Many things have happened since our last update and since leaving Cape Town. We have been soaked riding from Kirkwood to East London, slipped and slide through the Transkei on roads little more than cattle tracks and blessed to stay with wonderful hosts along the way. Travelling from Cape Town, we once again stayed in Montagu, went on to Uniondale, and slept the last night on the road in Kirkwood. It seemed like the rain was following us, or we were following it, I’m not sure. We arrived in Uniondale at around 5:45 on Wednesday afternoon after leaving Montagu too late (yet again…). We found a small campsite in town which appeared to be slightly out of use and after negotiating a price of R50 to stay, we pitched our tent. By 7:30 the heavens opened. There was a big thunderstorm. Luckily the Super Dome seemed to hold up and we were still dry by morning. We rode on from there to Willowmore and then Steytlerville. About 30km short of Steytlerville we caught up with the rain. We arrived in Steytlerville wet and cold, but happy to find a mince vetkoek and milo, even though the power was out. What champions. By the time our lunch was finished, the sun was out, and we were on our way.
Arriving in Kirkwood the rain started again. We needed to get groceries so we made our way to the Spar. As we entered the shop the clouds broke open. The rain was intense. We could almost not hear each other talking inside the shop. We decided to find some food and then possibly consider alternative accommodation to camping. We did not want to pitch a tent in torrential rain. After phoning about three different places that were roughly in our budget we still had no luck. It seemed that we would have to camp after all. The weather seemed to be on our side though, as we left the shop the rain died down and by the time we arrived at the campsite there was glorious sunshine. We could enjoy our dinner sitting on the lawn on the bank of the Sunday’s River watching the sunset. Bliss.
The following day started off well but nearing Alexandria the rain started and by the time we reached Port Alfred we were drenched. Even though our jackets are water proof, the water just seems to get in somewhere. At least our heads were dry. We eventually arrived in East London feeling cold, hungry and wet. That was quickly fixed with a hot shower, a cup of tea and a rusk. So started our last weekend in East London for a long time. It was crazy busy with editing to catch up with and numerous admin tasks. We had a wonderful going away party with bunny chows prepared by a real Indian and lots of laughs. It was wonderful to see many of our friends. We felt truly blessed, and God’s goodness hasn’t stopped. We have been blessed to be hosted at Zithulele by Louise Ferreira, as well as in Durban by Luke Pienaar. Thanks guys! You have made us feel loved.
After sewing shwe shwe skirts and shorts until late Sunday night, a lot of editing and packing up (and filming the packing) we managed to leave East London at about 12PM on Monday. Since time got away from us we decided to ride on the N2 as far as the Mqanduli turn-off that leads to Zithulele as well, instead of cutting through the gravel back roads. Just as well, we stopped outside Zithulele at 17:30 to be greeted by Louise saying we are presenting our project to the community in 5 minutes time! Our timing was perfect. We had a really great time chatting with everyone at Zithulele and sharing our vision with them. Louise also showcased her brilliant cooking skills serving a delicious veggie curry with banana bread for dessert.
We left Zithulele Tuesday morning feeling rather relaxed and not in a hurry. Why should we be? We only planned to ride 100km that day. It might have only been 100km but it might prove to be one of the hardest 100km stretches we have to ride. We followed a route along the coast that our GPS advised. At times the “road” was little more than a cattle track. Some sections were seriously rutted by water and difficult for me to traverse with my short legs. We eventually arrived at our destination well after dark (19:00) feeling a little battered and bruised. We decided to share a beer for dinner (we were too late to find a shop) and went to bed.
Wednesday we missioned through the rest of the Transkei, luckily on tar, and stayed over in Umtentweni just north of Port Shepstone on the Natal South Coast. We tried to get an early night. We were tired and needed to be in Durban by 9:00. This meant we actually had to be organised and get up early for once. We did manage and arrived at the studio where we were working at 9:00. Again, perfect timing. We had the privilege of interviewing Mike, who has worked extensively with the persecuted church in the Middle East and Egypt. Thank you Mike, for your time and interest in what we are doing!
We also had the opportunity to interview missionary friends as well a Muslim background believer before we left Cape Town. Thank you Tracey, Peter and Uthmaan for your time and for the honest stories.
Lastly, we were very sad at the passing of Jeff’s uncle. He passed away just before we left from Cape Town. Please keep Jeff’s family in your prayers. It is a difficult time. Also pray for us as we cross the border to Mozambique on Tuesday. We will be in Maputo for 10 days. It will be our first international crossing, so hoping all goes well.
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