South Africa Mission Trip June/July 2014

Daniel and Samantha Paulk

Rolling LandscapesThe area we visited/served in was between the cities of Hazyview and White River.

Everywhere we looked the land rolled beautifully and you could see for miles because there aren’t large trees or buildings that inhibit your views.

Brothers for lifeThese two boys are living by themselves in a home that our church built for them on a previous trip.

They have their monthly food parcel sponsored by a member of the church.

They are some of the best examples of OVCs (Orphans and Vulnerable Children) that we have supported over the years.

The one on the right is named Wisdom (17) and the one on the left is named Freedom (16).

Wisdom is nearing graduation and hopes to go to a University soon after.

Found themAs a result of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa, there is a population imbalance with lots of children and not many adults.

This has led to there being a huge number of OVCs. So many that at the age of 12 you can live on your own and take care of your younger siblings.

These two boys were living with their 14 year old brother in the house our church had provided, but the brother ran away so these two are now at an orphanage.

Their home will be waiting for them when they are old enough to live in it on their own.

New AdditionsThese two boys are living by themselves in a home that our church built for them this year.

We got to help paint their house, install gutters, and help with water drainage issues.

They are some of the newest OVCs that our church has identified.

The one on the right is named Clarence (21) and the one on the left is (15).

What’s for DinnerThese are some of the components of a typical monthly food parcel.

Keep in mind, these kids don’t have running water.

When we build houses for the children we make sure they get electricity to support a small refrigerator and a hot plate and lights that we install for them.

These 13-21 year olds have to figure out how to make their own meals and make sure it lasts the month.

Moving DayThe house in the foreground is a new house that was under construction for 3 young ladies and a baby our church has identified.

The two room shack in the background is what they were living in.

We also provided them with clothing items for the baby and a food parcel.

Lets TalkWe got all the OVCs that our church currently supports together one day.

The goal was to get the different households to be able to talk with each other about the difficulties they faced and how they had/could overcome them.

Some of the older children gave talks on how they could better use their food parcels, or how they could generate some money for other things they need by doing things like starting their own carwash.

Meetings can be FunWe didn’t make them sit through long discussions. Let’s face it, they are still kids, so we had plenty of breaks to play games.

We also fed them KFC for lunch which was a cool treat.

Break timeOne day we ended up with enough free time to catch some of the sights.

One word: Breathtaking

Break cont.There were so many cool places/views it was a little bit overwhelming.

Coloring FunWe helped another group put on a 3 day long program for children in the area.

They were expecting around 80 kids a day and ended up with 230 the first day!

Talk about a shock, we were providing lunch for the kids and hadn’t planned for nearly that many.

We had to pick up all the sandwiches we had made for the week just to cover the first day.

Duck…Duck…Goose!During the week long program, kids got to do lots of fun activities.

The activities included:

•Playing Duck Duck Goose

•Coloring

•Getting their pictures taken,

•Making their own picture frames

•Other Crafts

Stories and SongsThe other part of the program was telling the children Bible stories and teaching them songs along with awesome dance moves.

Grandma’s HouseWe visited this woman’s home because it had been identified by the local church we partner with as one of the many locations they want to start helping.

She takes care of 7 children by herself.

Playing aloneWhile we were visiting another service location, Samantha noticed this little girl at the neighbors house.

Touching Lives DayAfter visiting the service locations earlier in the week, we broke up into teams with the local church and headed out into the community.

We did a variety of things from washing clothes, to building gardens, to replacing window panes, etc…

Up Close and PersonalWe set aside one day to take a trip to Kruger National Park (one of the largest game reserves in Africa).

This baby hyena came right up to our vehicle on the road, I could have reached out and petted it (and probably lost some fingers too).

Who said that?Before we saw this Kudu, Samantha and I had bought some Kudu Biltong (jerky) to try.

You almost feel bad for eating it after you see his cousin giving you looks like that, almost.

Camo to the MaxThis lion came within 15 feet of our vehicle as it stalked some gazelle.

Needless to say, when you are in an open top vehicle with nothing but air between you and a predator of that size, it gets a little nerve wracking.

Endangered Fortunately we got to see several rhino on the trip.

Did you know that they are being hunted to extinction by poachers for the Asian market. No, we aren’t talking about the meat, just the horn. Poachers will dart a rhino and hack off its face to sell the horn.

Because of the frequency, the South African government called it open season on poachers. The government now has the military patrol the park and poachers are shot on sight.

How’s the weather up there?I thought I was fairly tall at 6’2” until I saw one of these guys.

Follow the LeaderOne of the coolest moments out of so many on the safari was this.

This young bull elephant came all the way up to the car (petting distance), flared his ears open, then turned and signaled for us to follow him.

We were all holding our breath because he was definitely big enough to roll our vehicle if he had wanted to.

What are you looking at?This baby zebra crossed the road right in front of our vehicle with his mom.

There was an entire herd with one stallion leading the way.

Until laterThe sun set on this trip, but we may end up going back…