African Highlights

It is hard to believe that almost three months have passed since I posted something on our blog!  There is no way to share everything that has transpired... so here are a few highlights.

Three Weeks in Ladybrand & Stolen Goods

Our first three weeks in South Africa were spent mainly in Ladybrand - visiting with family, sorting through our belongings, and packing for the move to Mangusi (12 hours away).  One event that stands out to us is the morning Phil went to the storage room where all our belongs were, and found that unwelcome visitors had been present!

In Shock!

Trashed!

Our unwelcome visitors stole Phil's guitar, trombone, toolbox of tools, 3 propane bottles and heater, two electric drills, a circular saw, and other personal items.

Destination - Mangusi, South Africa

After pulling everything together, we stretched the 12-hour-trip to Mangusi into a two-day / 15-hour trip.  We did have quite the load, and went down to first gear on some mountain passes!

Ready for the long trip...

Our borrowed vehicle and trailer with quite the load!

I had to include this picture of my most precious wife - while on our trip to Mangusi!

After arriving in Mangusi, we had a lot of adjusting to do to the new environment and circumstances.  We daily had to find things among all our boxed belongings...  Since there was not yet a house for us in which to move, we stayed with the Blignauts, who so graciously gave us their bedroom & restroom.

The Blignauts have been busy building a house for us, so Phil helped them with the building process.

Putting on the tin roof...

The present state of our house to be...

Back to Ladybrand & a Wedding

We stayed nearly four weeks in Mangusi, and then needed to return to Ladybrand to be present at the wedding of Amrie's sister - Joreth.  She is now happily married, and her and her husband are on their way to Windhoek, Namibia, where they plan to do mission work.

After the wedding, we spent some time visiting with family and friends, and then Phil started working on our two old vehicles to get them ready to sell, as we need a vehicle more suitable for the bush.  So far we have sold our old car, and the Lord has also provided a "new to us" vehicle.  It is an older model (1996), but it is still in very good condition.

Our "new to us" vehicle - 1996 Mitsubishi Pajero 4x4

 Currently, we are still in Ladybrand - four weeks later - as we have experienced a very shocking turn of events...  See the next post for details!