Trip[ to Nelspruit

Out of Africa Week 5

Benoni

Driving out to Benoni was  quite an adventure.  There are very nice freeways in South Africa, but some are under construction as in the States.  We felt like we were race car drivers traveling at 120 kph.  That is about 75 mph.  It is a little scary driving on the other side and getting used to all the odd traffic symbols and signs.  When we arrived,  we found the church with our GPS.   Benoni seemed very much like the United States in most of the city. 

The Blakes live in a lovely complex with a guard and lots of apartments with a pool and covered parking.   They have a lot of large umbrella type places to park your car under to protect them from the sun and I guess the frost.  There are not so many garages here in South Africa.  We walked around a lovely lake next to their complex.  It is about 2.5 kilometers around the lake.  They walk it a lot to get exercise.  There are many large mansions around the lake.   I guess that is where a lot of millionaires live.    They enjoy walking around the lake and seeing all the wild birds.  There were many spoon bill type birds.  Later we went to dinner with them at a restaurant before returning home.  We had a lovely visit.  Sister Blake paints oils and watercolors.  I never got to see her watercolors which a really wanted to see, but she is a professional oil painter.  She had painted a picture of a lion and some zebras.

This weekend we decided to visit one of the senior couples in Benoni, the Blakes.  They are doing the Perpetual Education Fund (PEF).  This is the Church’s program to help young students gain an education around the world.  They provide the funds for college, and the students begin to pay back the loan immediately so the next student is able to use these fund.  When the student is working, they completed paying the loan.  We are helping a young man in Nairobi with a little living expense since the Church does not help with living expenses, only college tution.