Sight-seeing in Cape Town

Here is my sunset for this week - they are so amazing - I can't resist! This was taken in Langa on one of the evenings as we were leaving. This is from just north of the church building. Also, I found the red tree, so I'll add it here before I start. The trees continue to dazzle and amaze us. I think I can do another whole blog of trees!









A couple of weeks ago, Elder and Sister Harms from Mesa Arizona invited us to go site seeing with them in Cape Town. They have been here about 3 months longer than we have and know the area a little better. They have also traveled the whole mission because of their job - Public Affairs - they are assigned all of South Africa, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, and who knows what else! They are so fun and we have enjoyed getting to know them so much. Here is a picture of them!




The first place they took us they had not intended to go to, but we saw the church as we were driving and asked about it, so we drove in to take some pictures. This is the St. Marks District Six Church. The pic below shows a plaque put on the church by the people who saved it. Sorry I don't have a great program for zooming in on pictures---but maybe you can zoom in and read it. It says, "To Those Who Pass - Remember the thousands of people who lived for generations in District 6 and were forced by law to leave their homes because of the colour of their skins. Remember the St. Marks District Six church and the community who resisted the destruction of District Six." It is a very sad chapter in the history of South Africa. The Church was built in the 1700s. I remembered reading about this in the book - The Covenant and it was very real to me.



Here we are outside the old church. It stands in the middle of many modern buildings - a testimony to those who saved it ---of the unfair things that happened back in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. The white people who controlled the government moved all of the black people out of their lovely small homes they had here and put them outside the city - they gave them ground, but no help to rebuild. They destroyed everything in the area - just bulldozed the homes and the other churches and planned to build a beautiful white community here. The people who went to this church stood firm and insisted this was a historical place and set up such an outcry that this church alone was saved.

As we walked around outside, we noticed signs that there were not tours on Saturday, and were disappointed we wouldn't see the inside. I saw a large wooden door and for some reason I decided to try it to see if it was open and it was! We went in and called to see if someone was there and found a very old man - 82 who was creating floral arrangements for Sunday. He said he had been doing this since 1954! He wants to retire, but they won't let him. He allowed us to go into the chapel. This is a picure of one of the stained glass windows. You can see the pulpit where people speak here too.

In the picture below, I am up near the pulpit and the Harms are in the pews. Elder and Sister Harms came here to church when they first got here to get aquainted with the area. The people in charge noticed them right away because of their name-tags. During the meeting the man in charge suddenly invited Sister Harms to come up and say a few words! She went to the front so shocked and bore her testimony that Jesus lives and God is our Father. They loved it! This was a very special honor for them and totally unexpected. She spoke right there at the podium that showed in the last picture-- above her head---I wish we could have been there!

The picture below is looking back at the doorway to the chapel--there is a beautiful wooden carving above the entry-way. I loved all the archways. People still come in taxis on Sunday to worship here. It is a tradition for many families who now live 15 to 20 kilometers outside the city.

Now we move to the Castle of Good Hope - a beautiful old Fort built near the ocean to protect the city against invaders. This was our original destination when the trip began. Sorry we did not get a picture of the entrance. I left a spot for it here!

Here we are on top of the Castle. You can see Devil's Peak on the left and Table Mountain on the right behind us. This is really not very far from our Mission Office. This is right downtown. Those doorways and windows behind us were places where the military worked and stayed, but now they are rooms where artists have their studios. It was so fun to visit with them and look at their work. We look like we are staying pretty healthy, huh. Need to get some of the weight off again! Too much time at the desks!

The next three pictures were in the artist's studios---they were right there working. We were not very smart and did not take pictures of some of the best art - I guess we felt that would not be very nice---they wanted us to buy some. But why didn't we take pictures of the artists!! Couldn't tell you--maybe we'll go again and we'll be smarter! The highway designer I am married to loved the picture below, but it was too expensive for our budget and I was not prepared to have a freeway hanging on my wall. It was so realistic - you felt like you could walk into it. I am pointing to a speed limit sign - that says 80---that's all it is ---a circle with an 80 in it. They have them with 100s in them too - in fact I think they go up to 120. Of course it is kilometers per hour, not mph! Missionaries are not allowed to go over 100, but couples are free to follow the speed limit. Woo hoo!

I thought this was a great idea for a chair for the "naughty spot" - for those of you who haven't witnessed The Nanny Show - I can't remember the real name of it - the children have to go the naughty spot until they are ready to behave. If you can't read it, it says, "Sit down and Listen." Might be a good chair for husbands and wives to take turns sitting in---not very comfortable however. This was a wooden stool - with high legs. For children - maybe a bench!

The picture below shows a tile made by the artist that is a favorite saying this year in South Africa. We are seeing it and hearing it a lot. I would have liked to have had this, but Elder Herbert wasn't interested in the tiles. We'll probably end up with T-shirts!

We should have known that Elder Harms would get into the program later when he showed such an interest in the cannons at the Castle. This picture gives you an idea of how large it is. It is actually a pentagon in shape and was built to protect against invasion. This is only half of the pentagon. . . . there ia a center wall. It was built between 1666 and 1679 and is the oldest surviving building in South Africa. After 1678 it was the center of civilian, administrative, and military life at the Cape until the settlement grew and some functions were moved away from the castle.

Below, the cannon firer is explaining all about the cannon. A Levis artist who wants special damage done to levis put them there so the cannon can make them "one of a kind". They evidently get a good price if they have gunshot holes! They did not put a ball in the cannon, because the first time they did, they blew out several windows in the castle.

And so ends the adventure of the Herberts and Harms at the Castle of Good Hope. Elder Harms heard the man teaching us about the cannon make a disparaging remark about Americans and their holey levis or something, so when the man offered to let someone to pay 50 rand (donation to the Cannon Historical Firing Club) to fire the cannon, he pulled his money out quickly and said - if you will take back that comment about Americans. Everyone got a good laugh, but the man did not take it back. But Elder Harms paid anyway and was very gracious with the man. So the cannon was fired and blew the bottom out of the levis and we were all amazed at the power of that tiny cannon. By the way, Elder and Sister Harms are here on a Public Affairs Mission to increase positive awareness of the church, so he is much more aware of little remarks than we are---we did not even notice the remark! We love you all - stay strong and remember the Herberts who live in South Africa and their remarkable friends - the Harms!