Footsteps to destiny: Ivory tour 2022
What is "footsteps to destiny" all about??
The footsteps to destiny tour is about leaving our environment and going away where the everyday life distractions are removed. It looks like this: tents, camp fires, 4×4, trailers, trees, birds, nature, vellies and camp chairs in a circle. It normally involves travelling quite a distance together. We then set up camp and spend time together sharing the Word as our main focus, and we enjoy the blessings of Gods beautiful creation. On this specific trip we were 47 travelers away for 10 nights and we covered 1777km. We visited 4 different campsites: Mapungubwe, Nothern Kruger (Punda Maria), Manyeleti, and Sabie (Merry Pebbles). To see our itinerary and travel route click below:
Travelling: We always start any travelling of with prayer! Then we receive a spreadsheet which indicates which car you are allocated to. Every time we change campsites this allocation changes, and that means you get to integrate with different people every time. From Mapungubwe to Punda Maria we hit a heat wave with temperatures of 40+ degrees, with 5 of us in the Q5 Audi, the 3 of us at the back were drinking water by the litres and the aircon was on full blast. When we got out a the Pafuri gate it felt like we were being air fried it was so hot. From Punda Maria to Manyeleti was a 12 hour drive. I was allocated in the bus with 6 other people and during this trip we went through all the motions a 12 hour drive might entail. We went from laughing hysterically to playing cards and trying out every possible sitting position you can think of. It also involves sharing snacks, pillows and jokes. This is also the space where we really get to know each other as we share our stories. Somehow when the wheels start rolling the stories start flowing.
The campsite
Camping: When we camp like this we again receive a spreadsheet with the name of your tent mate and tent number for the different campsites. Every time you change campsites you have a different tent mate. This tent mate and you will set up your tent together and will clean and break it down when you move. You then place your pre-rolled swag (a bag neatly rolling all your bedding together with a mattress) into your tent and that is your bed. It is super comfortable, I love sleeping in my swag on the floor. On this trip we stayed in unfenced camps which means wild animals could roam around your tent. You could hear them at night and thus you had to wake your buddy up to escort you with a torch to the toilet. You really did all you can to avoid this, I tried not drinking water to pushing through till I couldn’t hold it anymore. You may choose to leave all the windows open or close them, however that causes a lot of condensation. Some nights are extremely cold, I slept with all my clothes on at Merry Pebbles and pulled my blankets over my head. You also hear every other sound including the entire camps alarm clocks starting at 4am. Atleast two people sleep through these alarms and some are snoozed probably 8 times.
A very important aspect on camping is the food! We have trailers and crates and cooler boxes full of food to feed 47 people until we can shop again. We had freezers in Kubus (camping trailers) and lots of ice packs. Then we had daily food teams as allocated for breakfast, lunch and dinner with an ingredient list. The first night we arrived I was on the food team and the disorientation was real. To find everything took longer than I thought but by day 3 we found a good flow and everyone started to know where each item was. The monkeys also seemed interested in our food items and sometimes a few birds too, thus every night the entire main campsite had to be packed up. The coffee station of course was very important and we ran out of milk once. We also had a charging station for our phones. Then there was the cleaning up! The food team on duty also did dishes and that ranged from 2-3 hours depending on how much laughter was mixed into it.
Sharing the Word.
We had many powerful times together where we would share the Word of God sitting in a big circle on our camping chairs. At the first camp at Mapungubwe (Mapeso camp) we sat next to a magnificent Baobab tree. And at Manyeleti we sat in a airplane hanger protecting us from the sun and the wind. We each received a journal where we could take notes in and we had declarations for each day. We also designed and printed stickers for our journals and we had so much fun with this. We would also take our Bibles with to sharing sessions.
The wildlife around us also noticed our gatherings including hyena, elephants, baboons, birds of all shapes and sizes and monkeys with searching eyes to see if snacks are available.
