We're Home!

It just wouldn't have been right if we made it home without some sort of wrench thrown in the works. Our frist flight to Jo'berg was fine, but our Air France flight to Paris was cancelled and so we flew on another carrier to London, and then a third carrier the rest of the way to Chicago. And as you can imagine, our bags didn't make it. But no worries, we're all in good shape - just anxious to make sure the rest of our belongings make it. Now it's time to shower up, get some rest, and start sharing stories from our amazing trip.

The Last Day

It's hard to believe that our time in Lesotho is coming to a close. We finished up this morning with Habitat and visited two orphanages this afternoon - both of whom deal with HIV infected children. One of the sobering realities that we've lived with and experienced this week is that at its current pace, AIDS will wipe out this entire country in 20 years (it has one of, if not the highest infection rate of any country in Africa). Most of us had never heard of this tiny little country 2 weeks ago, and now our time in this place is sure to leave it's mark on each of us in unique and special ways. Please pray for safe travel home, and that our tired and sore bodies are able to find some bit of comfort on the long plane rides home.

Back At It

Today we headed back to the Habitat site and continued our work digging out latrines. I'm pretty sure the pictures don't do it justice, but the majority of what we're trying to clear away is rock - that makes it hard and slow going. Tomorrow we'll finish our time at Habitat in the morning, and then we're headed to another orphange for the rest of the afternoon.

One person to keep in your prayers is Rachel. During our weekend of pony trekking she got thrown from her horse and landed pretty hard (thank goodness for those ridiculous looking helmets they made us wear). Initally, she was pretty sore, and didn't think too much of it. After a painful day yesterday we decided to take her in to have it checked out this morning. 4.5 hours, 2 X-Rays, and some pain medicine later we're happy to report that it only seems to be a bruised muscle or two and she should be fine. So pray for a full night's rest tonight, and a speedy recovery. Her attitude has been great and she wins the "Trooper of the Trip" award.

A special thanks to all of you who wrote notes of encouragement for us. We wake up each morning and find something hanging from a clothesline in the kitchen. It's a great way to start each day and be reminded of the love and support so many of you have shown each of us during our time here (and it's especially funny that each of the notes talk about our time in Ethiopia - but we've made the switch just fine).

Snowy Mountains and Sure Footed Ponies

Yesterday we got a glimpse of Africa that not many people get to see... snow. We traveled 3.5 hours up into the mountains to go pony trekking (think horses, not My Little Pony and Friends) at Semenkong. We had lunch at the lodge then rode to a waterfall about 45 minutes away.

On the van ride home we stopped on the top of a mountain, turned off all the lights in the van, and stood in awe at the thousands and thousands of stars above us, which seemed bigger, brighter and more in number than any of us had ever seen before.

Today we're headed to an orphange, and then it's back to the work site for the next two days before we start the journey home on Wednesday.


One of the children from the work site.




Erik H teaching the kids how to throw a frisbee.


Riding through the countryside.


Our ponies/horses during our stop at the waterfall.


The waterfall at Semenkong.


Our whole team (note the lovely helmets).

Another Day of Work

Yesterday and today the weather was beautiful, and that means we spent full days at the work site. Yesterday we were joined by about 35 students from Wittenburg College in Ohio who are in Lesotho for a summer course. Spirits remain high, but our bodies are tired, and very, very sore.

One of the highlights has been the kids at the work site we get to interact with once school lets out. It really is amazing how quickly a child can capture one's heart.

A Rainy Wednesday Afternoon

A couple more pics from the last few days...






Apparently, one of the things Lesotho is known for is thunderstorms. Well, today we got the rain, but without the thunder. We resumed our work at the Habitat site this morning in the rain, made it until lunch, and then called it a day. The locals thought we were nuts for working like we did, and we felt a little foolish once we realized how cold and wet we really were. But no worries, we're all showered up and looking forward to taking it easy tonight.

A Couple Pics...

This is Jessica at the hospital we visited today.


A look at the agriculture program at the same hospital.


Our group at O'Hare before our first flight.

Today we took a trip to an AIDS hospital an hour and a half outside of Maseru. This is where last year's North Park group served, and Dick and Pam Nystrom (Covenant pastors on the East Coast) served for the last couple of years. There's also a school and small agriculture program there as well. Tonight we're heading over to John and Kim (North Park class of '91) ??? for dinner.

Yesterday was our first day working with Habitat and I think it's safe to say that if any of us never saw another pick-axe that would be just fine. Tomorrow we'll head back to the Habitat site through the end of the week.

The group is doing well, Tim got his bag back, no one is sick, and we've all come to love the game Settler's of Catan. Talk to you soon...