I'm BAAACK!

Well it's about time I write a blog about my trip!
What a wonderful blessing it was to see my family again and to travel with my immediate family. We departed on June 18th and flew to Holland via Detroit and spent a couple of days with my mom's side of the family. We even got to go to Amsterdam and see everything there.

Classic french fries and mayo!

AMSTERDAM!

On June 24th we departed for South Africa and came there the same day but at night. We stayed with family for a couple days and then drove off to the "wildtuin" (Kruger National Park- C-G on the map) in the northeastern part of South Africa. We spent a week there enjoying God's creation and seeing His magnificent beasts and birds. Everyday we would depart from our camp and would drive along looking for animals. On a couple of the days we actually met up with family in the park and spent time with them as well. We saw 4 out of the Big 5 (Elephants, rhinos, lions, leopards, and buffalo), the only one we didn't see was the leopard. But instead we got to see cheetah and wild dogs which are both rare to see. Several times we were very close to large herds of elephants and it was magnificent to see how they could just disappear into the bushes.Here are just a FEW pictures (out of the 500+ I took!)

Kudu

Zebra

Cheetah

Giraffe

Me, Koos, Theo (Dad), Francine (Mom)

King of the Beasts- a young male lion

WOW an elephant's foot is large. I wear women's size 10.

4 of the 100+ elephants we saw.

A runway on the highway!

After Kruger, we drove across to Botswana and eventually ended up in Maun.On our way there we drove across a runway in the middle of the highway! Quite strange but cool to see!Click this link to see where it is...Highway Airstrip In Maun, we departed for another wonderful part of the trip. We got to take mokorros (long wooden/ plastic boats in which the guide stands and pushes with a long pole) up the Okavango delta. We camped there for 4 days and each day we would go on hikes with the guide and see the wildlife there. The best part of that trip was being surrounded by 20 elephants who were having dinner 50 feet from our camp! As long as we had a fire going we were safe.

Me in a mokorro- It's quite difficult to steer but once you get the hag of it and practice you get better.

One of the elephants having dinner within 50 feet of camp (this picture is within 30 feet!)

In the mokorro.

After the Okavango (I on the map) we visited some missionaries and saw what they were doing in a village/ town near Maun (I on the map). We stayed with them for a day or two and got to go to their church! It was a mix of English and Tswani (language of Botswana). The missionaries- the Cronjes- were the leaders/ preachers of the church. It was an encouragement to us and them to see what God was doing and what He has in store for the future. After visiting the Cronjes, we visited another missionary family in D'Kar (J on the map). They planted the church where the Cronjes lead. After visiting we left to go back to Pretoria.
The next part of our trip in South Africa was relaxing and visiting with family. We came back on a Wednesday or Thursday and on Saturday my family and one of my uncles and aunts ran a 25k (14 mile) trail race around the Fortrekker monument in Pretoria. It was to longest race I had ever done and it was on hilly tough trails. But it was the coolest and most fun race I have run!

Our route of travel.

Before the race, with the monument in the back.

After the race we had a family reunion and spent one more day all together (that is Theo, Mom, Koos and I). On Monday the 15th I left early to fly to Lesotho, my parents left at night to go back to the States, and Koos went to connect with missionaries and churches in another city in South Africa.
I spent one and a half weeks in Lesotho, learning from, flying with, and encouraging the missionaries I know there. I got to go flying a couple times in the mountains where I also worked on updating the map they have for navigating. My project is to create a specific flying map (sectional) for them with locations of airports, cell towers, obstructions, terrain, and much more. While flying one day we had the most turbulent air possible in and around the valleys/ ridges. It was so severe that I came off my seat and my head hit the ceiling! I guess that's why the pilots wear helmets. While on the ground I was able to help and learn while the pilots worked on fixing and inspecting the planes. When we were not at the hangar I spent time with most of the families for dinner, mountain biking, or taking trips to South Africa for lunch and touristy things. I had an amazing time and I hope to be back real soon!

Lesotho mountains

Unloading people and cargo

Gorgeous countryside!

Runway

Being a tourist at a game farm with lion cubs!

Simba the lion cub I was feeding.

Being goofy on the train tracks.

I got a "new" motorcycle for my birthday!

After I got back from Lesotho I was in Pretoria for 1 day and then flew back to the States at night. When I got to the States I had about an hour to get off the plane (from the back), through security, immigration, baggage claim, baggage recheck, and then 5 terminals down. I was right on time and was in the plane about 20 minutes before it left! God sure provided for me throughout the entire trip.
I hope you enjoyed this photo blog and stay tuned for the next blog about moving to Michigan!
Fly with Christ,
Helen