August 20

Paul and I are celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary today. We look back into our life together and feel truly blessed. And we give thanks to our family and friends who mean so much to us. The hotel we are staying in is not a typical hotel. It's truly lovely.. Today they had rose pedals, card and chocolate on the table when we came to breakfast! Were on the ground floor surrounded by beautiful gardens. The breakfast they serve is amazing, freshly baked croissants, cheese, salmon, fresh fruit just for starters. Every day they have tea time and happy hour.. We've been so busy we haven't had a chance to really enjoy those, however today is the day! During the day we did some shopping (what fun). And then drove around the east side of the peninsula, fantastic views of ocean, mountains and villages. For dinner we ate at a terrific Indian restaurant....it was a perfect anniversary day.
Photos: village by the ocean, one of the shopping stops, views of vineyards along the hill side...each winery has a restaurant and of course a taste of their wines... We'll fine all that out tomorrow
Before we leave Cape Town.

August 19

We were told that the boat to Robbin Island was booked for several days, however I wanted to take a chance and went to the pier. At 9 am I went to the ticket office and we bought tickets! The boat took off at 10 am. It wasn't the catamaran, we went onto to the prison boat. It was quite chilly 58 degrees. It took almost an hour. Buses meet us and we had a terrific tour leader. The island has 200 folks living on it. I was surprised about the size of the island
There are over 1,000 graves. Some of the previous prisoners and wardens live in peace on the island and there's no crime. There are two churches. Only one is in use...what was fun to learn is that they only do weddings on Valentines day. This past year they performed 13 weddings and the one thing you can say is "these were life sentences'. We had a former prisoner walk us through the prison building where Nelson Mandela was. His room had a cot, a very, very small table with cup and a bucket for a toilet. The room was the size of a bathroom. There's much more information I'll share with you later. Next we took a drive around the peninsula and stopped at a place where there were 100's of African penguins. What fun to watch them. Paul and I are finally on the restful part of our journey. We are definitely not in the third or second world anymore. Tomorrow we will celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary. What a joy to be married to this wonderful man. Blessings and Joy be yours, we'll see what tomorrow brings.
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August 18

What a day! We left For the airport inDurban at 5:30 am . Scott was kind to take us. We landed in cape town and was out of the airport by 10:30am. Cape town has up and down weather and for the past weeks it's been cold and raining, however today was absolutely beautiful, blue sky, no wind and around 70 degrees. As soon as we arrived at the hotel we asked a driver to take us to table mountain. What a spectacular view.... Robbins Island, mountains off in the distance with snow on them, the beautiful Atlantic ocean and the whole city of cape town. The cable car up the mountain imade my tummy rumble, but it was well worth it. Then place we are staying in is terrific. Beautiful gardens, high tea, and all the comforts of home. I didn't bring the I pad with me, but Paul took many photo we'll share later . Tomorrow we hope to see Robbin Island and a drive around the Peninsula. I'll take the iPad so more photos to come. Blessings, Jean
Ps.. These photos are from the plane of cape town.

August 17

When Paul and I woke up at 6:30 am the family was already gone. When Scott came back we were all set for another day of exploring the great history in Durban. We first visited Rev. Dr. John Dube's Ohlange Institute which is the first African run and African funded educational institution in South Africa . It open it's doors in 1901. Dube
Was an educationalists, editor and also one of the founders of the ANC and its first president. His aim was to uplift and empower the local African community through education and skills training coupled with strict adherence to Christian moral principles and values. Through the dedication of Dube the Ohlange has a successful educational system today and is one of the most important historical sites in post-apartheid south Africa. In a symbolic gesture, the country's first democratically elected president, Nelson Mandela, choose to cast his vote here in 1994. Ohlange means 'place of reeds'. An area where the Ohlange river flows.

Then we visited Gundi's original cottage. (1903). The site is a symbol of political activism and social justice. It was the stronghold of the passive resistance of 1913 and remained an important site of resistance during apartheid. As you drive up on a dirt road to Gundi' cottage on both sides of the road you will drive through Bhambayi, the shack settlement which had sprung up around the compound , was the scene of intense civic violence.
We then headed for Micah's school to watch him in a 4K run, however it was cancelled because of the weather. The school was very impressive. A large modern campus. He will attend high school next year.

We relaxed a little in the late afternoon and then went out for Italian food. Early to bed - tomorrow we need to leave for the airport at 5:30 am to Cape Town

August 16

Paul and I had a wonderful morning walking along the beach of the Indian Ocean it was overcast day but not too chilly. In the afternoon Susan picked us up. Micah was picked up from school and then we picked up Maddie.
Scott took us to one of his churches he is serving. He has what we would say a mother church and then two sister churches. They are connected for main events, Scott rotates his time between them. The area he serves is beautiful. From one church you can see the top of another across the mountain. The roads in this area are dirt,stones and mountains all around so it's difficult for this third world area to get around.. No electricity and they receive water from a stream. We met one of the leaders, she was a delight and very happy that Scott is taking time for their congregational church. Scott has no salary for these churches, he is a real gift to this community. When we arrived back to the house Susan had a lovely dinner ready for us, after dinner we went to a wine tasting feast... We arrived at 8 pm and found out it was over at 8:30. But we tasted many south African wines and had fun...
Susan and Scott begin each day very early. Susan has chapel with the girls which begins at 7:30 am. And Scott takes the children to school at 6 am most of the time they don't get home until after 6 pm....they are amazing family! Below are photos of one of Scott's churches and terrific scenery. .

August 15

Rev. Dr. Scott Couper, development manager, historian, author, pastor and Rev. Susan Valiquette, chaplain of Inanda Seminay a boarding school for high school girls, along with their children Micha and Mattie are a delight to be with. We toured the seminary. Scott has done an amazing job collecting the history of Inanda Seminary which began 1869. The building where his office is located has turned into a wonderful historic center.
The campus is lovely. The campus has 289 girls attending school. There motto is "shine where you are". Susan has chapel with them every morning at 7 am. And she also teaches . For the past couple of days we've been staying at a hotel near the Indian Ocean. Today we are going to Scott's and Susan's home for two nights. Today we will be headed for Scott's church meet some of the leaders..his church has no electricity so the meeting will be during the day at his home and then he will transport the folks back. Scott has written a book which Paul and I have read on Albert Luthuli which I found very valuable to our congregational history. Luthuli is the first African to win the Nobel Peace Prize for social justice. Germany has already translated this book in German for their use. I Believe this book would be valuable for our polity courses and for seminaries. Luthuli was a congregational pastor who was a human rights hero. Until the next time. Blessings and Joy.

August 14

Megan took us to the partied museum this morning. It was painful and joyful to see. The tribute of and life story of Nelson Mandela and the story of the full apartheid was masterly done. As you entered the museum your ticket said whether you enter in the door for whites or for black.. My ticket told me to enter the entrance for blacks and Paul was for whites... There were photos on all sides of mine representing blacks Identification prison cards... Some of the museum was out doors and then entered into the main part. The museum had main statements from Mandela: freedom, democracy, respect, responsibility, Diversity, Reconciliation, Equality, TRUTH .. And much more.. It was wonderful to see and hear the life story of Nelson Mandela.. He is truly honored. Afterwards we headed to the airport for Durban. Thank you Megan Baxter for a wonderful stay in Johannesburg .. We are looking for your visit in the USA.

August 13

Monday morning we left the hotel at 5am ugh! We landed in Johannesburg where Megan Baxter met us. She is the director of Theological Education by Extension college. What a wonderful warm hearted person. We went to the guest house, which was a very pleasant place and left our suitcases. It was chilly, Johannesburg elevation is over 5,000. We then visited the college and met the staff. This is a very impressive place. Craig Dumsmoire and Megan Baxter gave us a overview of this amazing program. They have many programs for folk wanting to serve the church, I am looking forward in sharing this amazing ministry with you.
We had lunch with Mike who edits l and writes books. He is presently putting together a spirituality book for the students
After lunch we went back to the school and Megan took us back to the guest house to rest for a couple of hours before we met again for dinner.
We went to a lovely place for dinner and ate with Megan, Craig, Archbishop Peter and his wife Jill who is also a clergy and is presently the chaplain for a high school. paul and I ate kingklip which is a wonderful south african fish, we had great conversations! This was one of the best days of our journey thus far. The photos are of the book store with Megan and an intern from Texas. The other photo is Megan with Craig the assistant administrator.

August 12

Sunday.. We travelled almost 4 hours to church. We arrived at 9:45 am and service was at 10. The UCC church had a breakfast set up for us.. Cake, muffins, juice, tea and chicken.. A wonderful reception.. This was youth Sunday. The church is in the middle of building a sanctuary, so they showed us around and we worshipped beside the church which will be fellowship hall.. It was covered but open air.. It was a beautiful day and the air was perfect. The worship began with the youth singing, drumming and marching around the church before they entered. When I asked them about their song they said their song was about keeping the devil out! The youth led a very exciting worship.. 4 scriptures,then a youth sharing about a scripture, between everything, prayers, announcements, scripture readings, sermons, their was dancing, drumming and singing. What a delight. After worship their was a meal for us, chicken, rice, maize, kale, and soda and water. After lunch we left and headed back to Harare another 4 hours. Instead of a guest house, Paul and I splurged on a hotel. We treated Rev. Edward and his wife to a dinner at this wonderful hotel which once was the Sheraton ... It was first class! The best thing was the bed and hot shower! Rev. Edward was very generous taking the time to drive us around Zimbabwe we drove over 600 miles together with his wife. Gas is very expensive here double the price in the US.. So Paul and I of course paid for the gas and meals. Rev. Edward is the president of the UCC in Zimbabwe he has served 8 years and his term is up at the end of the year. We were blessed with his knowledge his the 100 UCC churches.. He was well known in the communities we visited and we are truly grateful for his ministry among us..

August 11

A lot of driving today. Over very rough dirt roads, it's been very dry, they really need rain, so there 's a lot of dust every where. We had an very early breakfast and then drove to a small town where Rev. Edward grew up. We went to the grocery store for water and supplies .
We went to a dedication of a tomb stone of Rev. Dr. He studied in America and served many churches in Zimbabwe. The service was 3 hours.. Singing, preaching, prayers... Many different communities of faith came to celebrate the dedication of the unveiling of the tomb. Afterwards they served lunch.. Chicken, Maise, and beans with sodas.

Then we drove to Chipinge where we spent the night. First stop was the hospital. The biggest medical problems are malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS...
The nurses are amazing once again no doctors .. One comes once a month!
There was an ambulance donated by a
UCC church in New England. We also visited a UCC church. We met Pastor Peter, a friend of Mark Hamilton.. We had dinner in their home.. Chicken , rice, and kale. We also met an American women Lindey from New England.. She taught math at the schol. It was great having conversation with the first American since travelling. Her partner Andy was away.. Paul and I stayed at a home overnight with no hot water, the toilet wasn't working..and no sink in the bathroom or towels.. Etc. but we kept ourselves warm by sleeping close. We left at 6 am to continue our journey.

August 10

We had an early breakfast then toured the Mt. Selinda campus. I am proud to say that the Congregational churches began the school and orphanage in the 1800's. We began at the hospital, we saw the obstetrics and infant rooms, visited men and women wards and the clinic where walk ins were treated, most of them with malaria and HIV/Aids. There is only one doctor on staff there should be 4. But the gov't . Budget restraints are a problem. We were told a doctor only receives $1,000 per month. We gave the head nurse 1/2 of the medical supplies. They were very appreciated. These supplies were mostly for diabetics, they are very expensive here, the supplies were extremely helpful for diabetics.
Next we went to the orphanage which is next to the hospital. There are 38 little ones in the home. We sang songs and I taught them Jesus Loves Me by signing...then gave them balloons! Paul and I gave them pens, pencils , and school note books. We then went down the hill and visited the school.
The school children were on holiday, however many children were studding with their teacher. There are about 700 primary children and over 900 high school. The class rooms are very primitive. But the children and teachers are a delight! The school has two buses with UCC identity... We see the UCC logo throughout the campus. We also visited the church built in1903. Most of the campus is brick all made on campus. There were rooms for boarding students as well as day students. After Mt. Selinda we went to a near by town (about 25 min. Away) all dirt roads to a new clinic for about 4,000 folks. The nurse was wonderful a doctor only comes once a month for a day. The clinic still is in the very beginning stages... No electric, or indoor water, bathrooms. There immediate goal is to get electricity which would cost $681.00. We gave a gift toward their goal, thanks again for your support. The clinic nurse was extremely happy with the supplies we brought them. The staff of four began singing. After wards we went to the home of Rev. Edwards wife. The father in his late 80's and mother around 79. Hope you enjoy some of the photos. More to come. This was a long but happy day..thanks to Rev. Edward for all his driving.blessings, Jean

August 9

The Great Zimbabwe and Mt Selinda.
On our way to Mt Selinda we took a little detore and visited The Great Zimbabwe. Look the great Zimbabwe up on the Internet.. A very interesting place. The drive from Harare to there was 4 hours... Then we travelled another 3 plus hours to Mt Selinda. Schools, Hospital, Orphanage. We stayed at the missionaries home who were on vacation. When we arrived we were greeted with dinner around 8:30 pm.. The next day we'll meet everyone and learn more about the UCC ministry here.

August 8

To Harare.. It was a very early morning wake up call 3:30 am we took off to the airport in Nairobi at 4:45am. When we arrived we found that Kenya airlines had a change in our flight...it wasn't going to be a direct flight. We actually flew over Harare and landed in South Africa at Gaborone (capital of Botswana) We were there only a short time and then took off again to Harare. Time change now 6 hours difference. Rev. Edward Matuvhunye, The president of the UCC for Zimabawei met us. We went to his office and met some regional conference staff and his sec't. And accountant. Behind the conference office there was a new church start. Structure was tent like, back wall concrete, dirt floor, benches
One year as a church with 100 members. Pastor Thomas is very proud. There are a hundred UCC churches and they are growing as a UCC presence throughout Zimbabwe.
We then went to his parsonage ( for conference ministers) and greeted by his family for lunch. We had maize, greens, and chicken bits. Afterwards we had a couple hour rest at the guest house. A guest house is like a lower income hotel. Rev. Edward pick us up for dinner and his wife prepared us rice, potatoes, liver and hot tea.

August 7

We spent the morning with the Rev. Dr. Johnson Mbillah, general adviser for Christian-Muslim relations in all of Africa. "PROCMURA". He shared his own story and then what Africa is working towards. In Kenya the relationships between the two faiths. Are good. It's only when fundamental faiths come in and begin problems. I have recorded his conversations with us and will share much more when I am with you. It was wonderful for him to take the time with us, tonight he travels to Ottawa, Canada where he will be speaking. Afterwards we were invited for a marvelous lunch with Rev. Phyllis Byrd, her husband, two of their daughters and a son was at home. The hospitality in Kenya is extravagant! We are now back at the Desmond Tutu Center, packing up and getting ready for the next part of our journey - Zimbabwe .. Not sure about connecting with you but I will keep notes and photos along the way. Blessings, Jean

August 6

We meet all day with Rev. Phyllis Byrd. She shared her work with us in OAIC..organization of African instituted churches.... We then travelled to what we call the slum area they call informal settlers. We visited an orphanage and the children at school. There we 40 children in a room much smaller than a bedroom.. Tin walls, cardboard ceiling , no electricity an old blackboard, dirt floors with wonderful children. One 3 year old girl was burned with boiling water... They don't have the $ to help her, thanks to your gifts we were able to get her to the hospital and stop the infection... We're looking into surgery for her. Enclosed are photos of the orphans, there school and the girl with her mom... All is well with Paul and I much more information to come. Peace and blessings, Jean