Sat. morning, Day 3

It is another beautiful, warm day in Fish Hoek! The wind died down during the night and the sky is crystal clear.
I went to bed around 10:00 last evening, which is early for me and slept well. I seem to have adjusted well to the time change and I'm sure the lazy day yesterday helped immensely.
Joe, a white South African lady of Zimbabwe birth, came to "fetch me around" this morning for the Mission Celebration breakfast at King of Kings (FBC Fish Hoek). It was very interesting to visit the displays of the ministries support by the church and the Union.
The speaker was from Zimbabwe and heads a children's health education ministry in several districts. Since May 2006, it has grown from 6 volunteers in 1 church, reaching some 250 children to 250 volunteers in 48 churches, reaching 23,335 children as of Sept. There are 43 mid week programs and 37 Sun. programs which have resulted in 5,447 profession of faith.
The number of lives saved from HIV/Aids will only be known in the future. In an article in the Cape Times Oct. 8, it was stated that the odds are 50/50 that a 15 yr. old South African girl will contract HIV, usually within the next 4-5 yrs.! The numbers may be even higher in other African countries so it is more than important, it is imperative that the children be educated about the disease and how it is spread and prevented.
Joe will be back around to fetch me for a drive around 2:00. We are going to see the whales and the penguins. Then back to the church for its banquet this evening. Tomorrow will be church at KOKs, lunch with Susie, an American missionary from Colorado who works at Living Hope and then children's church in one of the settlements (I won't even attempt to spell the name) called Massie for short.
I may, in this blog, begin to use terms that we would consider offensive in the US. You must remember that they are used only to distinguish people groups as they are defined in the S. African culture. First, there are the Whites. This generally refers to descendants (White Africans) of the original colonial (Dutch, German, Brits, etc.) settlers and those foreign born Caucasian emigrants and persons who live and work in S. Africa (non African). Second are the Coloured. This refers to those descendants of settlers who inter married with people of color other than the indigenous African. It also includes people of color from India, etc (non African). Then, there are the Blacks. These are the indigenous tribal people.
The Africanes language used by many of the White and Coloured is a mix of the settler's mother tongue and the indigenous languages. English is spoken by most as a second language. And then there are the tribal dialects. There are Wkosi(sp), Zulu, Mende, and many more. These are interesting and strange languages which include many clicks and other noises made with the tongue. How any western person can learn to speak and interpret these dialects is nothing short of the gift of tongues!
Cape Town is the crown of South African tourism. With the mountains and the sea, people from all over are drawn here for holiday. Once it was the home of wealthy Whites only. When the restrictions were lifted, Blacks from the Eastern Cape flooded into the area seeking employment. Does this sound familiar, circa mid 60's USA? Today, the population is 80% Black. There are more people than jobs and the more educated and cultured are given preference. You begin to understand the tensions that are part of everyday life. Throw in the epidemic explosion of HIV/Aids among all the people and you begin to understand the enormity of the task facing our brothers and sisters working here to advance God's kingdom through ministries such as Wendy's Evageline and Fish Hoek's Living Hope.
Cape Town Seamstress