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