Sing the National Anthem

  

Bible Camp is held at the Lutheran Church in Ntshongweni every time there is a break in the school year; which is four time though out the calendar year.  June 25 - 29 happen to be the winter break and thus as a missionary serving in this place provided a week of Bible stories, music, games, crafts and the all important snack.

Our theme for this week of fun was John 3:16 and using the Olympic color rings explained the salvation story.

Monday began with BLACK and our sins.

Tuesday continued with RED and the Blood of Jesus Christ shed for us

Wednesday was BLUE and the waters of our baptism

Thursday was YELLOW and heaven our eternal home

And Friday ended with GREEN - growing in Christ.

All this to say that was I was explaining the Olympics and how it works... since most of the children of this township had no earthly clue what the Olympics were!  With no television they had never seen any of the games played.  I explained that when the athletic won a metal they are given their prize, their country's flag is raised and their national anthem is sung.

Suddenly and seemingly out of nowhere, the children bursted out singing their national anthem.  Now I wanted to cry.  It was the most beautiful sound I had ever hear.  The Zulu's sing with amazing harmony and richness make any old song seem magnificent.  I realized that I'm not positive what or actually which song is the American national anthem and I certainly realize that I could never sing it unaccompanied and in perfect pitch - as an adult nor as a child.


Here are the words and an explanation of the South African National Anthem. 

Nkosi sikelel' iAfrika

Maluphakanyisw' uphondo lwayo,Yizwa imithandazo yethu,Nkosi sikelela, thina lusapho lwayo.

Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso,

O fedise dintwa le matshwenyeho,O se boloke, O se boloke setjhaba sa heso,Setjhaba sa South Afrika – South Afrika.

Uit die blou van onse hemel,

Uit die diepte van ons see,

                                       Oor ons ewige gebergtes,Waar die kranse antwoord gee,

Sounds the call to come together,

                           And united we shall stand,Let us live and strive for freedom,In South Africa our land.

Translation

The isiXhosa and isiZulu of the first stanza, the Sesotho of the second stanza and the Afrikaans of the third stanza translate into English as follows:

Lord, bless Africa
May her spirit rise high up
Hear thou our prayers
Lord bless us.
Lord, bless Africa
Banish wars and strife
Lord, bless our nation
Of South Africa.
Ringing out from our blue heavens
From our deep seas breaking round
Over everlasting mountains
Where the echoing crags resound …

History: two anthems into one

Before South Africa's first democratic elections in 1994, the country had two anthems – an official and an unofficial one. The official anthem wasDie Stem, in EnglishThe Call of South Africa. The unofficial anthem,Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika, was a symbol of independence and resistance to apartheid, sung by the majority of the population and at all anti-apartheid rallies and gatherings.

In the official anthem of the new South Africa, the two anthems merge into one.

Die Stem van Suid Afrika (The Call of South Africa)
Die Stem van Suid Afrikawas originally a poem, written by CJ Langenhoven in May 1918. The music was composed by the Reverend ML de Villiers in 1921. At the time, the South African Broadcasting Corporation played bothGod save the King and Die Stemto close their daily radio broadcasts, and so the public became familiar with the Afrikaans anthem.
Die Stemwas first sung publicly at the official hoisting of the national flag in Cape Town on 31 May 1928, but it was not until 2 May 1957 that the government accepted it as the official national anthem. In 1962 the English version,The Call of South Africa, was accepted for official use.

Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika
Nkosi was composed in 1897 by Enoch Sontonga, a Methodist mission school teacher. The words of the first stanza were originally written in isiXhosa as a hymn. Seven additional stanzas in isiXhoza were later added by the poet Samuel Mqhayi. A Sesotho version was published by Moses Mphahlele in 1942.

Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrikawas popularised at concerts held in Johannesburg by Reverend JL Dube's Ohlange Zulu Choir. It became a popular church hymn that was later adopted as an anthem at political meetings, sung as an act of defiance.

The first stanza is generally sung in isiXhosa or isiZulu, followed by the Sesotho version. Apparently there is no standard version or translations ofNkosi, and the words may vary from place to place and from occasion to occasion.
I certainly hope that was the 2012 Olympics are set to begin that the beautiful primary colored flag of this magnificent country is raised for the Gold winner and this proud anthem is sung!

Hot Chocolate

	Chocolate. There are few foods that people feel as passionate about -- a passion that goes beyond a love for the "sweetness" of most candies or desserts: after all, few people crave caramel, whipped cream, or bubble gum. Chocolate is, well, different. For the true chocoholic, just thinking about chocolate can evoke a pleasurable response. You may want to grab a bar or make a nice cup of hot cocoa before you begin exploring here.

June 23, 2012 Reed Lessing and I visited this Belgian Chocolate and Coffee Shop in the Midlands Meander where he bought me a very special treat. 

My treat was something I've never seen before ... a hunk of milk chocolate on the end of  a stick. It was winter that day in June when my friend bought my gift.

 And while it was cold in late June, today it's 23 July and the dead middle of a freezing winter.

Our flat, nor any other dwelling has central heat so when it's cold outside... it's cold inside.   Very cold.

So this wonderful sweet treat was marvelously fun and delicious on this dead center - middle of winter night whilst watching one of my favorite television shows.

Can't see the steam rising from the hot mug of milk... chocolate is waiting patiently.

In dives the block of chocolate and begins to melt.

Specks of sweetness begin to appear and the yummy begins.

Getting smaller and the milk is getting darker.

Tiny

licking the goodness - self portrait.

Wearing long underwear and a flannel shirt and wrapped in a wool blanket, drinking my warm, sweet bedtime snack.

THE CAPSULE aka: the world's sweetest hotel room

Sunday, July 1st three LCMS missionaries check into the world's sweetest hotel room in Cape Town, South Africa.

Protea hotel, breakwater lodge

"Just a minute away from restaurants, theatres and shops, the Breakwater Lodge, one of the finest hotels operated by Protea Hotels, is perfectly positioned in the heart of the famous V & A Waterfront.

Neighbouring the city, this hotel lies within easy reach of the best beaches, tourist hotspots and Cape Town International Airport."

Emily, Marva and I opened our door to find a tiny entry, about one yard wide.  To the left was a frosty glass door, behind door number one was this shower - without a door to the shower and a sink.  And Yes it was impossible to bathe without water splashing EVERYWHERE.

And yes if you really looked you could see the person inside though the frosty door.

To the right, in this little biddy space was the frosty door #2 with a toilet and sink.

"Considered to be one of the premier Cape Town hotels, Protea Hotel Breakwater Lodge, Waterfront boasts 191 bedrooms ranging from business to family suites." 

We were the last room on the floor, next to the Muslin prayer room and this door which I thought funny.

Strictly private, what other kind of private is there?

"Once a 19th Century prison, the hotel today provides comfortable and affordable accommodation in Cape Town, a spectacular setting that looks out over the harbour and Table Mountain."

So, right in front of us were two closed doors.  We had rented the the family suite and what we got was  two bedrooms.  The one to the right had a queen bed and Marva immediately jumped into it and locked the door and we barely saw her again.  We did hear her TV and her talking on the phone to her children in America, so we knew she was alive.

The door on the left held two twin beds.  Emily dubbed our room 'the capsule.'  This was the worlds smallest room.  The space from the foot of the bed to the wall was only as wide as my hips.  The space between our beds was tiny too.

We did have a nice closet and a desk.  The hidden refrigerator was helpful when we had leftover pizza.  Pizza a wonderful breakfast.

We lived in the capsule for four nights.  Had the most marvelous holiday in the lovely city of Cape Town.

Grace & Peace

Grace and peace - these two words embrace the whole of Christianity.

Grace forgives sin, and peace stills the conscience.  The two devils who plague us are sin and conscience, the power of the Law and the sting of sin ( 1 Cor. 15:56). but Christ has conquered these two monsters and trodden them underfoot, both in this age and in the age to come.

The world does not know this; therefore it cannot teach anything sure about how to overcome sin, conscience, and death.  Only Christians have this kind of teaching and are equipped and armed with it, so that they can overcome sin, despair, and eternal death.  It is a teaching that is given only by God; it does not proceed from free will, nor was it invented by human reason or wisdom.

These two words, "grace" and "peace,"contain a summary of all of Christianity.  Grace contains the forgiveness of sins, a joyful peace, and a quiet conscience.  but peace is impossible unless sin has first been forgiven, for the Law accuses and terrifies and the conscience on account of sin. And the sin that the conscience feels cannot be removed by pilgrimages, vigils, labors, efforts, vows, or any other works; in fact, sin in increased by works.  The more we work and sweat to extricate ourselves from sin, the worse we are.

For there is no way to remove sin except by grace. . . . Because the world does not understand this doctrine, it neither can nor will tolerate it.  It brags about free will, about our powers, about our works-all these as means by which to earn and attain grace and peace, that is, the forgiveness of sins and a joyful conscience.  But the conscience cannot be quiet and joyful unless it has peace through this grace, that is, through the forgiveness of sins promised in Christ....Therefore your bones and mine will know no rest until we hear the Word of grace and cling to it firmly and faithfully.

Martin Luther

Pilanesberg National Park

6:30am on Saturday, June 30th, Reed Lessing and I left the guest house at the Lutheran Seminary in Pretoria for the 2.5 hour drive to Pilanesberg National Park.  We got lost, of course, and it took closer to 3 hours but we were on our way to see the Big Five.

It's winter in South Africa and the terran shows it by its lack of vegetation and color. 

First sighting: giraffe.

The tallest browser by several metres, the giraffe can reach a height of five metres and it occurs throughout the valley savannas.

Blue Wildbeest

Helmeted Guineafoul                        

No restaurants :(   We stopped at the only open rest stop and bought soda, chips and a KitKat.

                                                        So very beautiful and graceful.

Impala.  The Park's most prolific antelope, impala are the preferred prey of wild dog, leopard and cheetah.

Blue Wildebeest are often seen in the company of plains zebra.  Blue wildebeest prefer short grass conditions and are often encountered on the short grasslands surrounding Mankwe Dam.

One of my favorite animals.

Baby warthogs.

oink, oink, oink

Warthog favour the open, short grasslands of the valleys.  They are abundant and can often been seen cropping grass whilst kneeling on their front legs.  As they have little body hair and fat, they are sensitive to cold and retire to burrows at night for both warmth and protection.

They had a place to park the car and walk over this wooden bridge to a platform to see the birds and animals in the water. Cool...

So beautiful - stunning.

Do you see what I see?  Baby Crocodile.

As a group, crocodilians are pretty impressive animals: Their lineage goes back 240 million years, meaning they've outlived the dinosaurs by a good 65 million years. Ideally suited for life in water and on land, members of the order can swim up to 20 mph (32 kph) and run up to 11 mph (17.6 kph). They're most at home in the water and can hold their breath for up to an hour. Eyes situated atop their heads enable them to keep a lookout for prey, while their powerful tails swiftly propel them through the water.

Crocodiles and alligators are top-notch hunters and will eat just about anything they can get their teeth on, from fish and turtles to monkeys and buffalo. With teeth specialized just for spearing, neither family even bothers to chew its food -- they swallow large chunks or the entire animal whole.

Grey Heron

Dead Giraffe carcass.

Brown hyena

Restricted to Southern Africa, the brown hyena is a solitary and nocturnal scavenger that feeds mainly on carrion.  Its senses are particularly well developed and the large ears can detect tell-tale sounds at great distances, while its nose can locate a carcass as far as 2 km away.

Grown up Warthog

I've never seen zebras laying down.

The ground is black because of resent control burn of the area.

almost time to go Mr. Giraffe

Our last sighting: Hippo

Hippo are seldom seen on land except at night when they emerge to graze.  Their loud grunts add to the tranquil ambience of all the deeper impoundments of the Park.