Tag: South Africa
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Tea & Cake, Fish & Chips, Breakfast & Plans
24th & 25th August 2025 I delayed the start to the day as long as possible but at a certain point I knew I’d have to get up, pack my bags, and face the morning head on. I dressed and packed and then stepped out of my room for a cup of coffee. I managed…
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Zimbabwe’s Beautiful, Patient People
20th August 2025 Guest Entry from Derek Strauss, minister of the United Church of God based in Dallas, TX: I was born in 1956, in Bulawayo, the second city of Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia). My early years were carefree and peaceful. When I was 8 years old the first shots of the Rhodesian bush war rang…
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Real Coffee and Mango Chilies for the Journey
12th August 2025 The alarms rang out at 3am but both of us were already awake. We had scheduled our breakfast pickup to be at 4:15 since we figured we would catch the shuttle at 4:30. But first, a cup of coffee. I made an executive decision that decaf wasn’t going to do us any…
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Do You Have Any Rooms?
11th August 2025 The initial plan was to get a room in the hotel within the international terminal of the airport. But since our flight from Johannesburg to Harare is on a different airline we could stay in that hotel (and yes we did ask if there was a way to check back in tonight…
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Climbing Out of the Forest and Into Adventure
7th August 2025 Just like many bygone summers throughout my life, I’ve had the chance to sleep on the ground among the trees. This summer Lena and I served at three camps sponsored by the United Church of God. The first was a teen camp in Central Ohio where we slept in staff cabins that…
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Arrival in Benoni
14th July 2024 Although we didn’t necessarily plan it this way, all of us traveling from Malawi and Zimbabwe arrived at the Johannesburg airport at almost the same time. This worked out well because we were all picked up at the same time and could get settled together. It’s always nice to see familiar faces…
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Prep Day & Sabbath Day & Travel Day
12th-13th-14th July 2024 Not a cloud in the sky. It’s rare to see a perfectly clear sky in Brooklyn. And even if there are no clouds in the morning they usually slide into view later on. Friday was a day without clouds, a little cool in the morning, sunny and warm in the direct sunlight.…
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Coffee in Kadoma
10th July 2024 We woke up early, our last morning in Blantyre, and last morning in Malawi on this trip. After making sure we had everything packed, we sat for a little while with Dan and Carol. Patrick came in to say goodbye briefly. Dekha was thankfully still asleep. Moments later Gracious arrived. His pickup…
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Preparation for the Journey: Adventure Bible In Hand
1st July 2024 It always feels like it’s been too long when we’ve been away. Away from family, away from friends, away from places where we’ve spent time, away from brethren. Today Lena and I will be packing our bags, rechecking our lists, making sure we take with us everything we might need for the…