Today, we had a half day at the Seed of Hope because they know that we were pretty jet lagged. We learned about the Centre and all the things they do for the community. We learned about their Farming God's way program where they are learning about sustainable agriculture along with biblical foundations. They have a sewing program, and HIV/AIDS testing and group sessions, and children's programs for after school. It's really great what they do here. I am pretty blown away!
For the afternoon Gary and I took the car and went exploring after many warnings about being safe we took off. So Gary first learned how to drive on the opposite side of the road and the manual stick is also on the other side. He did really well though. It is an amazing country of beautiful country and ocean views. We drove South on the main highway and turned off to see Crocworld, but we had missed the last feeding by a half hour. So we pulled out and decided to take the coastal road back. We saw a couple of ladies on the side of the road pointing down with their pointer finger and that means they want a ride, so we picked them up. They spoke broken English but it was great to chat with them. She said she was born her and she will die here because she is afraid of the Aeorplandes. It was great!
We drove up North into Durban next and we hit rush hour. It took us 20 minutes to go one block, but we were entertained the whole time. There were officially 4 lanes but we were definitely driving in 6 lanes! and they were all grid locked. There were these van taxis that people just climbed in and out of anywhere and they were constantly beeping for more people even though they were full. They blasted out music, it was loud from the outside! Then there were all the street venders and it was wonderful chaos!
We made it through downtown to the coast and it was a beautiful beach. There were tons of surfers out and lots of piers and walk ways. We drove past the stadiums (huge!!!). Then we went back. We saw everything from shacks to million dollar homes in the space of a couple of hours. It is truly a beautiful place with beautiful people.
We then did dinner with the Schwartz's tonight and it's been a great day!
Later!
Mom/Shalina
Monday, 31 October 2011
Sunday, 30 October 2011
Monday morning
Good morning all!
I see that it is 10:30 at night as I write this to you but it's Monday morning here! I stayed up until about 8 on Sunday night. Every time I sat down for more than a minute, I started to go blank and dose so I gave up and went to bed. I woke up several times thinking there must be a horrible storm going on, but when I looked there wasn't any wind at all, it was only the surf hitting the beach! It will take a bit to get used to the constant noise while I sleep but I wouldn't get rid of it for all the world! I woke up for good about 4:45. It was getting light so I went out and started at the ocean from our balcony for a while, read the bible for a bit. I was reading about the unity of the body and thinking just how that fit so well with being in a strange place but that I am still a part of the same body, as are all the believers here and it didn't feel like I was all that far from home.
Everyone keeps saying that we shouldn't go down to the beach alone so this morning I was antsy to get down there, the water was calling me! Last night we had gone down the water, and I put my toes in the Indian Ocean for the first time! So this morning I was so anxious to get down there, but thought I shouldn't until someone else was up. Cole, now I know what you feel like waiting each morning for someone to get up!!!! So when Stu got up, I pounced on him and he said he would keep an eye on me from the balcony.
It was tremendous! I was just walking in the surf and waves would come and crash into me. It would go from dry to up to my waist in a heartbeat! It was really strong, but the surprising thing for me was how strong it pulled as the water went back out! It will be my new morning workout to battle the surf for a while and then walk back up the stairs to our 9th floor apartment!
Annika and I have read the Narnia series many times now, and there is a spot in The Lion, The Wictch and the Wardrobe where Susan and Lucy get to romp with Aslan the Great Lion, who represents Jesus in the story. Well playing in the surf this morning was like playing with Jesus. It was a little scary and exciting and thrilling all at once!
I could tell the tide was coming in as the waves were getting closer and closer to my clothes on the beach so I headed up and stepped back and bit and sat on the sand, just enjoying and thinking about how blessed I had just been to play with Jesus when a group (?) of dolphins swam by. I could see then as they leaped out of the waves. It was so incredible!!! As I was sitting there though God decides this is His chance and the biggest wave yet comes and drenches me as I sit there, clothes shoes and all! The waves were no where near me until then! I'm pretty sure I could hear Him laughing saying I sent those dolphins by to distract you and then I sent the wave. I must have looked pretty silly sitting there drenched and laughing out loud on the beach at 6 in the morning!
Ruthanne sent me a little note before I left to watch out, because anyone who goes to Africa falls in love with it. I don't know how God is going to reconcile my new love for this place with my love for my family, especially my wonderful Curtis who doesn't do well in warm!
I'd better go get some breakfast so I'll blog soon!
Shalina
I see that it is 10:30 at night as I write this to you but it's Monday morning here! I stayed up until about 8 on Sunday night. Every time I sat down for more than a minute, I started to go blank and dose so I gave up and went to bed. I woke up several times thinking there must be a horrible storm going on, but when I looked there wasn't any wind at all, it was only the surf hitting the beach! It will take a bit to get used to the constant noise while I sleep but I wouldn't get rid of it for all the world! I woke up for good about 4:45. It was getting light so I went out and started at the ocean from our balcony for a while, read the bible for a bit. I was reading about the unity of the body and thinking just how that fit so well with being in a strange place but that I am still a part of the same body, as are all the believers here and it didn't feel like I was all that far from home.
Everyone keeps saying that we shouldn't go down to the beach alone so this morning I was antsy to get down there, the water was calling me! Last night we had gone down the water, and I put my toes in the Indian Ocean for the first time! So this morning I was so anxious to get down there, but thought I shouldn't until someone else was up. Cole, now I know what you feel like waiting each morning for someone to get up!!!! So when Stu got up, I pounced on him and he said he would keep an eye on me from the balcony.
It was tremendous! I was just walking in the surf and waves would come and crash into me. It would go from dry to up to my waist in a heartbeat! It was really strong, but the surprising thing for me was how strong it pulled as the water went back out! It will be my new morning workout to battle the surf for a while and then walk back up the stairs to our 9th floor apartment!
Annika and I have read the Narnia series many times now, and there is a spot in The Lion, The Wictch and the Wardrobe where Susan and Lucy get to romp with Aslan the Great Lion, who represents Jesus in the story. Well playing in the surf this morning was like playing with Jesus. It was a little scary and exciting and thrilling all at once!
I could tell the tide was coming in as the waves were getting closer and closer to my clothes on the beach so I headed up and stepped back and bit and sat on the sand, just enjoying and thinking about how blessed I had just been to play with Jesus when a group (?) of dolphins swam by. I could see then as they leaped out of the waves. It was so incredible!!! As I was sitting there though God decides this is His chance and the biggest wave yet comes and drenches me as I sit there, clothes shoes and all! The waves were no where near me until then! I'm pretty sure I could hear Him laughing saying I sent those dolphins by to distract you and then I sent the wave. I must have looked pretty silly sitting there drenched and laughing out loud on the beach at 6 in the morning!
Ruthanne sent me a little note before I left to watch out, because anyone who goes to Africa falls in love with it. I don't know how God is going to reconcile my new love for this place with my love for my family, especially my wonderful Curtis who doesn't do well in warm!
I'd better go get some breakfast so I'll blog soon!
Shalina
We Made It
We Made It!
We are sitting in our little apartment at the Strandburg. We have an awesome end unit so every window faces the Indian Ocean. We have all the windows open and the breeze is luxurious. Our balcony is closed in, like a little glass room and with the windows open it's wonderful to sit and watch the waves break on the beach.
We spent 36 hours traveling, and ended up here Sunday morning at 10:30. It's 2:30 am at home so we are all feeling pretty groggy right now. We spent another not so sleep filled night on the plane, but this one was much fuller, so there was no space for spreading out. Our goal is to stay awake for the rest of the day, and go to sleep early tonight, and that should bring us back on track. This is easier said than done, but we'll see.
New things for me, swollen feet. It's amazing how 36 hours without laying down will swell your feet! The Indian Ocean!
Kelly met us at the airport and we were warmly welcomed by the Scwartz's and they have offered to take us to do our shopping. I am slightly distraught, I forgot my frying pan at home and there isn't one here. I may need to buy one for my eggs in the morning!
Love you!
Mom/Shalina
We are sitting in our little apartment at the Strandburg. We have an awesome end unit so every window faces the Indian Ocean. We have all the windows open and the breeze is luxurious. Our balcony is closed in, like a little glass room and with the windows open it's wonderful to sit and watch the waves break on the beach.
We spent 36 hours traveling, and ended up here Sunday morning at 10:30. It's 2:30 am at home so we are all feeling pretty groggy right now. We spent another not so sleep filled night on the plane, but this one was much fuller, so there was no space for spreading out. Our goal is to stay awake for the rest of the day, and go to sleep early tonight, and that should bring us back on track. This is easier said than done, but we'll see.
New things for me, swollen feet. It's amazing how 36 hours without laying down will swell your feet! The Indian Ocean!
Kelly met us at the airport and we were warmly welcomed by the Scwartz's and they have offered to take us to do our shopping. I am slightly distraught, I forgot my frying pan at home and there isn't one here. I may need to buy one for my eggs in the morning!
Love you!
Mom/Shalina
London... England, not Ontario
London... England, not Ontario!
We are sitting in Heathrow airport waiting for 5:30 so we can see how far away our gate is for our flight to Johannesburg is. Our options are: 5-25 min walks. After spending the day touring London on foot, we are hoping for a five minute walk.
Well it was a 15 minute walk, not too bad really!
Today we got off in London and Jonathan and Leanne met us at the airport and whisked us off down "The Tube". We started on the Picadilly Line and transferred to the Liberty Line. When we came out from the Underground we were staring up at Big Ben. It was incredible! We were very touristy and stopped right there and took pictures.
Annika and Cole, remember Phineas and Ferber 2D? I saw the London Eye and Big Ben, I was really there!!! We saw Westminster Abbey, but missed being able to go inside by 10mins :(. We hadn't eaten yet so we asked around and were directed to an old English Pub called Albert's. Apparently it is the oldest around, 300 years old. I had good old fish and chips with 'mushy' peas. It was excellent, truly the best fries I've ever had! And they served Pepsi, much to the chagrin of the Coke drinkers in the group! I didn't go for the pint of ale though. I just couldn't do it.
Best thing about London besides meeting up with familiar faces was walking on the streets and hearing so many different languages. I think I heard as much French as I did English, and many other languages too. I think I am beginning to realize just how sheltered we are in Canada from the rest of the world.
Just as a note, there seems to be a lot less free Internet over here, so I am writing each day, but I will only post them once in a while. That also means I can't check D2L everyday Annika, sorry girl, but I will check it when I can!
Love you,
Mom ( Shalina)
We are sitting in Heathrow airport waiting for 5:30 so we can see how far away our gate is for our flight to Johannesburg is. Our options are: 5-25 min walks. After spending the day touring London on foot, we are hoping for a five minute walk.
Well it was a 15 minute walk, not too bad really!
Today we got off in London and Jonathan and Leanne met us at the airport and whisked us off down "The Tube". We started on the Picadilly Line and transferred to the Liberty Line. When we came out from the Underground we were staring up at Big Ben. It was incredible! We were very touristy and stopped right there and took pictures.
Annika and Cole, remember Phineas and Ferber 2D? I saw the London Eye and Big Ben, I was really there!!! We saw Westminster Abbey, but missed being able to go inside by 10mins :(. We hadn't eaten yet so we asked around and were directed to an old English Pub called Albert's. Apparently it is the oldest around, 300 years old. I had good old fish and chips with 'mushy' peas. It was excellent, truly the best fries I've ever had! And they served Pepsi, much to the chagrin of the Coke drinkers in the group! I didn't go for the pint of ale though. I just couldn't do it.
Best thing about London besides meeting up with familiar faces was walking on the streets and hearing so many different languages. I think I heard as much French as I did English, and many other languages too. I think I am beginning to realize just how sheltered we are in Canada from the rest of the world.
Just as a note, there seems to be a lot less free Internet over here, so I am writing each day, but I will only post them once in a while. That also means I can't check D2L everyday Annika, sorry girl, but I will check it when I can!
Love you,
Mom ( Shalina)
What day is it?
Saturday October 29th (I think!)
It was my first try at sleeping on a plane. There were actually quite a few empty seats so the experienced people pounced right away on the open middle rows. If only I had known!
First class had those seats that are arranged in little pods and can stretch out all the flat. It is a bigger plane than I've ever been on before. It is set up with two seats on the side, four in the middle, and two more on the outside, so those groups of four seats in a row made nice beds. I had two seats to myself and have tried many different sleeping positions, none of them turning out really well. In the end sitting up was the best way to go for me. Once I woke up, it was light out so I could wander around the plane and I saw some creative positions I may try next time!
The clock on the iPad reads 3 in the morning, but it is bright and sunny out right now as we are flying into a new day on the other side of the world. We left Calgary late, not until 8, and so it was dark right from the start, but it was so cloudy that we couldn't see much. At one point though, I woke up and looked out and saw one little clump of lights with maybe 2 more within eyesight far below me. When I checked the flight map it said we were just coming up on Iceland. Once the lights passed, all I could see of the ground below was the slightest shade of gray amid all the black where light was reflecting off tons of large islands of snow or ice. It was really cool!
Then I looked out and there were so many stars! I didn't have to look up at them it was like we were flying right in them. They looked closer than I have ever felt. It was great!
We will be landing soon and Jonathan and Leanne Hooper are going to meet us and take us to see some sights during our ten hour lay over. It's like getting a sneak peek at a whole new country for free!
Talk again soon,
Mom/Shalina
It was my first try at sleeping on a plane. There were actually quite a few empty seats so the experienced people pounced right away on the open middle rows. If only I had known!
First class had those seats that are arranged in little pods and can stretch out all the flat. It is a bigger plane than I've ever been on before. It is set up with two seats on the side, four in the middle, and two more on the outside, so those groups of four seats in a row made nice beds. I had two seats to myself and have tried many different sleeping positions, none of them turning out really well. In the end sitting up was the best way to go for me. Once I woke up, it was light out so I could wander around the plane and I saw some creative positions I may try next time!
The clock on the iPad reads 3 in the morning, but it is bright and sunny out right now as we are flying into a new day on the other side of the world. We left Calgary late, not until 8, and so it was dark right from the start, but it was so cloudy that we couldn't see much. At one point though, I woke up and looked out and saw one little clump of lights with maybe 2 more within eyesight far below me. When I checked the flight map it said we were just coming up on Iceland. Once the lights passed, all I could see of the ground below was the slightest shade of gray amid all the black where light was reflecting off tons of large islands of snow or ice. It was really cool!
Then I looked out and there were so many stars! I didn't have to look up at them it was like we were flying right in them. They looked closer than I have ever felt. It was great!
We will be landing soon and Jonathan and Leanne Hooper are going to meet us and take us to see some sights during our ten hour lay over. It's like getting a sneak peek at a whole new country for free!
Talk again soon,
Mom/Shalina
Friday, 28 October 2011
at the airport!
I'm at the airport, and I have just said good bye to Annika and Cole and Curtis. And, yes there were tears... On my part. The kids were way more worried about going to the park here!
Anyway, we made it through security and the waiting begins! We have time in London and We have tour guides so it sounds like we will get to look around. Too bad it's on the weekend.
Talk soon,
Shalina
Anyway, we made it through security and the waiting begins! We have time in London and We have tour guides so it sounds like we will get to look around. Too bad it's on the weekend.
Talk soon,
Shalina
Tuesday, 25 October 2011
Getting Ready
Hello all!
I am pretty excited about heading out on Friday, and completely unprepared!
We had a gathering last night to talk with some families who are very involved with the Seed of Hope and I am so grateful for the time they spent with us. It really helps to talk about the purpose and goal of the trip and reaffirm the reasons we are going.
The Seed of Hope is an organization that works with the community of Bhekulwandle in South Africa to help in so many ways, I encourage you to look them up at theseedofhope.org .
There are four of us going, Pastor Stu, Garry and Jeff Henderson and myself. We are going to learn and try to initiate relationships with the staff there as well as the organization in general. I am truly blessed to be a part of this team and I am very excited about the trip.
While I have known the trip was a possibility for a couple of months now, it was only recently that we confirmed it, and it's been a whirlwind ever since! Thanks to all my friends who are making it possible for me to go for three weeks!! Thanks Norm for the iPad so I can keep in touch with my family! Thanks Alice for staying with my family and helping Curtis out! Joel and Vero for lending me their camera! Hiedi for ferrying Cole to Gymnastics! And all the offers for giving Curtis a break while I'm gone.
Mostly though I thank Curtis for being open and willing to letting me go off for three weeks, while he holds down the fort! So many people are saying how impressive it is that you will do this for me, and while you are certainly able, it's going to be a long go for you. Thanks Curtis!
I don't know how well I will do at keeping this blog up, but at least I have started it! I'll be honest and say it's mostly for Annika and Cole so it may be more geared to them, but anyone is welcome to read along!
I need to go and get through my To-do list that seems to growing and not shrinking!
Shalina
I am pretty excited about heading out on Friday, and completely unprepared!
We had a gathering last night to talk with some families who are very involved with the Seed of Hope and I am so grateful for the time they spent with us. It really helps to talk about the purpose and goal of the trip and reaffirm the reasons we are going.
The Seed of Hope is an organization that works with the community of Bhekulwandle in South Africa to help in so many ways, I encourage you to look them up at theseedofhope.org .
There are four of us going, Pastor Stu, Garry and Jeff Henderson and myself. We are going to learn and try to initiate relationships with the staff there as well as the organization in general. I am truly blessed to be a part of this team and I am very excited about the trip.
While I have known the trip was a possibility for a couple of months now, it was only recently that we confirmed it, and it's been a whirlwind ever since! Thanks to all my friends who are making it possible for me to go for three weeks!! Thanks Norm for the iPad so I can keep in touch with my family! Thanks Alice for staying with my family and helping Curtis out! Joel and Vero for lending me their camera! Hiedi for ferrying Cole to Gymnastics! And all the offers for giving Curtis a break while I'm gone.
Mostly though I thank Curtis for being open and willing to letting me go off for three weeks, while he holds down the fort! So many people are saying how impressive it is that you will do this for me, and while you are certainly able, it's going to be a long go for you. Thanks Curtis!
I don't know how well I will do at keeping this blog up, but at least I have started it! I'll be honest and say it's mostly for Annika and Cole so it may be more geared to them, but anyone is welcome to read along!
I need to go and get through my To-do list that seems to growing and not shrinking!
Shalina
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