Thursday afternoon, 4:30 PM. Time to say
goodbye to our youngest son, Heyns, his lovely wife Hanna, and our gorgeous
granddaughter Amelia. We have to leave them behind in our flat as we are flying
off to Johannesburg to train brand new disciple-makers in the Diocese of Christ
the King. They too are leaving Cape Town to return to the US, but much later.
So we say our goodbyes in the kitchen…somehow this unconventional method makes
the parting easier. It is difficult nevertheless and Louise fights back tears.
Trevor drives us to the airport and soon
his unique way of driving helps us to forget all that is sad about this
departure. At one point he does a U-Turn and nearly wipes out a skateboard
rider…colourful words ring in our ears as we move on.
Check-in is a breeze with Kulula’s extra
friendly staff. Even the security is a piece of cake, so a short delay does not
upset us at all. We have dinner at Mugg ‘n Bean and wait for a WhatsApp message
from Heyns to say they have arrived at their gate in the international
departure section of the airport. The message never comes…but our neighbour
lets us know they left and we believe all is well.
The delay does not alter much and we are
soon up in the air and on our way to Johannesburg…lullabied by one of our
nervous fellow passengers. As we descend to land at Lanseria Airport, her
singing becomes louder, but it remains sweet and melodious.
Fr Eric Ephraim meets us at the airport and
drives us to our home for the duration of our stay here. A lovely flat in a
monastery in Rosettenville, called St Benedict’s House. It is cold here in
Johannesburg, but we have enough blankets on our bed. Sleep comes quickly…
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