Monday began bright and early for us. Well, early anyway. We were up at 4:00 a.m Eastern Daylight Time, to prepare to head for the airport. Allan, our oldest son, was the the one who so kindly and patiently got up so early to pick us up at 5:30 to make the trip to South Bend airport to meet the shuttle bus. We left South Bend at 6:30 EDT and headed to Chicago.
Arrived Chicago – 8:30 a.m. (9:30 EDT )
Departed Chicago – 12:45 p.m. (1:45 EDT)
They don’t serve food on internal flights, but I had packed a lunch and Allan’s family sent some yummy cookies for us to enjoy as we traveled so we did not have to purchase food.
Arrived Atlanta – 3:45 p.m. EDT
Departed Atlanta – 8:20 p.m. EDT
Arrived Johannesburg – Tuesday, April 19, 5:30 p.m. (11:30 a.m. EDT)
Atlanta’s Hometown Airlines. This is the plane we flew from Atlanta to Johannesburg, non-stop.
Apparently, another flight had arrived near the same time as ours and the lines through customs were l-o-n-g. We did not have to open our suitcases or answer questions or fill out forms, which was really nice. Just show our passports and be welcomed into the country. Even without all the ‘red tape’, we spent about 1-1/2 hours going through customs because of the long lines.
We were grateful that although our trip was very long, it was uneventful. No delays, no missed flights, no unwanted excitement of any kind.
After a night’s rest at the TWR offices near Johannesburg, we were up early Wednesday morning and attended staff meeting and then left for the airport to catch a shuttle bus to Manzini, Swaziland.
The offices in Johannesburg have an attached lodge with several bedrooms for guests. It has a shared lounge area and kitchen and is a quite comfortable arrangement. Breakfast foods are provided and a few
snacks. We did sleep, but were still quite tired from the travel. It takes a few days to ‘catch up’ after a trip like that.
We caught the 9:30 a.m. ( 1:30 a.m. EDT, Wednesday) shuttle bus to Manzini, Swaziland. We traveled about 80 mph the whole way. Some roads were good, some not so good. None were better than an ordinary 4 lane road and some were 2 lane. The driver seemed careful and familiar with the road. He knew where the pot-holes were and slowed down or missed them. We had a 5 minute stop at a rest area that had a ‘loo with a view’ (loo = restrooms). The restrooms look out over a watering hole where one can see buffalo, hippos and various buck. It is a fun place to stop, but nicer if there is more time.
View from the ‘loo’ at ALZU! (View while standing in the men’s room!)
Passing through the South African border and then the Swaziland border was fairly quick and uneventful. We finally arrived in Manzini, Wednesday afternoon at 2:00 (8:00 a.m. EDT, Wed.)
We are now unpacked and staying in the home of a missionary who is on leave for a few months. After a trip like that it was so nice to be able to exercise and relax a bit.
The TWR families prepared our evening meal for the first three days. What a blessing to become re-acquainted with them and enjoy their good food while we adjusted back to Swaziland.
Great to hear all the news and see the pictures. I want to check out the loo with a view at Alzu! Miss you.
Phew!
Glad you made it safely : )
David and Sharon have legally adopted Helen now. Praise Jesus. She ooches about, and has a lot to “say.”
The girls met at Wendy’s yesterday. Mary and a friend joined us. She shared two of her Christian books for children with Joann. Joann is stressed about B, who is now out of jail, but also very unstable. Prayer appreciated. And her son Chris who cares for the little girls, is fearful about B.
It’s was blessed discussion.
Thanks for the update!
Love and prayer,
‘Nita
Dear Oma;
What is a shuttle bus? We miss you!
Hi, Adrian! A shuttle bus is a vehicle, usually a bus, van or limo that takes people quickly from one place to another. They usually don’t stop except to get gas, travel as quickly as they can and make lots of trips back and forth. It is usually a nice vehicle. We were given a lunch bag in our van. I had yogurt, apple, banana, coke,chips, and something else. I have forgotten already. Opa had a sandwich and apple and coke and something else. So we shared our lunch. We each got some of the other person’s lunch. If you hear of someone playing badminton and hitting a shuttle cock, it is not a rooster in a van or bus. It is the thing they hit back and forth, back and forth over the net. It is a kind of ball with a cone on the end. The shuttle goes back and forth too. The shuttle on a loom goes back and forth, the shuttle on a sewing machine goes back and forth. Love you and miss you.
Oma and Opa, I miss you. Have a good time. I love you!
Hi Oma; Momma saw the first snake for this year in the garden. I am having fun looking for different spring flowers. Then I ask Momma if she knows what kind they are. Sometimes she doesn’t know what kind they are, like pretty purples ones. Can you look for flowers for me?
Mark saw a snake in the woods while he followed me. Momma said a cobra is not as nice as our snakes though. If you see another snake, I hope you have the camera and you are behind a window in the house and he is outside on the window. Or in the chicken coop. Or in a bakkie. But not next to you.
I love you too, Megan. I miss you too. You would have fun playing with all the kids here. I am glad that the snakes you usually see are not like the ones here. I think they might like chicken eggs, so I like to gather the eggs as quickly as I can.
I will try to take photos of flowers for you. I have one so far. It is getting to be winter here, so there are not as many flowers. The leaves are falling off the trees. Even though it is winter, it is a good time to plant vegetables. In the summer it is to hot. But in winter you have to water them a lot because it is dry.
I keep looking out of the window at the little fish pond. I think I might see that snake getting a drink there.
Love,
Oma