I never would of imagined that one weekend could display so much of God’s greatness. This past weekend four of my closest girlfriends and I traveled 9 hours to Kosi Bay. Kosi Bay is a semi-tropical area in the very northeastern part of South Africa. It is about a 20 minute drive from the southern Mozambique border.
Early Friday morning we left and traveled through the Mapumalanga state and Kwazulu-Natal state in South Africa. In my opinion they are the two most beautiful states in South Africa. It is very mountainous, everything is green and the clouds just beautifully sit in the blue sky. When we finally reached Kosi Bay it was in the beginning of the afternoon. We decided to head to Kosi Bay mouth. Here there are three large lakes that are quite beautiful and have a unique structure.
The third lake, which is the farthest away is completely filled with hippos! There were many monkeys jumping through the trees. We then went to the “Kosi Bay Mouth.” This is where (if you look on a map at the NE part of South Africa) the land curves in and is a great place to snorkel. So I went snorkeling for the first time and saw such amazing fish! You can really see God’s creativity here because it seemed like every time I turned there was a new, unique fish! I got to swim through many schools of fish, saw some fish eggs with its protective mother, and even a lion fish! It was quite beautiful.
The next morning we woke up early to go to the Mozambique border. Thankfully we had no problems getting through. As soon as we entered Mozambique the roads went from nicely paved to completely sand. There was only one lane and you needed a 4-wheel drive to get through the deep sand!
After 20 minutes of sliding around the sand we finally reached the beautiful Panto D’Ouro. There we walked on the beach and tried to find the right contact person to swim with the dolphins. For some reason things were just not working out with the dolphins- we couldn’t find the right people, we needed more people with us, etc. We finally found this lady who was just about to go out to the ocean. She told us that we could come and pay the money but there was absolutely no chance we could swim with the dolphins because the waves were so rough.
Samantha and I decided to take the chance anyways and at least be able to see them up close. We were on the boat for about thirty minutes and still had seen no dolphins. Finally we saw some dolphins in the distance, about 20 in all and they were heading to our boat. I was able to stand at the front of the boat and they were literally swimming around our boat. The instructor told us that it would be fine to go into the ocean with them! I didn’t have time to even get scared about jumping into the deep ocean. We had to quickly put on our flippers and snorkels before they swam away!
A minute later I jumped into the ocean and I saw before my eyes a dolphin! Behind me were several other dolphins. They are so graceful and beautiful in the water. It was so majestic words can hardly describe it. We even saw a baby dolphin with its parents. It was really an amazing event. Afterwards we went to some markets and bought some coconuts and pineapples. I was even able to try a traditional Mozambican sandwich! The rest of our day was spent in the beautiful ocean. It was a day I will never forget.
The next morning we drove into a rural area to go to a church. The roads were red dirt and there were butterflies everywhere! It was also beautiful. The church “building” was basically a circle built of sticks with a tree protruding from the middle to provide shade for the members. The Zulu people are so welcoming and are such a joy to be around. Also singing worship with them is always a treat- trying to make the clicks in all the right spots!
It really was a fantastic weekend and God definitely answered my prayers and more! Two or three times this weekend we saw large rainbows- reminding me of the faithfulness that God gives to those who follow after Him. May He also continue to bless you! This week we are doing AIDS training as well as Kid’s ministry. We are preparing ourselves for our rural outreach. We leave for Gazankulu next Monday. After God so richly blessed me this weekend I am really hoping that I can also be a blessing to those in Gazankulu! Continue to pray for me and my team! Thanks!
cool fish
canoeing in the Indian Ocean
entering Mozambique
Kosi Bay
Pineapple Lady
