State Side - Pictures of the Game Farm - Living Situation Update

Hi

Well, we were in Florida for two weeks as of July 1st for annual budget and planning meetings for next year. Very busy weeks with meeting after meeting for each of our regions in Africa (very good meetings), and lots of time hosting and entertaining our international guests (which was a little crazy because we had just arrived in the States ourselves). Then all of the international guests fly back home, we got to have a couple days to ourselves to get some work done, and enjoy the beautiful Florida beaches, and NOW! we are in Arlington Virginia on holiday! We're visiting our dear friends Jeremy and Joanne who moved here from San Diego in January. It's so great to be with good friends, and to have some time off to enjoy with them. :)

We're definitely in need of a little vacation. There have been a lot of very good things about Africa, and we're learning and growing, and hopefully doing some good through serving as best as we can, but there have also been a lot of challenges, so it's good to have some time removed from it all to be refreshed and to process through everything.

While we're here in the states with fast internet, I thought I'd add some pictures! These pictures are of the Lodge and Game Farm, where we have been living in South Africa. It is owned by the ministry we partner with in SA. When we get back, we actually will be changing locations (I'll explain at the end), but we will still be frequenting the farm.

 

This is a view from the road as you approach this part of the farm. The large building ahead includes the gift shop, offices, and a classroom/rec-room down stairs, a large conference room up stairs, and the lodge restaurant is connected on the right.

Closer up! (look at the big pots on the right side. It will give you perspective for two pictures down)

Me wandering around taking pictures on the weekend that Jon was in Zambia. He was gone for a whole week w/o me.

There's those pots! ;)
The gift shop is behind me, and on the left is the restaurant patio, and in the distance are 3 chalets, one of which we were living in. It's the far right one.

That's it. Each building has one large bed room (w/ bathroom) on each side, and a kitchen in the middle. Our room is the one on the left.

This is looking right from our front door. That's a field in which they grow alfalfa.

This is looking straight forward from our front door at the next door chalet.

Looking left toward the center of the building on the way to the kitchen.

Around the corner with the kitchen door on the left and a glimpse of the extensive property of the game farm straight ahead.

This obviously is from a different week because Jon is here. ;)
The kitchen, obviously.

Yup. That's it.

Vanilla extract!!! yay! We bought vanilla beans/pods in Madagascar, and I'm making vanilla extract with them.

The tree on the right is in the center of a little pond that the antelope and wildebeests come and drink from at night.

A herd of Blessboks out in the open field area. They frequent this area. They are one of a large variety of of antelope on the farm.

Reflection of me in the Chalet window.

Looking back at the chalets and conference/lodge center from the field.

So, yea, that's it! I have pictures of our room, but they're on Jon's camera which we left in SA, and I forgot to put the files on my computer. =/  I'll post them when we get back, even though it won't be our room anymore. 

We will be moving from the farm, which is about a 3 hr drive North of Johannesburg, to a property in Midrand, which is about 20-30 minutes from the Joburg airport. It will be much more practical for us to the live there. For one thing, our main international warehouse for Southern Africa is on the property, and we have taken over facilitating the shipping of materials from South Africa to the surrounding countries (lots of the smaller countries don't have big enough programs with enough products to have the books shipped directly to them from the international printers in China or elsewhere, so they get shipped to South Africa and we are now arranging their shipment to their final destination). All that to say, it will be good for us to be where the main warehouse is. Besides that, we'll also have faster internet, better access to a vehicle when we need or want it, we'll be less isolated, we'll be close to the international airport, and it will be easier to find a good church for us. Also, the guy who does program/product design for Southern Africa lives on the property as well, and we'll be able to visit his church with him, which is nice. It's really helpful to at least know someone when joining a new group of people. We'll miss being near some of the people we work with who live on the farm, but over all we really think this set up is going to be better for us.

When we move there and get settled I'll take pictures of that place and post them too.

Oky, well, I've finally posted pictures of the place we were living, only just in time for us to move out! sorry about that ;)

I hope you are all very well, we love you all! It is very refreshing to be in the States for the month, but we still miss our lovely California and all of you who are there. We are always looking forward to coming home in November. 

Much love!

-J&L