Johannesburg

We arrived in Johannesburg yesterday in the late afternoon, and promptly got in the wrong line for Passport Control/Baggage Claim, stood there for over an hour, then were sent to the correct baggage terminal only to discover that our bags had been checked all the way through to Maputo, after watching the near empty carousel go round and round without our bags. (In Portland, we had been told that we would have to get our luggage and go through customs in Johannesburg…) Customs was a breeze; one man asked to see “the lady’s passport” and asked me to pronounce our last name and chuckled because he didn’t want to try saying it. Then he waved us through.

By now it was 7:00pm, we took a taxi to the Baptist International Missionary Services (BIMS) Guesthouse. It was great; just what we needed, clean, safe. The hosts, Thomas and Denise Brown met us in the office. Wish we could have visited with them longer, but we were all walking zombies at this point. Even before showering or dinner, Micah fell asleep. Jerry and Jess bravely walked a couple of blocks to…McDonalds! Our first meal in Africa-chicken nuggets! Our nice taxi driver, Albert, offered to come back and pick us up this morning at 6am! And he was actually early! We got to the airport in plenty of time. On to Maputo...

Cathi