My South African Parents

Throughout this past year in Africa, I was blessed by so many generous people who just gave, gave, and then gave some more. I was seriously overwhelmed at times by the love I received from people, as well as their spirits of cheerful giving.

Two such people, whom I could never thank enough, are Johan and Brenda Swanepoel--whom I referred to as Uncle Johan and Auntie Brenda, and even sometimes jokingly as "Mom" and "Dad." They literally had an "open door policy" with me, letting me know that any time I needed a place to stay, their door was always open. So after the four months of training ended on the farm, I started taking them up on their offer.

At first, I would usually just come stay with them on weekends. They lived in a town just south of Johannesburg called Vereeniging, about 45 minutes from the farm. My church was in Vereeniging, and the internet access there was about a million times better than on the farm, so it worked out pretty well. But, as the year went on and I began traveling more, I ended up staying with them as often as I could, in between trips. Finally, for the last month or two of my time in South Africa, I moved in with their family. They seriously treated me like a son, which really meant a lot to me being so far away from my friends and family back home. Looking back, I really do feel blessed by the time I was able to spend with them and their family, and I'm thankful to God for bringing them into my life!

My South African parents: Auntie Brenda and Uncle Johan.