Tomorrow we leave for the rural area north of Johannesburg. It looks to be beautiful country in a completely different setting.

Then we attended a Sunday school class that wall filled with singing and dancing. They love to sing. Really love to sing and will break out in song any chance they get and no once seems to care about the quality of the voice. It’s great…I wish I could do that.

Wednesday morning, we left for Bethlehem. On our way out of the city we stopped to tour a ministry outreach called Amcare, which is part of the Alberton Methodist church. We met with the director of operations, Percy. Wow. We were blown away by the diversity and success of their program: from home food deliveries to HIV patient care to an orphanage, to two women’s shelter to hospice care, they do it all. Percy has the most amazing attitude towards the work and it’s bearing great fruit. Recently the vice president of the South African government decided to pay him a visit because of all the good things that are happening through their ministry.

The 3.5 hour drive to Bethlehem was beautiful. Wide-open spaces & huge skies. The landscape was golden-brown due to the winter frosts & draught conditions. Closer to our destination the landscape became more extreme with huge rock formations, similar to what you might see in AZ or NV. Wyndford Family Farm was our destination, a great little vacation spot tucked under dramatic rock formations directly across the street from the small nation of Lasuto. The farm has thatched roof guest cottages, ivy-covered lodges, pastures & corals filled with livestock of all sorts. Breakfast & dinner are included and not to be missed. Four and five-course meals are the norm featuring the local cuisine. It was so quiet & restful we found ourselves ending our days early and starting early (they bring hot coffee & tea to your room @ 7:15 each morning).

Thursday we drove out (and I mean out: we drove down a long picturesque dusty dirt road) to a farm in the countryside. The family was of German decent and had been farming that area since the 70s. They were very friendly and so excited to show us around the farm. They produce corn and wheat. They struggle with drought conditions and have minimal irrigation rights. So to diversify, they are scaling up their dairy operation. The little girl’s name is Ingrid. She’s 10. She’s quiet, thoughtful, very well-mannered, and likes to draw. She’s good friends with the farm workers who live a half mile away on another part of the farm. We got to visit this little village as well. Some of the houses here are tin shacks, others are more substantial mud brick houses. We actually were invited into one that was, to our astonishment, super clean and orderly with one wall covered with a hodge-podge glassware collection set into a colorful geometric built-in wall display. We were also treated to an impromptu “choir performance” outside in the dry dusty wind. We had to hurry back to town for the Sunday school gathering they had arranged for us at the church. The class was taught in a mixture of English and Africanse by Ingrid’s older sister, Gabby (the churches love the curriculum because it’s available in both languages).

After the Sunday school we stopped at “Cheetown”, a lion breeding facility/inn. They have three lion cubs (age 4 mo.) one cheetah (that was hiding) one female lion (who the staff say is a “bad mom” because she abandons her young) one male lion (he’s huge) two

Friday morning after breakfast we went on a horseback ride. It was amazing riding up the ridge of the mountain taking in the breathtaking views of Lysotu. Before we, left they warned us that we would be doing some galloping. Jenn said later, she laughed inside when they said that thinking that the most the speed the horses would reach would be a quick trot. Thankfully, for Brent and Pam who had little to no experience on horseback she was right, their horses were a bit “stubborn”. But Jenn’s horse was more spirited and kept right up with the guide at times reaching a full out gallop. It was exhilarating for her, as she lived out a childhood fantasy galloping through the mountains. After the ride we drove home via

It’s hard to believe we have reached the end of our journey. We have experienced so much, met so many wonderful people. We are yearning to be with our boys but sad to leave the wonders of these foreign lands. These next 24 hours will be exhausting but when we get off the plane in Indiana our little ones will be there waiting for us.

Thank you so much for going on this journey with us. For your love and prayers. We look forward to sharing the little details with you in person. For now, please pray for safety in these final hours of travel.

With Love,

Brent & Jenn

In the South African township of Phola Park just outside Johannesburg, we met Tumi.