My final story

  My brother-in-law, who is a wise man and a seasoned traveler, told me before I left for Africa to be smart. I heeded his advice. I flew 20,000 miles and spent 2 days in four different airports. We were in a lot of places and I met a lot of people I never would have if Valdene's parents hadn't been missionaries in Africa for 50 years.
   I can honestly say that I never met one person in Africa I didn't like. Everyone was kind and not once did I feel threatened.
  And now I've said all that to begin my story. The day after I got back to America I went back to work. I opened the store and only a few minutes later a man in his early 20's walked into the store and asked me to buy a broken chain. He had I.D. and I did. I wrote him a check for 115.00.
   Between the time he left the store and the time he got down to the bank he altered the check and cashed it as 215.00. He did a terrible forging job but the bank teller cashed it anyways.
   Eventually the police got involved and I suspect he will be in a lot of trouble. I can't imagine for the life of me (and I've spent to much time thinking about it) why anyone would want to throw their future away with a felony conviction that will follow them around the rest of their life. This is a testimony to the mind altering and brain addling power of drugs on a human brain.
   It was humbling to me when I realized that many of the people I met in Africa had absolutely nothing, but treated me with more respect than I'm used to here. As I said before, my experience in Africa was attitude changing more than anything else.
   This is my last blog post. I am going to start a new blog, Called Inlow, Jeweler. I will blog about jewelry making, experiences of living in a small town, chapters from my Sci-fi western, and anything else that comes into my head. Until then, David Inlow
 

Monkeying around

  
   That Sunday morning, before we left for the Zulu church service in Thutuku, the monkeys came to join us. I wanted to feed them something to get them closer to the camera, but everyone thought that was a really bad idea. "Will they bite me?" I asked.
    "No, if you give them food they won't ever leave us alone." I guess they're such a bother in Durban they don't know what to do with them. Later on I saw them jump over the fence and wander slowly into the neighbors yard, and then check out the trash can. The problem with monkeys is that they can think. Just like some dogs. Thats what makes them such a nuisance.

   After we left the church service we drove down to Port Shepstone and visited Valdene's grandparent's grave. She had never seen it before and it was an emotional experience for her.

    This above picture is of the sugar cane fields that cover the hills and valleys all over the South Africa that I saw. Even up by the game park were miles of sugar cane, and Dole even has a sugar processing plant up there. When we drove back down the old road to Port Shepstone from the church, a large animal resembling a rat on steroids ran across the road. Valdene yelled "Look, a cane rat." I had never heard of such a thing. it was several feet long. David said it was the biggest he had ever seen.
    Eventually we went to the beach in Port Shepstone. It was beautiful.
  

The umbrella

   When we visited the shanty settlement on Cashew Road last week I accidentally walked away with one of the residents umbrella's It was the poor lady with HIV with the little child. She had lived in the wretched place for the last six years.
   It was raining that day and she gave us an umbrella to use. When we left, I, having no idea that it wasn't ours, walked back to the car with it. Afterwards everybody remembered it was hers and begin to laugh and joke about my apparent theivery. Mom Haag joked that she was going to write and tell my Mother that her son stole an umbrella from the poorest of the poor.
   A few days later when we went to visit the orphans I decided to return the umbrella. Pastor Lionell was with me and we walked up the road to the shack. The lady was standing in the doorway. I asked her if she remembered me, and reluctantly she admitted that she did. I know she was wondering why I had come back, and at that moment I was even more thankful Pastor Lionell was with me. I handed back the umbrella and gave her 50 rands (4 dollars) and told her that was a gift from my wife and I. She seemed so thankful.
   These people are struggling everday to survive. Unemployment in the shanty town was over 90%. How can they get a job? Who would hire someone who never gets a shower or has clothes that are clean. Wow. This experience makes me ever more thankful for the things I daily take for granted, and make me realize how much more I could do to help.

Our Trip to Amakhosi Lodge

   On Monday morning we began our journey to the wild game reserve. The lodge was named AmaKhosi, (something like "many kings"). First we stopped at St Lucia, about 2 hours from Durban. This is an estuary, or an inlet from the ocean. The water is brakish or half salt and half fresh. Because of drought in Africa the water level has fallen to the point where the mouth is dry. It began in 2007. Now the water is slowly desalinating.

   We saw hippos and crocodiles lazing in the water, and a highlight, a Leopard on the shore. I have been told this is very rare, as they are solitary and shy animals. Some people have come to Africa several times and never seen one. The ironic thing was I accidently had the film camera paused when I watched it walk across the screen. Oh, well, Valdene got an average picture of it. That was the first animal that has been named "The Big Five" The Leopard, Elephant, Lion, Rhino and Water Buffalo. The last picture   is me holding a hippo tooth. Even though their herbivors, Hippos have killed more humans than any other African animal. They become monsters when their threatened. They can run 30 km an hour on land and run 15 km through water. They don't swim, but run along the bottom of the lake. They have no sweat glands and sunburn easily, so they spend most days in the water and graze all night.

   After St. Lucia we drove another couple hours north, Eventually we were driving along a river that seperated South Africa from Mozambique. Here the landscape changed dramatically. It became what I see when I dream Africa.

    From there we turned inland for another hour and made it to the lodge. The lodge sits on 12,000 square hectares. At one time it was a cattle farm. The entire thing is surrounded by electric fence. The lodge was beautiful and I can honestly say we were treated like kings. On our first game drive that afternoon we saw three lions. They were close enough to reach out and touch, if I was stupid enough to do that. Our guide was an expert tracker, and showed us prints that led him to the "three boys" as he called them.

   Kudu, Nyala, Zebra, Wilderbeasts ,Warthogs and Water Buffalo wander the reserve living in there natural habitat. They all suffer the same fate.  The food chain is very evident.  

   Our guide's name was Phillip and his helper was Jeremy. For 3 hours twice a day, first at daybreak and then in the afternoon, they would take us out in a converted Toyota land cruiser through  the bush, through rivers and gravel roadbeds to dried roadbeds, in search of animal tracks, broken branches, any sign of the wildlife that seemed to abound in this place.

   The next morning we tracked four Cheetas. One of the highlights was watching them attempt to make breakfast out of a group of Kudu. Later we parked down by the river and watched them wander by, and then drink out of the river.

   The afternoon drive found us watching baby Elephants and Giraffes.

   So many things happened in the course of several days. This will take me several posts to recount. At this point I can honestly say that I have come away with a deeper appreciation of African wildlife, and a deeper desire to see more wildlife in other African countries. Until later.

The church at Thutuka

On Sunday morning we went to a church service in Thutuka. Valdene's Grandma raised the money to build this church many years ago. Thutuka is several miles from Port Shepstone. The road to the church is washed out gravel stretching up many winding hills. This day was a special service involving 5 local Zulu chuches. I got to witness a Zulu church service in all its glory. The service lasted 4 hours. Rev. David Haag gave the message through an interpreter. It was an awsome message. Valdene also gave testimony to the power of God.
  Another highlight was listening to an African Choir sing. I filmed it and eventually I will post in on you tube.

That was an amazing experience. 

    One thousand dollars that Valdene raised went to purchase the food for the 120 packages we put together. Each of the 5 churches recieved equal numbers of packages to distribute to their neediest families
   The couple with Valdene and I was Sister Margaret and Brother Antoine. Sister Margaret was so happy to see Valdene again. She helped take care of Valdene when she was a little girl. I have seen so many people so excited to see Valdene again. Its obvious to me that she touched a lot of people in a special way as a young person.

   I'll continue tomorrow. To much has happened in the last four days. I will leave you with a view of the restrooms, rural Africa style and a typical rural African home. The last picture is us with Pastor Sitole of the Thutuka Church and some of the bags of food we distributed.

The road to Umzinto

   Today we went to Umzinto, an hour down the coast from Durban. We met up with Pastor Alvin and his wife who took us to a modern, clean orphanage. This one was started by a man who had a sugar cane processing factory. It was extremely nice and clean and I left there with a very good feeling.

   Then we went to another shanty village called London Farm. It had at least 60 shanties there. Some were mud huts. We handed out candy and chips to an eager bunch of kids and a few adults. Pastor Alvin led them in a Zulu song and preached a quick message of Jesus. It was very cool to see. I had a very good feeling there also. They have needs, but there it didn't seem as hopeless and cold as Cashew Road.
   After that we went to a safehouse for abused children outside Umzinto. I can show you the sign but I can't show the 10 children there. Pastor Mervyn,  brother Alvin's actual brother runs the place. He told us for the safety and protection of the children we were not alowed to show their  faces. One little girl there was 7 months old. Very cute. Her mother was in the last stages of HIV and could no longer take care of her. These are tough things to hear and see, but I am so thankful that I've been given this opportunity. I have never seen this type of thing in my life, and I must say that it has all made a deep and lasting impression. Not only the struggles these people face daily, but the goodness of the pastors, all that I have met. They truely care for these people, and I know that the money we tithe to South African Evangelistic Mission is going to good use.

   After that we went to Pastor Mervyn's shop in downtown Umzinto and had Mutton Curry in a restarant he has in the back. There is a mosque across the street and as I got out of the van they were calling the faithful to prayer. It was extremely cool as I have never heard this before. I filmed it. Here are some pictures from Umzinto.

    The first photo is a Zulu woman carrying something on her head. The second photo is the mosque. The third photo is Pastor Alvin preaching to some children in London Farm.
    I don't know if Umzinto is what you'd call 3rd world. But it is definately a world I am unfamiliar with. Its so different from Durban, so different from Hudson, Wisconsin. Beautiful. I saw a Hindu Temple, a Musilm mosque and a full gospel church all on the same street. Wow. What I did not see anywhere was white people. Thats fine with me, but its so different  also.
   Finally we went only a few miles to Park Reiny and a beautiful beach on the Indian Ocean. The waves were huge. This is truely a pictuesque and breathtaking landscape I have seen around Durban.
  
  

The Orphanage

   We went to the orphanage in Weldebach outside Durban today. That was a heart wrenching experience. This place had running water and electricity, but not much else. They were cooking dinner outside. Chickens and goats wandered the property. In one section they had the old folks, in the other, more modern section were the children. They were so happy to see us. So cute.
   I took video of them and then showed them how they looked on the camera. They were fascinated. I wish we could do more than just give them some used clothes and candy. Pastor Lionel said they needed a washing machine. There is so much they could use its overwhelming.
   There goverment is so anxious to build beautiful soccer stadiums but not so willing to spend much money on needs......

   There's 20 more pictures that would break your heart and I am tired. That was truly an emotionally exhausing experience. I know Val and I could easily just take one or five of those little kids home on the plane and tomorrow give them a life like they will never experience. But thats not possible and it never will be because of the tangled world we live in.
   Tomorrow I 'll say more. I did see 6 monkeys playing in a tree today. I videod them. That was cute.

Human nature

   I'm seeing America and South Africa have so many similarities. Both countries have such a variety of geography, climate, animal and plant life. And also people groups. Both countries are extremely rich in natural resources. And there I think lies the heart of each countries problems
   When the settlers first came to America they quickly realized how rich and expansive the country was. Our Christian heritage (misinturpreted) has lead many to believe  that it is our God given right to take the land. And we did, much to the dismay of Native Americans who wound up in reservations.
   Somehow I think that same belief is what shaped the current South a Africa. It was explained to me that during aparthied sections of neighborhoods, areas, places, were zoned off according to a persons color and national origin. They were called zones. You were only allowed to live in your zone by order of the ruling goverment.
   That might work in America when the ruling goverment was also the majority of racial origin. Although that is slowly beginning to shift. But I see that right from the beginning that couldn't work in a country where the vast majority is not white, and the vast majority lived and called this place home for thousands of years. Resentment begins to fester. No matter how many guns the minority has, they can't overcome a vast majority with a legitimate grudge to bear.
   Unfortunately, just like America, the farmers and the workers, no matter what color they are, are the ones who truely suffer the most. Their hard work carved out the land and their sweat tamed it. They're the ones who really build a country, and unfortunately when the tide shifts, they stand to loose the most. Including the ground they worked so hard to turn into something. America has something to learn from South Africa.
   Yesterday we visited a beautiful restarant in the hull of a ship. The aquarium in the center of the restarant held numerous sharks of different varieties. It was quite relaxing.

  (My political observations are my own and you can take them or leave them.)
    The last picture is me standing in front of the Indian Ocean. Who'd a thunk it?
   Today we visit an orphanage. Next week we visit a game reserve called Amakhosi. We spend several days there. I am getting excited. Thanks to the wonderful and kind people who made this possible.