Interviews are rolling in!

Recently we told you about the interview Tygerberg 104FM had with Jacobus. The link is still posted in a previous blog, if you can understand Afrikaans, go have a listen!

This past weekend, Jacobus got interviewed by Danie Hefers from Fokus on SABC 2. Fokus is a current affairs TV program on SABC 2 (Sunday evenings at 18:00) which tells of the life experiences of South Africans. By telling the stories of ordinary folks, Fokus high-lights national issues. Follow them on: https://af-za.facebook.com/fokussabc/ 

Mr Hefers is planning on doing a program on Jacobus' hike for Fokus. He plans on being in Alexander bay when Jacobus starts his footsteps to good hope on Desember 8. He wants to cover the whole hike, interviewing Jacobus along the way. He will also be present when - Lord willing - Jacobus ends his grueling tour safely at the Cape of Good Hope in January 2018.

Mr Hefers interviewed Jacobus while a cleaning up action was taking place in the Kuilsriver (see the reeds of the river in the background of the picture below). The congregation of NGK La Rochelle removed 48 bags of rubbish this weekend, bringing the total count on 243 since the youth of the Free Reformed Church in Bellville started this clean up project in March 2017.

On Monday 29 August, we were contacted by Nielen de Klerk from the community weekly Tygerburger, which is part of the big News 24-group. She also wants to do an interview with Jacobus. This is precisely what we had hoped to achieve: wide publicity helping and promoting these footsteps to good hope - our quest to bring conservation and caring for the environment to the doorstep of every (young) person populating our beautiful country and the world we have been given.

We are now getting exposure in all kinds of media: radio, television, print as well as social media.  Thank you all for following our blog and also our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/footsteps2goodhope/

First sponsor is in: Tracks4Africa

One of the biggest concerns with Jacobus' Footsteps to Good Hope, is his safety. Far-flung destinations and intermittent cellphone reception add up to worries we can have as support team and supporters. And this is where Tracks4Africa stepped in: they are sponsoring a tracking device for the hike!

Thanks to a clever and easy-to-use tracking device, we can know exactly where Jacobus is, without any hassles. We don’t even have to worry about cellphone reception letting us down when we least expect it. Tracks4Africa (T4A) has teamed up with tracking company AfricanStuff to transform our Footsteps to Good Hope into a live-feed experience for the curious and concerned.

How does it all work? Johann Groenewald, co-founder of T4A, explains it all, “We give you a satellite tracking device to carry with you. The device is powered by AA batteries that will last up to six weeks. Every 10 minutes the device will send your position as a GPS coordinate to our servers via a satellite connection. This means that it will work even where no mobile reception is available.”

We will be issued with a link to a website that maps Jacobus' trip and clearly indicates his last known location. All we have to do, is share the link with everybody who is interested, and Bob’s your uncle.

“AfricanStuff provides the service and T4A integrates with their servers so your data can come straight to T4A and we can then display it on a web map,” says Johann.

Any other technical requirements? Nope! "The device is very robust and basic. You receive it via courier and you switch it on. For this you need a small screwdriver, but we supply that as well," says Johann.

Thanks so much, Tracks4Africa! This will certainly be one of the most important items in Jacobus' backpack!

For more info on T4A, visit their website: https://blog.tracks4africa.co.za/2017/06/

A picture is worth a thousand words

This is precisely what Jacobus’ idea was with the emblem he wanted to design for his epic hike “Footsteps to Good Hope”. Together with two of his artistic friends, Tiaan and Mariska, he set out to do just that – design something that will be splendid in its simplicity but still be able to convey a message of a thousand words.

  

In any emblem, apart from the visual pleasure it must give when we see the emblem’s images, the symbolic meaning of those images are paramount. After a few tries and a correction or two the emblem was sent off to Chrisna de Mooij who has her own graphic design business and was more than happy to be part of this campaign.

What an excellent job these young adults have done…

As said, the emblem must convey a message. Therefore the images and pictures were chosen with utmost care and keeping in mind that they should each be representative not only of one word, but of a complete idea.

Starting at the outer circle: the four wind directions represent the fact that the world in all directions is the creation of our Lord, no matter where you are or which direction you choose to go, you are in God’s creation! (Psalm 24:1)

The continuous loop of rope symbolizes the loving relationship between God and his creation. God’s people are bounded by his love (Hos. 11:4). A cord of three is not quickly torn apart, the Teacher in Ecclesiastes tells us (Eccl. 4:12). We cannot live in God’s creation and not respond to God’s grace in a grateful manner! But, being in Christ may mean that opposing forces will want to silence prophetic voices – that is to bind you with ropes (Ezek. 3:25).  

The Christian cross, signifies that salvation is possible through Christ only. Not only individual human beings, but all of creation will be liberated from its bondage and can look forward to the revelation of the children of God (Rom. 8). Christ’s work is cosmic in scope, as we know that through Him all things are reconciled to Himself (Col. 1:20). We are on our way to the day heaven will be coming down to earth and God’s dwelling place will be among his people (Rev. 21:1). We can have hope and faith in the renewed creation that is coming, where fallen humanity’s missteps and blunders, his thirst for power and his greed will be forever erased.

The two feet embody the physical steps Jacobus will have to make to cover 977km in 40 days. It symbolizes our fleshy, bodily existence as being part of a good creation. Figuratively, it signals the spiritual state we are in: Do we walk with God? The two feet invite an ethical reflection on how we conduct our life. How are we responding to God’s mandate to rule over (Gen. 1:26), to work in and to preserve creation (Gen. 2:15)? Do we look to Christ or think we can do it our own way?

The only words on our emblem are: “To Good Hope”. At first glance this is the place where this ambitious hike will, Lord willing, end: The Cape of Good Hope, a nature reserve where humans are responding to exploitation of creation by preserving parts of it for generations still to come. The physical presence of the Cape of Good Hope may already now be a reminder that Christian hope is anchored in Christ – a joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation and renewal. May this hope already start bearing rich fruit in this world!

Tygerberg 104 FM Interview

Kliek hier

To listen to the recording of Jacobus' interview on Tygerberg 104FM, click on the Afrikaans link "kliek hier". The recording will not run on Blogger, but will be saved as a file on your device. Listen to it at your own convenience. The interview is in Afrikaans unfortunately.

Thank you Lorrein Katzke, for the wonderfully enthusiastic way in which you handled the interview with Jacobus.  He sounded like a pro and he got the message going!

Footsteps to Good Hope...

You found us! This is the place where you will find and read running commentary on Jacobus' 977km hike called "Footsteps to Good Hope". 

We're still in the planning phase of this very exciting and unique project and hope to bring you your first good read on this blog very soon. Please bear with us, it will be totally worth it!

Meanwhile, see if you can find Jacobus' interview on Tuesday 15 August on Tygerberg 104 FM where he talked about his hike - what it means to him, why he is doing it and more details on the route as well as other logistics.

Let us leave you with a few pictures showing how Jacobus is training for this big walk, just to whet the appetite.