Winding down and heading home soon

I'm at Roland Rink's house in Johannesburg now. He has kindly invited us to dinner with his family. Good smells abound--can't wait to hear what we're having. I heard for dessert we're having homemade Ben and Jerry's Butter Pecan ice cream!

Roland has spoiled Sharon, Dale, and me today by taking us to the beautiful Botanical Gardens nearby. It was so peaceful, with many beautiful plants and a waterfall. A daycare from Soweto was visiting and they were such cute children. I took pictures of them and they loved that.

We had a nice lunch at the gardens, then came back to Roland's house. His wife Renee took us to a Creche, which is their name for a daycare center for some of the poorest of the poor children. Renee grocery shops for this one Creche once a month, so we went with her to shop and then deliver. The little children were all eager to be held. I loved holding them and touching them. There was whole room of babies, several to a crib and some sleeping on the floor. Encroaching upon the daycare center were the makeshift dwellings that keep growing and growing, as more people need shelter. I hated to leave. There were so many more children to hold . . . I thought of Becca and how she would have loved to love on all those children with me today.

Tonight we are staying at a B&B, which is quite a change from where we have been staying. One night of "pampering" I guess.

I've enjoyed picking up chocolate at the store today. (Still looking for vegan chocolate, Rachel!) The chocolate here is so much better. I love it. Sharon has been a bad influence on me; she always has chocolate on hand!

Tonight Roland put on the U2 CD with Vertigo and You Don't Have to Go it Alone. Made me think of Tim and how much I miss him! I strictly instructed Roland NOT to play one of his vast collection of Beatles CD--I said it would make me miss Tim and the family too much! I have to make it to Saturday morning, after all.


Tomorrow we will do a bit of shopping before heading to the airport. This has been a grand trip and so much to think about. I'm really grateful for this opportunity.