Well, I made it! I've arrived home back in Canada, and I actually made it through my journey without getting lost this time! Although, that's probably due to the fact that I didn't leave either of the airports during my 5 hour stays in Capetown and Frankfurt :) I had a 2 hr. flight from Durban to Capetown, then a 12 hr. flight up to Frankfurt, and then one last flight, only 9hrs. this time, home to Toronto. So although it seemed to take a week, not just 2 days, I made it with no major glitches. Although I did sit next to a guy who kept hogging my arm rest, but I suppose I'll just have to get over that :)
So yes, it's wonderful to be home, although I must say, quite cold and snowy!!! I was greeted at the airport by my family and Tim, so that was lovely, my big sister even brought be flowers :) And when I arrived home I was surprised by the continual arrival of friends who stayed for supper and a chat, so it was great to see everyone! Although I was quite overwhelmed, I don't think I actually ate much of the food, but I've been enjoying the leftovers these past few days!
It hasn't really been much of a culture shock coming back, but more a lot of little adjustments. Well, and some really big ones like the weather!! But simple things like flushing the toilet on the other side and having a dishwasher and it being dark in the morning, have thrown me for a bit of a loop. Also, I think the jet lag has aged me a bit, I'm tired by 7pm!! But I did come back with a tan, so that's pretty exciting!
So yes, thank you to everyone who prayed for me and thought of me while I was away, it is much appreciated. And please keep on praying for Sinakekele--for Ruth, for the volunteers, for the health of the kids, for the funding, and for their all around safety and peace.
It's been wonderful to come home, but I feel like I've left a part of home behind me there, so I'm looking ahead to the future, hoping to return someday. I have two years left of school, but hopefully at some point after that I'll be able to go back and visit for a month or so. I can't wait to see how the place changes as Ruth's vision is finally fulfilled and I especially can't wait to see how the kids grow and change. I miss them so much, they are always on my mind...
So, thanks again for reading my blog, it may or may not continue now that I'm back, depending on my mood and how much I am procranstinating probably :) Cheers!
Monday, December 3, 2007
Friday, November 23, 2007
school feeding
Oops! I completely forgot my promise to tell about the school and community feedings, as well as the baby place.
So, the school feeding was awesome! I went with the Pastors Selina, who are partnering with Sinakekele and who have donated Ruth her land. It was a rural primary school, and it was jam-packed! When we showed up they were in the middle of an open-air assembly in the outdoor common-area type place. Some kids did a few readings, some put on skits, and others did dances. Then Pastor Selina went up and did a 10min message and a prayer, and we began to feed. Basically, we bring these 6 MASSIVE, and I mean MASSIVE, pots of brianny (I don't know the real spelling), which is an Indian rice dish with potatoes and meat. The food is literally shoveled into big bowls, which are then carried to each class, and all the kids get one plate. It was quite the undertaking! But the kids were so grateful and so cute. It was a lot of fun meeting some of them and chatting, and of course I took about a billion pictures! They all loved to see their photos on the digital screen :) The Selina's said that oftentimes the meal they serve there is the only meal most of the kids get that week.
The next day we did a community feeding from the Selina's home. Again, Pastor Selina gave a short message, and then we sang some songs (man, can the Zulu people sing!) and then some testimonies and then we eat! Their son, Josiah, and I were in charge of entertaining the kids who came early by leading them in some action songs, so it was a lot of fun, it definitely brought back the VBS days!
Then, the baby place. The one we went to is right here in Durban, actually next to the grocery store we often shop at! So I wish we'd hooked up with them earlier...next time! Anyways, we went and played with the 3 toddlers there for a while, and then the babies woke up. They have 3 babies right now, and one is about to be adopted, yay! They were so tiny and so cute!!! It was a lot of fun! It was exciting and encouraging to see something like that running, and to see what Ruth's ministry might look like when it is fully up and running!
So some great experiences, each different and special, and all made memories in my heart. Also all highly documented by camera, pictures to come later, probably after I arrive back in Canada!
So, the school feeding was awesome! I went with the Pastors Selina, who are partnering with Sinakekele and who have donated Ruth her land. It was a rural primary school, and it was jam-packed! When we showed up they were in the middle of an open-air assembly in the outdoor common-area type place. Some kids did a few readings, some put on skits, and others did dances. Then Pastor Selina went up and did a 10min message and a prayer, and we began to feed. Basically, we bring these 6 MASSIVE, and I mean MASSIVE, pots of brianny (I don't know the real spelling), which is an Indian rice dish with potatoes and meat. The food is literally shoveled into big bowls, which are then carried to each class, and all the kids get one plate. It was quite the undertaking! But the kids were so grateful and so cute. It was a lot of fun meeting some of them and chatting, and of course I took about a billion pictures! They all loved to see their photos on the digital screen :) The Selina's said that oftentimes the meal they serve there is the only meal most of the kids get that week.
The next day we did a community feeding from the Selina's home. Again, Pastor Selina gave a short message, and then we sang some songs (man, can the Zulu people sing!) and then some testimonies and then we eat! Their son, Josiah, and I were in charge of entertaining the kids who came early by leading them in some action songs, so it was a lot of fun, it definitely brought back the VBS days!
Then, the baby place. The one we went to is right here in Durban, actually next to the grocery store we often shop at! So I wish we'd hooked up with them earlier...next time! Anyways, we went and played with the 3 toddlers there for a while, and then the babies woke up. They have 3 babies right now, and one is about to be adopted, yay! They were so tiny and so cute!!! It was a lot of fun! It was exciting and encouraging to see something like that running, and to see what Ruth's ministry might look like when it is fully up and running!
So some great experiences, each different and special, and all made memories in my heart. Also all highly documented by camera, pictures to come later, probably after I arrive back in Canada!
saying goodbye...
Well, my time here in Durban is almost at an end, and I'm staring at the date in disbelief! I cannot comprehend how time can go by so fast!! I only have one week left before I arrive back in Toronto. I'm so pumped to be coming home to be with friends and family again, but I'm so sad to say goodbye to everyone here. It's a differnet sort of sad than when I left Canada almost seven months ago. Back then I knew that unless something crazy happened and I died, I'd be seeing everyone again. But now leaving here, I'm not sure what the future holds. I have two years left at school, and then ideally I'd be able to come back and visit for a month or so. But two years is a very long time, and who knows what will happen in my life and the lives of people here. I've made some really great friends here through the church and in two years time who knows where they'll be. But I'm going to make the best effort humanly possible to get back here. I want so badly to be able to come back and see the kids and see how they've grown and changed and to see Sinakekele up and running and Ruth's vision in full swing. So I know no matter what, I've got to make it back, even if just for a short stay. It's also hard saying goodbye to Mel, my friend and fellow volunteer, because although she's also from Canada, she's all the way over in Regina, so it could be at least a year before we see each other again. It's definitely a bittersweet time for me right now, with so much anticipation about going home, while at the same time I'm desperately trying to soak in each minute I have with the kids and everyone here...
Anyhow, a short update:
the Drakensburg mountains were amazing!! So gorgeous! The part we stayed at is called Giant's Castle, and it's definitely big enough for a giant! It was quite misty when we got there, so we could only see the mountains that we were immediately surrounded with, but as the mist cleared later on we could see the mountains that were farther away, hidden by the clouds, and it was so neat! It was like God's little (or should I say big!) surprise for us :) We did 2 short hikes our first day there, both about 2hrs. long, and our second day we did a 4hr. hike, about 14km long! Sho, were we tired!! But we were proud of ourselves for accomplishing it! I was quite scared at times, as we hiked around the sides of the mountains, there were huge drops on the one side, it threw me for quite a loop! But we trekked on none the less, and ran into some horses grazing on one summit, and later on some wild baboons (we pulled out our little swiss army knife just in case they decided to get vicious):) We also got a bit of a fright driving through a township on the way there, nothing too scary, but a bit dodgy for two white girls by themselves...but we made it! All in all, a quite successful South African Adventure!
Another exciting event, Mel and I spotted Percy Montgomery, a famous South African rugby player for the Springbok team. He apparantly uses the same internet cafe we happen to frequent, quite awesome! We saw him about 3 times, but were unsure if it was really him, and then this week we discovered he was the real deal! So we've brushed shoulders with a real South African celebrity!
The kids are all doing great! Siya is enrolled for "Big School" next year, and had his orientation day yesterday. He is so thrilled to be going to Grade 1, I wish I was here to see him on his first day! Simon will be continuing with Grade R next year at BroadAcres, and his class will only consist of 6 kids, perfect for giving him the attention he needs. Mary and Jake are enrolled at the local preschool, the same one that Tory, a baby the Ruth had at one point, is attending, so they are excited for that! They will all be appearing in their school Christmas play on the 28th, I'm glad to still be here for that, I'm sure I'll get some great pictures!
Oh, and the building plans have been submitted to the architecht this week, so we are anxiously awaiting approval...
Bye for now!
Anyhow, a short update:
the Drakensburg mountains were amazing!! So gorgeous! The part we stayed at is called Giant's Castle, and it's definitely big enough for a giant! It was quite misty when we got there, so we could only see the mountains that we were immediately surrounded with, but as the mist cleared later on we could see the mountains that were farther away, hidden by the clouds, and it was so neat! It was like God's little (or should I say big!) surprise for us :) We did 2 short hikes our first day there, both about 2hrs. long, and our second day we did a 4hr. hike, about 14km long! Sho, were we tired!! But we were proud of ourselves for accomplishing it! I was quite scared at times, as we hiked around the sides of the mountains, there were huge drops on the one side, it threw me for quite a loop! But we trekked on none the less, and ran into some horses grazing on one summit, and later on some wild baboons (we pulled out our little swiss army knife just in case they decided to get vicious):) We also got a bit of a fright driving through a township on the way there, nothing too scary, but a bit dodgy for two white girls by themselves...but we made it! All in all, a quite successful South African Adventure!
Another exciting event, Mel and I spotted Percy Montgomery, a famous South African rugby player for the Springbok team. He apparantly uses the same internet cafe we happen to frequent, quite awesome! We saw him about 3 times, but were unsure if it was really him, and then this week we discovered he was the real deal! So we've brushed shoulders with a real South African celebrity!
The kids are all doing great! Siya is enrolled for "Big School" next year, and had his orientation day yesterday. He is so thrilled to be going to Grade 1, I wish I was here to see him on his first day! Simon will be continuing with Grade R next year at BroadAcres, and his class will only consist of 6 kids, perfect for giving him the attention he needs. Mary and Jake are enrolled at the local preschool, the same one that Tory, a baby the Ruth had at one point, is attending, so they are excited for that! They will all be appearing in their school Christmas play on the 28th, I'm glad to still be here for that, I'm sure I'll get some great pictures!
Oh, and the building plans have been submitted to the architecht this week, so we are anxiously awaiting approval...
Bye for now!
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Eish!
Well, I don't know if that's the right spelling, or if there even is a right spelling, but that's what a lot of South Africans say when they are amazed or frustrated, and right now I am most definitely frustrated!!
I had this whole big long lovely blog typed out which I had previously begun back when we didn't have internet in October and I was all ready to post in this month, but then internet didn't come. But anyways, now that I have internet access, removable device J won't format or something silly like that, so I'm left with nothing! Oh technology, so often the bane of my existence...
Anyways, enough moaning, onto some updating:
Well, lots has happened since my last post 3 months ago...sho, I really am a bad blogger! Well, the long awaited volunteer car that we thought would be here by the end of September finally arrived about 3 weeks ago!! So that was definitely exciting! For a while were borrowing Barney's car (a guy from Ruth's church) during the days to fetch the kids from school, so he'd come get us every morning and we'd drop him at work and then pick him up at the end of the day. It was actually quite funny, although we did manage to crack his windshield, not so funny, but his insurance covered it, yay!
Also, Mel and I have moved out of our little cubby at Ruth's house and into Glenys', a lovely woman from Ruth's church. She and her husband are so great, they have 3 grown up daughters, so we have taken over their empty rooms! We each have our own room, which is strange after sharing for so long, but nice just the same! We are free to come and go as we please, and there's no crying in the night or 4:30 wakeups, so it's heaven on earth :)
Since I last posted we've also been to 2 game parks, so we've seen 2/5 of the big five (rhino and buffalo) and also hippos, which are part of the unoffical big 6. We also saw giraffe and impala and boks and ostrich and zebras (my favourite out of them all) and crocodiles and snakes and monkeys of course, so it was so cool. We also managed to pick up pretty bad sunburns on the 2nd game excursion, so my nose is peeling beautifully now.
Also, we have been trying to plan a hiking trip to the mountains since forever, and our third attempt is in the works, although it looks like Mel and I are going to be roughing it on our own as other things came up for our friends, so we'll see how it goes...
The kids are doing great! They are all healthy and enjoying school and loving our newly painted pool, it's great in the summer heat that's just getting started here. Although with summer heat come summer bugs, there was a nice layer of flying ants covering the counter this morning, eww!
Mel and I are busy getting the kids' costumes ready for the Christmas Nativity Play that their preschool is putting on, along with some of the sewing expertise of their gran. They are going to have to most fabuous costumes for sure, and most definitely the most sparkling-we've been into the glitter glue :)
Mel and I have also perfected the art of navigating the government hospital system, or at least we have so far, although the rules will probably have changed again by our next visit there, they always seem to! We take trips in to get the kids' meds. sorted out and for checkups as well. There is a great Aids focused hospital close to downtown Durban and they do a wonderful job getting things organized for people there. They even sometimes take pity on us poor English-only Canadian white girls :)
Let's see, what else...I've driven standard a bit now, although I'm pretty rough! I have quite a bit of trouble getting started, especially on the hills (most of Durban is hilly!) but once I get out of 1st gear I do alright :) I don't think I'll master it before I come home, but it's definitely been an experience! Driving on the left side was much easier than I expected though, no problems there except for one or two curbs :)
I can't believe I come home in only 2 weeks though! Time has absolutely flown by!!! I'm trying to get it into my head that I'm leaving, but it's not working. I will be quite sad to leave the kids and Ruth and Mel, they've become my life. But I am also super excited to come home and see everyone again, so it will be a bitter-sweet goodbye for sure. I am set on coming back to visit though, I'd love to come back and stay for a month or so after I finish school, although that will be 2 yrs. from now! The kids will be so grown up by then...
But this update is fairly long now, so I'll finish off. I have so much more to tell though, about the school feeding I went to as well as the community feeding and the baby place we are going to tomorrow and just fun stories about the kids, and of course some pictures, so stay tuned. Maybe I will even be able to recover that long update from my USB thing, but don't get your hopes up :) So yes, hopefully I will be able to post at least once more before I come home, and if not, you'll be hearing from me in December!
I had this whole big long lovely blog typed out which I had previously begun back when we didn't have internet in October and I was all ready to post in this month, but then internet didn't come. But anyways, now that I have internet access, removable device J won't format or something silly like that, so I'm left with nothing! Oh technology, so often the bane of my existence...
Anyways, enough moaning, onto some updating:
Well, lots has happened since my last post 3 months ago...sho, I really am a bad blogger! Well, the long awaited volunteer car that we thought would be here by the end of September finally arrived about 3 weeks ago!! So that was definitely exciting! For a while were borrowing Barney's car (a guy from Ruth's church) during the days to fetch the kids from school, so he'd come get us every morning and we'd drop him at work and then pick him up at the end of the day. It was actually quite funny, although we did manage to crack his windshield, not so funny, but his insurance covered it, yay!
Also, Mel and I have moved out of our little cubby at Ruth's house and into Glenys', a lovely woman from Ruth's church. She and her husband are so great, they have 3 grown up daughters, so we have taken over their empty rooms! We each have our own room, which is strange after sharing for so long, but nice just the same! We are free to come and go as we please, and there's no crying in the night or 4:30 wakeups, so it's heaven on earth :)
Since I last posted we've also been to 2 game parks, so we've seen 2/5 of the big five (rhino and buffalo) and also hippos, which are part of the unoffical big 6. We also saw giraffe and impala and boks and ostrich and zebras (my favourite out of them all) and crocodiles and snakes and monkeys of course, so it was so cool. We also managed to pick up pretty bad sunburns on the 2nd game excursion, so my nose is peeling beautifully now.
Also, we have been trying to plan a hiking trip to the mountains since forever, and our third attempt is in the works, although it looks like Mel and I are going to be roughing it on our own as other things came up for our friends, so we'll see how it goes...
The kids are doing great! They are all healthy and enjoying school and loving our newly painted pool, it's great in the summer heat that's just getting started here. Although with summer heat come summer bugs, there was a nice layer of flying ants covering the counter this morning, eww!
Mel and I are busy getting the kids' costumes ready for the Christmas Nativity Play that their preschool is putting on, along with some of the sewing expertise of their gran. They are going to have to most fabuous costumes for sure, and most definitely the most sparkling-we've been into the glitter glue :)
Mel and I have also perfected the art of navigating the government hospital system, or at least we have so far, although the rules will probably have changed again by our next visit there, they always seem to! We take trips in to get the kids' meds. sorted out and for checkups as well. There is a great Aids focused hospital close to downtown Durban and they do a wonderful job getting things organized for people there. They even sometimes take pity on us poor English-only Canadian white girls :)
Let's see, what else...I've driven standard a bit now, although I'm pretty rough! I have quite a bit of trouble getting started, especially on the hills (most of Durban is hilly!) but once I get out of 1st gear I do alright :) I don't think I'll master it before I come home, but it's definitely been an experience! Driving on the left side was much easier than I expected though, no problems there except for one or two curbs :)
I can't believe I come home in only 2 weeks though! Time has absolutely flown by!!! I'm trying to get it into my head that I'm leaving, but it's not working. I will be quite sad to leave the kids and Ruth and Mel, they've become my life. But I am also super excited to come home and see everyone again, so it will be a bitter-sweet goodbye for sure. I am set on coming back to visit though, I'd love to come back and stay for a month or so after I finish school, although that will be 2 yrs. from now! The kids will be so grown up by then...
But this update is fairly long now, so I'll finish off. I have so much more to tell though, about the school feeding I went to as well as the community feeding and the baby place we are going to tomorrow and just fun stories about the kids, and of course some pictures, so stay tuned. Maybe I will even be able to recover that long update from my USB thing, but don't get your hopes up :) So yes, hopefully I will be able to post at least once more before I come home, and if not, you'll be hearing from me in December!
Friday, August 17, 2007
Friday, August 10, 2007
Long time no post.
Hello! Well, I guess it’s time for me to write a bit of a blog update, I realize it’s been quite a while since the last one.
Some good car news! Although Ruth’s car that we were using broke down, we heard the same day from someone at Ruth’s church that the youth are fundraising money to get her a new volunteer car! So that’s amazing, it was perfect timing!
Some other good news for Ruth, she’s found a small group from her church that she goes to once a week now, so that’s great for her. It’s really nice that she can get out and have some good adult conversation away from the noise of toddlers and teenagers once in a while :)
Things are also progressing nicely in terms of building plans for the new land. An engineer from Ruth’s church has made it his mission to help get the buildings up ASAP, so it’s wonderful! He’s hooked us up with a company interested in donating fencing, and he had a geological engineering friend of his survey the land for us. So we now know the places we can and cannot build on the land, and the approximate layout of where each of the buildings need to go, so that’s really cool. I am hoping to be able to see some of the building at least started before I come home. The land is only about ½ hr. outside of the city, and it’s unbelievable how peaceful it is out there! The scenery is beautiful and the people are so nice! We met our ‘neighbours’ last month when we helped out at the VBS that was run for the community, and they are excited to see Ruth get started
The kids are all doing great. They all had a bit of a cold, so they were banned from the swimming pool for the last two weeks, but they are all feeling better now. Siya and Jake both got some medicine from the doctor to treat their coughs, and no bad news from their doctors appointment, so that’s good news :) Simon has already grown since I got here, and Jake has definitely gained weight, they are changing so fast! We are still working on colours with Simon, trying to drill Red and Blue into his head, but he’s got yellow down pat! Mary is as strong and strong-willed as ever! She has the perfect form for gymnastics, Ruth is hoping to enroll her in the future if possible.
Lots is going on at the end of August as well. Carolyn, a volunteer from Switzerland is arriving in two weeks. She’s been here twice before, and sounds like a lot of fun, so I’m excited to meet her. Apparently she makes fantastic homemade bread, so maybe I’ll be able to add that to my list of things I’ve been learning to make :)
Also, Cindee, who has been here since March, is heading home at the end of the month, so it will be strange to adjust to life here without her. We are also hoping to make a trip somewhere this month, maybe to the mountains for a hiking trip, or to a game reserve. So far our plans for a volunteer weekend away haven’t worked out, so we’ll just have to keep trying until things come together-maybe third time’s the charm :)
Well, I think that’s a good update for now!
Some good car news! Although Ruth’s car that we were using broke down, we heard the same day from someone at Ruth’s church that the youth are fundraising money to get her a new volunteer car! So that’s amazing, it was perfect timing!
Some other good news for Ruth, she’s found a small group from her church that she goes to once a week now, so that’s great for her. It’s really nice that she can get out and have some good adult conversation away from the noise of toddlers and teenagers once in a while :)
Things are also progressing nicely in terms of building plans for the new land. An engineer from Ruth’s church has made it his mission to help get the buildings up ASAP, so it’s wonderful! He’s hooked us up with a company interested in donating fencing, and he had a geological engineering friend of his survey the land for us. So we now know the places we can and cannot build on the land, and the approximate layout of where each of the buildings need to go, so that’s really cool. I am hoping to be able to see some of the building at least started before I come home. The land is only about ½ hr. outside of the city, and it’s unbelievable how peaceful it is out there! The scenery is beautiful and the people are so nice! We met our ‘neighbours’ last month when we helped out at the VBS that was run for the community, and they are excited to see Ruth get started
The kids are all doing great. They all had a bit of a cold, so they were banned from the swimming pool for the last two weeks, but they are all feeling better now. Siya and Jake both got some medicine from the doctor to treat their coughs, and no bad news from their doctors appointment, so that’s good news :) Simon has already grown since I got here, and Jake has definitely gained weight, they are changing so fast! We are still working on colours with Simon, trying to drill Red and Blue into his head, but he’s got yellow down pat! Mary is as strong and strong-willed as ever! She has the perfect form for gymnastics, Ruth is hoping to enroll her in the future if possible.
Lots is going on at the end of August as well. Carolyn, a volunteer from Switzerland is arriving in two weeks. She’s been here twice before, and sounds like a lot of fun, so I’m excited to meet her. Apparently she makes fantastic homemade bread, so maybe I’ll be able to add that to my list of things I’ve been learning to make :)
Also, Cindee, who has been here since March, is heading home at the end of the month, so it will be strange to adjust to life here without her. We are also hoping to make a trip somewhere this month, maybe to the mountains for a hiking trip, or to a game reserve. So far our plans for a volunteer weekend away haven’t worked out, so we’ll just have to keep trying until things come together-maybe third time’s the charm :)
Well, I think that’s a good update for now!
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