The Spirit of Ubuntu -- Bad News and Good News in USA v. Ghana Match

In what was the most thrilling and most watched USA match in the World Cup, the USA team met the agony of defeat against the Ghana Black Stars.  The U.S. men's national team's 2-1 loss to Ghana on Saturday was the most-watched World Cup match among households and viewers, according to ESPN.

The bad news is that we were supporting the USA team and they lost.  The good news is that there is still an African team in the competition, and now we will join the millions of fans across the continent and around the world to support the Ghana National Team.  Ghana became the Pride of Africa as Asamoah Gyan's extra-time winner sparked huge scenes of celebration across the continent.

Ghana will make history if they beat Uruguay on Friday and become the first African team to reach a World Cup semi-final.  All of South Africa is throwing their full support  behind the Ghana team.  It is so wonderful to see how the South African supporters have embraced this team, even though the South african team was eliminated in the Group Match stage.  The promise of the rise of African soccer is already beginning to resonate as fans talk about their expectations for better perfomances in 2014 when the World Cup will be held in Brazil.

We are all proud to be African and support the Pride of Africa in their next match against Uraguay.

The Spirit of Ubuntu -- A Great Day to Be an American!

We witnessed what may have been the biggest win in USA team history. It certainly was the most exciting. Landon Donovan's goal gave the USA a 1-0 win against Algeria on Wednesday and sent the Americans to the second round of the World Cup. The team took first place in its group for the first time in 80 years and will face Ghana on Saturday in Rustenburg.This was the most exciting day of our trip.  Below are some photos of our day.



We were greeted by enthusiastic attendants at the Park and Ride location.  They all wanted photos with the American supporters.  After South Africa was eliminated, many of their supporters are now following the USA.







We were really dressed for the ocassion -- showing our colors and waving our flags.  Everything was well-organized at the stadium.  We were driven from the Park and Ride lot to the doorstep of the stadium and no cost.  We were thinking that a shuttle bus ride, or at least the parking, would have cost plenty in the USA.  Here all of the hospitality for the match was provided at no charge.













At the stadium, there were thousands of USA supporters.  Of the 35,000 plus fans, there was perhaps a larger contingent of USA supporters than Algerians.  The news reports that more tickets were sold in advance to Americans than any other country.  We were in good company.  All the supporters had a "YES WE CAN!" attitude.  We screamed and blew our vuvuzelas until we were hoarse.  It was all worth it when the USA team scored in the final minute of play.


The highlight of the day was that Bill Clinton was at the match.  He drew almost as many cheers as the USA team.  When he appeared, in the stands, it appeared that all the USA fans turned away from the field to get photos of him. We were sitting near where he was located, and managed to get a photo of him as well.  I guess when you're as popular as Bill, it isn't hard for folks to be distracted -- even if he has no history of being a great soccer fan.  On this day, we all were the most vocal soccer fans in the stadium.

The Impossible Dream Ends for South Africa with a 2-1 Victory over France

South Africa's Bafana Bafana soccer team is out of the World Cup but fans celebrated victory over France on Monday evening. South Africa is the first host country to be knocked out of the World Cup in the first round, but football fans in Johannesburg say the country's first win against France has given them reason to celebrate. Despite the outcome, many said they were now confident that the standard of football here would improve because the World Cup had been played in Africa.

With their boys gone, the country's focus turns to making sure the second half of the tournament goes off as well as the first. Officials estimate 432,000 fans have traveled to South Africa for the World Cup, much higher than the 350,000 predicted before it began. (FIFA originally forecast 450,000 visitors but revised that number down because of security concerns and cost.) An event that was supposed to be riddled with theft, violence, and logistical disasters hasn't been. Minor problems pop up here and there, but so far South Africa's World Cup is a success.

Our attention now turns to the fortunes of the USA team. We will be in attendance on Wednesday, June 23rd, when USA meets Algeria. This is a high stakes game, and a win will propel the USA team to the next round.

The Spirit of Ubuntu -- Traveling from Pretoria to Cape Town

June 13th through June 15th -- Michael and Michelle Rosenberg, in Eerstrus, South Africa

We ended our stay in Pretoria with the Rosenberg family in the township of Eersterus.  Michael Rosenberg is the preacher at the Eersterus Church of Christ.  Michael and Michelle (center) are very active with community outreach. They support an old age home, and volunteer as supporters of their children's school.  We have watched their children grow up from a very young age.  Now they are grandparents like us.



June 15th through June 21st -- Deon and Marietjie Manuel, in Cape Town, South Africa

We completed a full day journey from Pretoria to Cape Town on June 15th.  This was 15 hours of driving.  As we crossed the Karoo Desert we could see snow on the mountain tops in the distance.  We were welcomed by Deon Manuel and his family.  Deon was one of the young men I hired at IBM when we lived in South Africa in the 90's.  He has moved on from IBM and now heads up his on consulting firm.  He and his family are a real delight. They are faithful members of the Church of Christ. 




One of the joys of worshipping in Cape Town is the memory of the beautiful singing. 

On Sunday, June 20th, we worshipped with the congregation at Athlone.  Once again, I was honored to deliver the message for this wonderful family of God's people.  The minister there is Peter Manuel.  He has served this congregation for more than 30 years. 

In addidtion to the congregation in Athlone, he  has developed a missionary program and they have established three new congregations in Namibia. 

Peter and his wife Kathy were the very first people we were introduced to in the Church of Christ when we first moved to South Africa.  Thy have two daughters and one son, Deon, whose family hosted us during our visit.  We love them dearly.

USA vs. Slovenia: At World Cup, Americans rally for 2-2 tie

The American team mounted a furious rally, including goals by Landon Donovan and Michael Bradley, to claim a 2-2 draw with Slovenia on Friday.  At the end of the match we were as exhausted as the players -- watching a big screen presentation at the Canal Walk Mall in Cape Town.  Hundreds of shoppers joined the 45,000 fans in cheering for every important play.  Amidst this excitement, I discovered that my wife -- a world-class shopper in a mall with over 400 shops -- is now a true soccer fan.


As American visitors, we are something of an anomally, and folks are always surprised to hear our "accent" and inquire where we are from.  But we are blending into the crowd with our vuvuzela, and up until today, our South African colors to also support the local team.

Maurice Edu's volley splashed into Slovenia's net in the 85th minute Friday, and for an instant, the U.S. national soccer team believed it had punctuated an epic comeback with a late go-ahead strike.

On a call that will be reviewed, examined, scrutinized, second-guessed and analyzed for weeks, if not years, to come, the referee waved off Edu's apparent goal, leaving the exhausted teams locked in a 2-2 draw in front of a pro-American crowd of 45,573.



With a victory over Algeria (0-1-1) in Pretoria, the United States (0-0-2) will secure passage. It can also advance with a tie if England -- also 0-0-2 but with fewer goals scored -- loses to Slovenia (1-0-1) or earns a tie but fails to erase the Americans' two-goal edge in overall tournament scoring.

It marked just the fourth time in U.S. history that the national team had earned a point after trailing by two goals at the half (1-30-3).  Said goalkeeper Tim Howard, "I feel fortunate to come out of it, still alive to go through" to the round of 16.

We will be in full voice, vuvuvuzelas blasting, on next Wednesday when the USA meets Algeria in Pretoria.  We have tickets to that match, and it will be the most important match for USA supporters.  We have been here now for just over two weeks. We have watched 21 soccer matches -- only missing 2 matches while we were traveling in country.  This is truly an experience of a lifetime. 

GO USA!

The Spirit of Ubuntu -- We found our friends from Ohio!

Meeting friends from the USA Helps Make Our Visit more Like Home.


We are now in Cape Town.  We spent the day yesterday reconnecting with some friends from Ohio.  Our friends, William and Pat Carter from Dayton, Ohio, are now living in Cape Town working with the Peace Corps.  They visited a few years ago, and decided to return to offer their assistance as Peace Corp volunteers.  We had a wonderful reunion and got some time to go to the beach for a look at the sunset. It is still very chilly here.  It is difficult to get used to winter in June, but the friendship helped to keep us warm.


The highlight of our visit with William and Pat was the introduction to Wendy Ryan.  Wendy is from Falls Church, VA, but a native of Trinidad Tobago.  She visited South Africa five years ago, and was touched by the overwhelming need of women suffering from HIV/AIDS.


In January 2006, Evangeline Ministries was founded by missionary Wendy Ryan in Cape Town, South Africa to help women and men who live with HIV and AIDS develop skills to help them earn a living for themselves and their children; and to give them hope as they live with this disease — all in the name of Jesus Christ.

Evangeline Ministries works in partnership with the Living Hope Community Center Trust to offer skills training in the form of sewing classes, computer classes and business classes. Additionally, the program generates income for the women and their families as they sew and sell attractive African inspired handbags.

We are so impressed with what Wendy is doing that we promised to join her effort and determine how we can help when we return to the USA.

The Spirit of Ubuntu -- Our Hosts Make This a Real Homecoming

I want to pause and take the time to recognize our hosts on this wonderful trip.  We are wonderfully blessed to have friends to host us a half world away.  Below are brief profiles of our hosts so far.  We will update this as our journey continues.

June 2nd through June 4th -- Daniel and Sophie Ledwaba, in Soshanguve, South Africa.

Daniel is a an entrepreneur and preacher with the Church of Christ in Soshanguve.  They have two adult children and two grandchildren.  They own and operate an electronics repair business.  The Church of Christ at Soshanguve has been a key participant in our missionary work.

The Ledwabas have been very active in our missionary activities.  They helped to organize two major exchange trips to the USA.  The most prominent trip was to host 30 young people - The Voices of Praise from the Motherland -in a tour of several states in 2000.  We provided these youngsters with the "exerience of a lifetime." 

Now Daniel and Sophie are helping to make this a trip of a lifetime for us.

June 5th through 9th  -- Dennis and Dolena Malepa, in Gaborone, Botswana

Dennis Malepa is a preacher with the Broadhurst Church of Christ in Gaborone.  His wife, Dolena works in the Environmental Agency of the Botswana Goovernment.  They have four children -- 2 girls and two boys.  Their youngest is a 17 year-old in high school.

His family helped to make our first trip to Botswana a memorable one.




June 10th through June 13th -- Dolphy and Johanna Montoedi, in Atteridgeville, South Africa.

Dolphy and Johanna (far left and far right) were among our very first friends when we lived in South Africa in the 90's. 

Dolphy is retired, and Johanna works for the Tshwane City Government. They are pictured here with their children and two grandchildren. We enjoyed our stay with them and reflecting on the days when their children were in high school.


We will provide an introduction to our remaining hosts as our journey continues.  We are wonderfully blessed to share the hospitality of these Christian friends.

Team USA remains A Determined and Spirited Underdog

The USA soccer team surprise mighty England with a 1 - 1 draw in their opening match on Saturday.



The #14 ranked USA and its young team fought the mighty #8 English on Saturday, resulting in a tie in what was called “the most anticipated game in U.S. soccer history.” Both critics and historians alike favored England to win and the numbers supported their claims. Of the 9 meetings between the two teams since 1950 the U.S. has only managed to win two. The first being in 1950 when an inexperienced and hastily prepared American squad of school teachers, dishwashers and mail carriers defeated the then 23-4-3 post war English team in what came to be dubbed the “Miracle on Grass.” The second win came more than 40 years later when they beat the English in a qualification match for the 1994 World Cup. USA midfielder Landon Donovan responded to critics saying “man for man england is the more talented team” but pointed out that his teams camaraderie will play a major determining factor in the matches outcome.

U.S. national support for soccer has always fallen below the worldwide average but after matching the performance of England on saturday and the chance to advance to the second round granted a win on friday against Slovenia. Americans are growing increasingly curious of a sport knocking on its front door. US soccer fans even managed to outnumber British fans at Soccer City Stadium saturday in Johannesburg A reported 8,000 tickets were sold in America for the match as opposed to 6,000 in England.

We are here to watch African history unfold, but I could not avoid casting my full support for the USA team in this match. We will be attending the USA vs. Algeria match nex week.  I am looking forward to the deafening experience of a stadium filled to capacity with the most avid soccer fans in the world.

Stay tuned as this 64-match tournament unfolds with great excitement.

South Africa Scores First Goal in World Championship

South Africa's Tshabalala a hero after scoring World Cup's first goal.



His name is Siphiwe Tshabalala, but South Africa will simply remember him as a World Cup hero. At 55 minutes into the opening game of the 2010 World Cup, Tshabalala scored the tournament's first goal.

To get all the firsts out of the way, it was also the first time South Africa has scored a World Cup goal on their own soil, the first time an African nation scored a World Cup goal in their own continent and the first time 85,000 fans at Soccer City Stadium had a reason for celebration.

South Africa's team entered the match ranked 83 in the world, facing the Mexican team ranked 17th. The South African team held on for a 1 - 1 draw. They are still in good position in their group after France and Uraguay ended their opening match with a 0 - 0 draw.

The USA team opens their play today against England. The excitement of being in the middle of the world's most enthusiastic sports fans has made this trip one of the most enjoyable for me and my wife.
We will add our voices to the supporters of the USA team.  The reports are that more tickets were purchased by Americans in advance than any other nation.  Maybe the word is getting around that this is the most popular sport in the world.

All of South Africa comes out in force whenever any African team is playing.  Nigeria opens against Argentina later today.  That promises to be another match that will keep the revellers up all night.  There is no way to describe the energy that has captured the entire population.  Add about 2 million visitors, and you have the ingredients for a world class party -- wherever two or three are gathered.

More to come!

South Africa is Ready! Don't Miss the Opening Event.

A week ago, we arrived in South Africa.  There were detours and road construction everywhere.  Our first thought was, "They aren't going to finish this in time."

A week later, all the construction sites are gone, traffic is moving a lot smoother, and the entire country is abuzz with the sound of vuvuzelas (a long horn that is blown  during matches to support the home team). Thousands of fans have poured through the streets to shout their support for Bafana Bafana and create a wall of vuvuzela noise. Everybody is indeed ready.

The opening concert kicked off the festivities tonight with Alicia Keys, Black Eyed Peas, Hugh Masakela, John Legend, Soweto Gospel Choir and Angelique Kidjo. The millions of people are surely waiting in anticipation.

On Friday, June 11th, 2010 at 2:00 PM local time, a 30-minute ceremony having 1581 world-class artists, dancers, musicians and performers will begin at Johannesburg at Soccer City stadium. It will be followed up by opening match between hosts South Africa and Mexico at 4:00 PM.

DON'T MISS THIS OPENING CEREMONY AND MATCH!

IT WILL BE SHOWN ON ABC AND ESPN. 

Tivo it, set up your DVR, or your VCR for us old school folks.  This is the event of the century for the African continent. You will want this in your archives.

A Botswana Sunrise

Botswana proved to be the perfect diversion to prepare us for the upcoming exciement.



An early morning dirve in the Chobee  National Game Reserve can change the worst disposition. The cold wintry breeze and the beauty of the river is very refreshing.  The sunrise was breath-taking.
Driving through the reserve to observe the early morning activity of nature's creaures in this region helps one to appreciate the natural order and reguvination of creation undisturbed.

Click here to see the album.

The birds greet everyone, as they awaken from their slumber.  The predators begin to survey their opportunities for the day.  The smaller animals gather to protect themselves, and the larger ones take their rest.  At the end of the day, all are seeking the refreshing renewal of the river or the safest water hole.  The stunning sunset capped off a complete day on the river and in the park observing the beauty of this region.

We enjoyed this diversion before the ear-splitting exciement of 64 World Cup Soccer matches.  On Thursday, we head back to South Africa to prepare for the World Stage that South Africa has prepared for the most popular sport on the planet.

Stay tuned, this is going to be anexciting first for the African continent.  The buzz all around the region is, "We are ready to welcome the world to South Africa!"

Welcome to Botswana! -- A travel adventure

We left South Africa for Botswana on Friday.  What an ordeal! 

This was a 4 hour trip by road to the South Africa/Botswana border.  Little did we know that the internal borders in African countries have become security gauntlets because of the World Cup.  Everyone going and coming is scrutinized, and all luggage is searched by hand.  We had to register our computers -- model, type, serial number -- to leave the country. And then show proof of ownership when entering Botswana.  There are road fees, rental car border crossing fees, and more paperwork to verify who we are staying with (name, address, and phone numbers). All the processes at these border crossings are based on hand written forms and manual entries into the computer systems.

After our 4 hour drive to the border, the crossing took 2 hours.  We were more exhausted standing in the multiple queues than from the drive.  But all is well that ends well.  Our hosts were very gracious and accommodating.  The Malepa family lives in the capital of Gaborone.

We attended worship sevices with them on Sunday.  This was a special occasion for me because the tradition in the churches is for the guest of honor to deliver the sermon for the day. I was prepared for this invitation, and enjoyed the opportunity to share a lesson titled "What Matters Most -- Love."

During worship services, a small boy -- 3 years old -- became fascinated with me, and insisted on giving me his two coins, rather than place them in the offering.  I accepted his gift -- which amounts to less than a 1 cent USA.  I will treasure these coins from this little boy named Prince.  His gift only served to prompt us to be more generous.  He was such a blessing to us, and shared our blessing with the congregation at the Broadhurst Church of Christ in Gaborone.

On Monday, we leave for a short safari here in Botswana.  We will share photos in our next post.

Former President Mandela may attend opening match

We arived in South Africa on June 2nd.  The entire country is fired up for this world class event.  Everyone is shouting "Bafana! Bafana!" -- the nickname of the South African national team.  Bafana means "the boys."  Everyone is shouting their support for the home team.  No African team has advanced to the finals of the world Cup.  If enthusiasm counts for anything, the South African team certainly has the support of the nation to go a long way.  Even former President Mandela has joined in the exciement.

Mandela Might Be At Opening Game
Chris Bathembu, BUANews


Former president Nelson Mandela might be in attendance at the 2010 Fifa World Cup opening match between South Africa and Mexico on Friday 11 June, Sports Minister Makhenkesi Stofile has confirmed.


Speaking to the SABC in Pretoria on Wednesday, Stofile said Mandela had personally requested tickets for the match, which takes place at Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg.

"He demanded his tickets for the opening match and the final, and Fifa had agreed to that demand," Stofile said.

There were fears that the 91-year-old statesman would not be able to attend the event due to age and health considerations.

'Exciting moment'

Mandela was present in May 2004 when Fifa made the historic decision to award South Africa the right to host the world's biggest single-code sporting event.

At the time, Mandela said he felt like a "young boy" expressing his excitement.

Fifa President Sepp Blatter on Wednesday said it was important for both Fifa and South Africa that Mandela attended the opening match.

"For Fifa and for South Africa it would be a very exciting moment if Mandela is attending this first World Cup in Africa," Blatter said.