What is South Africa like?

Cape Town, South Africa is considered one of the most beautiful cities in the entire world and all the major cities in our mission are tourist attractions. They have magestic mountain ranges, pristine ocean beaches, dense forests, and miles of rollling hills in a California climate.  We hear it it more like San Francisco weather.

Because we are not in America we will be driving on the left side of the road at 100-120 kilometers per hour. That is 60-72mph.  We willl weigh less here because we are weighed in kilograms which equal 2.2lbs. At 17 degrees Celsius  we will be enjoying a nice spring day, 25 celsius (77 fahrenheit) will be warm and 30 Brother Ladle will be looking for a shade tree.

They have many wild animal reserves where we can enjoy an African Safari (on our off day).  We can see elephants, lions, rhinos, hippos, giraffes, zebras and antelope. It is not unusual to see baboons playing along the roadside or penguins on the beaches.

While English is the major language, South Africa does have some interesting terminology.  Bologna is polony, Crepes are pancakes, a cookie is a biscuit,  a large truck is a lorry, and a Day Care Center is a creche.

FYI:
People:
35 million South Africans are black or about 79%
4.25 million are white or 9.6%
4 million are coloured (mixed race) or 8.9%
1 million are Asian or 2.5%

30% of the population is under 15 years of age
65% are between 15-64 years old
5% are over 65 years old
The average life expectancy is 48.4 years. Remember that 1 in 4 people are positive for HIV (Aids)

Religion
80% of South Africans are Christian
  11.1% are Zionist
  8.2% Pentecostal/Charismatic
  7.1% Catholic
  6,8 % Methodist
  6.7 % Dutch Reformed
  3.8% Anglican
 <1% are LDS or Mormon
1.5% Islam

The Literacy Rate 8s 87% for those over 15 years of age, but for older blacks it is only 50%.   South Africans speak 31 different languages, 24 are considered living languages.  There are eleven national or offical languages.
We will not be expected to speak a language other than English.  Most South Africans are fluent in three or more languages.  The one we will probably hear most is Xhosa. If we were to pronounce this for you, you would first hear a click in the side of our mouth and then osa. 

What a wonderful adventure in service to our Heavenly Father.