A slightly-hidden gem in a perfect location

One of the days we were on our Survey Trip to Durban back in February, one of the young men from the church had a job interview and asked our hosts for a ride. We thought it would be a perfect opportunity to see more of Durban and experience the cultures, so we went along for the ride.

Wow, were we in for a ride!

Bean Hunters Coffee Shop is tucked away at the bottom of a hill with a McDonald’s barely a block away. Before we even parked, Abbey started laughing. Growing up in Kenya, she always giggled at how they don’t call crosswalks “crosswalks” — they’re called “zebra crossings” due to the stripes.

The road between the parking area and the actual cafe is… an actual zebra crossing:

We introduced our friend to the management so they could begin their interview, and we headed upstairs to a gorgeous little seating area overlooking a park across the street.

We sat with our host and enjoyed the variety of the menu. Of course, everything was made with fresh ingredients; South Africa doesn’t do preservatives and food colorings like we do in the States.

The prices were incredibly modest by American standards; I had an incredible vanilla latte for R44, Abbey got a Dirty Chai for R48, and the girls shared a milkshake for R44. If you’re unfamiliar with converting Rands to Dollars, that comes to about $7.69 — you know, roughly the cost of a venti Starbucks latte for only one of us.

Of course, while sitting there, I spotted a banner on the fence of the park. Zooming in, I saw that it said “THE POWER OF THE CROSS” and underneath that, “JESUS LIVES & STILL DOES MIRACLES.” Of course, that’s true; Jesus is alive and He does still do miracles, but usually when ‘miracles’ and ‘power’ are part of an advertisement, they’re being advertised. Sure enough, when I got closer and googled the church… another prosperity gospel center.  *sigh* 

When we finished our drinks and paid, we walked across the street and let our girls play in the extensive park, which extended much further back than we could see through the trees from our vantage point at the café. 

The girls had a blast exploring the various playground structures; they do climbing and swinging a little differently than American playgrounds typically do.

Ultimately, we had an amazing time breathing the fresh air, listening to the birds sing (or scream, in the case of the blessed hadedas), and watching the girls light up as they enjoyed playtime on another continent.

While this isn’t as exciting or hard-hitting of an update or exposé as our usual blog posts, we felt it important to share slices of daily life with you, as well. In the words of  my favorite song from throwback artist Geoff Moore & The Distance, “it’s not just the end, or where we begin, it is in the in-betweens. Slowing down, learning how to find life in moments like these.”

So it’s important to us that you see our ministry highlights, and all of the amazing things God’s called us to, but also that you see snippets of real life. Monkeys in the backyard (downright nuisances they are). Driving to the store. Our new favorite coffee shop, where we’re likely to take people to chat about ministry opportunities. 

And the fact that companies and small businesses have absolutely no chill in their naming conventions:

A line of homemade jams called My Fat Daddy. Nice.