53 ... 52 ...

The other day we took a morning to ourselves and headed for Hermanus - the drive follows the coast, and the destination lures you with whale watching. The season is just ending, so we were hoping to catch a glimpse of one or two.

We had just about one hour exactly to spend in Hermanus and I was so excited to soak up the time just staring out into the ocean for any glimpses. Then Jason just casually drove through town, passing numerous good options to stop, park, and let me go play ... but nooo, he wanted to "see the town". So, as a total and complete brat, I started to count down the minutes I was losing of whale watching ... 53 ... 52 ... then he turns AWAY from the beach (I thought to look at a golf course), and then I was of course convinced he didn't care at all that "my time" was now dwindling into the 40s. Oh my goodness, I am such a brat - how does he put up with me?

Turns out he wasn't pulling up to a golf course, nor were my minutes ticking away quite as fast as I had thought. He had booked us for a horseback trip along the beach (AH, DREAM to ride in the waves finally come true!) - and yes, for whale watching from horseback. Who thinks of those two things going together? Only a man who knows his wife's heart and figures out a creative way to match two things at once. And we had the whole day - he had prearranged it with the people I thought we were hurrying back to meet up with. I responded with that lovely stunned silence when you feel about as stupid as you should.

At any rate, it was simply gorgeous. The wind died down just enough for us to spend most of the ride out on the sand (THANK YOU, LORD - the wind seriously was heavy all day except those two hours), and there were SO MANY whales! They were a bit lazy that day, our guide said, but they were still there, and we could still see them. I'm used to whale watching meaning you'll be lucky to see a few ... but there were at least 10 you could pick out at any moment, just past the breakers. Nearly every direction you looked you could see one - and this is at the LOW end of the whale season. Just near the end of our ride, one a ways off jumped for us a few times ... yay.

What's not in the pictures

Okay, this is interesting. Apartheid was just abolished here about 12 years ago, so it’s as if we have stepped backwards into some of our own country’s history as we experience the still-new integration of races. Terms like “blacks, whites and coloreds” don’t refer to the laundry, but to the faces that make up this Cape. There is still great separation, primarily due to wealth or lack thereof, but in general that has separated the blacks from the whites.

Violence and thievery don’t abound per se, but it’s certainly more common than our sheltered lives are used to. People only pause at stop signs or red lights after dark due to the high number of car jackings. Lock your doors at all times and don’t leave valuables visible in the car.

As we’re driving along in this picturesque place, we pass “Townships”, where MILLIONS of people live in shacks constructed of whatever could be found – mostly tin. Aids is raging, and they say one infected person in a Township is expected to transfer the disease to 200 people within a township because of the lack of hygiene and monogamy. Wow. On Thursday afternoon we plan to visit a Children’s Hospice with our hosts, Peter and Maven, who volunteer there every week. Most of the children have aids, some have worse, but this home provides love for them.

These aren’t things you process right away, but they’re the part we don’t have pictures for you to see, but want you to know nonetheless.

Truth be Told

We sure are learning a lot as we continue through this journey. Spending 24 hours a day together is sure to bring lessons, right? Well, they’re comin’!! Some funny, some very hard. All good. Today, truth be told, was a hard day as we faced elements of life and marriage. It’s almost as if the Father is graduating us into a new level of depth and intimacy, which we’re excited for, but that means more of the rough edges are being smoothed.

The Cape

We’re here, we’re here! And it’s ‘perty! Oh my goodness, all the rumors of the Cape of South Africa’s beauty are TRUE. The ocean waters are vibrant and rich with varied shades of blue. But then as you turn around you are surrounded on each side by cliffs and mountains that again make your jaw drop.

We’re here to celebrate the wedding of Jonathan Knepper and Simone Du Plessis. We’re staying in Somerset West, which is where Simone grew up, and it’s lovely – as I type the word “lovely”, I can hear Simone’s mother, Estelle, saying it with her wonderful South African accent. Estelle has been the essence of hospitality – we have honestly and truly already learned so much from her as she has joyfully cared for all of us here.

And Simone … well, “lovely” would fall short. It has been so much fun getting to known the girl who won Jono’s heart and will become his wife this Saturday. She is full of life and smiles, with the same grace that her mother shows to a house-full of obnoxious Americans .

First time to the Continent

We’re sitting on the Tarmac in Johannesburg, South Africa, it’s raining with thunder and lightning and the weather has caused our flight to be delayed. We flew the nine hours from Israel to here with little difficulty. It’s hard to comprehend how we have actually been gone from home for a month.

My head seems to full of thoughts and information. I definitely need to blog every other day or I get overwhelmed by all that we see and are a part of…

Israel is amazing. If you have the opportunity to go you should. It is a beautiful country full of history, tradition, and beauty. In some ways it is hard to leave it. But I am excited to see the African continent for the first time.