About 33 hours ago we were on a safari truck driving around the Pilanesberg National Park in South Africa. We were near the end of the drive when about 100 yards down the road we saw, Mavoso, the dominant bull elephant for the breeding herd in the park. He saw us, too.
He walked closer and he stopped about 50 yards away, pausing to shake his head and flare his ears at us, while moving his front legs up and down. This is evidently elephant sign language for “get out of my way.” We had no where to go but sit on the road. Our driver told us to be absolutely quiet so he would not think he was intimidating us. As Mavoso came closer and closer he wagged his head back and forth several times. He walked right up along side our truck and turned to face us. We were in an elevated four wheel truck and Mavoso looked down on us. By Marcus’ account, Mavoso was within about a foot of the truck. Other students have said that his trunk was brushing against the truck. The driver shouted, “NO! NO! Go away, Mavoso!” Mavoso sort of raised his head and stepped back away from the truck. Then he walked along the side and went behind us. After pausing for a moment about thirty feet behind the truck, he turned and charged us. Luckily, the driver had the trucked restarted by then and away we went. A few students, who shall remain nameless, jumped in the laps of other students for safety. Just ask Brandon. The students on the back row can tell you what he looked like up close and personal.
After we pulled away, it seemed like a universal consensus that it was time to go home. After starting out at Johannesberg Airport at 6:00 p.m. and stopping over in Dakar, Senegal, for an hour to refuel, we arrived in the Washington, D.C. (Dulles) airport at 6:00 a.m. this morning.
We’ll be home soon!

Hysterical laughter, a chorus of squeals and giggles, shouts of ‘nyaah!’ followed by echos of ‘awkward elephant’ while holding your arm up to your nose like a trunk. Games of ‘would you rather’, and ‘two lies and a truth’, Dr G. Unit convincing me to fool them into believing they had eaten worms as part of their lunch in the village while his eyes twinkled mischievously at the thought, appearances on national TV, nicknames received which you can’t shake yet somehow form an attachment towards, Cath and I; the unforgettable, invincible, hysterical duo (a bit like Tweedledee and Tweedledum!)–a partnership never to be seen again by any other group.
This is what Belmont University students brought to Africa, but this is not what they expected to be bringing. Preconceived ideas of what they would achieve here in Africa were banished the moment they arrived and realized that it’s not what they can do for Africa but what Africa can do for them. Opening up eyes to a new world, a new way of life, a life that’s content with what they have and not longing for what they don’t have. And the heart of all they can offer to Africa is simple–love.
And what does this group mean to me? I could only describe it using an analogy of a tidal wave; the tides come and the tides go, a rhythmic repetition indicating a passing of time. And so goes the territory of my job; groups come, and groups go–nothing unusual, nothing extraordinary, just a regular recurrence, no after effect. But every now and again you get a burst of energy that reveals itself in the form of a something similar to what we know as a tidal wave. A tidal wave rises above the tides and connects with the land, land previously unreached by the regular tides. It comes with a force that breaks through barriers and when it retreats it leaves behind traces of its existence and evidence of the energy it carries, remains of its encounter will be left for many years still to come.
In the same way I equate the group from Belmont University to a tidal wave, except instead of leaving behind a course of mass destruction they leave imprints of love and joy, and the energy that they carry, this energy is love, God’s love.
Thank You for our times together, may God be with all of you in your coming lives. Make the most of every moment.
Dominate!
Onwards and Upwards!
Mandy

From the wonderfully helpful boys in the kitchen, Blake, Will, Marcus, Brandon, and the ‘click click’ that came from Chris D and his camera, who all braved the icy Atlantic for a few minutes of brilliant exhilarating fun, to endless hours of ‘would you rather’ and giggles with Leslie, Ashley, Andrea and Roshni. From flaming Rachel [literally] to ‘yeeha!’ Sam. Heather with her Polaroid journal, Jade, Mindy and Steph, who silently braved the ‘dog box’ [back of the van]. My home-girls, Hannah and Nicole-always helpful and full of nonsense, Chicago Jen and oh-so-cool Chris P. Who would have thought this herd of students from Belmont Tennessee could capture my heart so.?
One of the greatest things about a big group of people, is the celebration of diversity. Each one with unique gifts, talents and character, comes together to form a fascinating, radical team. ‘We can do more together than we can apart’, comes to mind as a wonderful reality. I know that the time, energy and love given has impacted many, the fruit of which may never be seen by you. But more than what you have given, I think is what you come away with. I love the way we intend to ‘change the world’, but come away having been changed ourselves. I pray that you would allow each experience, each relationship, each hardship and each joy to shape you, never to be the same again. There is ALWAYS more than you could ever see, ever dream or imagine, when you co-labour with God . . . He is infinite.
Thank you for being a part of a very significant season in my life. I really hope we meet again. With much love and Blessings…
Catherine, aka, ‘White flash rally driver’.

On Saturday, we left the lodge and headed for the Pelegano Village which is the home of Daniel and Elijah, twin brothers who are both fantastic artists. They own and operate a factory called Two In Arts Art Factory in which they create paintings, sculpture, and jewelry to sell. They set up an art workshop for us to work with them.
When we arrived, they gave us the option of either painting on a canvas or creating clay sculpture. I opted for the clay sculpture as my ceramic skills supercede my painting. The only requirement was that themes of the paintings and sculpture had to be African.
It was incredible to watch everyone’s thought processes as their efforts slowly evolved into beautiful pieces of art. Daniel was amazing with helping me make my sculpture of a woman kneeling and holding a pot of water.
I must say that I’ve enjoyed my time here. It has opened my eyes to see how fortunate we are and has shed some light on how I can make a difference. American culture has in many ways replaced the African identity especially when it comes to music. Thus, I want to help create a music industry here because I see the passion for music everywhere but the people don’t have an outlet. To see these people from these communities make a better life for themselves wold inspire others to dream big, strive to achieve their goals, and give hope for a brighter future. Grace and peace, we’ll be home soon.
William L. McKinney

We’ve worked in the same places these last three days in Gaborone, which has been a really good experience. I learned some names and can recognize all the faces of the 20 toddlers I helped take care of in the SOS Children’s Village Kindergarten/Preschool program. The Kindergarten consists of four classes, with about 15-20 children in each class. Ten of us went there and divided up among the classroom with some of the guys going to do work in the garden.
What I always love about working with children is that kids are pretty much the same everywhere, especially at the toddler stage. They play the same types of games (clapping, sitting, standing, running, yelling, and banging), sing the same type of songs, (“Baa, Baa, Black Sheep”, “Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes”), and are fascinated by the same types of things (dirt sticks, bodily functions, and funny faces). Even though they speak only a handful of English words (“Teacher, Look!” being their favorite), and I speak absolutely no Steswana, we could communicate with the universal child language of laughter, tears, hugs, and pointed fingers.
The teacher I got to work with was excellent. Her name was Janet, and she could control 20 toddlers with simple phrases and cute songs in English. We she sings, “Everybody sit down, sit down, sit down, everybody sit down, just like me.” They sit. She really cares about each child in her class and even though taking care of 20 toddlers can be tiring, she never became cross with even the most rambunctious child. I was really impressed with her.

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Children. Everywhere there are children. We drive along the streets and children run along side of us waving. We walk into a room and they flock around us, hugging, and laughing, and calling out “Teacher, Look.”
Our group had a good discussion time last night and the general consensus is that this trip continues to change us in profound ways. We all are being changed in different ways, and once everyone returns home it may take us a while to process everything that has been experienced.
We are working now in three locations. Each location is either a preschool or a children’s club for orphans or vulnerable children. When parents die of AIDS they leave young children behind. It is these children we are working with each day. Many children also live in single parent homes or in homes where their only parent is very sick. Many others live in extreme poverty. These are the vulnerable children.

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After a long journey beginning at 4:45 a.m. , we are in Gaborone. We left the Team House early yesterday morning to catch a 7 a.m. flight to Joburg (as Johannesburg is called in this part of the world). Arriving there, we met up with our drivers and their “Sprinters” ( 16 passenger vans), we headed toward Gaborone. We were blessed to see a many marvelous views of the rolling African countryside. We passed through the border control and moved into Botswana around 5 p.m.
We arrived at the Big Five Lodge and had a wonderful buffet meal prepared for us by the staff since arrived late. Some people staying in the hotel for a conference thought it was so good that started eating before us! There was plenty to go around, though, and it was a nice meal at the end of they day.
No pictures today because I brought the wrong cable with me to the internet cafe. I’ll load more pictures for you the next time I get to log on to the internet. We will have very sporadic internet access here. We do not have any in the Big Five Lodge, yes, the students are going through withdrawal, but I plan to carve out a couple of minutes every other day or so to update all of you.

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It seems that every time I travel, Jimmy Buffett is the quintessential music for entering new horizons. “Margaritaville”, “Cheeseburger in Paradise”, “Son of a Sailor”, and (most importantly) “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes” exemplify the emotion of new footsteps or flying over the ocean. To many Parrotheads, these songs may usher the opening of a Corona or the blending of a margarita. But to me, and I am sure other borderless, gypsy-souls, they are creed. Buffett writes in “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes”,”Changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes, nothing remains quite the same.” Ask anyone, who has traveled to far away lands, where the sun seems to shine with a new exuberance,and they will, smilingly, agree.
As I ascended the jagged rise of Cape Point (in quite an out-of-shape manner), I began to hum the Rocky theme song. There is something about the golden horns in it that sing of the heart of kings and it made me really anxious to reach the zenith (yes, mom and dad, my college tuition is buying me an array of new words). In a moment that seemed to pause all of time, I triumphantly raised my fists to the sky as I gazed upon the 360 degree view warranted by the final vantage point. This was the place that I had always heard about in New England sailing lore; the place where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet in a tumultuous love affair. The words of Dr. Smith (or Bon-Bons as we have so titled her) seemed to describe the whole scene perfectly. “We are on top of the world, at the end of the world.”

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For the last couple of days we have been experiencing winter in Cape Town. It is their winter this time of year and for the first few days we forgot all about what time of year it is. Starting Friday, we have had lots of rain, wind, and some cold weather down in the 50s. The weather has not stopped us from driving all around the peninsula though! After our work day on Friday, we spent a lot of time the last few days sightseeing.
We continued exploring the Table Mountain National Park by driving down to the Cape of Good Hope and standing on part of the bottom of Africa. We continue to be stunned by the beautiful scenery, the brilliant blues, sweeping vistas, and crisp air. Today, we took the ferry across to Robben Island to visit the museum there. It was a sobering visit as we learned about how the former government imprisoned its political prisoners on this isolated island as it attempted to maintain its policy of apartheid. We were reminded of everyone’s struggle for freedom and the price paid to achieve it.
Very early tomorrow morning, we head to the airport to begin our journey to Gaborone. We start the second part of our adventure. Our internet access will not be as easy so we may be posting only every other day or so, but watch for us. We will have news for you.

Although our hope was to visit Robben Island, the site of the famous prison where Nelson Mandela and others were held captive, the Western Cape weatherman seemed to have other plans. We drove all morning through newborn street-rivers and monstrous winds that pounded down rain and shook our two vehicles. Belmont . . . meet Cape Town. Cape Town . . . meet winter. After a wonderful learning experience in a museum dedicated to those displaced in District Six and a few hours to eat and shop downtown at the Waterfront Plaza, a few of us music lovers took a tour of a local radio station.
CCFM was the first post-apartheid radio station in the entire country and therefore the first Christian one as well. Growing out of a wonderful idea by a local church trying to reach out into the community in 1992, the major adventure began. They had absolutely no kind of experience and no previous station to turn to for help. When inspired, anything is possible and it wasn’t long before they had the whole system built from the ground up.
Avril gave us a tour of the building and taught us about its inner-workings including the 140 volunteers and only five paid staff members who make it possible. They act as any normal station with local news, weather and traffic but they also offer ministry with positive and uplifting messages and a unique prayer hotline. One story described how a woman heard a powerful message at home and called in accepting Christ. The very next phone call was from her husband who was out in the garage with his radio, incredibly weary and tired of fighting so much with his wife. He too accepted Christ. Or, the story of a lady who pulled her car to a halt on a railroad crossing, just waiting for the next train to roll by and end her pain. She heard the broadcast and gave her life a second chance.

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