Nkulukulu Okubusise

South Africa Team 1824 Blog

10-30-2018

“Nkulukulu Okubusise”

Sorry this blog has been missing for a bit. After one very long day when there was no opportunity to write a blog, we moved to another location where we expected internet access but there was none. I’m writing this on the final leg of our journey home; the flight from Washington-Dulles to Detroit. I have so much to tell you!

The last clinic day went off without a hitch on Friday, and we spent a good amount of time making sure the Caring Friends were trained in all aspects of running an eyeglass clinic. You’ll notice in today’s blog pics that the Friends were mostly conducting the clinic, while the MOST team acted in an advisory capacity. Our three-fold plan for this mission trip was 1)spread the Gospel, 2)show God's love by getting eyeglasses into the hands of needy people, and 3)train the Caring Friends team, led by Muzi Khumalo.

This is the eye chart we used for distance vision. The client held their hand in the position the clinician pointed to on the chart. Instead of using letters, we used what we knew they were familiar with; their own hands. A similar, smaller chart was used for close (reading) vision.

Here, Elizabeth is showing a client how to read the chart as part of the vision test.

Muzi is doing the “is this better or worse” test with flippers, while Tebogo did a great job photographing every bit of every day.

The really difficult part of the day came when the clinic was over, the equipment was packed, and we all realized it was time for the missionaries from MOST to say goodbye to Muzi’s group - Caring Friends. I couldn’t believe how close we had grown in five short days, but tears were shed (starting with me).

We all boarded our vans and met at McDonalds for ice cream, after which we headed over to the Caring Friends clinic building we had just dedicated five days before. We left with them all the extra eyeglasses which weren’t distributed during the week, to give them a leg up on building up their inventory.

The goodbye was a long one. They had a special little ceremony for us, where the MOST team from ‘the States’ planted tiny little carrot and spinach seeds near their greenhouse. Planting seeds is what we had done all week, side by side, as we shared love, eyeglasses, and the Gospel with our South African clients.

We had a little surprise for them also, when our MOST team said as a group, “Nkulukulu Okubusise,” which means, “May God bless you.” Aubrey, one of the Friends, taught it to me, and I wrote it out phonetically so we could memorize it - oon koo loo koo loo, ow koo boo see say. The Caring Friends were so surprised and pleased! We all sang together one more time, danced (of course), then the MOST team loaded ourselves into the van and drove away with Knut.

Saturday morning we said goodbye to Charlotte, who was leaving for home earlier than the rest of us. This is her all locked up at the Mission House, waiting for her ride to the airport!


Bye bye Charlotte!

Knut took us on a scenic drive on the way to the Krueger Game Park, with a stop at the town of Graskop for lunch and shopping. Knut then drove us to see the breathtaking God’s Window, and Blyde River Canyon. I thought that Knut was saying we were going to see the Kenyan. I didn’t know who that was, or what Kenyan person he was talking about. But it turns out he was saying “canyon,” so that cleared it up. That South African accent of his threw me off more than once. Here are some photos from the sight-seeing day.

The countryside. These may or may not be macadamia nut trees.

God’s window. Gorgeous!

From L to R at the Blyde River Canyon, located at Mpumalanga: Lynne, Linda, Ruth and Jean.


Surrounding the parking lot were street vendors selling their wares. I bought this batik print the vendor is holding up.

After seeing the lovely sights and doing a little shopping, we checked into our rooms near the Krueger Game Reserve for the next two nights at Aan De Vliet, a country estate. This is the hut I shared with Ruth and Judy - very comfy and cozy! The estate was surrounded by an electric fence to keep out the monkeys, hippos and crocodiles. Yikes.


The huts had no wifi, so another few days with no blog posted. Next blog, I’ll tell you about our Sunday safari, which was amazing. Thanks so much for following along as we’ve tried to do God’s work in South Africa. It’s good to know that so many of you have been interested and excited with us.

Until tomorrow, Nkulukulu Okubusise!

Respectfully Submitted,
Linda Meier
Full Fledged Missionary

Big day...

We’re beat. All is well. Will post in the morning. God is good, all the time!

Have thine own way, Lord

South Africa Team 1824 Blog #9

10-25-2018

“Have Thine Own Way, Lord”

Wow, what an interesting day! All I can say is, this wasn’t our plan, but it all worked out. This morning we were driven by Knut to a remote locale to the south and east of where we stay.

Here he is! Knut serves us every day as our driver, tour guide, babysitter, restaurant-chooser, heavy-thing-carrier, and friend to each of us. And he makes us laugh. We’d be lost without him, literally and figuratively.

We stopped at a compound on a tree-covered hill. We spent some time at this lovely property and enjoyed the flowers and plantings. After staying for a while, we left, because it was the wrong place.

This tree is called, “Yesterday, today, and tomorrow.”

I don’t know what this one was called, but it was gorgeous, so I took a pic. I’ll ask Knut later and plug in the name. Jacaranda! Charlotte knew it.

This is the abject poverty surrounding the lovely complex we visited. Heartbreaking. It’s called an informal settlement, meaning there is no electricity, no water in these homes. If they’re fortunate, there may be a communal outhouse for several families to share. If not as fortunate, a trench, which will eventually be filled in with dirt.

When we were told we were at the wrong place, we loaded the trailer back up, and drove to a school. Since school is in session, we’re setting up outside on the road!

Charlotte and Ruth are entertaining the school kids while the rest of us set up. They’re singing all the active vacation bible school songs they can think of, so the kids who have no English can act along!

Ruth Martin is the new Executive Director of MOST Ministries, and although she’s a very experienced world traveler, this is her first mission trip with MOST. She’s not just an observer, though, Ruth works as hard as any of us!

A nice, shady location for Distribution and Fitting!

Muzi and crew are setting up the ‘waiting room!’

Carol is all set to start pulling spectacles, on a lovely spring day with a nice breeze! So unusual to be outside, but not unheard of. I’m hearing of other mission trips with much worse conditions than outside on a breezy spring day!

We always open our clinic with prayer, sometimes a singing prayer. There are some lovely voices in our MOST group, but when we sing with our local friends, Muzi’s group called Caring Friends, there is an added richness to the a capella music!

Our first clients are just now coming over to Distribution, so it will be our turn next. No crock pot, no candle (stiff breeze), so whatever bending needs to happen will be done by brute force and needle-nosed pliers. Will check in later to give you an update.

It’s evening now, and we’re back at the Mission House. The ladies around me are fixing tomorrow’s lunch, so I have to keep writing or I’ll have to help them.

The unusual setup for our clinic today worked great. God’s will for the students at the school we were diverted to was that for those who needed them, they would receive the gift of spectacles. My forefinger and thumb on my right hand are a little sore from man-handling the glasses into shape without adding heat, but all for a worthy cause.

God’s will WILL be done!

Have Thine Own Way, Lord

Have Thine own way Lord
Have Thine own way
Thou art the potter I am the clay
Mold me and make me after Thy will
While I am waiting yielded and still

Have Thine own way Lord
Have Thine own way
Search me and try me Master today
Whiter than snow Lord wash me just now
As in Thy presence humbly I bow

Have Thine own way Lord
Have Thine own way
Hold over my being absolute sway
Filled with Thy spirit till all can see
Christ only always living in me

Love to the folks back home!

Respectfully Submitted,
Linda Meier
Missionary (!)

Let me be singing when the evening comes

South Africa Team 1824 Blog #8

10-24-2018

“Let me be singing when the evening comes”

A line from the song “Ten Thousand Reasons”

It’s the evening of our third clinic day, and I’m bushed! I would love to be in my bed, but I jot notes all day long about what I can tell our friends and family at home, so I need to blog it!

First, here are some of our beautiful clients from yesterday, each of whom can see better today. The woman on the left is holding some of the hand-made eyeglass cases we give out, and inside are her new spectacles.

These ladies, also from yesterday’s clinic, are mother and daughter. They both have new spectacles; the daughter got two pair - one for distance and one for reading. We can’t bring bifocals, so when someone is both near- and far-sighted, they receive a pair of corrective lenses for each problem. The mother’s name is Leah, age 84. I’m very surprised at the high number of biblical first names we find on the registration sheets, followed by sometimes long and difficult surnames.

Today we travelled 2 hours or so into a part of South Africa the tourists never see. As we drove out of Middelburg, I was again freaking out a little about being on the wrong side of the road. Like in England, the steering wheel on the bus is on the right, so the bus is driving on the left side. I see a car coming at us in the lane I think we should be in, and my heart races until I realize Oh Yeah. South Africa.

The trip to the church in Siyabuswa (see ya boo swa) where we would hold today’s clinic was hilly and winding, and we didn’t know how long it would take us to get there, because we might have to stop for animals in the road. Random, wandering animals.

We saw, in this order, a baboon on the side of the road, an antelope, a female impala (I don’t know how Knut knew it was female but at this point we trust everything he tells us!), an actual living-in-the-wild giraffe(!), more giraffes, donkey, goats, hens with chicks, a monkey, and cattle. The cattle were kind of skinny; not the nice fat ones you see at home.

Since we had asked Knut animal questions, he felt free to expound on the three different groups of poisonous snakes in South Africa. I tried to tune him out but when Knut decides to tell something, it WILL be told. There are neurotoxic snakes whose venom attacks the nervous system, cytotoxic ones which cause some awful thing to happen to one’s flesh, and hemotoxic creepy snakes who change something in the victim’s blood. There. Now you know too. I’ll thank Knut for you.

We passed a lovely dam reservoir, where we stopped on the way home to take pictures.

When close to our destination, I witnessed living conditions I knew existed but had never seen up close and personal. So much trash on the ground in large open areas. Houses the average size of which would fit in my living room back home. I wondered why people were standing on the side of the road, and thought they might be waiting waiting for a bus. No, they were waiting for water. No running water in the homes.

When we arrived at Siyabuswa, some of us needed to use the restroom badly. When we saw the facilities we had so looked forward to using, we wondered if we might be able to hold it for another eight or nine hours. But this is how these people live!

So when the clinic opened, those of us working there had a rough idea how hard life was for our clients. God allowed us, His servants, to be instruments in changing the lives of people the world has left behind. He sent us there to love them, check their eyes, maybe give them the gift of better sight. I was both humbled and awed at the gift I had been given, to serve in this way.

One of the local ladies who visited our clinic today had perfect vision. I told her God had blessed her, that she didn’t need to wear corrective lenses at all! But she was disappointed that she didn’t get to go home with new ‘spectacles’ like most of the others. We stock sunglasses for these clients. When she put them on she frowned deeply, and complained that everything had gotten so dark! She took them off, and I walked her outside where she and I were squinting in the bright South African sunlight. I asked her to put the sunglasses back on; I said they would protect her eyes from dust and harsh sunlight, and maybe prevent some of the eye troubles we were seeing in other clients. She was amazed! She had never seen sunglasses before. She was so proud and happy to own these ‘special’ spectacles!

You might know by now that we use a small crock-pot of salt to heat up parts of the frames we need to bend or unbend. In rural areas, there is no guarantee of electricity. During today’s clinic when I was working on a particularly challenging pair of spectacles, trying to get them to fit just right, I noticed the salt wasn’t as hot as it had been. Electricity had gone away until the evening hours. I knew this might happen, and I knew what to do, but I hadn’t ever tried it before. I lit a votive candle. I held the spectacles over the flame, and walked the tightrope of getting the frames not so hot they would scorch or melt into blobs, but hot enough to bend. What a challenge! But Hazel and I soldiered on and fit those spectacles to all those heads even in what I might call primitive conditions.

I’ve learned so much, and the funniest thing is about me. My name, Linda. The first two clinic days, I heard my name said over and over by the Zulu-speaking workers, Muzi’s people. “Leenda” is how they pronounce it. But they weren’t talking to me, or even looking in my direction. I hoped they were saying nice things about me, that I had given a favorable impression. It dawned on me that maybe the “Leenda” I was hearing was actually a word in Zulu. I asked my new-best-friend Hazel who works with me at the fitting station. She smiled and told me it means “waiting.” As in, “You will be waiting here until your turn go to the next station.” They weren’t talking about me at all! When I told Hazel what I had been thinking, we both laughed until we were in tears.

Tears came again when it was time to leave for the day. I’m overwhelmed with the joy of this mission. I get to hand God’s children their life-changing spectacles, and watch them leave with glad and grateful hearts. I tell each one of them, “These are yours now, a gift from God, who loves you. God bless you!” We are thanked profusely by the happy clients, but also by Muzi’s team and the local church. Today I thanked them back for the privilege of working alongside them. And I meant it from the bottom of my heart.

When we arrived back at the Mission House tonight, we sang songs and had our devotions and sang some more. What a joy! Lord, let me always “be singing when the evening comes.”

Love to the folks back home!

Respectfully Submitted,
Linda Meier
Missionary (!)

Spur one another on to love and good deeds

South Africa Team 1824 Blog #7

10-23-2018

“Spur one another on to love and good deeds”

South Africa and this experience are wonderful, and I’m having fun with the blog; hope you are too. Thank you for your comments! Please remember to leave your name within the comment so we know who you are.

I was asked about the bugs here, since a previous blog post might have mentioned that I hate them. The only bugs I’ve run across are the ones in the Mission House where seven of us ladies are living. They are ants. Tiny, nasty ants. I mentioned to one of the guys that “those are African ants.” He asked me how I knew. I said, “We’re in Africa, and those are ants.”

The weather has really been nice! It’s springtime here, so we have lovely cool sleeping temps, and it warms up nicely during the day. So far, it’s only been hot for a few hours in the afternoon, when the clinic is jammed full of potential clients. Even so, many of the South African ladies are bundled up as though it’s February in Michigan.

Introducing Muzi (Moozee), Pastor Khumalo’s son, who is the Director of the brand new Caring Friends Eyeglass Clinic with whom we are working so closely. Next to him is a member of his team, working as receptionist. I can neither say or spell her name, God bless her. And she did not want her picture taken, which I think is what Muzi was laughing at.

See if you recognize any of the people in these pictures from our clinic today:

You won’t recognize these people unless you have visited Mhluzi, Middelburg, South Africa. The teachers at the Lutheran grade school attached to St. Peter Church were our first clients today, and each of them, including the director, left with new glasses.

David and Judy worked the Nursing Station at the beginning of the day, checking eyes for maladies. Yes, they knew they were being photographed, and chose not to look up. But look at the little smirk on David’s face…

This lovely lady was at the testing station, being tested by Lynne to approximate a prescription. They both found it funny that I said, “Look natural.”

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Somehow I only got the back of Ruth’s head when showing all of you a young man being tested! Sorry Ruth, I promise you a face shot real soon.

Jean helping Muzi do testing in another room.

Carol is shown here in the Distribution Station pulling glasses for the clients. If the testing showed a +2.25 for reading glasses (best guess), Carol pulls a +2, a +2.25, and a +2.5 for the client to try on.

Also in the distribution area, Glen and Charlotte are having their clients try on the three different prescriptions Carol pulled for them, and will ask them to read scripture verses in different sizes to see which of the three best suits.

Last but not least, we have arrived at the Fitting Station where I’ve worked beside my new best friend Hazel for two days. The client’s head is bowed, not for prayer, but to see if his glasses will fall off.

And here’s me, doing what Hazel does. I got the window seat. That’s the tiny crock pot of salt I mentioned yesterday, and I’m dipping this man’s glasses into the pot to heat them so I can bend them to the shape of his ear.

Sandy, the fearless and unflappable (mostly) team leader of South Africa Team 1824! Sandy spends the day here and there, overseeing and fighting fires, and none of this could be pulled off without her.

Love to all the folks at home!

Respectfully Submitted,
Linda Meier
Missionary (!)