Lions, Rhino's And Giraffes, Oh My!

This weekend was not what I expected. We woke up for an early breakfast on Saturday and went through orientation for the week. I led a 'devotion' on "Being In The Moment" and then we had some of our team members play songs that got our hearts centered for the day.
Since only a smaller portion of the team was here early, we were able to go on a Safari. I have never experienced anything like it and highly recommend it to anyone traveling to Africa.
We rode out in Jeeps that were fully open, meaning any animal could walk up to us and 'get friendly' if they wanted to. This created a sense of risk as we drove on dirt roads throughout this reserve full of 'bush'. I never realized how well animals could camoflauge themselves because on Discovery or any of those shows, the animals seem to stand out a bit from the grass. Not here. We found a lion that had just killed a Wildebeast and was feasting happily on his prey. That was when we realized we had a tire leak, so we drove to a different section and waited in the Jeep as our driver changed the tire. He told us to keep watch on the 'bush' in case a lion shows up. Something seemed very wrong with this scenario - but he quickly got to work as we watched for movement in the grass. Nothing, we were good. We drove around and found a large Bull elephant who seemed to be ok with all of us driving up to take a look. We went back to the lion area and saw the same lion still working on his meal. He was fairly hidden so there wasn't an opportunity to get a good look at him, so our driver decided to go off of the road and see how close he could get. This is where my heart rate increased and a sense of fear began to creep in. He got within 15 feet of a wild, unpredictable, flesh-eating lion and we were in the front. So that meant that we would be the first to go if the lion decided to check us out. I began to think of all the people in my life and if I told them I loved them. The lion wasn't too interested in us, thankfully, and we went on our way.
We saw rhino's and giraffe and various deer as well as baby elephants with their mom's (cow's) as they are called. It was an incredible adventure and we are so glad we went.

Today, we went to an African church and experienced worship. It was so great to be connected with our brothers and sisters here and feel so welcome in their community. They sing with alot of passion and joy. We had youth from Taiwan with us and they even loved it.

Later, we ventured out to the new land that Heart For Africa was able to purchase. 2500 acres on a mountain. It was breathtaking and I look forward to seeing what the future holds as this land is developed. The plan they showed us is quite amazing and we are very excited for this project.

We spent the afternoon in the local market and had a lot of fun mingling with the people that live here. Tomorrow we set off to work in the children's homes and do what we came here for. It is going to be an awesome week and our team is 141 strong. A lot will be accomplished in the homes this week and we are ready to serve. We are mostly excited because we get to see our sponsor child, Elizabeth!!! To actually spend the week with her is a dream come true for me. I am so glad to share who she is with Matthias and hopefully one day, Grace and Ben as well.

Matthias has the African bug. I had no idea how he would respond to this environment and now he is already sad that we will be leaving in a week. I don't blame him. If I could send for my other two children, I would do it in a heartbeat. This place feels like home to me, it did the first time I came and that has not changed. Don't worry, we are coming back to Oregon however I do believe that my future and the lives of my children will include summers in Swaziland.

Blessings to all and we are so glad to share our journey with you.
Stay tuned...