Sunday morning we were awakened to the sound of birds as Wendy forewarned us. They were not the song birds of Kansas, but  loud calling birds that sounded like monkeys fighting.   We had a wonderful breakfast including fresh fruit and visited around the table. We had a chance to get to know our team members from Russia and the Ukraine, Natalia and Alena a little better.  Then we boarded the bus to the Methodist Church. 


The church is an all brick building with one large room for worship.  Comfy chairs lined the rows for us to sit and they provided video screens with part of the readings translated into English, just for us.  The people welcomed us with smiles, handshakes and hugs. The women wore bright colored dresses with matching headbands. There were many small children amongst the congregation. Suddenly one woman started singing and the others joined in. They used a drum and bells along with clapping to keep the rhythm. The melody was hypnotic and we tried to follow along with the words. Multiple languages were spoken with very little English, but the message was well received. The title was “prayer without ceasing”.


After the service, an old man introduced himself and told us that his mother was Nelson Mandela’s sister. He said he was proud to have us visit his church. 


Then, with Antoinette as our guide, we toured Pretoria and stopped for lunch.   After lunch, we went to the Union Buildings. They are where the government is conducted. The 2 buildings are side by side representing the British & Afrikaans.   There we saw a giant statue of Nelson Mandela. 
We had a few minutes to relax and then we walked to service at West View Methodist Church which was much like the Foundry service at Rez with contemporary music and casual atmosphere. After church we gathered in the lapa outside our B&B for our devotion and reflection of the day before going to bed. It was and packed day with many new sites, sounds, and new friends.  I love Africa!