Raley Family Blog: Sunday Lunch with Friends

Phil and Trish were some of the many people that welcomed us to Polokwane when we moved here in 2009. Trish came to have tea just a few days after we arrived. When we came back from one of our first outreaches, we had no running water at the house and they had us stay with them and even helped get our laundry done. Phil called one Saturday night in August 2009 and said they would like to come over and bring lunch (I just needed to make the veggies) and then they wanted to help us get started remodeling our bathroom (pictures are at the bottom of this post from 2009). He also came over to break up our stage that used to be in the living room. (more pictures here). We also enjoy buying blueberries from their farm every year.

This past Sunday we spent the afternoon with them at their farm just outside of Haenertsburg (about 45 minutes from our house). It has been a long time since we have been able to spend time with them. We had a wonderful afternoon eating, visiting and walking around their property. Absolutely beautiful! It has been raining for a week now and they have received over 540mm (21 inches) of rain in 6 days and it was still raining when we were there. That didn't stop us from enjoying an afternoon walk.

After lunch, we put on gumboots, which we had to translate for Julia ... rain boots :) (it was translated for us when we moved here too!), and we put on our ponchos and headed out for a tour of the farm. On our walk, we ended up over at Trish's parents house for tea and coffee. It was great to meet them and also visit with her sister, Debra and her two kids Sebina and Hayden (who we also know from CBC).

As we were driving there we were talking about how dangerous it is driving on this road up the mountain in the rain. As we were coming to a curve we watched this white bakkie (truck) who was in front of us try to pass the vehicle in front of them. As he started to pass we could see another vehicle coming towards him. The driver decided not to pass and put his brakes on. When he did that he lost control and we watched him go off the road into a tree. Of course, after watching that happen, Mark pulled over and we told the kids and Julia to stay in the car and we hurried over to see if the people were ok. The driver got out and said they were fine. Praise the Lord! It could have been really bad.

I went back to our bakkie and got an umbrella and stayed with the girl, whose name is Maggie. She was fine just shook up. She pointed to the ditch 10 yards away and said, "look what we could have gone in to!" It would have caused them to flip for sure. She told me she was a born again believer and she praised the Lord for keeping them safe.

While waiting for their friend to come help them, Mark started talking to the man and found out that he apart of the ZCC (Zion Christian Church). Mark began to talk to him about Jesus and asked him if he understood salvation. The guy really wasn't sure how to answer any of it. Maggie started to answer for him. Mark was about to share more with him but then a guy from the road construction showed up as well as two police officers, all of whom just happened to drive by. They asked Mark if he had tried to tow him out and Mark told them no because it was too dangerous without stopping traffic. They decided to stop traffic and Mark tried to pull his vehicle out but it was too deep in the mud. Once his friend showed up we were back in the car and on the way to lunch again.