Our Cape Town Adventure

Our trip to Cape Town was wonderful, heart wrenching and inspirational. It started on Saturday and Sunday with a drive across the beautiful and varied landscape of South Africa. On the way, we saw wild ostrich, baboons, gazelles and even a zebra or two. As we approached the Western Cape we came through some very beautiful vineyard areas (see picture below). And while Anita and I were in awe of the mountains, valleys and kilometers of grapevines, we were also reminded of the ugliness of the area when we rounded a corner and saw the township of the valley. It was heart breaking to see the living conditions of these people.

After another hour of driving, we arrived in the heart of Cape Town. In the picture below, you will see Table Mountain in the background of this beautiful traffic circle (hint: it is the flat mountain in the picture, hence the name). And you will also see the city in front of the mountain. (That is not our car).

And the harbour behind us was beautiful as well. From here, we drove down the shoreline and over Chapman's Pass and then on to Fish Hoek, where our cottage on False Bay was literally just 40 feet from the bay water. This is Fish Hoek! We were also able to meet with the other directors and managers from the other Beautiful Gates. We ended the day with some worship and prayer time with them. What a great way to start the week and get to know new friends.

On Tuesday, all the directors and managers spent the day updating each other on our personal lives and ministry lives. This was great for Anita and I to get to know the other Beautiful Gate organizations and who God has appointed for them at this time.

On Wednesday morning Anita and I woke up early and watched the sun rise over the mountains across False Bay while sitting on the beach! It was awesome to see God's Majesty as His light shown across the cape.

The rest of Wednesday morning was filled with meetings for Beautiful Gate while Anita and the kids (along with the other ladies and kids) were able to play on the beach and explore some of the other sites and sounds of Fish Hoek. On Wednesday afternoon, we all went and toured Beautiful Gate, South Africa. It was amazing to see the similarities and differences of Beautiful Gate, Lesotho with Beautiful Gate, South Africa. Beautiful Gate, South Africa is located in the township of Khayelitsha, just outside Cape Town. It was amazing to see the difference in housing from Cape Town city to the townships. This picture is just the edge of one township and doesn't even begin to convey the living conditions there.

But, as soon as you entered the premises of Beautiful Gate, South Africa, you could feel God's presence there. And, we were blessed to hear a wonderful choir that was practicing in the chapel. It was great to get to know the staff there. (There is even an American helping there too!)

Thursday, we had more meetings in the morning time, and then had some free time in the afternoon. Anita and I took this chance to go to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. Unknown to us, they are actually two different places very close to each other (you can see one from the other, check it out on google). It was really windy that day, with gusts that actually took Anita and I off balance. We climbed up the path to the lighthouse at Cape Point. This is the view of Cape Point from the lighthouse, the closest place to the actual point.

We were also able to see a baboon up close while at Cape Point. Hint: it is on the wall behind Anita and the kids.

We then were "blown over" to the Cape of Good Hope and saw an ostrich up close next to the shore. (See our facebook pages later for more pictures). On our way back to Fish Hoek we were able to stop by a beach that is famous for African penguins and watched them waddle along the shore. We then made it back to Fish Hoek for a couple more meetings in late afternoon and then went out for dinner as a group.

The picture below is of the Cape of Good Hope, taken from the lighthouse at Cape Point.

On Friday morning we had breakfast as a group and Anita and I decided to keep the family in Fish Hoek for one more night while the rest of the group went home. We spent the rest of the day on Friday exploring Cape Town and having a wonderful lunch at a vineyard with a beautiful view (see picture to the right for our lunch view).

After exploring, we decided to have more playtime at the beach with the kids (the water was really cold) and then ended the evening with a nice latte (or hot chocolate for the kids) at a great little restaurant on the beach in Fish Hoek.

Here is a picture of all the kids on the beach during the week!

We woke early on Saturday morning, packed the car and drove back to Lesotho (over 14 hours). It was a long exhausting day of driving, but the Lord brought us back to Lesotho safe and sound. It was a great trip and we enjoyed every moment with our new friends! It was the exact medicine that I needed after a stressful week before the trip. We will never forget Cape Town and look forward to seeing more of it on our next trip there. I will sign off with this amazing picture of God's creation again!

Yours in Christ,

Bryan, Anita, Elijah, Faith & Mercy