Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Day 23 Thanks Everyone
25 January 2005
Greetings everyone! These are your profs speaking.
What a great experience!
There are several people who deserve our thanks for making this trip so wonderful. So, in order of closeness to the trip (but not importance):
First: the students. We will never forget your enthusiasm, courage, commitment, openness, willingness to learn, flexibility, good humor, thoughtful devotions, academic presentations, cooking, singing, photographs, wholehearted embrace of the variety of people we met, and laughter.
Second: Matt’s mom Alice and our son Mark who were with us. You bring joy to us every day. You brought your love to the students throughout the trip. You brought joy to Emmanuel, Nico, and Stefan. Thanks for being a part of this with us!
Third: the people of South Africa. Your hospitality and generosity made everything possible. Here’s a partial list: Wayne Herman, Nathan, Emmanuel, and the Cornerstone College administration; JL Zwane and Bandile and Thobile; Lionel and Sandra Davis at Robben Island; Ntobeko at the Amy Biehl Foundation; Ron Bussinne and Mani at A-Gas; Fanie DuToit at IJR; Daniel Maluleke in Mamelodi, Percy Msimang in Soweto; Rudy Rudolph at Anglo Platinum; Mama Clara, Peter, Kujo (sp?), and the others at Kgautswane Development Center; Aubrey johnston in Kgautswane; and Nico and Stefan at Emerald Guest House.
Fourth: the parents. Thank you for trusting two profs with your precious children for a month half way around the world.
Fifth: the Calvin administration. Their support for off-campus experiences at Calvin is outstanding. I think the administration know that there are so many more “teachable moments” when students are out of their comfort zone. Interim was made for experiences like this.
Sixth: Calvin’s IT department and Scott Admiraal. Thanks to John Niedzielski from CIT for setting up the blog which allowed us to share pictures and our experiences with parents and friends half a world away. Thanks so much to Scott for taking the time to faithfully upload student entries that were composed on busses, in kombis, and in bed.
Seventh: our great God. What a fantastic world you have made. We saw it all on this trip: poverty, wealth, beauty, penguins, lions, elephants, despair, triumphant human spirits, sorrow, and joy. Our world belongs to God. From the contemporary testimony: “The faithfulness of our great Provider gives sense to out days and hope to our years. The future is secure for our world belongs to God.”
Finally, here is a picture of the group taken in GRR upon our return. The genuine smiles and tears made it all worthwhile for us.
God bless you all!
--Matt and Tracy