Sunday 12th August - Monday 20th

This last week has been full of exciting things, tramps fighting, dead cats and Kate running over mikes foot.

The scary thing is that this now takes us up to only having two weeks left, so our time has been getting pretty hectic. I am still working at PCC everyday, but I guess you are bored of hearing about that now, so I’m just going to write about all the extras.

Sunday 12^th

We visited Pastor Richards [he works at CCP] church in a township called Dambuza. His congregation is about 25 people max, small but very welcoming, they meet in the side room of this huge warehouse. It was pretty daunting however when we were asked to go up to the front and sing and share, however we were happy to ‘submit’ to rob and mike and leave it to them! Score!

After that we went to Thabile’s house for lunch and spent some time with her family. They have just moved into their new home in one of the townships, very basic but also very homely. She cooked us some awesome food that we got to eat with out hands [always good].

In the evening we went to NCF and it was a special night called Astounding where a guy [legend] called Mark Wimble did a tour of the galaxy’s to show the awesomeness of God [a rip off of a Louie Giglio [sp?] preach] and then it was followed by a nice bit of Mug and Bean [our last ever!].

Tuesday 14^th

We had a bit of change to our schedule in the morning I went to the devotions at CCP [lots of good zulu singing] and then we went to visit Tandi’s crèche in the community. The councel gave her a plot of land and said ‘build a crèche’ so she came to project gateway for help. The crèche was really nice and well decorated [mostly by previous gateway teams] we brought along with us some toys and played and sung with the children.

We then went and had lunch with Jeff and Merlin who we do hospital feeding with and Karen and Nigel, the leaders of the feeding also joined us. They invited us over to say goodbye and a thank you before we left. They are an Indian couple so we arrived ready to be overfed delicious foods and we weren’t wrong. There were all sorts of different dishes and our plates were refilled at every opportunity. It was a really nice chance to socialise with people we had only previously worked with and to hear more about how the project had been started [Karen and Nigel never having taken no for an answer!]

The day was ended by the usual prayer meeting at NCF which I always enjoy.

Wednesday 15^th

Wednesday we did the school assembly at Gateway Christian School. It was really good and the kids behaved and joined in well. We did a bit of singing with them, some drama and taught them about Gideon and the Israelites when they went into battle. It was nice for the kids to show the school what we have been teaching them in music and P.E. I then made my way over to PCC only to find that Michael’s [PCC] car had just been crashed into by a Comby! There was a massive dent in the side and he was a bit shaken, the police came out and everything is fine now, insurance will cover it.

The rest of the day I spent putting the DVD together with mike and editing it – it’s surprising how long something like that can take.

In the evening us and the summer team were invited over to Baba Urnest and his wife’s house/church. He was one of the men who helped start up Project Gateway [when at the end of apartheid a Zulu, English and an Africans man came together to unite and work in the area for God].. They had prepared traditional Zulu food which was steamed bread and a bean sauce. It was pretty tasty until rob found two massive hairs in his, then it seemed a little less appealing! We then sung lots of zulu worship songs and heard about some of Baba Urnest’s experiences so it was a pretty cool night.

Thursday 16th

On Thursday I spent most of the day trying to sort out my University place. I have a place at Warwick for Philosophy and Psychology but have never really felt settled about it, so Rebecca called me and told me all the places in clearing to see if there was anything I preferred. The morning was spent making lots of phone calls back and forth, and as of yet nothing has been decided, so watch this space!

In the evening we had cell, which we cooked for. It was a special cell round a bon fire so we cooked hamburgers and had marshmallows. It was a really nice evening and pretty sad to think that it was one of our last.

Friday 17^th

On Friday Kate and I went with Pregnancy crisis center to Maritzburg College[the top all boys school in the area] to sit in on a sex talk. It was strange to see the contrast between this school and the township school we had previously been in. Michael did well with the talk and I managed to not laugh so it was a success!

In the evening we went to The Boston BBQ which was probably the best thing ever. We were given free vouchers [acquired for us by the amazing Di Milford] and it was an all you can eat buffet. There was SO much food, with separate counters where you could get Chinese, curry, carvery, pasta, stir fry’s, exotic [I ate crocodile], vegetarian etc! It was like visiting 10 different restaurants! I ate and ate [no surprise that African people keep coming up to Anna, Kate and I and making weight related comments – nice!]

Sarturday 18^th

In the morning I tried to have a lie in, however after keep going to bed at 9:30 and waking up at 6 this was pretty much impossible. For lunch we went to Tobile’s house she also works at CCP. WE couldn’t stay for very long because the boys had arranged a football match at 2, but the food she had prepared was lovely and her hospitality was great. It is really nice to see where people live and what they are like outside of work, gives you an opportunity to find out more about them.

When the boys went to play football, I spoke to Naomi on the phone [which was awesome] and then went shopping. We had to pick up Mikes present and get some other bits and pieces.

Then in the evening we went to night Kyle from NCF church had arranged a Braai (BBQ) so we went along to that which was nice too. South Africans seem to think a Braai is somehow better than a BBQ, but they are basically the same. Johno and Greg were also there and they are some of our favourite South Africans so it was a really fun night.

Sunday 19^th

This was our last Sunday! In the morning we went to PCF, it was good to sing songs in all different languages and to have fellowship with people we work with. Then Dean came to meet us and we went up to Howick. We popped into some of the local craft shops to get some typical African bits and pieces and then made our way to Karkloof falls. This was where Dean took us when we first met him so we thought it was a nice way to finish off our time here. We picked up some really nice food from Woolworths [SA’s answer to Marks and Spencers] and sat on our rock in the middle of the river. It’s always nice to hang out with Dean, its strange to think how long ago we were there, but then again it only seems like the other day.

In the evening we went to NCF and it was a good service with just worship, and with NCF’s amazing venue, band and crowd of 2000 people this was brilliant.

Afterwards we were invited to Grant Crawford’s [the big Granty C’s] house. This was a bit of a big deal as he is the lead elder at NCF and I was a bit scared of saying something inappropriate. However it went without a hitch and 2 other cell groups joined us, so it was cool to talk to some new people [even though we are leaving soon].

We then watched a DVD with dean, who is trying to spend as much time with us as possible before we go. I fell asleep about 20 minutes in, which I feel was a wise choice considering it had Ben Stiller in, one of my least favourite actors.

Monday 20^th

Monday was Mikes Birthday, we gave him a beastie new bible and case, look how holy we have become! I went to the devotionals at CCP in the morning and the went to macro and Woolworths with Anna to get DVD’s and things for Mikes birthday lunch. I then did some admin at PCC and taught Mum Doreen’s last computer lesson [which I do every Mon and Fri]. I’m pretty gutted to be finishing this as I have loved it, however she last learnt loads and it was nice to see today how far she has come. It’s also good to know that I can now email her when I get back!

In the afternoon we had cake at CCP for Mikes birthday and sorted out some more bits of the DVD. After that we went to eat at a restaurant called the butchery. It was real good, I had vegetable lasagna and the boys had 500g burgers, they were like the size of their heads! The evening was ended but watching napoleon dynamite, I love birthdays!

after the holiday

Once we got back from the holiday it was back to work so I have been going to pregnancy crisis centre every morning, mixing it up with hospital feeding on a Thursday and the rest of my afternoons have been filled with videoing for a DVD mike and I are making about our trip. We also went to watch die hard and transformers [both of which I recommend – especially if you can get a ticket for 10rand!]

The weekend after our holiday [so we had barely got home] the Oasis Team was invited to PCF church camp in Port Shepstone, which is on the coast 2 hours form PMB. It was Friday to Sunday and our job was to be in charge of the kids. I wouldn’t call myself a children’s worked but I embraced this challenge and got excited about the activities we had planned. We arranged a wide game style game, with different giving different tasks and then the teams got a puzzle piece on completion of the tasks. These were then put together to give a code which then de-coded a bible verse. The following day we did a standard bible teaching session [with a twist that included marshmallow and spaghetti towers, toilet paper mummies and making crowns]. It went really well and I turned out to actually enjoy trying to look after and teach over 30 children. It was a fun weekend and it was nice to have a change and serve in a different way. It was really nice to go back to NCF on the Sunday evening after the weekend away, as we hadn’t been since before the holiday and people had missed us and they were really interested in what we had been up to.

The following week was pretty much the same along with doing bits and pieces at the community care project [like visiting schools and going into the communities]. Friday of that week was AIDS prayer meeting which is probably my favourite Christian event here; as it is a no gimmicks service where God seems to really move. At the end of the prayer meeting I was whisked off to visit a school in the community to sit in on an abstinence talk that Michael from PCC was giving. This was probably the fist time I have felt intimidated in my trip, the school was in a township and crowded full of teenagers who were laughing and pointing at me [most likely because I was white!] Michael gave the talk in a hall packed with girls who were sitting on random arm chairs and broken seats and the rest standing because the school was so poor. I have also been really enjoying doing computer lessons with Mum Doreen [the cleaner at PCC] she is an amazing Zulu woman and here managing to type and letter on the computer by herself was a real achievement.

On the 3^rd August the new summer team arrived, there are 5 of them, four from Oasis and one Australian. They are here for a month (leave a week after us) and are focused on helping Gateway in a practical way, mainly painting at the moment. It was nice to have people from home to talk to and finding one was from Wallington was also cool! That Saturday we went with Dean, Grant (and brother, Kyle (and brother) went down to watch a rugby match in Durban. I was looking forward to a good read of a magazine and some dairy milk I had brought and the excitement grew even further when I was given a free flag! The weather started chucking it down [probably the 3^rd time it has rained in our trip] a got soaking but it made me feel nostalgic about home.

Thursday the 9^th August was women’s day here so everyone had the day off (so hospitial feeding was off so it was nice to have a lie in!). We decided it would be good fun to take the Duduza kids out bowling. It was so funny, Sponiso ran half way down the lane, threw the ball and then just laid face down, a man had to come and ask him to move! I was pleased that not too many children beat me and then went to buy ice creams. This was a ‘special’ experience with more ice cream going on the ground and clothes rather than in mouths. Everyone seemed to be really enjoying themselves. Veronica also came with us who is one of the Foster mums at Duduza, she got really into it, getting excited when she knocked down the pins, doing a little dance.

Afterwards I was really excited as I got to phone my sister while she was on hill house camp! I’m proper gutted to not been going this year so it was nice to hear from her. We then went back to bowling because the 20’s at church were having a social there, stayed for an hour and then mished it to Benson and Beatrice’s house for dinner. I was very excited about this because they are actual legends, and then when Jabu turned up as well it was like all my dreams had come true.

Gateway also gave everyone on the Friday 10^th a day off, so we all got a long weekend. This was particularly good because it was Anna’s birthday. We went out for breakfast at ‘Bean scene’ and she took all her present there to open. We then got ready to have a picnic at the botanical gardens where we were also joined by some friends from NCF. It was lovely to have a picnic and it really felt like summer. In the evening Anna wanted to watch Bourne Ultimatum at the cinema so Dean and Joe joined us and it was a really good film, especially seeing as I haven’t watched the other two. It was pretty much just a day of eating – my favourite kind of day.

6th-23rd July - The holiday!

On Friday afternoon we set off with Dean in the Venture. The first place we went to was Sani Pass in the Drakensberg. We stayed in a backpackers for Friday and Saturday night. The first night we arrived we were starving so drove down the road to the hotel to have dinner, it was the most expensive meal we have ever had and the worse, dean made up his money in bread rolls. We arrived late on the Friday night and on Saturday we went up Sani Pass to Lesotho which is a country in the middle of South Africa. To get there you have to go up in a 4x4, which was quite exciting especially when the path got icy and the car started to slide. The country is 70% mountainous and the place was covered in snow, we stopped on a frozen river and skated around and the snow came up to my knee! There was a women in our 4x4 who was freaking out completely which was worrying her kids. On the was back she wanted to get out and walk instead of being in the 4x4. Just as we passed them the driver lent out and told her that it was safe to get back in now and just as he said that the back end slide into her…she screamed and broke down into tears. We also visited a woman who lived there in her traditional one roomed round house and she gave us bread and beer.

On the Sunday we drove to another part of the Drakensburg. Rob ran over a dear.

We stayed in this really nice lake side cottage. We screamed when we saw it, compared to the back packers having our own cottage was amazing. And the location of it was so picturesque. It was a small thatched cottage with two bathrooms, decent size rooms, a fire and a spacious kitchen. There was a lake just in front surrounded by mountains and we had our own rowing boat that came with the cottage. The days there were spent hanging out, reading, making the most of our amazing beds and I had a bath! We also visited a falcon show, which freaked me out, not impressed by hench vultures being able to roam around freely. We stayed there from Sunday until Wednesday morning.

Wednesday we made our way to St Lucia via PMB. It was our final trip to the visa office to get our visa put into our passports. That was 5 attempts it took to get our visa’s how ridiculous is that. I don’t even want to think how long it would have taken if Jabu hadn’t of come with us. Compared to all the other trips this was a very short visit.
Then it was back on the road to St.Lucia. We arrived there late afternoon. We checked into our very basic flat before heading off to check out the beach…..which was 5 mins away and was gorgeous and un-spoilt.

For the next two days(Thursday, Friday) we had beach days one at Cape Vidal and the other was at the one around the corner. Cape Vidal is a huge national park which leads to the beach and has a protected coastline, so was beautiful and had hardly anyone on. On our way back through the reserve a leopard was just walking in the road infront of us it was wicked.

Sunday we left early-ish for Umfolozi which is a game park full of the big 5 and lots of deer. We spent two days there, staying in fancy ‘safari’ tents for the boys and round huts for the girls. The most scared night I’ve had in ages. Anna, Kate and I were sure we saw a lion on our way walking from the car to our room.

For two days we hardly saw anything apart from animals we’d seen already. So we saw Rhino, giraffes, warthogs, Wilderbeast, buffalo, Imparla, Imparla, Imparla [we decided that booing the boring animals was neccessary]. We were all getting really disheartened until the end of Monday when we saw and elephant it was massive! It came really close- we later learnt that they had had problems of elephants ruining cars. We were able to watch it for a good 15mins before it walked off into the bush.

Monday evening we went back to St. Lucia, the minute we got back we shoved our stuff into the flat (same flat as before) and we went straight to the beach for an evening swim. We’ve now been told that people shouldn’t swim on that coast as there are crocs there, being so close to an estuary. That was only a brief stay in St Lucia because we were flying to Cape town early Tuesday morning. At 2.30 we woke up having already packed the car and Dean drove us to Durban to catch our flight at 7.30am.

We arrived in Cape Town around 10am to be greeted by Cameron who is Kate’s next door neighbor’s brother. He showed us where we would be staying and took us to get our weeks shopping. He also gave us a tour of the peninsular (as he’s a tourist guide) the following day which was a superb way to see the coast line and to also hear some background knowledge. We had a visit up Table Mountain on the cable cart which was spectacular and got to see the Cape Town penguins.

For the rest of our time in Cape Town we saw the waterfront, had a girly evening, watched the rugby and went to church. We also met up with Shelia who is Kate’s next door neighbor’s sister. Both her and Cameron were so welcoming and helpful to us they made our stay in Cape Town amazing. On the Sunday Sheila took us around and we visited a craft market and then we went out to see seal island where there were tones of seals for some reason on a random rock in the middle of the sea!

We had the most amazing holiday and had a real mix of sights and experiences!

Holiday

Sorry for the lack of updates but I have been very busy, we went on holiday for 2 weeks, travelling around SA and had the most amazing trip.


Here are some pictures:



Lesotho:












Drakensberg:

Our cottage [from our boat!]

Not too impressed by the birds at the falcon show:
Lake infront of our cottage:


St Lucia:

The sea had nothing on our beasty sand castle:

Umfalozi [game park]:

The 'tent' we stayed in: Cape Town