More South Africa

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South Africa

In South Africa there are "Settlements" know before as townships. This is where a vast majority of non-white people live. Our guide for the day, this past Thursday took us to see a pastor friend of his in one of these "Settlements".  This is a Part of Johannesburg and is 12km by 25km square. This whole area is squared off in sections some have water and electricity and some do not. We visited 2 pre-schools one with running water and electricity and one with none. 

These schools are very important because children cannot go further in school if they don't first attend this type of pre-school. The pastor we visited ran one of these in conjunction wit his church. The kids come from the surrounding neighbourhoods. Most from broken families that do not have much.

The homes here are very modest 3 room houses with a covered toilet outside on a small plot of ground, which is usually covered in garden and fruit trees.

The kids were so very beautiful. But you could see in their eyes that they had been through too much already even though they were only under 6 years of age.

I did not have to many words. Just mostly tears. I am wrecked.

Peter

Unfortunately for part II of this i do not have any photos.

But imagine if you will 6000 people in one place form all over. Mostly South African ( white, black, colored, and Indian )( By the way It is not considered inappropriate raciest or derogatory to use these terms here) Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, the Democratic republic of Congo and more including me all meeting in one place. 

What an experience. 

Never in all my life have I been with so many people from so many different counties speaking a myriad of languages. Indescribable. My only way to place it is to say that this is what heaven must be like. I prayed with a young man from the Congo who's native tongue was french and a girl from South Africa speaking Africans and English. We prayed fro the city of Johannesburg and South Africa which is know as one of the most violent nations on earth. I am very glad to have been able to be a part of this. 

Peace and Unity among the very diverse cultures of South Africa is Paramount to its Survival. If this nation can pull it off, which I think it can, any nation will be able to have peace. I have seen it here. And my words are WOW!!!!!!!!

Peter

A little bit of Heaven

South Africa ...... 

Where do I start.......

Let me start with a little piece heaven. On Thursday we were able to "see" Johannesburg. We got an awesome tour from a missionary who has lived here 6 years and knows his around. I will try to explain the day the best I can.

The high light of the day for me was visiting an orphanage. Now it is not a typical one by my estimation. It is in a residential neighbourhood.  Nomonde is the lady who runs it, and she runs it out of her 5 bedroom home.  There are in between 15 - 20 orphans half of which are HIV + The home was very comparable to a typical North American home. (except for the razor wire, gate, bars and eight foot high stone wall with razor wire on top typical for almost all South African homes)

All these children have been abandoned, rescued, and some saved from death. There parents didn't want them because either they had HIV or they couldn't take care of them. One baby was the only survivor of a house fire.

One of the stories of the little girls broke my heart. Ryfile was 8 months old when she can to Nomonde's home. She was brought to the orphanage because she was gang raped. Her mother and her were sleeping on the street when this happened. She is now 1.5 years old but still cannot talk and walk. She has had 2 surgeries and one more to come to fix the problems caused by the rape. ( As some of you may know rumors are being spread around here that if you have AIDS and HIV having sex with a virgin will cure you, sadistic and evil right? ) We were able to hold her and pray for her. I have never in all my life been so tore up by a story like this. 

Meeting a Nomonde, spending time with her, and hearing her story was incredible. She was a nurse at a hospital and would keep seeing these tragic stories. So as soon as she could retire to do something about what she was seeing she did. She spends her retirement on the orphans and what ever funds she can get from the community. At present there is no government funding. Oh I forgot to mention. I think she has adopted some of the children as her own and she her own blood children. All live with her. I was blown away. 

This was/is  a little piece of Heaven. I leave you hopefully disturbed as I am.

Peter

Madrid

Madrid.....

What comes to mind is bull fights, spanish music, and maybe soccer. None of these were on my mind as we spent a 15 hour lay- over there. 

We arrived in the late morning of Aug 6 and we immediately set out to explore some possibilities. The main thing we were met with .... HEAT . I was not expecting that kinda heat. Baking heat. 

But we did see a few  things. The royal palace and lots of winding cobblestone streets. Sleep deprivation set because of the overnight flight from Washington. (They don't configure airline seats for a 6 foot 3 frame like mine. Especially if there someone sitting next to you.) After about 8 hours of walking Madrids streets and sweating buckets we decided to pack it in and go and wait in the airport. All in all a wise decesion. 

Retering through security in Spain is a little intimidating. I set off the alarm and had to go through the check agian. Then they didn't like the fact that I was carrying on my tripod. But through my broken spanish and the securitiy gaurds broken english we came to a agreement that I was a photographer going to AFRICA photographing for a magazine. No harm done. 

So, we had 6 hours to explore the airport. Which is the largest airport I have been to. We also had time to catch up on sleep.

You will be able to see some images from South Africa. So keep checking back.

Peter

Convenience? or Laziness? You Decide! But I have an opinion of course!

I remember on one of my first trips to the USA.  I was with my cousins and we were in Cleveland Ohio in the middle of a trip an extrusion around Lake Erie.  We were making a stop and needed some cash. It was there that I saw my drive thru bank. We couldn't get over the fact that you could drive up to the bank and not even have to get out of your car. A wonderful invention for us in the frozen north, where it is often so cold when you breath in your snot freezes.

I have been in the USA most most of the last 17 years and I saw something new to me but obviously not the locals of Defiance Ohio. 

I couldn't believe it!!! A drive thru convenience store / package store. And I  got pictures to prove it. Cigarettes, Soda, Chips, or Beer. What do you need? Red Mountain Dew or the new blue one a customer was asking for. 6 pack of miller lite at 11 30 am. 

Let's try to make our lives  even more convenient. Don't feel like getting out of the car because you hate taking the kids in the store. Hey just go to the drive thru. etc, etc, etc

I could really get very sarcastic quick here so I better stop. I think you know where I am going with this. 

I don't know if this is poetic, coincidental, or random. But right around the corner from this fine establishment is a bar named "sinners".

Peter

What's in a name? Part II

I was in Fort Wayne Indiana yesterday. And came across a some interesting signage. All these business's were within a block of each other. Some are a little difficult to read but zoom in and you will get a good kick out of it.

 I don't know if the establishments colaborated to come up with intesesting names (I doubt that). Or maybe there are creative vibes running around there.  Or maybe one guy started and everybody else tried to one up him. I don't know but kudos to the folks in Fort Wayne. It made my day.

What's in a name? 

It sure got me to stop and look. 

And got me thinking about names again.!

Peter