A school country fair and a day safari

Last Saturday, Holy Cross School was holding its annual Country Fair. The monks joined the many parents, staff, students and friends of the School for a morning of fun and merriment. There were several attractions for the kids to enjoy and a variety of foods to sample from. Br. Daniel, the monastery's Prior was hard at work flipping "pannekoeken" (Afrikaans for thin pancake, a.k.a. crêpes). He was at it for a few hours and eventually ran out of dough and enjoyed a well-deserved rest. The country fair calls upon the participation of dozens of volunteers from across Grahamstown.

The Jumping Castle was a favorite

The water and foam slides got much use

Wheee! If you take a running lead you can slide all the way to the end pool

Face paintings in the making

A braai (Afrikaans for barbecue) getting started

When the hard South African sun got to be too much, the monks would retire to the coffee shop set up in the school´s library hosted by a team of students from the Diocesan School for Girls. The library also hosted a sale of items offered by students and supporters of the school. I got to snatch another Br. Rob original pastel drawing with a green background (so predictable, I go for green whenever I can).

From left to right, Br. Bernard, Br. Joel and Br. Robert James enjoying great coffee and cool in the library

The dynamic volunteers from Diocesan School for Girls

Holy Cross School student art; still life of a bowl of fruit

On Monday, our day of sabbath, the five of us monks in residence went to Pumba Game Reserve in Highlands, a short drive from the monastery. We had a great ranger with a keen eye for where the animals were. All in all I saw 16 kinds of mammals and a giant tortoise, some of them closer than I would ever have imagined. An adolescent elephant and a giraffe came to check out our Range Rover and its passengers from just a few feet from us.  The day felt like a fireworks celebration of the Creator´s delight in diversity.

An older male giraffe

White rhinoceroses crowding each other in the shade of a bush

Young elephant splashing himself with mud to cool off and ward off insects

After spraying so much mud, he went to another, cleaner water hole to  have a drink

There a plenty of large groups of impalas at Pumba. I liked the look of this buck against the sky.

Lovely lunch with our ranger at the Pumba Bush Lodge.
From left to right, Br. Roger, Br. Daniel, Ranger Thomas, Br. Joel and Br. Robert James

Throughout my stay at the monastery, I have also spotted a great variety of birds and some butterflies. I am not great at impromptu photography so I found a couple of pictures to share the beauty with you.

Lesser (Southern) Double-Collared Sunbird

Knysna Lourie. When it flies away you see its bright red wings.

Just in case you wondered, I thoroughly enjoyed my first visit to South Africa. It was a very special treat to visit places I have so long prayed for and wanted to see. Thank you very much to my Maryia uMama weThemba Monastery Brothers for their warm hospitality. I am glad I got to experience first-hand your life of prayer, worship and ministry.