In April 2022, the whole NETS community went out on a mission trip to Bushmanland and Rundu. We ministered in villages, churches, homes, schools, and on community streets. We partnered with local churches and shared God's good news with countless people. This video tells a bit of our story through photos and testimonies.
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Sandhof Lilies
Ever wonder why I call my blogsite "Blossoming Deserts"? Well, here's one classic example. For most of the year the pan at Farm Sandhof is acres of nothing but dirt. It's basically an old dried up flood plain. But during years when we have a great rainy season, like this year, the pan floods with water and up spring these lilies. For 4-5 days it is transformed into a huge field of pink and white blossoms as far as the eye can see. All it takes is a bit of water and these desert flowers, sometimes hiding in their bulbs through years of drought, come bursting to life. It reminds me of the transformative work of Christ when He pours a bit of the water of life on a dried up soul!
The Queen City
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| NASCAR headquarters in Charlotte |
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| Charlotte is also the headquarters for SIM USA |
Cultural Adjustments
However, it didn't take long before I started running into cultural differences where I needed to readjust. Apparently the Red Sox had just played a baseball game in London the night before, so our plane was filled with Boston sports chatter and American accents. As soon as I walked out of the airport I was confronted with the humidity of a temperate summer. After loading my baggage into the trunk, I waited behind the car desperately trying to figure out which side was the passenger side so I wouldn't be embarrassed by going to the wrong door. The friend who picked me up from the airport, his kids had gotten tall and really grown up in the 3 years since I'd seen them last. After picking up my borrowed vehicle, I had to keep reminding myself that there is no clutch to push down and to stay on the right side of the road. Even just drinking a Coke today, I was reminded that they use different recipes for different regions, and I've grown used to the taste of southern African Coke.
It's funny the little things that we become so used to, that become such ingrained habits. Those are some of the things that make up our culture, the things we think and do "unthinkingly," as Dallas Willard says. Even when you are well-prepared and expecting them, some of those difference can still take you by surprise when they happen, like a simple sip of Coke. So that's the stage of reentry that I'm in at the moment.
Student Life
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| GWC is the yellow building in the background. |
George Whitefield College is a reformed Anglican Bible school in Muizenberg, South Africa, a small suburb located on the southern coast of Cape Town. They had invited Dr. Don Carson to come as a visiting lecturer to teach a post-graduate course on the epistle to the Hebrews. Dr. Carson has been a pastor, professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Chicago, prolific author and editor of many books and articles, and co-founder of The Gospel Coalition (among other things!). I heard that somebody once said they have three rules in life: 1) Tell your wife you love her; 2) Brush your teeth twice a day; and 3) If you ever, ever, ever have a chance to hear Don Carson teach, then always take it!
So six years after my last seminary class, I found myself a student again. It was actually really nice to be back in the academic sphere where I was surrounded by other people who were asking the same kinds of questions I find myself asking. It was great to dive deeply into texts of Scripture, to pick apart the logical flow of argument, and figure out how the NT author was appropriately quoting and re-applying passages from the Old Testament. But perhaps my biggest takeaway from the course was seeing how Dr. Carson seamlessly wove together his knowledge from many different disciplines. It's amazing how his systematic theology and his language study and his pastoral experience inform his Biblical exegesis and vice versa. It's easy to separate each of those into different categories, but he helpfully brought them all together. It reminded me how I need to be reading much more broadly across the scope of different disciplines within theological studies.
Overall it was helpful, and encouraging, and challenging to help me become a better teacher. And it didn't hurt that after class I could walk across the street for a little stroll along the beach!
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| Muizenberg beach on a warm sunny day |
Cape Town
In the southern hemisphere, our summer vacation happens around the Christmas holiday. Schools finish up at the end of November and the new school year doesn't start up again until late January. That's the perfect time to get out of town for a refreshing break and little change of scenery. This year for me that meant Cape Town.
Coming from Namibia, the first things you notice about CT is that it's big (Windhoek is 400,000 people; CT is 4.5 million) and that it's green. Coming from the desert, green is a big deal! CT has a little bit of everything, mountains and beaches, major urban centers and small town main streets, vineyards and beach pubs, huge shopping malls and little vendor markets. There's a little something for everyone. So I and a few friends found a housesitting gig and had a fun-filled holiday vacation.
At about 5am the day after Christmas, four of us crammed into my little VW Polo with no air conditioning and hit the road for the next 15 and a half hours. The drive through southern Namibia offers some gorgeous sweeping views across the desert and then eventually you find the green farmlands of South Africa. And finally, after daylight is long gone you peak over the hill and see the massive lights of Cape Town spread out in the distance below. Everyone was flabbergasted that we would attempt the journey all in one day, but I say better to just get it over with and be there.
Our first activity was hiking the famous Table Mountain. We hiked the longer, more scenic Kasteelspoort trail up the back side of the mountain, enjoyed the views from the top, then descended the more direct Platteklip Gorge trail, which is basically a rock staircase of switchbacks all the way down the gorge.
We spent a day on the lovely white sand of Camps Bay beach with the picturesque peaks of the Twelve Apostles in the background. The Antarctic currents make the Atlantic Ocean water quite brisk, so we mostly just enjoyed walking along the beach or taking a nap while others buried themselves in the sand. We then found our way to Maiden's Cove for a scenic sunset picnic dinner.
We got to see the penguins at Boulder Beach...
And catch some New Year's Eve fireworks at the V&A Waterfront...
Another excellent hike we did is the Crystal Pools hike, which is detailed in another post here.
Then on our last night together we hiked up Lion's Head to catch another sunset. This trail snails around the rocky spire of a mountain often with a rock wall to your right and a steep cliff on your left. But the panoramic views from the top are well worth the hike. Once the sun sets you can watch the lights of the city start to come out as you descend. Thankfully we brought our flashlights because we didn't make it down until well after the last glow of twilight had faded from the horizon.
Sometimes vacations seem busier than real life. You are only there a short time so you want to pack in as many fun activities as possible. The key is finding those activities which for you are restful. Then vacation can be both fun and refreshing!
Coming from Namibia, the first things you notice about CT is that it's big (Windhoek is 400,000 people; CT is 4.5 million) and that it's green. Coming from the desert, green is a big deal! CT has a little bit of everything, mountains and beaches, major urban centers and small town main streets, vineyards and beach pubs, huge shopping malls and little vendor markets. There's a little something for everyone. So I and a few friends found a housesitting gig and had a fun-filled holiday vacation.
At about 5am the day after Christmas, four of us crammed into my little VW Polo with no air conditioning and hit the road for the next 15 and a half hours. The drive through southern Namibia offers some gorgeous sweeping views across the desert and then eventually you find the green farmlands of South Africa. And finally, after daylight is long gone you peak over the hill and see the massive lights of Cape Town spread out in the distance below. Everyone was flabbergasted that we would attempt the journey all in one day, but I say better to just get it over with and be there.
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| Driving south across the Tropic of Capricorn | Oasis in the Desert; crossing the Orange River into South Africa |
Our first activity was hiking the famous Table Mountain. We hiked the longer, more scenic Kasteelspoort trail up the back side of the mountain, enjoyed the views from the top, then descended the more direct Platteklip Gorge trail, which is basically a rock staircase of switchbacks all the way down the gorge.
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| View of Camps Bay and Lion's Head on our way up the Kasteelspoort trail |
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| View over Cape Town from Table Mountain (with Lion's Head on the left and Devil's Peak on the right) |
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| Hiking down through Platteklip Gorge |
We spent a day on the lovely white sand of Camps Bay beach with the picturesque peaks of the Twelve Apostles in the background. The Antarctic currents make the Atlantic Ocean water quite brisk, so we mostly just enjoyed walking along the beach or taking a nap while others buried themselves in the sand. We then found our way to Maiden's Cove for a scenic sunset picnic dinner.
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| Camps Bay beach and the Twelve Apostles from Maiden's Cove |
We got to see the penguins at Boulder Beach...
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| Penguin colony at Boulder Beach |
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| He's ready for his closeup. |
And catch some New Year's Eve fireworks at the V&A Waterfront...
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| Lots of stages and performers at the NYE party at the Waterfront |
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| New Year's fireworks over the harbor |
Another excellent hike we did is the Crystal Pools hike, which is detailed in another post here.
Then on our last night together we hiked up Lion's Head to catch another sunset. This trail snails around the rocky spire of a mountain often with a rock wall to your right and a steep cliff on your left. But the panoramic views from the top are well worth the hike. Once the sun sets you can watch the lights of the city start to come out as you descend. Thankfully we brought our flashlights because we didn't make it down until well after the last glow of twilight had faded from the horizon.
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| Looking out over the endless sea from the top of Lion's Head |
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| The lights of the city coming out and the 'table cloth' covering Table Mountain |
Sometimes vacations seem busier than real life. You are only there a short time so you want to pack in as many fun activities as possible. The key is finding those activities which for you are restful. Then vacation can be both fun and refreshing!
Crystal Pools Hike
Websites about visiting Cape Town always give you the same suggestions for top tourist sites like Table Mountain, Robbin Island, and Cape Point. But to find the diamonds in the rough you have to head off the beaten path.
After Reed Pool you will continue along the river. Cross a small footbridge then turn to the right and there you will find Deep Pool, another small but picturesque pool that could be a nice shady place for a break. But again, I recommend you don't waste your time swimming here, but press on.
The Crystal Pools hike in the Steenbras Nature Reserve is an excellent day hike to escape the holiday crowds. You must pre-book your hike as they only allow 50 people per day into the reserve. And grab a hiking buddy because you need a group of 2-10 people. You can get the permit application by emailing steenbras.naturereserve@capetown.gov.za. They will reply with a tentative booking. You can then pre-pay your R69pp entrance fee electronically or by making a bank deposit. After sending proof of payment, they will then email you the official permit.
The Steenbras Nature Reserve can be reached by taking the R44 out of Gordon's Bay. Parking for the Crystal Pools trailhead is on the right hand side of the road just after you cross the bridge over the Steenbras River. Reserve employees will be at the trailhead to check your permit.
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The trail is well marked most of the way, but very rocky so good hiking shoes are recommended. They say it is for medium to experienced hikers, but the hike to the lower pools is not difficult and we saw many children doing it.
The hike begins by going up and over the hill, then down into the river gorge. The trail follows the river for a short ways before taking a short cut up over another hill then back down into the gorge. Along this stretch you will find the first of the pools, Reed Pool, a long narrow pool named after the many reeds growing alongside. Feel free to take a dip here, but it's quite small in comparison to what lies ahead. I recommend pressing on to the real treasure.
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| Hiking through the gorge | Reed Pool |
After Reed Pool you will continue along the river. Cross a small footbridge then turn to the right and there you will find Deep Pool, another small but picturesque pool that could be a nice shady place for a break. But again, I recommend you don't waste your time swimming here, but press on.
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| Deep Pool in the gorge | Deep Pool |
A little ways further up the trail you will see Elena's Pool off to your right. This is the lowest of the big pools and the easiest to access. Take the small unmarked path down to the right to reach the pool. Beware of large rocks just below the surface in the middle of the pool.
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| Elena's Pool | Waterfall at Elena's Pool |
Continue back on the trail onwards and upwards to Family Pool. You will again need to descend on an unmarked path to reach the base of the pool. There are nice rocks here to lay out on in the sun. This pool is better photographed in the morning light as the afternoon sun will cast a dark shadow over the falls.
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| Swimming at Family Pool |
After Family pool the trail gets steep and gravelly. It is still marked and maintained, but more difficult. You will continue a little further up along the mountainside until you see a steep unmarked path down to the right toward Crystal Pool.
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| Crystal Pool from above | Crystal Pool |
After Crystal Pool the trail turns sharply upward. It is much more steep and not for the faint of heart. That's why most people stay at the lower pools. But for the brave and experienced, the Upper Pool is a nice reward. The trail will wind its way steeply through the trees and brush up the mountain side. At some points you will also need to use your hands. At one point the trail will open up and you will see a "staircase" (which also looks like a landslide) that turns steeply up the mountain. This will take you up to a viewpoint at the top. The trail is quite steep, but there are some maintained steps you can follow. At the top the trail seems to disappear and you can just find your way to a nice viewpoint. (Or you can skip the view and proceed straight to the Upper Pool.)
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| Steep trail up to the viewpoint | The three large pools from above |
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| View from the top |
Back down at the split off, continue straight ahead along the unmarked trail. Eventually this trail will also disappear and you need to climb your way upriver through the boulders until you find the Upper Pool. This is the end of the gorge and from here you can look up 100 feet or so and see a lovely waterfall cascading down the gorge wall. My recommendation is to make your way quickly to this pool and hit the others on the way down. If you're lucky, all the other hikers will have stopped at the pools below and you may have this pool entirely to yourself.
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| Upper Pool | Falls above Upper Pool |
There are a few more pools higher up, but you basically have to rock climb to get there and the rocks are quite slippery if you have wet feet. This is also a popular location for repelling (absailing) tours. I hope you enjoy the hike and the swim like we did!
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