We got in around 4pm to our host’s home, who is a friend of Leah’s. It was very refreshing to stay in someone’s home for a night!