today was a very normal day.
only, it has brought a smile to my face that won't
soon fade.
i drove the americans up to polokwane to get off the
farm and do "american" things.
i remember how desperate i was to get off the farm
last year and have some sort of
"normal" interactions.
so, to start off i thought we'd go hold some lion babies. like i did the very very first time i arrived here almost a year ago now:
and how i got my dad to do the same when he came.
then, we planned on going down the road another 10 minutes to the mall.
polokwane is the capitol of the Limpopo province.
it houses the nearest movie theatre by 2 hours (its an hour away itself).
it also has a "mall."
by far, it is no american mall. but its better than nothing.
so that was the plan. also, between the lion ranch and a movie,
i planned to take them to Mugg & Bean....selfishly, because their coffee
is my favorite in this entire county.
in the whole country people! of course, i'll get it
ANY chance i have! *huge coffee induced weird smile*
well, at the ranch i was asked by a man to help him with his son. he specifically asked if i wouldn't mind holding his hand since with one of him and two little ones (4, & 2), he had his hands full. we had a fun conversation on the drive over to where the babies are so i said yes.
(i would have said yes even if we hadn't.)
i held ruan, the 4 year olds hand. then when we got back in the car, the littler one was crying bc he wanted to be with his dad but there wasn't space, so i just grabbed him and held him. he fell asleep. its about a 15 minute drive from the ranch's office and seating area, to the part where the lion babies are. sweet little baby pieter was out cold on me. we got back and i handed him down to his dad. the dad instantly was like, "please let me buy you a milkshake, its so hot and i am so thankful. and its the least i can do."
i was a little speechless. i mean, i've been thanked before for doing nice things.
but having a stranger want to buy me a shake for holding his child asleep...
thats a first!
i politely declined because i wanted to get the americans to the movie theatre in time to see a showing. he asked if i meant at savannah (savannah is the name of our "mall"). i said, yes (thinking to myself...uh, there isn't another movie theatre for 4 hours in any direction).
ps: our movie's are only $2.50 so its sorta nice its so far or i'd go ALL the time. even the "discount" theatre in the states charges more than that!
he said he was going too and would follow me and buy me a drink there. it was the least he could do. he also said he'd buy drinks for all of us, at which i felt better.
follow he did. we got our tickets, and headed to mugg & bean. he ate with us lunch and we had our drinks. he hit it off with all of us. even natalie engaged him in conversation.
turns out we have lots of little weird things in common. or maybe i wouldn't say "in common," but i understood what the heck he was talking about because i know other people here who've done similar things. he ended up watching the movie with us. where i again, held the baby and this time he slept about 2 hours.
{yes, family, i saw avatar. yes, family, i cried at the ending (so sweet and shocking and romantic! sigh...). and yes, family, i don't think i liked it. who is surprised?!?!}
poor guy. he's children were so sweet and kind. he was so kind as well. we had good conversation and actually i think we're gonna use him and some of his contacts for some research.
he moved up to this area 10 years ago. he is the manager at a larger cattle and potato farm. a little bit ago his wife left and filed for divorce because she didn't want to be living on the farm anymore. shame, man. i hate divorce.
i'm saying all of this to say that it felt so wonderful to minister life to him in such a practical way. it was obvious how tired he was with the boys and how starved for adult communication he was. all of us enjoyed him so. we kept whispering when he'd take someone to the bathroom or when we were driving how we felt we should be so creeped out by this guy "following" us all day, but he was so kind and with having two little ones himself, and we were a group of 5, we figured the chances of him pulling something were slim.
what a joy to hold a little one. i think i forgot because the boys in school are a "job" to me. this was such a sweet reminder that i love holding little ones, i love ministering to them, and whispering prayers and scripture verses over them. it was so nice to be Jesus to someone today. i simply love loving others. nothing fills me with more joy than seeing something i can do or say or be so someone else feels refreshed and loved. i love loving. period.
............................
also, yesterday, being in the FRONT row, dead center at a real super 14 rugby game was probably the highlight of my year. all thanks to richard, the best brother in SA, for the sweet hook up...and to all my boys in town for letting me and sunette and bethany tag along on what was gonna be their boy day. ahhhh photos and TONS of video footage to come tomorrow :)
i. love. rugby.
......................
also, i need to be healthy. i'm pretty sick. sick enough that i should really go to the doctor tomorrow if i don't wake up a lot better. :(
all prayers are welcome and more than appreciated.
....................
oh! one more thing! last night driving home from the rugby game bethany and i came across a leopard.
a leopard, people!
LEOPARD!
in the wild, on my tar road. not 2 miles from my house!
ahhhhhhhh
it was probably the freakin coolest thing ever.
a leopard.
still can't believe it myself.
bet the coolest thing you see in your backyard is your pet dog!
muahahahahahahaha
ok, that was mean....but seriously,
my backyard is the coolest!
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