Australia, Malaysia and Thailand

We enjoyed our time with Mel and Lee and family, and enjoying the beautiful Gold Coast. I couldn't resist the Onehunga weed in the lawn though! The picnic areas, sand, and playgrounds available for families are second to none.
A day at the beach can be all too much for some though! We did enjoy our time with the grandchildren, and Granma loved getting her hands on our latest addition for the first time! So did Poppa actually. The trampoline is a bit of a hit with the family, in more ways than one when they play with sticks on it!

We spent a week in Adelaide and had to go to the city to get our visa for Thailand, so we made the most of it at a cafe! It was freezing. We also went out one night to celebrate Kevin's birthday. Nice.
We visited the 140ft high Hindu idol "Murugan" at the Batu Caves in Kuala Lumpur, and climbed the 272 steps to the temple which was in a cave inside the hill. Quite a climb! It was sad to see the beauty of God's creation used for this. May He reveal Himself to these precious people.



Of course Malaysia is an Islamic nation though. Official religion, Islam. If you are born Malay, your ID card has "Moslem" on it, whether you want it or not, and it seems it is not possible to remove it. But there in the middle of KL is their version of the Twin Towers! Beautiful building and inside shops to match any capitalistic society in the West. Certainly a very interesting mix.

We also visited the National Mosque that hosts 15,000 worshipers every Friday at noon. Many businesses basically close down for this. We learnt that not only do they see Jesus as a prophet, but they recognise the Gospels as Divine Writings. We also visited the Museum of Islam we were informed of the spread of Islam, and on display were the weapons they used to spread this religion of peace! There were swords, huge arrows, clubs, all sorts of vicious cruel weaponry, and of coats of armour which they wore. Note the sign. "The Heart of Islam... Peace." Click on the photo to see.
We also went sight seeing. We checked out the King's Palace (there are several Royal Families in Malaysia so the King changes often) and we took a drive to see the fire flies on a river cruise at night. On the way we stopped by to feed some monkeys (the very friendly type!) and also had a nice seafood meal A great evening, although the boat we were speeding along the river in hit several quite large logs in the dark! A bit disconcerting, but we made it back safely. The river was full of all sorts of rubbish.

Our Thai house was very nice. We had a little unit of our own. It wasn't that little actually. Plenty of room, and a lovely view from the balcony. Lots of company, gekkos, mosquitos, frogs, cockroaches, grasshoppers etc. There was one species of frog that made a huge noise, and they sort of shouted at one another for a few minutes, and then suddenly they would stop. All would be quiet for 20 minutes or so and away they would go again. Meanwhile the quieter ones croaked their way all through the night. We enjoyed our Garden of Eden bathroom which had a real outdoors feel with a mosquito net for a roof. I ordered a drink one day expecting a blend of three fruits, but ended up getting three drinks of each fruit blended! Lost in translation I guess, but all tasted good!
We were told of a day trip to Myanmar (Burma) one Saturday so we thought we would take it. It wasn't quite as we had understood it to be. Another translation lesson. We traveled to the farthest north point of Thailand and visited the Golden Triangle which used to be a notorious opium trading place on the borders of Thailand, Burma and Laos. We took a look at a modern, privately built and owned Buddhist temple on the way. An interesting place to say the least! We ended up taking a boat ride and visiting Laos instead, and then went to a border town and saw the "Friendship Bridge" between Thailand and Myanmar, but did not cross it ourselves.

The market beside the Friendship Bridge was crazy! All the shops seemed to sell the same stuff too which made it all the more crazy. After our border visit we visited a couple of villages, one of which was a village of the Akha people who are Christian. Billy Graham visited there apparently. Our tour guide, Kwan, was a Buddhist, but we had some interesting conversations with her. Please pray for her.
I was intrigued by this "Soft top" Thai style! We had one that was used at the Resort as a tractor as well, but this one was in the city.
I couldn't resist this! Although it had clearly been crushed by something less timid than me, I had to crush it under my foot!
And to close the blog, what better way than to say, this is how it has been! We have so enjoyed our time together. Thanks for following us!

Last of Africa and Start of Aus

Finally, the update to the blog! Lots of photos and few words. If you double click a photo you get a better look, and its title is shown in the menu bar as well. Use the back button to return to the blog. Enjoy!

On our return to Kalene from Nyangombe, Becs took us up Kalene Hill. It didn't look much of a climb, but you know what they say about looks! It was great though, and the view was wonderful, although smoky so no good for photos. Rocks! Amazing rocks up there. It's where the hospital was originally built. Less mosquitos they reckon!

Two of Rebecca's greatest joys. A new leg for Bartholomew, and a real strip for her soccer team!

We were invited to stay with Ross and Mel, descendents of the hospital founders, for a weekend and visit her brother's Game Farm. We stayed in their guest "choti" which was really nice. Those grass rooves are amazing!

We enjoyed the two hour drive around the Game Farm spotting around 20 different types of antelope. Such graceful creatures. But look at the anthills on the poor pastures!

The Sports Outreach team ran a soccer tournament for about 100 kids one Saturday. Someone preached after lunch, and it was a great day. Kennedy and Albert, future World Cup stars, whose team won the tournament, against older players, were at our house three or four afternoons a week. Real characters!

We did enjoy meetings and braais (bbqs) with the Mission 'family' at the Retreat Centre. Chris loved her time with the nursery children, and we really got hooked on the fresh fruit we bought at our door. $3 a bunch of bananas, 60c ea for pawpaw or pineapple. Delicious!!

A grass fire got close to our house one night, close enough anyhow! We enjoyed celebrating Becs' birthday party with new friends. Becs got dressed in her new African dress (along with hairstyle) for the graduation that Chris made the banner for.

Saying goodbye to Rebecca and her friends was not easy. But it was even harder saying goodbye to Nellie, Kahaku's wife, as her husband died quite suddenly a few days before we left. Chris had spent a lot of time with him, as he was a long term TB patient, teaching him English and encouraging him with his drawings.

All aboard, take off, and our last view of Kalene Mission Hospital through the smokey air! Something of our hearts is still there. We loved our time there with Becs. Then we had to climb to 11,000 ft to get above the smoke level from the grass fires!

A look around Durban, World Cup Soccer stadium, lovely waterfront, and then the journey south along the coast to Kokstad.

Becs' friends Craig and Mariska were such wonderful hosts in Kokstad. We stayed in their beautiful guest "Rondi" and they showed us around and spoiled us rotten with their love. Thanks guys!

We have been fascinated by rocks in our travels. Where do they come from and how do they get here? Little ones on top of big ones. Layer upon layer. So majestic.

In and around Johannesburg, interesting signs and beautiful scenery gave way to tear-jerking history at Constitution Hill, prison for Ghandi, the Mandelas, and other apartheid opposers.

It was great to visit Perth for the first time, catch up with a long lost rel, and be treated to the tastes and sounds of the Pacific again at a luau at the YWAM Base on the night before we left.