Well hello to you all! I’ve got a lot to post today including a few pictures from our trek into Kruger National Park and then I’ll follow up in a later post with a thoughts on things ranging from hospitality, to goats, to community transformation. So buckle up!

Our trip into Kruger Park was amazing, beginning before the beginning. Just a few minutes after I posted previously we found ourselves waiting outside of the airport for our transport to Kruger. It was a nice spot in front of the airport hotel and away from the taxi drivers and porters who are more than willing to take you anywhere you want to go even if you already have a ride arranged. Anyway, as we were standing there who should walk by but Anne Curry of NBC. No kidding! She offered a friendly “Hello” to us as she left the hotel with her bags for her (I’m assuming) return trip to New York. It would be rare to meet her in the States let alone in South Africa; this being the case, had some regrets after she walked off. First, I missed an opportunity to let her know how much I appreciated her Nightly News story on the Darfur refugee situation. We don’t hear a lot about that because it is still quite dangerous for aide workers (and reporters) to get into the region, yet she went and reported well. Second, I also missed an opportunity to weasel a story into the Today Show about CRCC and Side by Side. I’m sorry, I just didn’t grab that opportunity like I should have!

Just a few minutes later our transport picked us up and we were off for our short adventure in Kruger. On the way I was impressed with the natural beauty of the plains of Africa. Such a wondrous place it is – such a picture we were given of God’s magnificent imagination. I’ve included just a few pictures form our trip and will post many more when we arrive home or get a better internet connection (it's tough to get internet time now). If you really want, there is a zipped folder available here with more pictures than those below.

Once in camp we were greeted warmly by Shadrach, our ranger (I thought the biblical name was a good sign). He gave us a brief orientation (things like, “…don’t get out of the vehicle because you could be eaten…”) and introduced us to the very nice British family we would be spending time with both on our game drives and in camp. The kids were so excited to meet Americans and we made there day by giving them a quarter and US dollar each.

In the evening of that first day I found that I had learned a tremendous amount about something you might not expect: the theology of hospitality. There was a point in the evening, after our dinner together when in the stark darkness of an African night the southern stars were shining brightly, that Erin asked Shadrach what it was like to host so many strangers so much of the time. Shadrach’s reply was immediate and authentic: “No one is a stranger here or to me, it is a great privilege to be with you.”

If we were in the States or if we hadn’t had an opportunity to get to know Shadrach I would have thought, “Nice line, make the ‘guests’ feel welcome and they’ll come back again.” But there was no hint of that in Shadrach’s demeanor; it wasn’t a sales pitch it was completely authentic.

So Shadrach, an orphan himself helping to support his younger brothers and sisters, got me thinking – a lot – about what hospitality means and who we are as individuals and as a church in this regard. I’ll post more on that next time… Until then, enjoy the few pictures my finicky internet connection will allow me to post.

In the story with you! Reed