Revamp photos

People who know this place would not recognise it! Honest, it looks fab!

Christmas Photos

Revamp

A lovely woman called Jen descended here yesterday and transformed the children's living quarters with new duvets, pillows, curtains, towels, mats, mirrors etc. The children hardly recognised their rooms when they got back today, it was an amazing transformation.
Each room has a theme, the girls' rooms are pink and the boys' rooms are blue, green, red etc. The whole place looks so cool!

Now the kids have to learn to respect their living spaces, but it's such a marvellous new thing for them that I'm sure they will do.

Christmas Crazy

Christmas has been crazy and fun this year. The festivities began on Saturday when some visitors came to bring the kids some presents. They dutifully put their presents under the Christmas tree in the dining room and spent the next few days going back to check if their presents were still there and pestering me as to when they could open them. As it was they had to wait until Christmas Eve to get their wish.

Sunday saw all of us heading to Durban Playhouse in our old bus, which has a maximum speed of about 60kmph. We had been invited to see a Zulu Christmas show called ‘African Mother Christmas’, which was a tale set in the Valley of 1000 Hills complete with Rainbow mother Christmas arriving on an elephant. (not a real one of course – the show was in the Loft Theatre, it wouldn’t get up the stairs…) The kids enjoyed the show, mostly because it was only an hour long and they got a snack box at the end which filled them up on the way home.

‘Cruising’ home down the N3 in the late afternoon sunshine, I had a sleeping baby on my lap, a grumpy toddler to my right and several other weary kids all around me, full of juice, crisps, sweets, muffin and apples, it struck me that it all seemed totally normal to be hanging out with these lovely children and that Christmas sunshine is brilliant. I was feeling good and feeling festive.

My ‘traditional’ Christmas CD of Cliff Richard (for me, that album IS Christmas – you can’t got wrong with Cliff!) helped nurture the festive spirit and I was feeling merry enough to say ‘ho ho ho’ a lot to the kids (without a drop of alcohol, honest!) The main Christmas party here took place on Christmas Eve. A small group of volunteers made the dining room look incredible with crackers, streamers, balloons and party poppers. At 4 o’clock the children were allowed into the room and the party could begin. Shortly afterwards, Father Christmas came round the corner into the car park on the back of the Bolero truck, waving to the expectant group of kids. Thanks to the generosity of visitors, sponsors and volunteers, the kids scored well on the present front this year with a bumper stash of presents. They were so desperate to play with their new toys that many of them rushed off as soon as the meal was over to their rooms to compare gifts, leaving a small group of older kids and volunteers to share in some modern Zulu dancing to the latest tunes. It was a top party, really good fun.

Christmas Day was more hectic than I thought it would be. Having spent the previous few evenings increasing my viewing knowledge of insanely cheesy Christmas Movies (How many different versions of Santa stories can there be?), I was quite tired but had to get up at 5.30am in any case to make sure the kids left ok for their 4 day trip to the seaside. After a few last minute hitches, they finally left and are have been making the most of the beautiful South Coast beaches. And we were left with 5 crèchies, 2 girls and 2 babies on site. It was so lovely and quiet.

The crèchies spent all of Christmas Day playing with their new toys. Toddler ‘A’ got a lion that is twice her size, and little ‘M’ got a great new ‘thu-thu’ ride on toy which he loves, but also seems to prefer ‘Mb’s’ dolly buggy (maybe it goes faster on the rough playground terrain?)… They even made Christmas cookies. Happy Days.

Then mid-afternoon the beautiful weather disappeared and a storm broke.

At about the same time I had to get a couple of our aunties back to the valley to be with their family in an emergency, except I didn’t have a suitable driver to get all the way as it would be too dangerous (merry people walking all over the road, or worse still, driving.) and then my other driver phoned to say he’d managed to get one of our combis stuck in some mud in Sankontshe. One minute I was worrying along with the aunties about their family and the next minute I was falling about laughing about the ridiculousness of the fact that someone could get stuck!

After I’d stopped laughing, I went to sort out help for him, and after the guys had stopped laughing, and run to get cameras, a group of 5 volunteers set off in the 4x4 to help out. The only problem now was that the girl who was in charge of the kitchen was in the stranded combi and it was getting near to crèchies’ dinner time. One of the crèche volunteers and myself had to get into the kitchen and sort out dinner for them – easy, as it was leftovers.

Everyone made it home ok and it was all rather funny.

Life is never dull in this place…. Not even on Christmas!

Christmas, and so it begins…

It’s weird being back here and knowing that I’ll be leaving in a few weeks (48 days, not that I’m counting). On the one hand I’m looking forward to being back in the UK and catching up with everyone and on the other hand I’m so sad about leaving ‘my’ children here and I can’t even imagine not being here anymore. But I guess everyone who comes here to work, even for a little while, falls under the enchantment of the wonderful treasures who play, sleep, fight and laugh here.
But, for the next week at least, they are all mine as I get to be in charge of the whole shebang. Everyone else is on leave and the party is mine… Nice. We only have about 20 kids here and all but the crechies are heading to the beach on Christmas Day, so it will be very quiet for 4 days.
I am, however, restricted to site until Friday 28th, and seeing as my internet connection is rubbish, I guess this is my Happy Christmas message to everyone. I hope you all have a wonderful, peaceful and joyful time celebrating Christ’s birth and that your wishes come true for Christmas!

Tragedy

There is sadness in the air this morning as the choir comes to terms with the loss of one of its members.

M was a wonderful young man who I had much to do with last year when I was trying to get him a passport for the UK tour. We only managed to get him an ID not a passport and so he was unable to come to England with us. I'll always remember him sitting in my car just after we finally picked up his ID book a few months ago, stunned and happy that he 'finally existed' in terms of being a South African citizen legally.

He lived with his family on a hill not far from here and they have received quite a bit of help from us in the past. He was well loved by people here.

Tragically last night he put his arm through a glass window. Unfortunately for him a main artery was severed and he did not recover. He was 17.

In a country where so many people are dying of AIDS related diseases, it seems all the more tragic that a bright young man who was healthy and had everything to live for would have his life cut short by such a crazy thing.

Please remember his family and the family here, especially the Young Zulu Warriors, at this time. I expect the funeral will take place next weekend, after Christmas. So it won't be easy for any of us with this happening so close to the festive week. Pray for God's peace and comfort for people here at this time.

Visa again…

I got back from holiday to discover I had to arrange for one of our girls, B, to get her visa for the Netherlands and then get on the flight. This involved a very early start on Tuesday up to Joburg and then drive to Pretoria in time for 10am to collect her visa.
All of that passed without incident, until we got to the Royal Netherlands Embassy to be told that her visa has been sent back to Durban and would be ready for collection on Wednesday morning. All great plans thwarted by bureaucracy…
Hmm, in any case, there was nothing for us to do but chill in Pretoria until Wed lunch time when we met a volunteer who’d flown up specially to put the newly-collected visa into our hands and then I could make sure she got the flight at 5pm. A lot of flying for one little visa.
However, it was all worth it as B had never flown before and it was good for her to fly with me from Durban to Joburg to discover what it’s all about, before a long-haul flight Joburg-Paris-Amsterdam. She really appreciated that experience. And also the nice room she got to herself in Pretoria (she has never had her own room, or a TV to watch in bed!)
We spent the evening at Mcdonald’s and then seeing a movie. Things we take for granted, such as popcorn, were a real treat for her and when someone phoned her the next day on the way to the airport she excitedly recounted the events of our time in Pretoria as being ‘the time of my life’…
It was fun getting to know her better and helping her out. She walks with a crutch and had to have a wheelchair to get to the plane and it was quite emotional saying goodbye to my new friend when the time came for her to go through security.

Unfortunately as soon as I’d seen her off, the day went downhill with a delay for my return flight (someone had apparently run into the side of the plane?!?!) and the disappearance of my luggage (which thankfully turned up the next afternoon – just as I was getting major flip-flop withdrawal…)

the joys of constant internet connection..

I've been spoilt this week in St Lucia with my laptop internet connection working perfectly.. and thus I've managed to keep on top of a lot of internet issues. However tomorrow we leave this place and head back to Cato Ridge, where internet connection is sadly sporadic. Thus I don't know when I'll be online again...

Mum and Dad are going to experience staying with me (in the room next door) for a few nights. Not sure if they'll cope with the higgledy-piggledy ramshackleness of site, but we'll see... It's better than camping (just!)

Then they are back off to chilly old England, leaving me to top up my tan yet further over Christmas... (not that there will be time for sitting around - lot's to do, little time to do it!)

Any questions? Any answers.

The Wildebeest question of a few days ago is solved. Our helpful and knowledgeable guide at Umfolozi yesterday informed us that male wildebeests are territorial and have to stay in their allotted areas. They wait for females to cross their path and only then can they mate with them. This means that standing around under trees, doing nothing much but eating, is mandatory until the women come along. They often pick a tree near to a bunch of nyalas, zebra and giraffe so that there’s safety in numbers. As these animals all prefer different lengths of grass, they help each other out in this respect too.

Isn’t nature great? It all has some kind of order…

Indeed the male wildebeest probably act and get into gear when beautiful female wildebeest cross their path. Perhaps men who moan that they haven’t met anyone suitable need to just stand under their trees, eat grass and keep their eyes open too!

Umfolozi, the return.

Having failed miserably to find any big cats (lions, leopards, cheetahs) on our previous trip to Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game reserve, we decided to take the leisurely route and booked a tour to go back. We cleverly booked when no one else wanted to go and thus had our very own private game drive in a big land rover game watching vehicle all to ourselves. The driver even collected us from our front door and drove us all the way to the park, around it and back again. It was certainly an experience and we got to visit areas of the park inaccessible to an ordinary car.

Sadly, still no more cats but then we did see several more elephant and lots of baby animals: zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, nyala, rhino, warthog….

Did you know that 60% of the cute baby warthogs don’t make it to their first birthday, being choice delicacies for a little snack for passing jackals, cheetahs etc….

…And that baby wildebeest are born light brown, the same colour as lions, so that they blend in easier and are protected from an attack. Fascinating stuff.

Visiting a game reserve is a bit like life, in my opinion. You arrive filled with hope and expectation of what you might see and this turns to perseverance after about 2 hours of fruitless searching. You force yourself to rejoice with others at their tales of how many lions they’ve seen, and photos of fresh kills by a passing leopard, whilst inwardly wishing that it could be the other way round and that you’d be recalling these moments. You develop a continuing ‘gritted-teethness’ about driving round, scanning every single tree and plant in the hope of a glimpse of something big and furry and you rejoice over even the smallest of warthog babies. There are the occasional vultures waiting to take you out if they could, but you sail past them in your vehicle. Even on the way back to the exit you refuse to give up hope and in vain continue to stare around for anything that moves. In fact, long after you’ve left the game reserve, you find yourself in ‘game spotting pose’, eager scanning the horizon for the odd elephant or rhino…

Happy days!

St Lucia 2

Tuesday.

Today it was hot.

Very hot.

You don't realise how much you value overhead fans until there's a power outage and there's nothing to help you keep cool. In the past 24 hours we've had no less than 3 power outages (this is when Eskom (national power people) shut down various areas around the country to share electricity or something. They do warn you somewhere on the internet, but don't stick to timings. The most convenient time to shut down is when you are cooking or watching TV, perfect to switch everyone off. Then they'll tell you on SABC to turn all non-essential electrical items off, TV being an ESSENTIAL item, it seems... Hmm, suppose it's helping somewhere, possibly not in St Lucia where every second place seemed to switch to generators immediately.

In any case, the power came back on after the usual 2 hours. And so did the fan. Nice.

We paid a visit to the Crocodile Farm this afternoon. Not much has changed since I went in April, except the snakes had been temporarily shut down. Same old crocs. Dad did point out that several information boards were regaling us with tales of escaped crocs and ones jumping over the fences to be reunited with other ones... Good job it was too hot for them to even consider giving us more than a raised eyebrow.

Hluhluwe Umfolozi Game Reserve

Getting up half an hour later than the previously stated time of 4am was a pleasant surprise as the sun had risen and it felt later than it was. By 6.10am we had driven to the game reserve and were in to start the day's search for animals.

Top of our list of 'animals to see' were the elephants. There are reputed to be 400 elephants in the park, we managed 3 during the course of the day. That's 3 more than last time. They say you should keep a distance of 50m from the elephants as they can be extremely dangerous. (It's always the vegetarians you have to watch!) but the layout of the road next to a watering spot necessitated us going about 20m from a couple of them. This would have been fine if one hadn't been a elephant bull 'in must', and therefore more aggressive. He didn't cause us any trouble though, but after the first menacing look from him we weren't going to hang around too long to find out how quickly he could upturn our toyota yaris!

The view from Hilltop camp gave us a picture of just how massive Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park is. This is no small safari park. The 2 parks together are about 40miles long and up to 20 miles wide. That's a lot of space for roaming. It's full of forest, rivers and other terrains, which is perfect for animals to hide in. There are many trees for leopards to sit in and watch unsuspecting passing vehicles without ever being spotted. And we were unable to spot any big cats this time, which was the only disappointing thing about the day.

Having been before, we were used to seeing zebras, impala and wildebeest roaming. However an interesting trend seemed to be developing amongst the animals. A single wildebeest stood under a tree near each group of zebras and impala, we saw hardly any in herds.

There were many many babies - impala, baboons and even warthogs (Dad's favourite). As the day progressed it got hotter and hotter and towards mid-afternoon even we would have given anything just to chill out under a tree in the shade at a water hole. (Perhaps then we would have seen some big cat action!)

Watching animals at close quarters brought out lots of unanswered questions though:

1. Why was there only 1 wildebeest with each group of impala/zebra etc? Was he on guard, or in trouble with his mates? Had there been a general falling out of all wildebeest and each one settled with the other creatures for company?

2. One group of giraffes were all standing facing the same direction, seemingly staring at something. We couldn't see what. But then it can't have been a predator or they would have run. Why were they pretending to be 21st century robot giraffes stuck in the same mode? Was there a reason or had we just stumbled upon a game of giraffe 'stuck in the mud'? (usually it's only the warthogs who favour this party game)

3. Zebras like hanging out by standing facing each other and putting their heads over the back of the other one so it looks like they are embracing. What does this behaviour mean? Or are they just extremely friendly animals?

Hmm, lots more questions remain unanswered. I think I need to watch more 'Animal Planet'...

St Lucia 1

We drove up on Friday from Durban to St Lucia, stopping for a spot of shopping in the upmarket resort of Ballito on the way. I drove through near torrential rain all the way from Ballito to St Lucia but we still made good time to arrive at our ‘luxury’ apartment near the town centre.

I’ve come to realise that ‘luxury’ is a rather subjective term. After the lush accommodation in Westville, this apartment has rather too many cracks in the tiles and a whole range of bamboo furniture. I’m not a fan of bamboo furniture, it belongs in conservatories and garden houses, not in ‘luxury’ accommodation. However, it was raining and so everything looked grim and so we put on a brave face and settled in. Apart from having to purchase nearly everything we need for the kitchen, the inventory being imaginary rather than fact, we’re doing ok here. The shower is fantastically powerful and there are nice big fans in each room to keep us cool. So, all is well.

On Saturday we ventured out into the town and up to the jetty for another river cruise. (I say another because we already did a lot of these activities in April). This time we were in a smaller boat and could get right up close and personal with the crocs and hippos. In fact a little too close for comfort. Nearly every single crocodile saw us and propelled themselves into the water heading in our direction.

As it’s early summer here a lot of creatures are ‘with young’ and the creatures of the water are no exception. We came across a 4-day-old-hippo with its mum (and about 12 other hippos keeping guard nearby). After a few minutes of photos and ‘aww cute’s from the people on board, Mummy hippo decided she’d had enough and made a funny noise at which point the rest of the hippos started making a big noise and turned round to face the boat. Could have been nasty, but we escaped unharmed.

During the course of the day we also managed to see 4 fish eagles, who are the most beautiful birds. Black and white, they swoop down over the water before returning to their treetops to survey the land. Definitely a top bird.

Today, Sunday, we ventured into the Eastern Shores of Lake St Lucia game reserve and up to a resort called Cape Vidal. We were blessed to see 3 white rhino grazing peacefully near to the entrance: Mum, Dad and baby. They were far enough away not to see us (they have bad eyesight) but for us to get a good view. During the rest of the drive I spotted a Martial eagle and a Wahlberg eagle. Amazing birds. I’ve never really been into bird-watching, but when there are so many interesting birds, it’s suddenly a great thing to do.

We spent a bit of time on the beach at Cape Vidal. It’s a beautiful wild coastline, where only a limited number of people are allowed each day. At night the turtles come up and lay their eggs on the same beach where we walked.

Much fun was had watching the locals drive their fishing speed boats up onto the sand and try to winch them onto trailers. One Toyota was having particular problems getting off the beach and had to drive really fast to get over the dunes. Later we watched the same fishermen gutting their fish at a specially prepared area. Bit smelly, but fascinating nonetheless.

No monkeys disturbed our picnic. Think Dad was a bit disappointed. But we did come across a light-coloured monkey who is different from all the others we’ve seen in the past; and on the way back we saw a mummy monkey with a very young baby vervet monkey. It can’t have been very old, it still looked like a gremlin. She wasn’t too pleased to see us, but did sit still long enough for some photos.

The weather has been hot, but a bit overcast at times with the odd rain shower. The sun is hot though, despite being plastered in factor 40 I am still getting red on a daily basis. Can’t go much higher in sun cream levels, but at least it’s developing into a great tan. Dad and I are having red nose competitions, but I think he’s winning at the moment…

Tomorrow, Hluhluwe game reserve. And a 4am start. Eurgh!

a few other photos (for the family... ;-) )

Mum and Dad outside our appartment

Baby N was not too happy to be held by Mum...

Contents of a food parcel.

Valley

Dad and Mum with Angel, the Community health worker (in orange) and the mother and one of her daughters in the sponsor family. That box is well heavy...

In Mophela, with some of the kids at the second sponsor family house.

Monday was spent at my house, catching up with children and meeting my sponsor baby, who gurgled and crawled on cue. (well trained!). I treated M&D to the Spar Experience – a trip to our local shopping mall at Cato Ridge – very Zulu. We had to buy essential food parcel components for our visit to a couple of sponsor families on Tuesday and this is the best place to go.

On Tuesday morning I drove M&D down to Kwa Ximba #9 in my car (the roads were a bit precarious for a hire car, and my car is well-known in the valley). We picked up a community health worker and set off to pay a visit to the family that my parents sponsor through the Child Sponsorship scheme. The road up to their house was fairly torturous, enough to keep Dad concerned in any case, but definitely not the worst roads I’ve been on.

On arrival at the home of the family, we found out that the mother was off in the community garden working and she had to be summoned. Despite the abject poverty in which these people live, they still manage to keep mobile phones working and have a small TV for the kids to watch. Thankfully she was reachable on her cell-phone and rushed back to greet us. Have got some great pictures of M&D sitting outside a wattle-and-daub mud hut, taking in the view over the valley. It’s a totally different world, but very good to come down and discover for themselves how it is to live in these valleys.

The mother was overjoyed to receive an extra food parcel, it will certainly come in handy with Christmas round the corner.

After lunch we headed to another valley to visit the family sponsored by my sister’s church. They lived not far from where I used to hang out with Smilo so I knew the roads well. We picked up another community health worker and headed over the sandy ant-infested fields towards a group of mud huts. There was some confusion as to the whereabouts of the family, but when we produced a photo of the family the penny dropped and the young people led us down to the family abode further down the hill. We had to go on foot and so I had to move my car into the compound, parking in between 2 dilapidated Mercedes, one of which looked like it had been blown apart. Leaving a group of small children to keep an eye on the car (assuring Dad that it would be the same with 4 wheels etc when we returned) we set off across the fields, braving the longish grass and ants, to get to the house. Bravery award of the day goes to Mum, who is terrified of snakes, for even setting off on this brief journey. She didn’t moan at all.

In comparison with the poverty of the family from the morning, these people lived in even more poverty. It took us a little bit of negotiation to work out which children lived there and which were from the neighbouring houses. I managed to communicate with the kids in Zulu, even telling one of the girls she was beautiful ‘Omuhle, wena!’, which produced a huge smile.

There are 6 in the family, all sleeping on the floor of an extremely small rondavel. The mother has found a job locally but returns at the weekend, where there are 7 of them. They had electricity which powered a radio, small stove and a freezer, but there didn’t seem to be any light. The family are in the process of building another small room next to the rondavel. It was fascinating to see the process of building with almost medieval methods.

We handed over the food parcel and also sweets for all the kids around. The amazing thing was seeing these young women put the boxes of food on their heads and carry them from the car down to the house. These were huge boxes full of food, too heavy for us puny English people to carry. This family is due to start receiving food parcels next week and the extra one will be much appreciated.

Shark Tale

For Sunday lunch, I’d booked us a table at the famous ‘Cargo Hold’ restaurant at UShaka Marine World (Durban’s top tourist attraction). UShaka is a combination of the 5th largest aquarium in the world (allegedly) and a Water park – Wet’n’ Wild. (Liz, if you are reading this, you are going to be so gutted that we didn’t go last year when you see the photos!). There’s also an array of shops and restaurants, all along the beach front. The Ocean was quite rough and seemed fairly grubby with crisp packets and other debris floating around next to the body-boarders and sea kayakers.

The Cargo Hold is famous because it’s set in an old ship wreck and the décor is complete with barnacles on the metal beams. The centrepiece is an enormous tank filled with fish and 5 lovely big sharks who swim round and round and round, eyeing up the diners who are attempting to order whilst snapping the marine creatures on their cameras and mobile phones. It took us a while to choose from the extensive menu, Dad was rather distracted by the sharks who were swimming close to his left ear every few seconds baring their many rows of nasty-looking teeth.
However, the food was good, and the setting unique and it made for a pleasant lunch.

Durban is not the safest place and the centre of the city is fairly scruffy so I gave Mum and Dad a brief tour by car. We chose to bypass the seafront, formerly known as ‘The Golden Mile’, it’s now rapidly gaining a reputation as ‘Muggers’ Mile’. There’ll be plenty of time for beaches up North in St Lucia next week.

As you drive around Durban, the now shabby buildings build up a picture of how glorious Durban must have been in its colonial heyday. Unfortunately the buildings have been left to fall apart. Although there is some renovation underway, the transformation will take a long time and parts of the city will stay unsafe for many years to come, which is a shame as it could be so nice.

overdue catchup

Apologies for not blogging for a few weeks, every time I got to the internet café I was too exhausted to be creative… I think it was general burnout, probably what was causing my month-long headache etc too.
But on Saturday, Mum and Dad arrived and now it’s time for 2 weeks of fun and relaxation so I am in a better position to write about our adventures!
The journey down for them was long, not helped by the fact that one of the major South African airlines – Nationwide – who we often travel with (but thankfully not this time), had been grounded, leaving many passengers stranded and scrambling for other flights. Mum and Dad flew Air France and South African Airways, which included its own scramble at Paris for a flight which was then delayed 2 hours due to various technical difficulties and then a smaller plane than planned, meaning cramped sleeping conditions.. The joys of flying long haul!
They arrived late at Jo’burg and missed the connecting flight. They had been transferred onto another flight but the Air France staff were on lunch and didn’t bother to ensure that Mum and Dad were informed of this fact. In any case, I managed to arrive late at Durban airport, have a leisurely lunch and read a large section of ‘Become a Better You’ by Joel Osteen. They arrived at 4.30pm, 3 hours late and rather exhausted by the whole ordeal, by which time I was at least 3 steps closer to being a better me.
But the weather here is great and we are staying in a lovely apartment in Westville, on the outskirts of Durban. It’s conveniently close to Pavilions ‘Shopping Mecca’ and also to the M13, making it very easy to get to mine whilst avoiding the traffic of the city centre.
The apartment is very tastefully decorated in the traditionally modern South African style with dark brown wooden furniture and a fantastic bath. Because I don’t have one, I tend to appreciate baths the most in places I stay. There’s also a lovely pool, but so far we’ve not had time to indulge.

the end of term is nigh...

Next Friday, 30th, is the end of the academic year. This means it's Preschool Graduation time again and I'm off to the first event tomorrow. My days have been filled with getting photos of kids printed and laminated onto certificates, buying sweets and toys for presents, planning how to get the best cake..

Next week it's the second Graduation ceremony, conveniently 2 preschools celebrate together. Pray it doesn't rain on Wednesday or we're in BIG trouble... Trying to fit 200 people into a small preschool... We've lots of ground outside and that's where we'll be.

Just to give myself extra work (I love it really!) I'm hosting an event here on the resort for 2 preschools next Tuesday. Would be nice if it doesn't rain then as well, but I'm not sure we'll manage 2 dry days - this IS the rainy season! Last night was a storm to match Joburg standards... hours of heavy rain turning our car park into a muddy swamp. Lovely.

Finally, some lions...

I needed a break last weekend and went up to visit some friends in Johannesburg. It was brilliant because I got to see some amazing lions too whilst I was there. I'd remarked to Y that I hadn't seen any yet and she remembered the Lion Park so we headed there on Saturday morning. Bit pricey, but entry did include the cub section where we got to go in and stroke the lion cubs. I stroked this one (see photo), who is 3 months old! So soft and furry, like a massive cat. It was quite hot on Saturday so they were all lying around keeping cool in the shade. When I first stroked the lion it kept looking round but the keeper said I had to stroke firmly as otherwise they think I'm a fly and then might bite me... Cool... a real lion bite.. But anyway, it didn't go for me. The people who went in after us were getting their trainers chewed later on, but as we were only in flip-flops I'm glad they had just been chilling with us...

We also got to feed giraffes from a special raised platform. Cool.

Then we drove round the park and got up close and personal with more lions. (more photos on facebook) It was hot and the lions only get fed once a week on Sundays so they were loitering about under trees. The first lioness was very interested in the stupidity of the men in the white mercedes who were following us round, especially in the one man who opened his window and was leaning out to take photos. Those people were especially irritating as they were cutting up other cars to get to the lions first, and opening their windows etc... Not as stupid, however, as the woman who had her window down and her child in the back leaning out taking photos of the same hungry lioness a little bit later. When will people understand that the 'Lions are dangerous, unpredictable wild animals. Please keep car windows closed at all times' sign actually means just that!?!?! If the animal had been bothered, there would not have been time for that woman to get her child in and window closed...

Thankfully, no one was eaten, but the creatures are magnificent. Covered in flies and ticks, yes, but that doesn't change how wonderful they are. I can't get over the size of their paws. You wouldn't want to be in an arm wrestle with them. Or any kind of combat for that matter. They are just beautiful, majestic creatures and to get up close to them was incredible. God knew what he was doing when he created these as Kings of the Beasts...

I'm so happy that I've seen some lions, but I still want more. Having seen the Gauteng Lions I may have to pop into Natal Lion park in the next few weeks when Mum and Dad come out...

Soccer blues…

Sihle, the main soccer guy here, has managed to get tickets for all the Kaizer Chiefs games at Durban Absa Stadium. He's the man!

So last night I headed off to Durban with a couple of soccer-mad Zulu guys, the local Councillor and his men. The Councillor has the most easily recognisable car in the valley – a big black shiny Mercedes. Sihle had the honour of driving it last night and I’m sure he made sure he drove carefully as I followed him down the N3, he was certainly not breaking any laws… I wondered why the Councillor himself wasn’t driving his car, but as we drew close to the stadium, the reason became obvious. It’s hard to drive and blow a big yellow plastic horn to alert people of your arrival and allegiance in the forthcoming soccer match!!!

We scrambled right up to the back of the stadium, as it looked like it might rain and there we would be under cover. Then the waiting game began. We’d arrived about 1 hour early and the stadium was less than a quarter full. It filled up to over half full by the time the match began. I abandoned all hope of finding a toilet, or a source of dinner and contented myself with an apple. I was kind of stuck between 2 large Zulu guys and was fearful for a while that if they suddenly leapt up in enthusiasm that I would be swept up along with them, but thankfully I managed to extricate myself from that by breathing in at the appropriate moment!

The match began at 7.30pm. Kaizer Chiefs vs Moroko Swallows. We were on the K Chiefs side, but they were fairly weak for the majority of the game. There were some nice moves but the team didn’t seem to work well together. Thankfully they had a brilliant goal-keeper who successfully managed to field maybe 8 goals in the first half. Half time score was 0-0.

The second half picked up when Swallows scored twice in fairly quick succession. The fans for the ‘Birds’ were getting more and more excited and rowdy, but it was still quite contained. My last live soccer match had been 7 years ago in Italy when I had feared for my life as fireworks sped past my ears onto the pitch. The Africans are so well behaved in comparison. There was no funny business here, I didn’t even hear any expletives, but then there might have been some comments in Zulu that I missed!

The Chiefs finally got it together enough to score a goal. The crowd went wild. Finally some hope but only 15 minutes left. In that last 15 minutes however there were 2 red and 1 yellow cards for the Swallows and several minutes of stoppage time as I think no less than 3 Swallows went down and had to be stretchered off the pitch. In the last few minutes of extra time the Chiefs managed to mess up 2 attempts at goals. It was frustrating for the fans. Full time score: Swallows:2 – Chiefs: 1.

But all the same, it was a great night. Good to see some life soccer action in a country that is so soccer mad. And when 2010 comes around I can say I was in a stadium in S.Africa once. Although matches might not be played there, there is a bigger one being built next to the Absa Stadium. However, the workers down-tooled on that again this week so it’s anyone’s guess as to whether the place will be finished in time…

Linga Longa Animal Farm trip

One of the Preschools had been invited to come and visit Linga Longa Animal Farm near Drummond. This was fantastic because we’d been trying to plan a trip out but had got stuck with no money. So the invitation was perfect timing! Thank you God!

And so it was that yesterday morning, 57 preschoolers, a few teachers and volunteers and me set off round the windy mountain road to Drummond, only about 20 minutes away. The bus carrying all the children took an unexpected detour when they missed the turning, but they arrived soon enough.

Their trip started with a feast of hot dogs, juice and party bags full of sweets and these little dolphin toys which turned out to fire mini dolphins out when aimed at the unsuspecting farm animals. Following the feast the children were let loose on the farm with carrots to feed the expectant creatures. They saw donkeys, cows, sheep, pot-bellied pigs, goats, even chickens, rabbits, tortoise and marmoset monkeys (which are a cross between cute and mean-looking at the same time, very odd).

There was also a bird park, with a very chatty cockatiel that kept them amused for ages, especially when one of the teachers started mimicking the bird. It didn’t know what to do!

The centre had swings and slides too and a big screen with cartoons so there was plenty to keep them occupied for the morning. However, all too soon it was time to get back on the coach and head back to preschool.

As I normally pop in to preschool for a short time, I was not used to the onslaught of 57 under 5s. Maximum respect to anyone who works with these ‘creatures’ full time! Their attention span was averaging 3 minutes, with the exception of our children from here, who sat engaged in the TV for ages whilst others ran around them! It’s not like they never see TV, just not usually that big!

And on a supernatural note…

Spiritually, things have really opened up here this past week, in quite a dramatic fashion. It’s been quite a week. First thing that happened was on Tuesday when we received reports that one of the young Zulu guys had been taken ill suddenly, seemingly having had a stroke. I went down with my car to take him to the Drs, as he’s a good friend of mine. But on arrival I realised that this was something spiritual and he didn’t need a Dr, he needed prayer.
Pretty much all the Zulus on site gathered as well as our director and I to see what could be done. Most of the dialogue was in Zulu and I could only understand about half of what was said or was happening. It seemed he’d had some sort of vision about this site. He didn’t go into too much detail then, but later told me some of what he’d seen.
I was desperate to kick out any manifesting evil spirits, having had lots of training for it but little practice, but it was difficult to get in there as we were in the presence of a Zulu pastor and several other Zulu Christians. In any case, I held onto the wooden cross I carry around with me and prayed constantly in tongues for the whole duration of the encounter.
In the end we prayed outside the building. The guy had managed to get up and walk around, previously he’d claimed not to be able to move or see. During the prayers however another Zulu guy ran into the building screaming. It was all happening down there. Confusion still reigns a little bit.
Zulus are a superstitious lot. That’s why sangomas (traditional healers) make so much money, and it’s a gruesome business. This whole episode freaked a lot of people out. I wasn’t very freaked out or scared, in a country full of superstition and witchcraft I’m just surprised we’ve not seen more of this kind of thing around.
In any case, the conversations in the office afterwards have been good, with people more open to talk about spiritual stuff. And the winds of change are blowing. You can’t just ignore it when evil spirits manifest themselves.
If you understand what I’m going on about please pray for continued protection for us here and for wisdom for me in knowing what to do and when. It’s been an amazing week for me, I’ve never prayed so much or sang so much in worship. God is greater than any pathetic evil spirit. Jesus has won the victory and the devil now stands condemned. The power vested in me by the fact that I’m saved through the blood of Jesus means that I have authority over ALL spirits in the name of Jesus. There is nothing to fear as He that is in me is greater than he that is in the world. Nothing can stop the will of God and He will be glorified in this place.
Following these incidents, I’ve been in discussion with the deliverance and healing team from my church. They can’t just come in as a ‘quick fix’, more has to happen. Pray for guidance and open doors to come and work here, the devil might mean all this for bad, but God can and will turn it around for good, if we allow Him to. Pray that more people would turn and give their lives to Jesus, only by doing this can they truly be delivered and saved from further interference on the scale we’ve seen this week.

Interesting that this should happen at the very moment I make my decision to leave soon, and that the main people affected should be close friends of mine. (That’s not to say that people should get worried and avoid me from now on ;-) !!)

Future plans

Once again, it’s a period of blog drought followed by several blog entries all at once. Nothing can be done, such is the unpredictability of African life!

A week ago I made the final decision after a period of much soul-searching and prayer. Not long after coming back here from the UK I sensed once again a call from God to pursue ordination in the good old Church of England. I made a few enquiries here and there and it seems the best way to follow this call is to apply from the UK for selection (and all the other hoops to jump through on the way) and to return sooner rather than later.

And so it was that I was considering an earlier return to the UK. But then I started having doubts and, just like Jonah (the prophet, not the Young Zulu Warrior choir member) I set out in completely the opposite direction from Ninevah… But the strange thing about running away from God is that He makes you miserable and soon enough I was back in confusion-ville and heading to a ministry evening at church which proved very helpful for my thinking.

One of the people who prayed for me asked me what my 5-year plan was. Interesting question, easy answer (for me at least) – get married, have children, establish a speaking ministry with maybe a book published. Then he asked me what I’m doing about achieving that. It was a crucial moment.

I don’t think I’m coming back to the UK on a whim, I’ve taken advice from various wise people and everyone concurs on the fact that it’s time to come back to the UK (at least for the next few years). Just to confirm all of that, I received prophetic ministry a few days later. A lot of good stuff, nearly all of it linked in some way to leaving. Good, especially as those people praying knew pretty much nothing except my name.

And so I shall be returning to the UK in early February, enough time to finish up and hand over my projects from here and to see Christmas celebrated well and back to school up and running. My main focus is to get Ingcindezi preschool kitchen and new classroom all ready and finished off for the start of the new academic year in mid-January. Then I can leave.

When you make the right decision with God, He confirms it over and over, and the reaction from people I’ve told already has been fantastic. Everyone seems genuinely pleased that I’m coming back to the UK, probably Leamington again for the moment, whilst I do my application. People here, Zulus especially, are less pleased, but I’ll be back to visit, and in the meantime I’ll be speaking out for them wherever I go. You can’t come some place like this and make such good friends with people and not talk about them to others. I’m really at peace about coming back, I can now enjoy the last few months here with the children.

I've found somewhere to upload photos!!! ;-)

The New Chief and Old Chief are escorted down by the Counsellors, Chiefs and others, including the Young Zulu Warriors.

Me and my Zulu girl-friends...

Here are a couple of photos from the Inauguration of the New Chief. (so you can see how cool I look dressed as a Zulu!)

Maphepheteni

This is the creature that they make the tops of shields from - wild cat apparently.
Me and Mdu's younger brother (whose name I've temporarily forgotten!)

Before the joys of rugby I spent a few hours in the Valley near Inanda Dam on Saturday afternoon. My friend Mdu wanted to visit his family and so I drove him down there. It's a stunningly beautiful drive down the mountain towards a lake that would not look out of place in N.Italy next to Lake Garda.

Mdu's family live along the banks of the River Duzi, famous for a marathon boat race once a year (not sure when?) and you have to cross the river (thankfully there's a road bridge) and then drive along the river and then down a track right up close to the river before descending through a field to get to their place. Last time I apparently drove 'too fast', so now I let him drive the last bit, which meant I was free to take photos. (again there are loads more on facebook).

Once we got there, Mdu took the kids off to the store and I was left with his family, which was interesting as the majority of them don't speak English. One of his younger brothers, Khaye, speaks good English so he made sure I was being looked after. Bit of an awkward moment when they brought out a bottle of coke for me to drink. I haven't had coke since 2003 as it makes me ill. Took me a little while to get them to understand that. (Ngiyaxolisa kodwa uma ngiphuza icoke, ngiyagula kakhulu.... ) check out my Zulu ;-) Eventually I managed to get some pineapple fanta (still full of sugar, but no caffeine!)

In any case, their family are big on making shields and traditional costume and they do this in the rondavel where they entertain visitors. So I got a great insight into how one makes these things. The animal that they use for the tops of the shields (Chris L - this is what's on your shield! - you wanted to know) is a small wild cat that they catch locally. There were several skins hanging up to dry. The skins that are used for drums were being stored in a pond down by the river and while we were down there, the wife of one of the brothers came down with a rake and hoiked them out. What a smell! Pond-soaked animal skins...

They have their own beach down by the river. You can walk across the river to the other side but I refrained. And I'm glad I did as I later found out that this river is rather polluted. I imagined it would be, it's used for many different purposes not just canoe marathons. The family don't wash white clothes in there, but I think that's the only thing that doesn't get put there!

Anyway, it was so nice to be in the middle of nowhere, to be surrounded by beautiful mountains, and to not hear any traffic. It was so tranquil and peaceful.

Rugby

I did watch the match on Saturday night. I felt I had to really although I'm not a huge rugby fan.

The atmosphere here was hyped up, to say the least. I'd spent the afternoon at a friend's house in the valley (away from all rugby talk!) and we popped into Spur (S.Africa's favourite steak house) for food on the way to watch rugby at church. The TVs were already on and EVEN SPUR was closing at 8pm on a Saturday night so that the staff could watch...

We watched the first half at my church on big screen, a very well-attended event. They'd had a braai just before. The room was full of 120 S.Africa supporters and me. I shouted 'come on England' at appropriate moments at a volume barely audible by mice...

My Zulu friend Mdu had never seen a rugby match before (he's a soccer boy) and was quite fascinated by the hype. But he concluded after a few moments that the game was 'a bit rough'... and he wasn't too bothered when we left at half time to get home.

The biggest joy of the evening was the N3. We passed 1 lorry and 2 cars on a normally hectic busy motorway. It was bliss! ;-)

I watched the rest of the game alone at home. Sorry for England, but hey, we did win last time so it's only fair to allow others a moment of glory. After the game the TV coverage went to various places around the country for 'how the people are celebrating' report. Durban was the funniest. The presenter got mobbed and you couldn't hear a word. So they switched cameras to a woman and the same thing happened to her. Then a random woman looking for her friend wandered into shot. It was classic botch-up television...

Amahle (aged 6) reminded me last night that South Africa had beaten England and that England were the losers. I thought I should maybe beat him at basketball for that comment, but then the nicer side of me kicked in and I allowed him to win. He does have a disadvantage in being about 3 ft 6...

Prayer letter

I've just sent out my latest prayer letter. Contact me if you didn't get it but want one...

Please pray in addition to this about my energy levels... you know when you get to that stage of not having any energy to care about things being discussed that it's time for a break..

I'm on weekend off now but haven't gone anywhere to stay cos my car has cost me too much this month in service fees and paying for new tyres...

But I'm sure that even at my house I can be refreshed. I need some fresh energy and inspiration. Everything is becoming tiresome. I'm going on holiday in December when my parents come out but right now it seems that even next weekend off is a long way off!

Having said I'm going nowhere I will be watching the rugby this evening, with Americans instead of South Africans. It's bad enough being in 'enemy territory' at this time, let alone having to watch it with them... Secretly I hope England win, then I can smile sweetly at everyone, but in reality I don't really care, I'm more of a football girl... and there's no chance that there would ever be an England - SA final for that!! ;-)

Inauguration of Nkosi Mlaba

Last Saturday the inhabitants of the Valley of Kwa Ximba celebrated a rare occasion – the inauguration of a new Chief. The new Chief’s father had been killed when he was small and his uncle has been serving as Chief until this one was old enough. Now, at age 28, he is ready to take on his designated role as Chief of a very large area of the Valley of 1000 Hills. These kind of events don’t happen very often and the King of the Zulus himself was present to do the deed.
We were privileged enough to be invited to join in the celebrations and the Young Zulu Warriors were invited to lead the escort of men down from the Chief’s house to the soccer ground where the big marquee was set up. They were also asked to perform after the ceremony, but due to reasons beyond their control they didn’t actually perform in the end.

The day itself was hot, with a thunderstorm brewing for later in the day. We had to be down there early. The ceremony was due to start at 10am, with the new Chief (Nkosi) being escorted down from his house at 8.45am. In reality, Africa time set in and the actual ceremony began at 12.30pm. The King didn’t arrive until about 11.30am and the Nkosi was definitely not arriving triumphantly at 8.45am, it was more like 10! One gets used to these timings and comes prepared to wait around.

All of our children over the age of 10 were invited and they had to opportunity to wear traditional Zulu dress. The boys wore skins – a kind of skirt, 2 calf bracelet things, 2 arm bands and a headband, all made from animal skins. It took Mdu about 7 hours to make 8 of these costumes up new on the day before. The girls wore black tops with beads and different skirts, all adorned with beads. They opted out of the ‘traditional’ costume of going topless. The majority of girls there did go topless though, as tradition states. Married women wear full outfits with many beads and great hats.

The Nkosi’s arrival was something to behold. He marched down from his house on top of the hill flanked by the out-going Chief and the Local Chiefs and Councillors. Just behind them came the Young Zulu Warriors and they were accompanied by all the other men of the area, some in traditional skins, others just with their shield and sticks. There were probably several hundred men escorting him down. At a short distance behind them came the girls and women, singing and dancing. It was quite a sight to see as they marched into the grounds, brandishing their sticks and shields and shouting victoriously.

Then the waiting began for the King to arrive. The rest of the Royal entourage were in place but it was still an hour or so before His Majesty King Goodwill Zwelithini turned up. And then we heard police sirens and looked up the hill that was in the distance and saw the police escort arriving. The King had maybe 8 police cars escorting him in. His car registration is ZK1 – nice. However this is obviously a state secret as when one of the Brits with me tried to take a photo with his phone he met with opposition from the police and was made to delete it immediately on pain of losing his phone…

A group of Christian guys (and one woman!) from the UK had visited earlier in the week and had been invited, so I spent the day with them. We got VIP passes which ensured us front row seats (although not in the raised seating section for the Chiefs and royal family) and entry to the dining tent for the customary beef curry afterwards. We also had access to the VIP toilets, but unfortunately they were locked. There was also a hospitality tent, which we later discovered was in fact the King’s tent and we’d just stolen his water… oops. He didn’t seem to notice thankfully so our heads remained on… The Brits thought this was the most amazing day and what an experience. Indeed, it’s not the kind of thing one can just walk into and they were very clever in picking their time to visit us so that they could take this experience away with them.

When the King was there and all was set we could proceed into the big marquee where there was a triumphant entry of the king, surrounded by the men and accompanied by a praise caller (who also works at the rugby and is a guy I’ve definitely seen on TV ads) who shouts out praises to the King as he enters. The guy is loud.

There then followed about 3 hours of Zulu, of which I understood about 10 words. I stood up when there should only be men standing, but the mistake was pointed out quickly to me and rectified. I carefully observed some of our girls outside chatting to local youth, unbeknown to them that I could see. I chuckled at the lack of stamina of the Brits, who are strangers to these ceremonies and were dozing off one at a time. I smiled sweetly and looked demure when I noticed the video camera was pointing straight at me. (I later regretted not watching the news on Sunday when I was on SABC1 and SABC2 news. Am trying to track down a copy for a souvenir.)

The actual inauguration took about 2 minutes. The King had a shiny sword and it looked like he knighted Nkosi Mlaba. I was later told by Zulus that his speech was good. He is a popular King with his people and you could tell. It seemed very entertaining and people laughed a lot. Except his first wife, she fell asleep. Probably heard that joke before.

After the ceremony we retired to the dining tent. The Brit boys went up to get some food and were in the process of getting their plates filled when someone realised that we had to wait until the King had been served in his tent, so the food was unceremoniously thrown back and they had to wait! But we didn’t have to wait long.

When the King had been escorted off, the VIPs went up to the Nkosi’s house where the real party was happening. I had to make a brief stop there to present a cake from our organisation, as my director was ill and unable to attend the event. The cake was well-received. I’d taken a couple of German volunteers with me to film the cake-handing over moment but they were more engrossed in the action outside the Chief’s house where the cows were being killed for food. I chose not to watch, I don’t need to see it to understand the brutality of how Zulus prepare their feasts. But the boys loved it!

These are the kind of days that make me really appreciate being here and in the position I find myself in. One can’t just walk into these events, you have to be invited and it’s always such a privilege to be invited to be a part of the local culture and tradition. It makes for very interesting conversations and broadens our minds as to what other cultures value and how they celebrate important events. The Zulus love having non-Zulus come too, not many white people go down into these valleys and so any that do venture down there (particularly if we have a soccer ball in the car!) are made to feel very welcome.

Inauguration

Last Saturday we celebrated the inauguration of Nkosi Mlaba in the Valley of Kwa Ximba...
the story will follow... just running out of time at internet cafe... ;-)
unfortunately I can't get photos on today, but have put some on facebook as it's easier to upload...

oh and I was apparently on National TV as well, on SABC news Sunday night on at least 2 channels... and I missed it!

trying to track down the tape...

Rain

It has rained solidly here since Sunday afternoon. We had a brief thunderstorm yesterday to make things slightly more exciting, but apart from that it's wall-to-wall rain, a grey blanket across the skies and a lot of mud and potholes. The track that leads from the tar road up to here is now full of holes and water, making any attempt at negotiating it hazardous. Unfortunately it's the only way out of here.
I couldn't go to small group at church last night. Driving was too hazardous and it was very dark.. Annoying as they were going to pray for me.
One of my preschools was closed today too due to the bad rain, and at another one attendance was low. When the weather is this bad people don't leave home.
Apparently it's due to get better on Thursday, but that's 2 more days of rain... it's bad enough up here on the top of a hill, I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like in the muddy valleys...

And it doesn't help that I'm waking every morning depressed. I know something is wrong because normally I wake up in a good mood, but for a while now I've been waking in a weird mood, kind of gloomy. It's like I've turned into Eeyore and everything is a chore. I keep falling asleep too easily too... (so far I missed the only goal in last week's Man U v AS Roma match AND the end of The Matrix... it's not good) . I've tried praying it off but wonder if it's something I've got to go through and that things will get better soon. I hope they do. Please pray with me through this. God is faithful, but for some reason I'm just glum...

car antics..

It never ceases to amaze me how good God is... Despite the terrible roads over here, He still faithfully protects and provides for me on my frequent travels..

Late yesterday afternoon, I drove a friend, Mdu, to visit his family in Maphephetini, by Inanda dam (possibly the most beautiful dam in this country..) and we would have been ok apart from the thunderstorm that started as soon as we got there. We managed to get out of the deepest bit of the valley ok, but as I was driving up the mountain to Hillcrest, with rivers of water flowing down towards us from the top on the windy road, I managed to drive over a BIG pothole which resulted in the front tyre of my car bursting... (having just been repaired from an embedded nail from another valley road!) So poor old Mdu had to change the tyre in the rain. Zulus don't like storms so he was especially brave! ;-) He's such a star, didn't complain once!

As we were sorting my car out, another car went past which must have done exactly the same manoeuvre as they too had a flat...

Anyway, about half an hour later and soaking wet (I'd been holding the umbrella, but it wasn't much help!) we could go on our way again and made it home safely.

Then this morning, as I was setting out for Durban, I got a frantic call telling me that my rear passenger tyre was flat... so I had to reverse up the track to get back to the soccer field where all the guys where playing a soccer tournament and take one of them with me to the garage to buy 2 new tyres...

It was only on reflection that I realised both tyres must have been hit by the same pothole, yet the back one survived through the storm, roadworks and delays to get home last night. Had it gone then we would almost certainly have been in trouble.. God is good!

ray of sunshine...

funeral 2

As promised, here's my account of the funeral that we went to on Tuesday.

First of all, it was a long way away. I was so glad that I didn't actually have to drive as it was so far. So I travelled in the front of the Combi (the same one I drove a year ago if you can remember that far back). I was also glad as the road we took went from tar road to gravel road, then dirt, then rocks, across a stream and over smaller rocks, through some mud, down a shingly track and into what can only be compared to the wilderness of a game reserve (minus the lions, hopefully) in the absolute middle of nowhere. As far as we could make out, the nearest neighbours were about 6 km away on another mountain slope! Ultimate respect to Samson for driving a combi through what was essentially a 4x4 offroad adventure track! (incidentally, the combi stopped working the next morning, wonder why?!)

So we went via New Hannover to pick up the coffin and then on past Greytown, Muden and into the wilderness for 1 hour till we arrived at the birthplace of the lady. It was bleak, dry rocky ground which was difficult for the men to dig a grave in, probably why they were still digging when we had to leave. Although we did find out that there had been some dispute as to whether she could be buried there as well, which caused delays.

The coffin was taken into the house and the photos and yellow roses that Catherine felt we should buy were laid on the top. Then everyone sat around and sang, prayed and cried in Zulu for what felt like ages. Spha, the little boy sat very quietly to start with but was restless after a while. N, the baby was grabbed by some relatives and didn't appreciate that at all so she wailed a bit, but calmed down later. In fact, both children we very well behaved, all things considered.

And that was it really, we had to drive back before they put the coffin in the ground. The most poignant thing was that the coffin was made of chipboard and cardboard and held together with what looked like tacks. That nearly got me. Even in death, poverty is alive and well. It was all that could be afforded with what little she had. Although at least she had a funeral, apparently there are hundreds of unclaimed bodies in the mortuary that have to be buried in mass graves..

The children are now with us here, now the task falls to Auntie Pretty to sort out their welfare with the social workers. They continue to settle in and are doing well. Pray for the health of the baby and that Spha will adapt to an English speaking environment when he only speaks Zulu.

Tired

It's amazing how tired one can get here. The weather has been awful and it's chucked it down with rain since about 2 days ago which is depressing and muddy. No thunderstorms, but it's only a matter of time...

I thought I'd poisoned myself last week on some dodgy turkey, but now I think it must have been a tummy bug cos Catherine went down with it last night and we've pretty much eaten the same food. Am glad I didn't get it as bad as her, although I still had to take last Thursday off to rest. This actually was good for me as I had been stupidly tired and that way I had some energy for the weekend of work. I'm finding more and more that I'm totally exhausted at the end of each day, frequently falling asleep in front of the TV or with the light on...

Where is the sun?

The baby (see previous blog) has been a little ray of sunshine. I got her a few toys and a playmat as she had nothing. These stay in my house as otherwise they'd be trashed by the other kids in seconds. She comes over and loves playing. In the space of a week she's learnt that if she pulls the lion's tail it sings and that the toy book has things to pull too. She's nearly crawling, is getting in position... it won't be long. This child has spent the first 6 months of her life in the sugar cane of Swayimane, sleeping at night in a rickety old valley toilet. Considering that, she's positively a child genius! ;-)

funeral

Tomorrow I'll be attending my first Zulu funeral. We took in 2 children a few weeks ago as their mother was seriously ill. It was a privilege to pray for her last Tuesday when she was here briefly. She looked as if the hope had gone from her eyes. She died early on Saturday morning in a hospice. She was 29.

The funeral is tomorrow in her birthplace far from here. There was no one to move her body from the hospice to the mortuary yesterday so we had to send a car to help. We'll be providing the same help tomorrow. The funeral directors are overwhelmed and so it falls to the families to organise everything. In this case there is little family around, although we have made contact with her brother who is arranging everything.

I have spent quite a bit of time making sure that the 6 month old girl has been cared for properly here with us. She is a little treasure and at her age I guess she won't remember much about her mother. Her brother has settled into the creche, he's gorgeous too, but only speaks Zulu and it's fun to watch the volunteers try to communicate with him. I am managing to speak Zulu with him, albeit haltingly. He's about 4 so will feel his mother's death more. Both children will be with us tomorrow as it's traditional.

I'll write more after the event. At the moment we are busy sorting out logistics. I'm sure there is more to reflect on. I took photos of her with her son last week. These are being printed here at the internet cafe as I write. One or two will be framed and placed on the coffin tomorrow.

National Is’cathamia Competition

Last Saturday night the boys from the Young Zulu Warriors took part in the 10th National Is’cathamia Competition in Durban City Hall. For once I happened to be on weekend off and staying in Durban and we went to support them. The competition started at 7pm and finished around 10am the following morning! We go there around 7.30pm and the boys were number 18 in the line-up but didn’t get to perform their one song until 11.30pm!
Thankfully we were able to come and go in and out of the building to see various performers and then rejoin the boys outside where they were entertaining passers-by and also scaring off the lesser competition by singing loudly. We only saw maybe 6 other groups, and the standard was high. But when the YZWs came on stage, their sound levels and power in their voices blew the competition away and made everyone sit up and take notice (especially those who were already dozing!).
They did really well and walked away the next morning in third position. Considering this is a national competition they did really well.

intermittent ramblings...

September 17, 2007
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
Romans 12:3-5

This was the Bible verse on Facebook today. Just put it on to remind me...

I've been off-internet again, the frustration continues... it's not going to go away.. But the joy of making it to an internet cafe supercedes that and being able to communicate with people who care overrides all annoyance!

Life is fraught with annoying people and situations at the moment, wonder if this is a test of my patience. It's certainly testing... Seems like I am suddenly surrounded by 'challenging' people... Pray for everything I need to live as a child of God in this place. I need support...

Have been busy working on a few workshops and meetings, which are too complex to describe, but they are keeping me occupied a lot. And I need to develop the learnings too. I struggle with this kind of work, I'm not a secretary and I only like Admin if it means I get to spend time with lots of people also, so I'm seriously challenged about my 'office' role at the moment. Lots of thinking about the future. Have some great ideas but don't know the 'how' yet. If they are from God then that will fall into place, so I'm not that worried...

On a different note, we gained 2 more children yesterday, rescued from near tragic situation in the valley. They are doing well and settling in. One is a baby and one is 3, the 3 yr old has a similar name to someone in creche so they were having fun with that last night! This is the first time we've taken in children since I've been here. It's weird that our big family here has increased overnight so unexpectedly. Pray for the children's mother who is in hospital, seriously ill.

ok, time is up here at the internet cafe! Thank you for continuing to pray and support me, even if communication this year seems fraught with difficulties... well, it is Africa after all so I don't know why I'm worried...

Auntie

Oh, and I forgot to say.. Last Friday I became an Auntie for the second time!

J&B had a sister for Gwyneth... Eirys (Iris) Katherine Sofia.

Finally managed to see photos online on Sunday night, she's so teeny tiny and gorgeous. Felt a twinge of sadness that I won't be able to hold her for a long time as no plans to return to UK in the near future, and also that all my family were together without me, but then I remembered that she won't remember any of it, so as long as I see her before her first Birthday I think I'll be ok!

Congratulations to J&B
Commiserations to G for now having to share her parents
and J probably needs prayer for having to live in a female-dominated household!!!

Klutz...

I think I'm becoming a klutz.

First of all I have the whole car light incident (see previous entry), then I manage to lose my car in another mall car park on Sunday and end up exceeding the time on the ticket. Following this I manage to drive into a multi-storey car park at JHB airport looking for the petrol station and have to ask nicely for the security to let me out again immediately (which they did!) .

And then yesterday I went down the valley to visit a preschool with a new volunteer and warned her about the slippiness of a gravel slope you have go down to get into the school. I've been there so many times and never had problems and yesterday I went straight over and slid (gracefully, I like to think) down the slope, grazing my leg and cutting my toe in the process... hmm. Klutzy...

And then I manage to drop my lunch on the floor so that the cats got a good meal of smoked chicken and I had to make do with eggs...

what is going on???!!

Am annoyed this morning because my toe still hurts and I couldn't go to my dance lesson, which means I have no opportunity for exercise this week at all (not good for my health!!) I'm in a workshop from tomorrow to Friday. I think I'll live, although walking is a little painful. It's not a doctor-worthy injury though, but I'm glad I have an automatic car so I don't need to use that leg! This was my first 'accident' since I arrived in S.Africa so it was kind of exciting, although a trifle painful too... Glad I've had all my shots!

Jo'burg

I'm just back from a great few days in the South African Capital of Fun, Johannesburg. Some people question what there is to do there, but there's lots, if you know where to look!

Had a good couple of days at CASNET, where I learnt far more than I really wanted to about child abuse in a Child Protection Workshop, for one thing.The usual hotel where we stayed has recently been awarded some kind of tourism award recently. So you'd think they'd have done away with such insults to la cucina italiana as 'Pasta Hawaii' - penne, carrots, pineapple baked in a white sauce with cheese on top. Any self-respecting Italian in the vicinity would have stormed the kitchens in protest. 'Weird' doesn't really sum it up right. 'Wrong' might be a better description!

In any case, Allet flew up and joined me and our little blue boy-racer VW Chico on Friday evening. I'd picked up the car earlier in the day and driven close by to the airport to East Rand Mall. When I tried to remove key from ignition an alarm went off and I couldn't work out why. After a 10 minute phone call to Avis careline, and conversations with VW experts, the nice man on the other end of the phone pointed out to me that I'd left my lights on... Doh! (It had been a looooong week)

Saturday late morning and we were in the middle of 4 lanes of crazy traffic leaving the CBD (Central Business District) with combi-taxis weaving in and out. (We were reminded later that there are major taxi wars going on at the moment, with shoot outs and all the rest - thankfully no-one was in a violent mood on Saturday!) And this is why... it was the Gauteng Carnival in Newtown. And there were many many police on patrol. Possibly the safest place to be on a Saturday afternoon... In any case, we had a mooch round at the entertainment and then popped into MuseuMAfrica for some more culture.

The Museum is massive, and we only managed a bit before needing lunch. We informed ourselves about the 'Tried for Treason' trials of the late 1950's. Crazy times, in a land then plagued by Apartheid, the state still tried people of all tribes and colours for so-called crimes against the state. Perhaps these events alerted the rest of the world to some of the troubles SA was facing.. It was a fascinating exhibition, with a lot of photos and newspaper cuttings of the time.We also managed to fit in a musical styles of Africa exhibition, settlements and shebeens section and a whole load of photos on Ghandi, who was quite prominent in S.Africa at one point.

A couple of shopping malls later, and a quick trip to an African craft market to get hassled by the traders and we headed to the Victory Theatre to see a show called 'Africa Umoja'. This show was in the West End of London for 2 years from 2001 so maybe some people have seen it, but it was great. It was a kind of history of the musical styles of SA from the stomping and drumming to the very new kwaito movement. The show was amazing and very entertaining. It's moving to Durban soon so might manage to persuade some of the YZWs to come along for the show too...

On Sunday, we went to Rhema Church again. Great preaching, great worship. (and am reminded I still need to update on the wonderful things that happened last time I went!)

Then we went to Sandton City and Nelson Mandela Square, which boasts probably the biggest statue of Madiba in the world! After lunch at Monte Casino (which seems to be a huge indoor Italian town filmset!) it was time to head back to the airport and down to rainy KZN.

What a weekend! It was busy but fun. It was fantastic to stay with my friends up there and to spend some time catching up with them. Another busy week awaits so it was good to be refreshed!

another day... another internet cafe...

Postnet is quite a refreshingly competent internet cafe. I wasn't going to come back online so soon, but I was in PMB this morning and got a call that there's currently no electricity or telephone at home so it's not worth rushing back to the office this morning, it would be rather dark...

Took our little 4-yr old home from hospital yesterday so that's good news. She wanted to get straight back on her bike, not thinking that she is temporarily one-handed... she'll learn! She threw the biggest sulk possible in hospital but thankfully clicked out of it the moment the Dr signed the discharge documents. I was reminded just how much mums have to go through with small children and am full of absolute respect for those who put up with this kind of behaviour on a regular basis! And am so glad that I don't have kids (yet!) ;-)

Tomorrow I'm off to Joburg. This weekend Allet and I will be exploring the city. We are mightily miffed that The Lion King show at Montecasino is fully booked and we can't go. We'll find something to entertain us, it is one of the major cities in Africa... Am looking forward to it and to getting away from the dysfunctionalities (is that a word?) of living rurally, even for a weekend!

internet failure

I don't know what's going on but systematically my internet connections at home and in the office have failed for no reason! I am not a happy bunny.
Have driven half an hour into town to check my email. It's getting ridiculous.

So that's why you've not heard from me for the past week.

Lots has happened though and I'm very busy. Off to Joburg on Wed for CASNET and a weekend exploring the city with Allet.

Spent a lot of this past weekend sitting in hospital with one of our 4 year olds who managed to break her arm badly at preschool last week. She's coming home today and that's good because she was getting very bored in there!!! Pray for complete healing in her arm.

Also please pray for Ph who is one of my preschool teachers, she is very sick with some mystery thing. I visited her last week and prayed with her. It all sounds very strange and she's been ill for a month. Don't know what could have caused it except maybe stress. But she wants to get better. more when I visit her again.

I did Church yesterday morning, it was so AWESOME to be back praising with the kids and to have an opportunity to teach them about Jesus. I'm more organised this term and we're planned right up to Christmas. There are some fantastic and keen new Christians here too so all is looking good. Catherine arrived safely yesterday too so all is well.

Must go, time is running out!

More when I can get back on line.... PRAY for that too!!!
thanks , bye!

The reality of living in Africa...

People go on and on about the violent crime rate in South Africa. Many South Africans are prepared to leave the country at a moment’s notice. For a brief moment this weekend the thought crossed my mind too. But the reality is that crime is everywhere and here is no exception.

On Friday afternoon a couple of men walked into reception during the weekly pay-out of wages and asked for one of our staff by name. They then brought out guns and proceeded to take the money. In the kerfuffle one of them fired a shot which THANKFULLY only hit the window and the wall outside, although people were passing there a millisecond later and are traumatised by it all (as you would be, understandably). The bullet hole remains as testimony to what happened. As it was payday there were lots of people milling around, most ran for cover and made sure that none of the children were nearby.

The gunmen made off with a reasonable amount of cash, but not without a fight. Patches (the wonderdog) was on the case and she went for the legs of one of the attackers, digging her teeth in and generally making a nuisance of herself to protect people. She somehow managed to dodge 2 bullets in the process although most onlookers are amazed that she didn’t get shot. But she’s fast. (She’s sitting on the bed next to me as I write this, approving of everything I write!)

It was an inside job. Someone knows who these people were. They knew too much for it to be a random event. Now that the dust has settled there is widespread relief that no-one got hurt (PRAISE GOD) although some fear that these men may return. Although I imagine that is unlikely. Too many people saw them and their car. Needless to say the way we handle cash here has been rapidly rethought.

By God’s grace, I was not on the property at the time. Just half an hour earlier I had made a snap decision to go shopping and didn’t discover what had happened until the next morning. I didn’t even think much of Patches devouring lots of food in the evening and chewing up a big piece of cardboard. She is, after all, an overgrown puppy and very boisterous. Little did I know then that she is also hero of the hour!

The whole incident brings home how dangerous it can be here though. My house is next door to reception, a bit too close for comfort. And yet although I went through the initial fear of ‘what if’, I am reminded that GOD IS IN COMPLETE CONTROL and all of our days are in His hands. He is my Protector and my Saviour and so I do not need to fear. And I’ve got my cats and Patches in my house as guard creatures. I don’t think people would last long if they came near me when P is around. She’s becoming very protective after her first brush with danger! I’m starting to wonder if she might not be a special angelic dog sent to help out here.

Land handover event

On Thursday a whole gang of us went down into the valley of Swayimane to a land-handover ceremony. A family there has donated some land to us for free so that we can build another pre-school project there. But before we can start building we needed to do all the formalities of switching ownership.

It was quite fascinating. In typical Zulu fashion, I'd had to go the long way and arrived nearly 2 hours late and it still hadn't started officially. I got to sit with the dignitaries (in the shade!) and enjoy the stoney ginger beer... Although the land was free, we'd still had to provide the sheep (for dinner), all the food for lunch and various other offerings.

After several pleasantries and speeches, and a performance by the YZW choir, the offical visit of the land happened, with a group walking the boundary and marking it out. Only after this had been completed could lunch begin...

My Zulu is improving, I can now understand what's being said and follow the gist of the conversation and speeches. Still a way to go before I can respond properly though.

Although, I did manage my first conversation in Zulu in the valley on Wednesday. I visited a pre-school and enquired where the teacher was and managed to establish from one of the other teachers that she was ill. The conversation, though short, went as follows:

Me: Sawubona, ninjani?
Ladies: sikhona. Unjani?
Me: Ngiyaphila. UPhumzile?
Ladies: Phumzile abekho.
Me: Uyagula?
Ladies: Yebo.

Amazing. Not a word of English and communication was perfect.
I am well pleased with my progress.

Back to KZN

I'm back.

Although I've been struggling to get online all week. Apologies for lack of news.

It was great to get back 'home' here again. The kids were all excited to see me, they've got a little song that they sing for me and I've heard it all week. It's so cute.

I brought the crechies some disney princess/winnie the pooh kids cutlery (very imaginative, it took me a while) and they loved it! Everyone else has proper cutlery and the crechies had to use plastic spoons, so these are special... It was so sweet seeing them use them for the first time and loving it.

There's a positive atmosphere in the air with lots of new, enthusiastic and keen volunteers. It's taking me a while to work out who is who, I reckon it will still take me a while as I don't have much to do with them during the week, but I'll get there. It helps too that the sun was shining and it was beautifully warm when I returned (much nicer than the pollution of Jo'burg). It's almost spring!

My house is still in one piece, apart from signs of a passing rat under the sink. Must be the absence of the cats in the kitchen that allowed it to visit. After eating the entire cardboard bit of the lightbulb box and most of a box of washing powder it moved on. Strangely it didn't go near the food cupboard... Needless to say, the cats are back in full force now. Because HR was away for so long, her cats have moved to reception and the former reception cats have moved to mine... so now when I come home instead of a ginger furball rushing out of the undergrowth, I am greeted by 3 little treasures from different directions all wanting attention and cat biscuits. Natha is small, black, scratchy and argumentative, so he doesn't get to come in much. Veenie is tortoiseshell, soft, gentle and cuddly and she's most welcome (although she hates it when I have to evict her in the rain). Tubbles is a bit miffed that she has to share her blanket, but she's getting over it fast. To add to all of this, Patches the dog has also moved in, even though she did chew up a whole piece of cardboard this evening on the kitchen floor. (better than the carpet that she was starting on before I found the distraction of cardboard!) I've no clue how to look after dogs, and it's getting a bit crowded in here, but for the moment it's fun (and there's no sign of any more rodents either!)