Coming home!
This morning we whipped to the airport to drop off my rental, then Aunty Sybil and I had our last breakfast together. She is an amazing woman of faith. She is a pastor's wife, the adoptive mother of one daughter, takes care of her grand daughter and she and Peter are trying to start a new soup kitchen type ministry where they provide ingredients for meals to a couple families in the community and they are expected to make the soup and share it with the community members. They actually do surprise visits to the families to make sure they are making the soups and giving it away. They have spunk!
Peter pastors a church in a poor colored township. He has been preaching in a shack for 13 years and just recently they have the walls and roof up of their new building. It really puts our capital campaigns to shame.
I am writing this from Durban, so we have 3 more legs to go, but as we are sitting here, Stu just noticed we may be delayed. There is some bad weather here, and earlier there were people saying that all flights in J-Berg were delayed so we'll hope and pray for the best. Our luggage has been checked all the way to Calgary this time, so our 2hour window in J-Berg has a little wiggle room.
Things to remember:
You're welcome = pleasure
That's too bad= shame
Runners = tekkies ( say tackies)
The 'Gecko' song
My luggage was too heavy, so I am lugging around two heavy carry-ons, and feeling frumpled, but I am on my way home!
See you soon!
Shalina
Thursday, 17 November 2011
Last two days in South Africa
Tuesday and Wednesday in Cape Town
Tuesday was the day we were saying goodbye to Jeff and Gary, but before that we went downtown to do yet more shopping! We started back at the Waterfront for breakfast at Spurs. Spurs is something akin to Denny's for food selection, but more like Planet Hollywood for franchise. This one had a spectacular view of the Waterfront and Table Mountain! After a quick breaky, we started walking the outdoor markets of downtown Cape Town.
Curtis actually gave me permission to buy some art here in Africa, and there were some interesting choices to be made. I think I had to rule about half of it out on the basis of cultural differences in modesty, but the others were very cool. The only problem was I never did find anything I loved. About 3/4 of the way through the day, I realized my problem is I fell in love with Scott's art. Scott was the finance officer/braii expert/safari guide/artist from the Seed of Hope. Jody agreed with me and she says she's going to see if we can't buy a print of his. I thought I would send him a pleading email explaining that he has ruined me from African art forever and the least he can do is let me buy a print. We'll see!
After a stop at a Mediterranean restaurant for THE BEST yogurt strawberry smoothies of all times, we said goodbye to Jeff and Gary. Stu took them to the airport and was coming back to meet us later. That left the Schwartz's, Aunty Sybil and I to continue wandering the markets.
After more browsing, we met up again with the group and we all went to Camps Bay. It's known as the sun setter's strip. It is a great ocean side town where the views of the sunset over the ocean are spectacular. We enjoyed putting our toes in the sand and the cold water of the Atlantic and then a great Italian meal while the sun went down. We were truly spoiled!
But all good things must come to an end. We said goodbye to the Schwartz's that evening. They really were wonderful hosts in Toti, even though they were tourists themselves!
That only left Stu and I out of our little group. I wanted to leave Stu alone with his brother for what time he had left so against everyone's better judgement, I had Aunty Sybil take me to the airport to rent a car Wednesday morning. Everyone seemed very nervous about me going out on my own, even though I promised to stick to the main roads but they weren't having any of it, so poor Leizle was coerced into coming with me, even though she wasn't feeling well. Aunty Sybil took Leizle and I out for breakfast in the vineyard area just outside of Cape Town. What a stunningly beautiful area! I can see why Leizle wants to have her wedding there! And after that, us two "young ones" were off to Cape Point.
Our afternoon consisted of a beautiful drive along the coast of the Atlantic to the Point where we got out of the car and hiked around for a few hours. We hiked up to the lighthouse on the Point, then we hiked down to the Cape of Good Hope. In between those two sites was a long rickety wooden staircase to Dias Beach. The sand was white, the surf was huge and I could have stayed there forever, but time was passing us by so we started the long climb back up the stairs.
Hiking around there really brought home the differences in safety precautions taken in South Africa versus in North America, where nobody is willing to take responsibility for their own well being. We were on some pretty serious cliffs with cracks near the edge that went all the way down. I was sitting their taking pictures of Leizle perched precariously on the edge when I realized there are no hand rails anywhere. No signs, no hand rails on the rickety, "boards missing" stairs and boardwalks. It was actually refreshing to know that not everywhere in the world do people think that others should be responsible for their own well-being. It's just a given that you will not walk off the edge of the cliff! Safety all around the places we had been in SA has been lax to say the least. It's kind of liberating to choose to sit in the seat with a seat belt or in the back hanging off the load in the truck. Or to walk right up to the edge of the cliff if I want to. Now that I am writing about it, I guess that is the kind of lawlessness that contributes to the crime and feelings of not being safe. It just reinforces the fact that clear and safe boundaries can make you safer, not oppressed!
I loved my day at the Point, and I survived. We drove our way back to Quinton's place where we again enjoyed, family, friends and really hot curry!
One more sleep 'til I get to go home!
Shalina
Tuesday was the day we were saying goodbye to Jeff and Gary, but before that we went downtown to do yet more shopping! We started back at the Waterfront for breakfast at Spurs. Spurs is something akin to Denny's for food selection, but more like Planet Hollywood for franchise. This one had a spectacular view of the Waterfront and Table Mountain! After a quick breaky, we started walking the outdoor markets of downtown Cape Town.
Curtis actually gave me permission to buy some art here in Africa, and there were some interesting choices to be made. I think I had to rule about half of it out on the basis of cultural differences in modesty, but the others were very cool. The only problem was I never did find anything I loved. About 3/4 of the way through the day, I realized my problem is I fell in love with Scott's art. Scott was the finance officer/braii expert/safari guide/artist from the Seed of Hope. Jody agreed with me and she says she's going to see if we can't buy a print of his. I thought I would send him a pleading email explaining that he has ruined me from African art forever and the least he can do is let me buy a print. We'll see!
After a stop at a Mediterranean restaurant for THE BEST yogurt strawberry smoothies of all times, we said goodbye to Jeff and Gary. Stu took them to the airport and was coming back to meet us later. That left the Schwartz's, Aunty Sybil and I to continue wandering the markets.
After more browsing, we met up again with the group and we all went to Camps Bay. It's known as the sun setter's strip. It is a great ocean side town where the views of the sunset over the ocean are spectacular. We enjoyed putting our toes in the sand and the cold water of the Atlantic and then a great Italian meal while the sun went down. We were truly spoiled!
But all good things must come to an end. We said goodbye to the Schwartz's that evening. They really were wonderful hosts in Toti, even though they were tourists themselves!
That only left Stu and I out of our little group. I wanted to leave Stu alone with his brother for what time he had left so against everyone's better judgement, I had Aunty Sybil take me to the airport to rent a car Wednesday morning. Everyone seemed very nervous about me going out on my own, even though I promised to stick to the main roads but they weren't having any of it, so poor Leizle was coerced into coming with me, even though she wasn't feeling well. Aunty Sybil took Leizle and I out for breakfast in the vineyard area just outside of Cape Town. What a stunningly beautiful area! I can see why Leizle wants to have her wedding there! And after that, us two "young ones" were off to Cape Point.
Our afternoon consisted of a beautiful drive along the coast of the Atlantic to the Point where we got out of the car and hiked around for a few hours. We hiked up to the lighthouse on the Point, then we hiked down to the Cape of Good Hope. In between those two sites was a long rickety wooden staircase to Dias Beach. The sand was white, the surf was huge and I could have stayed there forever, but time was passing us by so we started the long climb back up the stairs.
Hiking around there really brought home the differences in safety precautions taken in South Africa versus in North America, where nobody is willing to take responsibility for their own well being. We were on some pretty serious cliffs with cracks near the edge that went all the way down. I was sitting their taking pictures of Leizle perched precariously on the edge when I realized there are no hand rails anywhere. No signs, no hand rails on the rickety, "boards missing" stairs and boardwalks. It was actually refreshing to know that not everywhere in the world do people think that others should be responsible for their own well-being. It's just a given that you will not walk off the edge of the cliff! Safety all around the places we had been in SA has been lax to say the least. It's kind of liberating to choose to sit in the seat with a seat belt or in the back hanging off the load in the truck. Or to walk right up to the edge of the cliff if I want to. Now that I am writing about it, I guess that is the kind of lawlessness that contributes to the crime and feelings of not being safe. It just reinforces the fact that clear and safe boundaries can make you safer, not oppressed!
I loved my day at the Point, and I survived. We drove our way back to Quinton's place where we again enjoyed, family, friends and really hot curry!
One more sleep 'til I get to go home!
Shalina
Tuesday, 15 November 2011
Sunday and Monday in Cape Town
Cape Town
Hey all, it's been two days in Cape Town now and it really is beautiful here!
Sunday morning we went to Stu's brother's church, Sunnyside Church of the Nazarene. It had some funky worship with and Pastor Quinton on the sax. After church we drove to Port Hout for some fish and chips. It's about 45 mins from Cape Town. While we were eating we watched guys wading out to the Atlantic Ocean and throw some nets in the surf and pull out a net full of fish! Then they dumped them into containers and hauled them up to the piers. Now that's fresh seafood!
We wandered the little markets for a while and then went for a drive along the coast. We ended up in a liitle place called Simon's Town, a navy town. There is a little board walk to wander that leads you past a penguin sanctuary. We didn't see any penguins down by the boulders and beach, but we did see a whole bunch hiding in the bushes along the boardwalk! There were some vendors along the walk as well.
As the sun was setting, we made our way to where the Schwartz's were staying and had a little pizza party! Then Peter and Sybil drove me back to their place. Little Reese was staying up to say good night!
I gave a call home for a quick hello since I don't have an Internet connection, and found out that Annika had had a bit of an accident. She should be okay, but Curtis has been pretty sick and has been having a rough time at home. I actually tried to change my ticket when we flew in to Cape Town so I could get home earlier, but I couldn't do it without actually repurchasing new tickets so I guess we will just have to wait for Friday.
We were up and going for 8 Monday morning. Stu and I stopped by his old high school for a stroll down his memory lane. There were 3 teachers he remembered that were still working there. That's pretty impressive for it being 20 years later!
We went by Quinton's place and picked up Gary, Jeff and Quinton and we were off to meet the Scwartz's at the Waterfront. There were lots more markets here and lots of haggling and interesting things to look at. We grabbed a quick bite and headed over for our Robben Island tour.
Robin Island is where Nelson Mandella was imprisoned. It was an interesting tour, but unfortunately our tour guide was tough to understand and we were quite rushed through. Although I learned some new history I would have liked to have spent more time in some areas. The ferry rides there and back were a little choppy for some of our little group! We had decided earlier that if the weather was at all favorable, we would head up Table Mountain. Well this afternoon was the time. We got to the bottom of the Gondola at around 5. It turned out perfectly! The ride up was quick, lots of ear popping. The Gondola cars are round and have room for 65 people. The floors in the Gondolas actually spin slowly so that you get a full 720 degree view as you go up. The views from the top were indescribable. Table Mountain has just been named one of the world's new 7 natural wonders of the world for good reason.
The horizon out over the ocean looked like we were looking out from outer space. The clouds, ocean and sky all converged at the horizon and it was stunning! Then on the other side of the peak, you can see all of Cape Town and the surrounding communities. While we were up there, the clouds started to build up on the one side of the mountain range and spill over the edge, looking like a waterfall of clouds over the top of the mountain. The effect is called the table cloth, very fitting. On top of watching that, we caught the sunset over the ocean. What a beautiful day!
We made it back to Peter and Celeste's place for 8 where all of the family friends came over for some curry and a visit with Stu. It was a great gathering. And it confirmed my low tolerance to spice since the mildest curry made me suck back a lot of cucumber slices to save my burning mouth!
Peter and Sybil drove me home early and we left Stu at the party. I'm not sure what we are doing tomorrow, but I'm sure it will be stunning.
Until next time!
Shalina
Hey all, it's been two days in Cape Town now and it really is beautiful here!
Sunday morning we went to Stu's brother's church, Sunnyside Church of the Nazarene. It had some funky worship with and Pastor Quinton on the sax. After church we drove to Port Hout for some fish and chips. It's about 45 mins from Cape Town. While we were eating we watched guys wading out to the Atlantic Ocean and throw some nets in the surf and pull out a net full of fish! Then they dumped them into containers and hauled them up to the piers. Now that's fresh seafood!
We wandered the little markets for a while and then went for a drive along the coast. We ended up in a liitle place called Simon's Town, a navy town. There is a little board walk to wander that leads you past a penguin sanctuary. We didn't see any penguins down by the boulders and beach, but we did see a whole bunch hiding in the bushes along the boardwalk! There were some vendors along the walk as well.
As the sun was setting, we made our way to where the Schwartz's were staying and had a little pizza party! Then Peter and Sybil drove me back to their place. Little Reese was staying up to say good night!
I gave a call home for a quick hello since I don't have an Internet connection, and found out that Annika had had a bit of an accident. She should be okay, but Curtis has been pretty sick and has been having a rough time at home. I actually tried to change my ticket when we flew in to Cape Town so I could get home earlier, but I couldn't do it without actually repurchasing new tickets so I guess we will just have to wait for Friday.
We were up and going for 8 Monday morning. Stu and I stopped by his old high school for a stroll down his memory lane. There were 3 teachers he remembered that were still working there. That's pretty impressive for it being 20 years later!
We went by Quinton's place and picked up Gary, Jeff and Quinton and we were off to meet the Scwartz's at the Waterfront. There were lots more markets here and lots of haggling and interesting things to look at. We grabbed a quick bite and headed over for our Robben Island tour.
Robin Island is where Nelson Mandella was imprisoned. It was an interesting tour, but unfortunately our tour guide was tough to understand and we were quite rushed through. Although I learned some new history I would have liked to have spent more time in some areas. The ferry rides there and back were a little choppy for some of our little group! We had decided earlier that if the weather was at all favorable, we would head up Table Mountain. Well this afternoon was the time. We got to the bottom of the Gondola at around 5. It turned out perfectly! The ride up was quick, lots of ear popping. The Gondola cars are round and have room for 65 people. The floors in the Gondolas actually spin slowly so that you get a full 720 degree view as you go up. The views from the top were indescribable. Table Mountain has just been named one of the world's new 7 natural wonders of the world for good reason.
The horizon out over the ocean looked like we were looking out from outer space. The clouds, ocean and sky all converged at the horizon and it was stunning! Then on the other side of the peak, you can see all of Cape Town and the surrounding communities. While we were up there, the clouds started to build up on the one side of the mountain range and spill over the edge, looking like a waterfall of clouds over the top of the mountain. The effect is called the table cloth, very fitting. On top of watching that, we caught the sunset over the ocean. What a beautiful day!
We made it back to Peter and Celeste's place for 8 where all of the family friends came over for some curry and a visit with Stu. It was a great gathering. And it confirmed my low tolerance to spice since the mildest curry made me suck back a lot of cucumber slices to save my burning mouth!
Peter and Sybil drove me home early and we left Stu at the party. I'm not sure what we are doing tomorrow, but I'm sure it will be stunning.
Until next time!
Shalina
Cape Town here we come
Capetown Here we come!
This morning was my last morning on the beach. I am very sad to be leaving it. I did my reading and played in the surf for a while and then sat on the sand for a while watching the waves come in. There really is something therapeutic about the ocean, and I will miss it. I can't help but imagine Annika here on the beach playing keep away with the waves.
I met Dan from the Seed on the beach walking his dog and it just felt nice and homey meeting a friend on the becah!
I borrowed the Schwartz vehicle to go pick up the last of our laundry. There are no laundry machines in the flats, but the laundromat will wash and fold your laundry and they charge by weight. I think it turns out to about 6 dollars a load.
By 11 we were packing ourselves into the Schwartz's car and Dan's car and heading to the airport. Good-bye Amanzimtoti!
The flight was good, we had the exit row with lots of leg room. Stu's family met us at the airport. His brother Quinton and sister-in-law Celeste as well as his dear friends Peter and Sybil. We all went back to Peter and Sybil's place for supper and chatting. Then we split up into groups for sleeping arrangements. The Schwartz's are staying about 20 mins away at someone's holiday place. Gary and Jeff are staying at Stu's brother's place and Stu and I are staying at Peter's. Peter's daughter and granddaughter, Reese, live with them, and I get to stay in Reese's room. She is turning 8 next week, and her room looks so lovely. I am very proud to get to stay in her room. She will be sharing her room with her mom while I am here. They have been so kind to all of us already!
Both Stu's brother Quinton and Peter are also Nazarene pastors so there was quite some debate over which church we would be attending in the morning and who would be speaking at which church. I guess we'll see how that plays out in the morning. There seems to be a precedent of spontaneous invitations to pull visiting pastors from the pews and having them speak!
Shalina
This morning was my last morning on the beach. I am very sad to be leaving it. I did my reading and played in the surf for a while and then sat on the sand for a while watching the waves come in. There really is something therapeutic about the ocean, and I will miss it. I can't help but imagine Annika here on the beach playing keep away with the waves.
I met Dan from the Seed on the beach walking his dog and it just felt nice and homey meeting a friend on the becah!
I borrowed the Schwartz vehicle to go pick up the last of our laundry. There are no laundry machines in the flats, but the laundromat will wash and fold your laundry and they charge by weight. I think it turns out to about 6 dollars a load.
By 11 we were packing ourselves into the Schwartz's car and Dan's car and heading to the airport. Good-bye Amanzimtoti!
The flight was good, we had the exit row with lots of leg room. Stu's family met us at the airport. His brother Quinton and sister-in-law Celeste as well as his dear friends Peter and Sybil. We all went back to Peter and Sybil's place for supper and chatting. Then we split up into groups for sleeping arrangements. The Schwartz's are staying about 20 mins away at someone's holiday place. Gary and Jeff are staying at Stu's brother's place and Stu and I are staying at Peter's. Peter's daughter and granddaughter, Reese, live with them, and I get to stay in Reese's room. She is turning 8 next week, and her room looks so lovely. I am very proud to get to stay in her room. She will be sharing her room with her mom while I am here. They have been so kind to all of us already!
Both Stu's brother Quinton and Peter are also Nazarene pastors so there was quite some debate over which church we would be attending in the morning and who would be speaking at which church. I guess we'll see how that plays out in the morning. There seems to be a precedent of spontaneous invitations to pull visiting pastors from the pews and having them speak!
Shalina
Friday, 11 November 2011
Last day at The Seed
Last day at The Seed
I can't believe it's over. I have this terrible torn feeling between leaving this place of amazing ministry, and moving on towards getting home. I cried a lot today .
This morning's prayer time was filled with praise for all the time spent here, and prayer requests for the team. We are going to need to process a lot of information in the weeks to come, and then figure out how God intends to use this new information.
Dan took some time to debrief us this morning. He asked about our highs and lows. My lowest point was probably the first Tuesday. I was completely stripped of my comforts, schedules, routines, tasks, relationships and cultures at that point. I knew that back home Cole, Grandma and Curtis were all sick and it was rough for them. I was questioning the point of this trip. I was uncomfortable and homesick. But I think the reason I was in that position was because it was important for me to know how much I need Curtis and the kids, to realize just how much I love them. But I was also supposed to see that I could rely on God. When everything else is taken away, He will meet me where I am and comfort and guide me. I learned a lot these past weeks and I couldn't have done that in a familiar setting.
My highs were corporate worship and prayer. We were able to pray and sing together as a group every day we were here. The Zulu ladies all have magnificent voices and don't need any instruments to sing some very lovely songs. And praying together as a group is really powerful. My favorite was the evening we spent at Dan and Kerry's singing together after that great meal.
When I worship or pray at home, I often feel 'good' or 'moved' and I mostly attributed it to the way things were phrased, or the music was good. Here, I remember the first few days feeling my spirit being moved, and it couldn't have been from those other things because I didn't even understand the words being sung and prayed. It wasn't my mind or my emotions being affected, but my spirit. It was a lovely revelation for me.
We took Dan for lunch today and just chatted with him. He's a really good guy with a real heart for the things being done here. He is really trying to follow God's will for his life and it shows.
After lunch, the staff came together to say good bye and thank you. We were all together for some great worship and some dance songs, then prayer, and they said a blessing over us. Then we ate cake! We had our last Simunaye time with the kids and we gave out all the Canadian stickers Matt and Kerri Lynne gave me to bring. We took lots of pictures and I had a sad time of more good byes.
It's hard to say good bye here. I just can't imagine that I won't be back here at some time. Sorry Curtis, but this might not be the last trip to South Africa our family participates in!
We leave for Capetown in the morning. Gary and Jeff leave at a ridiculous time in the morning but we won't leave until 11. They will rent a car and explore on their own for the day, then the Schwartz's and Stu and I will arrive later. I'm not sure about internet connections, and how interesting the blogs will be past this point, but I'll post if I get a chance. Capetown is supposed to be beautiful!
PS if you want to see some pics of the safari, the Schwartz's blog has some up. Their blog is www.schwartz5onsabbatical.blogspot.com I think!
Shalina
I can't believe it's over. I have this terrible torn feeling between leaving this place of amazing ministry, and moving on towards getting home. I cried a lot today .
This morning's prayer time was filled with praise for all the time spent here, and prayer requests for the team. We are going to need to process a lot of information in the weeks to come, and then figure out how God intends to use this new information.
Dan took some time to debrief us this morning. He asked about our highs and lows. My lowest point was probably the first Tuesday. I was completely stripped of my comforts, schedules, routines, tasks, relationships and cultures at that point. I knew that back home Cole, Grandma and Curtis were all sick and it was rough for them. I was questioning the point of this trip. I was uncomfortable and homesick. But I think the reason I was in that position was because it was important for me to know how much I need Curtis and the kids, to realize just how much I love them. But I was also supposed to see that I could rely on God. When everything else is taken away, He will meet me where I am and comfort and guide me. I learned a lot these past weeks and I couldn't have done that in a familiar setting.
My highs were corporate worship and prayer. We were able to pray and sing together as a group every day we were here. The Zulu ladies all have magnificent voices and don't need any instruments to sing some very lovely songs. And praying together as a group is really powerful. My favorite was the evening we spent at Dan and Kerry's singing together after that great meal.
When I worship or pray at home, I often feel 'good' or 'moved' and I mostly attributed it to the way things were phrased, or the music was good. Here, I remember the first few days feeling my spirit being moved, and it couldn't have been from those other things because I didn't even understand the words being sung and prayed. It wasn't my mind or my emotions being affected, but my spirit. It was a lovely revelation for me.
We took Dan for lunch today and just chatted with him. He's a really good guy with a real heart for the things being done here. He is really trying to follow God's will for his life and it shows.
After lunch, the staff came together to say good bye and thank you. We were all together for some great worship and some dance songs, then prayer, and they said a blessing over us. Then we ate cake! We had our last Simunaye time with the kids and we gave out all the Canadian stickers Matt and Kerri Lynne gave me to bring. We took lots of pictures and I had a sad time of more good byes.
It's hard to say good bye here. I just can't imagine that I won't be back here at some time. Sorry Curtis, but this might not be the last trip to South Africa our family participates in!
We leave for Capetown in the morning. Gary and Jeff leave at a ridiculous time in the morning but we won't leave until 11. They will rent a car and explore on their own for the day, then the Schwartz's and Stu and I will arrive later. I'm not sure about internet connections, and how interesting the blogs will be past this point, but I'll post if I get a chance. Capetown is supposed to be beautiful!
PS if you want to see some pics of the safari, the Schwartz's blog has some up. Their blog is www.schwartz5onsabbatical.blogspot.com I think!
Shalina
Thursday at The Seed
Thursday at The Seed
I can't believe our last day at The Seed is tomorrow!
It turned out to be quite misty today. Not really rain, but like being in a cloud without the cold and the visibility issues. We had a goal for the day. It was to plant another garden, this time on the new Oasis church property. So Gary, Dan and I set out in the mist, hoping it would clear up for us.
Dan had plotted the corner pegs for the garden out earlier that year, when he had covered the ground with 'God's blanket' or mulch, but they had been taken. So we started from scratch. We laid out the 6 x 6 meter perimeter and then went down each row hoeing out each little planting station. The difference in the soil under the blanket Dan had put down earlier versus the ground that had been left open was striking. There was nice moist, dark soil under there! We finished all 99 stations and were just starting to scoop some compost in each one when started to really rain, so we had to pack it in. We were pretty wet but luckily I had a change of cloths with me, sadly the boys did not.
Today was the day we were buying pizza for the staff for lunch so Stu and Gary went to pick up the pizza's while Scott showed us his art. Scott is the finance officer here, and he was also our guide on the safari trip. His art is amazing. He does a lot of portraits and he can capture the character of a person so well. It's an amazing mix of talents he has!
After lunch we went back out to the garden to finish up. We had Adam and Jeremy with us now and their job was to gather bags and bags of mulch to cover the garden once we finished planting. The adults finished up by scooping compost, then a small amount of organic fertilizer in each planting station. Then covered that with soil leaving it 5cm from the top. Then planting 3 seeds in each station and backfilling everything until the garden was smooth and level again. Then we went down to the trees where the boys were to help gather all the decomposing leaves to use for ground cover. There were some crazy bugs in there, but luckily no snakes. I don't think I could have handled snakes! We did have to fight off cows though. Once the garden was covered, we were finished and we headed back to The Seed.
The rest of the team had been shopping for the supplies to make 150 goodie bags for the kids big Christmas party coming up in early December. And they had finished putting them all together and they looked great!
We came home for much needed showers and some supper. Then we went out to find a local open air market that happens on Thursdays. The weather was pretty bad so there weren't many good vendors out. But we decided to go 10 pin bowling and it was a blast. We did the kids plus Jeff and Stu versus the rest of the adults and of course the adults won. Jody had a most impressive finish, she need 29 to make 100 and she finished the last frame with 2 sticks and she got 9 pins on her last ball giving her the 100 she was aiming for! We have a bowling queen in the making!
I'm noticing now that I don't hear the surf as much as before. It was deafening before, and even when we were at the game reserve there was a lot of noise in the night. I think I will be happy to get home to some quite. I will definitely miss my mornings on the beach though. Everyone should have the privilege of starting the day that way for a few days of their life.
Some interesting differences in language: bandages are plasters, and lights at intersections are called robots.
Have a great day!
Shalina
I can't believe our last day at The Seed is tomorrow!
It turned out to be quite misty today. Not really rain, but like being in a cloud without the cold and the visibility issues. We had a goal for the day. It was to plant another garden, this time on the new Oasis church property. So Gary, Dan and I set out in the mist, hoping it would clear up for us.
Dan had plotted the corner pegs for the garden out earlier that year, when he had covered the ground with 'God's blanket' or mulch, but they had been taken. So we started from scratch. We laid out the 6 x 6 meter perimeter and then went down each row hoeing out each little planting station. The difference in the soil under the blanket Dan had put down earlier versus the ground that had been left open was striking. There was nice moist, dark soil under there! We finished all 99 stations and were just starting to scoop some compost in each one when started to really rain, so we had to pack it in. We were pretty wet but luckily I had a change of cloths with me, sadly the boys did not.
Today was the day we were buying pizza for the staff for lunch so Stu and Gary went to pick up the pizza's while Scott showed us his art. Scott is the finance officer here, and he was also our guide on the safari trip. His art is amazing. He does a lot of portraits and he can capture the character of a person so well. It's an amazing mix of talents he has!
After lunch we went back out to the garden to finish up. We had Adam and Jeremy with us now and their job was to gather bags and bags of mulch to cover the garden once we finished planting. The adults finished up by scooping compost, then a small amount of organic fertilizer in each planting station. Then covered that with soil leaving it 5cm from the top. Then planting 3 seeds in each station and backfilling everything until the garden was smooth and level again. Then we went down to the trees where the boys were to help gather all the decomposing leaves to use for ground cover. There were some crazy bugs in there, but luckily no snakes. I don't think I could have handled snakes! We did have to fight off cows though. Once the garden was covered, we were finished and we headed back to The Seed.
The rest of the team had been shopping for the supplies to make 150 goodie bags for the kids big Christmas party coming up in early December. And they had finished putting them all together and they looked great!
We came home for much needed showers and some supper. Then we went out to find a local open air market that happens on Thursdays. The weather was pretty bad so there weren't many good vendors out. But we decided to go 10 pin bowling and it was a blast. We did the kids plus Jeff and Stu versus the rest of the adults and of course the adults won. Jody had a most impressive finish, she need 29 to make 100 and she finished the last frame with 2 sticks and she got 9 pins on her last ball giving her the 100 she was aiming for! We have a bowling queen in the making!
I'm noticing now that I don't hear the surf as much as before. It was deafening before, and even when we were at the game reserve there was a lot of noise in the night. I think I will be happy to get home to some quite. I will definitely miss my mornings on the beach though. Everyone should have the privilege of starting the day that way for a few days of their life.
Some interesting differences in language: bandages are plasters, and lights at intersections are called robots.
Have a great day!
Shalina
Thursday, 10 November 2011
Wednesday at The Seed
Wednesday at The Seed
The first thing I need to do is make a correction to Monday's blog. Whenever you saw the word 'mess' it was supposed to be 'meds'. Auto correct can be a tricky thing and I hate proof reading. There was an unfortunate sentence where you may have read about Kaisa 'flinging his mess' but it was' Kaisa taking his meds'. It's been corrected now.
Wednesday Was a full day at the Seed. We had some down time in the morning and I went in had a chat with one of the workers, Gloria. She has a very difficult ministry here, she runs the food and clothing hamper program. The Seed has limited resources for buying food and their mandate is not to supply food to everyone who comes in and asks. The Seed will supply food to people in crisis but not to people who should be able to provide for themselves. If you can imagine being the person in charge of making those decisions and the difficulty in having to turn people away in tough love!
Gloria is an amazing Zulu woman though. Her parents were Christians, and she accepted the Lord for herself as a teenager. She has lived in this community her whole life and so is a great resource for the Seed. I asked her about making the tough decisions and she said it could be very tough, but The Seed has pretty defined criteria for her to follow which helps. She first asks about who is living in the house and if anyone is working or getting grants ( equate it to our various Social Services). Then she talks about how many children are in the home. Usually she knows of the family and has a pretty good sense right off the bat of whether they are telling the truth or not. For the times she doesn't know the people, she will go out and talk to the neighbors or schools to get a sense of the situation. She is very dedicated to following God and making the right decisions each time.
She told me about a couple of situations where someone comes in who is not sick or old, but hasn't been able to get work, when they come in and are hungry and ask for food, it is really tough to turn them away but she has to. There are also times when a family doesn't meet criteria, but she senses the need is great and she will prepare a hamper for them once and then makes it very clear to them that they won't be able to come back for more food unless they meet the criteria. Then there are families who they give food to each month to supplement what they get themselves. There is one Gogo (grandma) who has had 3 of her 5 girls die leaving behind 15 grandchildren for her to take care of. One grandma taking in 15 little ones! There are 'Foster' grants for when you take in orphans but it is still a pretty small amount. Then Gloria said her other 2 daughters and their children are living in the same little house! There are some amazing stories here!
The Seed of Hope's sewing ministry makes things geared towards the North American market and when people travel back and forth they bring the items to sell. They are trying out a new pattern for a yoga style pant and one of the ladies, Belinda is making me a pair. So I tried them on yesterday and they fit really well, she really did a great job! It turned out that Kerry and Ernestina were going to Belinda's house so I was invited to go with them. We were taking some food with us. Along the way I found out her father had passed away a couple of weeks ago, and she had just gotten back from being at the funeral. So we were going over to give our condolences. We parked on the side of one of the roads and walked down into the area carrying the food. We came to her place and it was a square mud building of two rooms. The yard was small and neat and there was a tiny garden beside the house. We went in and I think she knew we were coming because there was nothing in the first little room except some really nice furniture. It seemed a little too nice. Judging from the outside of the house, the other room would have been too small to have beds in it, and she lives there with her husband and her 2 children. I really hope she did not borrow, or worse, pay for that furniture just for our visit. You could tell she was uncomfortable and shy about us being there.
(As a side, since I wrote this I asked Kerry about the furniture and she said it is Belinda's furniture, maybe a wedding present. In Zulu culture, it is a huge priority to have a conversation area. It is bad manners to come into a home and not sit down right away. It represents your intentions to stay and visit and invest time in their lives.)
We chatted for a little bit with her and her husband Isaac. For every question we asked there seemed to be a need, but I would never have known about it from seeing her at the Seed. I have noticed that's another cultural thing here. In Canada, we are much quicker to try to bring attention to our problems. We are quicker at playing the woe is me card. Here they are on the far side of the spectrum in that you would not know of an imminent need unless you pressed them. There should be a healthy middle somewhere.
An example of not telling about problems is a worker at the Seed whose son is in real danger of being killed by a gang, to the point where the community has stopped talking to him because he is considered dead already. She is afraid to even sleep in her home. But it took Kerry, her mentor, a week to get it out of her even though she had known something was up.
Belinda's prayer requests included work for Isaac and herself. She has saved up enough to buy a sewing machine so she can do repairs and sewing for people in her community for some money, but they don't have electricity to their home. They ordered and paid for it in May, but they are still waiting for the workers to come out. Kerry asked if she had called the electric company to follow up, and they didn't realize they could even do that. So we are praying for electricity. We are praying for her mother who is alone and sick now far away from here. The rainy seasons are coming in the next weeks and she doesn't have plaster on her home yet, which means the rain will just dissolve the walls. Also there is flooding in her home when it rains. They are near the bottom of a ravine and I think the water table is high because she was saying the water comes up out of the ground into the home. Kerry took a look at the garden there, and there is a big difference between that garden, and the gardens growing at The Seed. The biggest difference I can see is that the earth is just open to the elements. Without the mulch covering the ground it dries it out and won't hold the moisture. Kerry tried to explain it again but I don't know if they will do it. Here it is more common that people will tell you what they think you want to hear than the actual truth.
We went out for more home visits with the medical team as well. We took a food parcel to Kaisa, the man I met on Monday. He had been to the welfare centre on Tuesday to try to apply for help. The ladies are really happy to see him up and walking around. When I see him walk it looks painful, but she says he walks 10 kms to the hospital, amazing! If only he would take his meds on time.
Then we went to visit a young lady named Pell who is HIV positive and has had TB for a few months. She is in a small tin hut with room for 2 double beds where she is living with her mom and sister. She is not responding well to the drugs and is not getting better. They dressed her and we went in for a visit. She slowly got down on her knees and we prayed for her. Her mom was crying and we stayed and talked for a while with her as well until she calmed down again, it would be a very hard thing to see your child so sick, no matter how old they were.
The last lady we went and saw was hard for me. She was so ill. She was an old Gogo who was so tiny under her blankets. She was living in a modest home where she had 2 other Gogo's taking care of her. She was well cared for, clean and they made sure to keep moving her so she didn't get any sores. But she was near death. She was breathing so quickly and so shallowly I didn't think she was getting any breath. This was the first time the medical team had met her and she had never been tested for HIV so they tested her. When they pricked her finger there was no reaction from her, and they had to prick her twice to get enough blood for the test. She tested negative so the teams suspects she is dying of old age. She is surrounded with her pictures of her family and she is well cared for. She did perk up when we gathered around her and prayed for her. She is a Christian.
We took one of the workers, Musa, to lunch. He is a young Zulu man who has been to university and through his church came and started volunteering. They did some spiritual gift testing and he scored very high in teaching and administrative skills. Within three months they gave him a paid position and he is the receptionist and he teaches the middle primary classes in the after school program. He teaches life skills like money, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV information, hygiene, ethics etc. Last year, the leader at the Seed encouraged him to take his curriculum out to the schools and he now teaches 8 classes in 2 different schools. It really is good to see some of the Zulu men taking a leadership position. The young boys really need good solid role models because sadly, traditional Zulu culture has not produced many solid men. He has also started a soccer club in his township where the kids learn soccer and life skills.
That's enough for one day I think!
The first thing I need to do is make a correction to Monday's blog. Whenever you saw the word 'mess' it was supposed to be 'meds'. Auto correct can be a tricky thing and I hate proof reading. There was an unfortunate sentence where you may have read about Kaisa 'flinging his mess' but it was' Kaisa taking his meds'. It's been corrected now.
Wednesday Was a full day at the Seed. We had some down time in the morning and I went in had a chat with one of the workers, Gloria. She has a very difficult ministry here, she runs the food and clothing hamper program. The Seed has limited resources for buying food and their mandate is not to supply food to everyone who comes in and asks. The Seed will supply food to people in crisis but not to people who should be able to provide for themselves. If you can imagine being the person in charge of making those decisions and the difficulty in having to turn people away in tough love!
Gloria is an amazing Zulu woman though. Her parents were Christians, and she accepted the Lord for herself as a teenager. She has lived in this community her whole life and so is a great resource for the Seed. I asked her about making the tough decisions and she said it could be very tough, but The Seed has pretty defined criteria for her to follow which helps. She first asks about who is living in the house and if anyone is working or getting grants ( equate it to our various Social Services). Then she talks about how many children are in the home. Usually she knows of the family and has a pretty good sense right off the bat of whether they are telling the truth or not. For the times she doesn't know the people, she will go out and talk to the neighbors or schools to get a sense of the situation. She is very dedicated to following God and making the right decisions each time.
She told me about a couple of situations where someone comes in who is not sick or old, but hasn't been able to get work, when they come in and are hungry and ask for food, it is really tough to turn them away but she has to. There are also times when a family doesn't meet criteria, but she senses the need is great and she will prepare a hamper for them once and then makes it very clear to them that they won't be able to come back for more food unless they meet the criteria. Then there are families who they give food to each month to supplement what they get themselves. There is one Gogo (grandma) who has had 3 of her 5 girls die leaving behind 15 grandchildren for her to take care of. One grandma taking in 15 little ones! There are 'Foster' grants for when you take in orphans but it is still a pretty small amount. Then Gloria said her other 2 daughters and their children are living in the same little house! There are some amazing stories here!
The Seed of Hope's sewing ministry makes things geared towards the North American market and when people travel back and forth they bring the items to sell. They are trying out a new pattern for a yoga style pant and one of the ladies, Belinda is making me a pair. So I tried them on yesterday and they fit really well, she really did a great job! It turned out that Kerry and Ernestina were going to Belinda's house so I was invited to go with them. We were taking some food with us. Along the way I found out her father had passed away a couple of weeks ago, and she had just gotten back from being at the funeral. So we were going over to give our condolences. We parked on the side of one of the roads and walked down into the area carrying the food. We came to her place and it was a square mud building of two rooms. The yard was small and neat and there was a tiny garden beside the house. We went in and I think she knew we were coming because there was nothing in the first little room except some really nice furniture. It seemed a little too nice. Judging from the outside of the house, the other room would have been too small to have beds in it, and she lives there with her husband and her 2 children. I really hope she did not borrow, or worse, pay for that furniture just for our visit. You could tell she was uncomfortable and shy about us being there.
(As a side, since I wrote this I asked Kerry about the furniture and she said it is Belinda's furniture, maybe a wedding present. In Zulu culture, it is a huge priority to have a conversation area. It is bad manners to come into a home and not sit down right away. It represents your intentions to stay and visit and invest time in their lives.)
We chatted for a little bit with her and her husband Isaac. For every question we asked there seemed to be a need, but I would never have known about it from seeing her at the Seed. I have noticed that's another cultural thing here. In Canada, we are much quicker to try to bring attention to our problems. We are quicker at playing the woe is me card. Here they are on the far side of the spectrum in that you would not know of an imminent need unless you pressed them. There should be a healthy middle somewhere.
An example of not telling about problems is a worker at the Seed whose son is in real danger of being killed by a gang, to the point where the community has stopped talking to him because he is considered dead already. She is afraid to even sleep in her home. But it took Kerry, her mentor, a week to get it out of her even though she had known something was up.
Belinda's prayer requests included work for Isaac and herself. She has saved up enough to buy a sewing machine so she can do repairs and sewing for people in her community for some money, but they don't have electricity to their home. They ordered and paid for it in May, but they are still waiting for the workers to come out. Kerry asked if she had called the electric company to follow up, and they didn't realize they could even do that. So we are praying for electricity. We are praying for her mother who is alone and sick now far away from here. The rainy seasons are coming in the next weeks and she doesn't have plaster on her home yet, which means the rain will just dissolve the walls. Also there is flooding in her home when it rains. They are near the bottom of a ravine and I think the water table is high because she was saying the water comes up out of the ground into the home. Kerry took a look at the garden there, and there is a big difference between that garden, and the gardens growing at The Seed. The biggest difference I can see is that the earth is just open to the elements. Without the mulch covering the ground it dries it out and won't hold the moisture. Kerry tried to explain it again but I don't know if they will do it. Here it is more common that people will tell you what they think you want to hear than the actual truth.
We went out for more home visits with the medical team as well. We took a food parcel to Kaisa, the man I met on Monday. He had been to the welfare centre on Tuesday to try to apply for help. The ladies are really happy to see him up and walking around. When I see him walk it looks painful, but she says he walks 10 kms to the hospital, amazing! If only he would take his meds on time.
Then we went to visit a young lady named Pell who is HIV positive and has had TB for a few months. She is in a small tin hut with room for 2 double beds where she is living with her mom and sister. She is not responding well to the drugs and is not getting better. They dressed her and we went in for a visit. She slowly got down on her knees and we prayed for her. Her mom was crying and we stayed and talked for a while with her as well until she calmed down again, it would be a very hard thing to see your child so sick, no matter how old they were.
The last lady we went and saw was hard for me. She was so ill. She was an old Gogo who was so tiny under her blankets. She was living in a modest home where she had 2 other Gogo's taking care of her. She was well cared for, clean and they made sure to keep moving her so she didn't get any sores. But she was near death. She was breathing so quickly and so shallowly I didn't think she was getting any breath. This was the first time the medical team had met her and she had never been tested for HIV so they tested her. When they pricked her finger there was no reaction from her, and they had to prick her twice to get enough blood for the test. She tested negative so the teams suspects she is dying of old age. She is surrounded with her pictures of her family and she is well cared for. She did perk up when we gathered around her and prayed for her. She is a Christian.
We took one of the workers, Musa, to lunch. He is a young Zulu man who has been to university and through his church came and started volunteering. They did some spiritual gift testing and he scored very high in teaching and administrative skills. Within three months they gave him a paid position and he is the receptionist and he teaches the middle primary classes in the after school program. He teaches life skills like money, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV information, hygiene, ethics etc. Last year, the leader at the Seed encouraged him to take his curriculum out to the schools and he now teaches 8 classes in 2 different schools. It really is good to see some of the Zulu men taking a leadership position. The young boys really need good solid role models because sadly, traditional Zulu culture has not produced many solid men. He has also started a soccer club in his township where the kids learn soccer and life skills.
That's enough for one day I think!
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