Reflection on Departure

As we sat at the restaurant table waiting for breakfast, and the missionary kids sang their new favorite song, Shout to the Devil, from their newly acquired Guitar Hero II video game, I laughed out loud, but was reflecting about the last two months of my life in my head. I feel that I had grown very close to the Boersma Family in a relatively short amount of time. We had accomplished many things together while they graciously allowed me to stay in their home in Matola, Mozambique. It was now coming to an end, but I knew that I would be returning to continue to build the relationships that I had started while in Africa.
Boersma Family Portrait

As a family, we decided that a good way to spend my last few days in Africa would be to travel together with the children by car to South Africa, where I would eventually catch a plane back to The States. We have had many great meals together. We visited beautiful canyons, valleys, waterfalls, and a place called the potholes. We also spent time at the local shopping mall.

Last night we had another Brai (South African BBQ), which is a huge part of South African culture. Everyone sits around the fire, and the host cooks tons of lamb, sausage and steaks. I quickly found out that hotdogs and hamburgers were considered tacky and not acceptable when hosting guests. It was a good time to sit around and enjoy the company of so many people that have become a part of my life here in Africa.

This morning, I woke to the sound of monkeys running across the roof of the room that I am staying in South Africa. I got up to look out the window and there was three monkeys were sitting in the tree just outside my window. One was trying to get at the window, to make himself a guest in my room. It made me smile, thinking about how amazing it would be to have wild monkeys wake me up at my house in Kansas City. The neighbors probably would have a problem with my wild monkeys; so I just sat on my bed and watched them torment the little dogs that live on the property where I am staying.

I am planning on trying to convince Pieter to conquer his fears of snakes, and take me to a snake park this morning. The park has some of the most deadly snakes in the world and all of their snakes can be found in the area that I am currently staying. I think that it would be a neat “field trip” for the three home-schooled boys.

I leave this Afternoon, where I fly out of Nelspruit’s small airport to Johannesburg. I have a short layover in Johannesburg and then fly to Madrid, Spain. In Spain, I spend seven hours in the airport and then board a plane headed for JFK Airport in New York City. When I reach New York, I will take the subway to Penn Station and then buy a train ticket to Philadelphia where I plan to spend a week with Brandon and Sarah Fazel and their new baby!

I plan to post more pictures and other content about my trip to Africa, so please continue to check up on my blogspot in the next coming weeks, for more about my experiences.