Tuesday, November 1, 2016

...embraces the 'Canes.


Alden (Bafana Bonkhe "Bonkhe"):
Sean and Grace invited Ryan and I to share about our trip to South Africa and Swaziland with everyone.  I’m considering it a partial payment to them for planning our trip from the tops of Table Mountain, one of the 7 wonders of nature, to the valley of KaLanga. Thanks again for everything!



​Our trip started in Cape Town with a long list of “must do’s” from Sean, Grace, and Coach Smith who had studied in Cape Town for a summer.  The list ranged from hikes that would overlook Indian and Atlantic oceans, eateries, and chocolate candy bars.  We had great weather on the first day and hit the ground running by hiking Platekchlip gorge up to Table Mountain.  We were able to catch a cable car (closed due to wind conditions) with some maintenance workers and a few tourists down the mountain.  Then we pushed onward up a neighboring peak “Lion’s Head”.  A great hike thanks to the “tingly” feeling you get when climbing a ladder or a cable on the side of a cliff and the views of Table Mountain and Devil’s Peak.  On the descent one of the only clouds rolled over Lion’s Head and helped us to picture a lion laying down facing the bay.  We explored the waterfront, national stadium, and eateries for the rest of evening.  Day 2 we took our shot at local transport, in the form of a train, to Simon’s Town where we hungout with the penguins before heading down to Cape Point which far surpassed our expectations.  We hired a taxi and 27 year park ranger veteran who gave us a personal tour of the light house that overlooks the shipwreck beaches, the Indian and Atlantic Oceans, and the Cape of Good Hope.  We had to leave before we could completely explore the southern tip of Africa to get on the last train to Cape town.  Day 3, we took an uber around the coastline to Hout Bay to hike Chapman “Chappie’s” Peak.  The road up to the hiking trail has been the scene for numerous BMW commercials and is a popular place for cyclists and sport cars to test the turns.  The trail up to the peak was 2.5 km, straight up hill, with no switchbacks, just like the rest of the hikes we had done in Africa!  The trail was lined with fields of flowers and burned bushes that led to a magnificent view of Hout Bay and wine lands.  The hike finished on the beaches of Hout Bay, protected by two peaks and we rewarded ourselves with fish and chips.  Day 4, we finally slowed down and enjoyed a day in the vineyards of Stellenbosh where we sipped wine with the impalas, zebras, and a stampede of ducks on their way to go eat the bugs in the vineyards.
  

​After Cape Town we flew into Swaziland and spent the evening inflating basketballs, planning camp games, a tournament, and of course all the coveted giveaways.  The next morning, we arrived at SOS ready for a day of hoops.  The kids trickled in after their chores… or skipped their chores to play before their house mothers came and got them.  Our planning the previous night led to a morning of organized chaos, teaching some new moves but primarily playing games with prizes as giveaways.  Ryan even played freeze tag with younger kids and girls, which he beautifully demonstrated by crawling between a 3-foot-tall child’s legs.  We wrapped up the morning session by sending all the participants home with shorts, socks, shirts, or jump ropes.  When we returned in the afternoon for the tournament all the players were “dudded” out in their Union Heights jerseys and even wore shoes so they could wear their new nike elite socks.  Some spectators scaled and spectated from the 15 foot fence surrounding the court.  The games were all evenly matched but it was the Red Lions who took home the championship led by an mvp performance by Lwazi and they each got a pick one of the coveted NBA jerseys that had been on display for the tournament.  All of the players got to keep their Union Heights jerseys for telling us why they loved to play basketball or showing us their favorite move so everyone was able to go home a winner and we rolled home exhausted and sun/wind burnt.  Sunday we went to see a playground, library, and church all projects that Sean and Grace had invested in and added some cool twists to.  We were confused when we arrived to church if we were going for a sermon or another basketball camp because all of the SOS children at church were wearing a uniform, an arm sleeve or some other prize from the previous day’s camp.  The churched welcomed us through song, décor, and DANCE.  They showed us all the work that they had accomplished through the gifts sent for Grace’s birthday.  We ended the day with a chicken braii at the homestead prepared by our bosisi, bhuti, and make.   The next morning, we said our good byes to the family and headed for Malalotja picking up Hannah and Shar to max-out the capacity of our tiny Hyundai Accent.  We ascended the mountain into a cold cloud, not the weather we were prepared for.  We enjoyed a night of good food, drink, friendly wagers on games of Exploding Kittens, and hot showers.  We awoke in the same cloud but were able to escape it at points as we walked through the park with the impalas, zebras, and multitude of wild flowers to a couple of waterfalls.  We dropped Shar off with her spoils from exploding kittens before going to have a relaxing evening of food, drinks, and fire at Malendelas.  Swaziland was proving to be a much easier trip than what I ran Ryan through in Cape Town.  The next morning Ryan navigated the Hlane game park in our new Toyota Avanza.  We saw a glimpse of baby Reggie the Rhino’s butt before returning to the pond to wait for wildlife.  During lunch a threesome of fat hippos waddled up to the pond to hangout before we took off on a guided tour of the park to see the lions.  On the drive we got to see lions, rhinos, hippos, elephants, third legs, and impalas.  Later that evening we entered the human game park, the Happy Valley Casino, where we all won hundreds of… rand.  After a long night of stealing the casino’s money Ryan, Bingo, and I ran up Sheba’s Breast into and finally out of a cloud.  It was a lot like looking down on the Smokies as everything except the mountain tops were in a cloud.  When we got off the mountain we took off on a man’s trip to Execution Rock which was quite exhausting after Sheba’s Breast earlier that morning.  We explored every drop off at the top trying to decide which rock they used to send the witches off.  Upon our return to the car we grabbed a 6-pack of refreshing (skunked as Ryan described) Sibebes and toured the grasslands that were filled with zebra, wildebeest, impala, and warthogs.  That night we got hit with a nasty windstorm that caused us to retreat to our rooms and I got an education on tiny houses.  The next morning, we were up with the sun, 5:30 and went back to KaLanga and had one more good bye with the family before going to Manzini where we luckily caught the pro shuttle to Johannesburg and of course had a pit stop to pee with the cape buffalo, wildebeest, ostriches, and rhinos.


​Ryan and I were so blessed to have gotten this opportunity and thankful to all the families and communities that welcomed us.  Thanks again!



Ryan (Vusu Musi "Vusi"):
It all started with a 5:30 AM phone call.  I have to be honest any phone call being made or received at the crack of dawn is usually bad news.  We were so close to immersing ourselves into a life that we had read about, heard about, and constantly talked about, yet that morning at 5:30 AM we never felt so far away.  
Upon touching down in Johannesburg I picked up the phone and tried Sean again…
… “So unfortunately I have some bad news”, I say as Sean picks up the phone this time.  “Unfortunately we both didn’t make it on plane.”  But that is not my story to tell….

In every dream journey, there comes a moment when you have to quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely and methodically at death.  You have to go after a dream that is against the status quo.  You take the road less traveled.  You go big or go home.  You make a bold decision that will change the path of your life.  You take the leap of faith.  
I wish that this story was mine to tell, but again this doesn’t describe my career driven walk of life.  However, this is how I would describe Sean and Grace’s journey as I saw it from afar.  
Perspective seems to move you beyond the superficial and taps into the emotion we all want to feel.  Hearing and seeing are great but easy.  The perspective I’m referring to gives you an opportunity to feel, to really experience the emotion that can accompany an endeavor.  This trip was my opportunity not only to just hear and see, but to really FEEL.
I felt FULL…Sean literally can cook a mean breakfast!
I felt COLD…so by 90s and dry, I’m pretty sure they meant low 60s, cold, and unbelievably windy.
I felt LOVE…every single person I met genuinely made me feel like I was a blessing in their life.  They were so welcoming and excited to have us.  Little did they know that we were the ones who were blessed through experiences such as playing basketball with the kids of the SOS village, enjoying food and fellowship at the family braii, and worshipping God with the community at church.  
I felt SPEED BUMPS…I thought that driving on the opposite side of the road would be the most difficult task of the trip, but really it was identifying the Swazi speed bumps littering the road.  Good thing Sean was a wizard in terms of navigating the country.  Sorry to those who rode in the back though.  
I felt NERVOUS…betting wagers on Exploding Kittens often times felt like do or die.  Who knew that all in with deodorant, body soap, and a few rand could be so intense.  
I felt JOY…there is nothing better than experiencing life with close ones.  Whether we were sharing gorgeous hikes, cold sibebes, or magnificent wildlife reserves, great company is what made each experience memorable.  
I felt THANKFUL…to spend time with Sean and Grace.  Going in I thought the highlights would be the magnificent scenery, wildlife, and culture of Africa.  Really though there is nothing that could beat the opportunity to do life with Sean, Grace, and the extended Swazi family.  
I felt in AWE…as we visited the playgrounds, the library, the SOS Children’s village, and the church. I was left in awe of how much of a positive impact two lives have had.  Selfless service seemed to light up the world of others everywhere we went.
There is no way I could do what Sean, Grace, and the other selfless volunteers are doing in Swaziland, but I am so grateful that they and their Swazi families welcomed us with open arms and provided a life-changing experience!!  



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