Children are hilarious...

I can't stop smiling when I look at this photo I took of one of our creche visitor kids yesterday in the early evening sunshine. I love taking capturing children's expressions on film. They love being photographed and will hold a pose for as long as it takes. But this little boy was just fascinated and not posing at all. Hilarious...

Here's another challenge! I want to raise my readership of the blog, and I can tell by the 'profile views', I think it's currently standing at about 162 people, it would be great to get it over 200, because that means 200 people are finding out about GGA and the work here and might be inspired to support us here. We really need and appreciate all the support that we get from all of you, whether it's prayer or financial, or even coming out here physically bringing things. There is a great need and I'm not exaggerating when I say we need funds, we really do, especially the children living here on site. They receive nothing in the way of Government funding and rely totally on the goodwill of others. So please tell all your friends to look at it and you never know, they might get hooked into reading and following my adventures and the lives of these children too!

Christmas - help make it special

My first project is to raise money via GGA UK to provide Christmas lunch and a gift for everyone here on site at GGA Khayelihle. This slide will appear on the website (see links below).

I hope you can read this actually, it's rather small. What you could do is save it as a picture and blow it up (not literally, of course), print it off and distribute it among all your friends and get them to spread the word and hopefully we'll be able to raise more than enough.

We really don't have any money at the moment to buy presents for the kids so anything you can get people to give would be amazing! Don't send presents as it costs a fortune for us to receive them, but money can be sent and Heather R likes to go and get presents for the kids herself as she knows them all well.

YOU can be a part of something amazing this Christmas. Please spread the word!

If you would like me to send you the above slide as an attachment or have any great ideas for getting people involved in giving, do contact me at my email address (in my profile) and I'll send it to you.

September spiritual musings...

All this month I've been studying the topic of FEAR and essentially it comes down to this:
There is nothing for us to fear but God.
Too many times people are afraid of other people, of what people will do to them or say to them, but it's not important. We must fear and revere God more than any man or woman or child.

Next week I move on to POWER so it will be exciting to see what God does through those times.

On Monday I was given a guitar (hurrah!). I spent a few hours praising and praying in our new prayer/counselling room, as in the past it has been a hospice and a homework room and is currently in the process of being redecorated and prepared for its new use. During that time I felt it appropriate for us to pray in there every day and so since then at 7am, HJ and I have been going down there to pray for about half an hour, and another volunteer has joined us once too. It's been great, and also good to get up early as the mornings are beautiful here. In any case, every day I've had Psalm 46v10 (highlighted below) come to me and so I thought I'd share it with you. The whole Psalm is great but that verse particularly is important at the moment. In the midst of chaos, we really do need to be still and know that God is in control, that He's the one who knows and understands everything we're going through and everything we need.

Psalm 46

1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
7 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

8 Come and see the works of the LORD,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,
he burns the shields with fire.
10 "Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."

11 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah

It's also really windy here this week, and the wind had blown strong - earlier in the week bringing rains and stormy weather, and today it's blowing warm air up here, which is refreshing. I am reminded to the many sermons we had a St Paul's about the wind reminding us about the Holy Spirit, we can't see it but we can see its effects and we can feel it. It would be good to have a copy of JJ's Teddy Horsley book if anyone knows where to get a copy! It's difficult to stand against the wind, especially when it gusts strongly, better to just go with it.

And finally, a specific prayer request, please pray for one of our youngest children here, 'A'. She is very ill and has spent several days in hospital this week. When she arrived about a year ago it was touch and go then as to whether she would make it but she battled through and today she is stronger and bigger, she's about 3 yrs old now. However this week she's been ill. Please lift her up to the Lord and pray for His touch upon her life and His comfort and healing.

Thank You for standing with us here in prayer. We really feel supported and loved by you all! Keep going!
Cx

PS: it feels right not to share names of the children over the internet, which is why there are no names under photos and I've only put initials etc. God knows who you are praying about and He will act accordingly!

Tedious Link

Here is a picture I took last Sunday.
Sunday is the name of the sheep.
There are a lot of sheep in Wales.
Wales is famous for lots of things, including rain.
It rains a lot in Cato Ridge, KZN as well.

That's where my tedious link writing just about ends...

Experienced my first African thunderstorm yesterday when the heavens opened around lunch time and all the lights flickered. As you have to go outside to get anywhere here, I had to dash back to my office to unplug everything in case of power surges but managed it before the rains came. We're on top of a hill and storms here are quite spectacular, although this one didn't have much lightening. Yet the thunder rolls around the hills in a dramatic fashion and is quite impressive. I hope all the kids got inside in time, they are on school holidays this week and enjoying their freedom. The sun is out today (thank you God!) but the wind's still whipping through the site, but means my washing will dry so I'm thankful for it too.

Wildlife watch
Current Mosquito score : Caroline 4 - Mosquitoes 0 (that's the number I've killed!)
'Kill them before they kill you' is my mosquito motto. Having reacted quite instantly and dramatically to a mere fly bite last weekend, I'm not taking any chances...
I've trained the cats and dogs not to cross the threshold into my house, they just sit on the step, which is nice. Had a meeting at Heather Reynolds in her house yesterday during which a poodle kept me warm, whilst 10 other dogs chased each other around the room. And then I had to pause while ginger paws (another ginger cat, not my favourite) walked across my notes, before stopping to miaow inquisitively in my face. That's GGA style meetings for you! It's great! The cat census of GGA is now up to about 20, maybe even 50 some say.

I'm now working on several projects and have lots to do, which is great and I'm much happier. Think I was getting a little bored before... Am working on a Christmas Fundraiser first, details of which will be out in the next few days. And speaking of which, I'd better get back to it!

party pictures

spot the rust...

no prizes though...

Sunday fun

We finally made it to Hillcrest Christian Fellowship church this Sunday morning in the vehicle known as ‘Bronwyn’s Bakkie’ (play ‘spot the rust’ above), although we were late as we somehow managed to set off the anti-hijack alarm which overrode the engine. I won’t say anything about the dodgy brakes, but I had to ‘hot-wire’ the car it no less than 4 times over the course of the day so we could keep moving... (check it out, I didn’t even know how to change the oil in the UK, and now I’m quite the expert at starting cars!) They say it’s not wise to stop on the side of the road in Africa, but we had no choice! Viva la Toyota is all I can say, which should arrive this week.
Church was great. Massive building, must have been about 800 people there (and lots were on holiday too), spirit-filled worship and challenging message about choosing to put God first despite anything that may have happened in the past and radically dealing with things in our lives that are not of Him. Lots of meat to chew on over this coming week. 2 Chronicles 29 – the story of Hezekiah, a good read.

During the afternoon it was the monthly Birthday party which was chaos, but isn’t that how parties are supposed to be? Lots of active children, face paints, attempts at organised games, cake and presents – fantastic! Above are some photos in mini version (because they upload easier!) and I feature on one, just to prove I am here and not making all this up from the comfort of a 5-star hotel in Mauritius!

Oh and I saw 2 monkeys, just at the entrance to GGA. They are so cute, little grey things with white beards (description for my brother-in-law’s benefit, monkey fan extraordinaire). No photos yet, but I’ll pursue them! They are not to be encouraged as they steal things, if they came as far as the car park, there are plenty of vehicles they could hotwire and take off in if they so desired! Now THAT would be a good photo!

weekend off 1

Great start to my weekend off! Trip to the Pavilion Mall in Durban wasn't as fun as it could have been as I developed an allergic reaction to an insect bite shortly before leaving to go there and ended up feeling like death!
Still managed to get a few bargains though, and won't need to go shopping for a little while now. Everything is amazingly cheap here (except cars) and you can buy almost everything under the sun at this mall, it has to be rivalling The Metrocentre in Gateshead for size and variety of shops!
Anyway, this blog is rapidly becoming 'diary of a hypochondriac' as I'm almost on first name terms with the receptionist at Cato Ridge surgery! Couldn't really wake up this morning as my migraine was so bad, but HJ had to go to the Dr anyway so we both went down, squished into the front of a bakkie in soaring temperatures. Waited for ages to see the Dr, but he thinks it's an allergic reaction and probably not tick bite fever, which is good cos that's horrid....
So most of our weekend off so far has been spent in bed! ;(

BUT, we did shake hands on a car deal this morning so within a few days we'll be driving round in our toyota camry (with air con!!) and managing to escape for a few hours. We've also managed to borrow one of the bakkies to go to church tomorrow morning so hopefully will make some friends there. So life isn't too bad!

More car antics...

Went to my first Parents’ Evening yesterday with Kath and Ron, volunteer houseparents, and also had my first trip in the back of a ‘bakkie’. That’s a kind of pick-up truck where I had to be locked into the back and sat on a mattress. Was kind of exciting, not bad comfort-wise and I got to stretch my legs out so didn’t get cramp! Am sure if would be different if I had many kids in there too. Slightly bumpy down the track but once we hit the N3 and higher speeds it was quite a smooth journey. The lights worked but the brakes made interesting noises. You quickly get used to the fact that all vehicles here at GGA seem to be on their last legs!

Schools are all the same, except here in SA they don’t talk about pupils, but ‘learners’ and there are no subjects, but ‘learning areas’. The deputy head gave a talk to all the parents about the National Curriculum for about 20 minutes, referring to an overhead slide which contained no fewer than 3 major spelling mistakes (and couldn’t even be thought of as ‘cultural local spellings’) Says a lot for a school when that’s the best they can present to the parents!!!

2 of our kids go to this school, it’s a specialist technical school which seems to be quite organised (except for the typos) and they are doing well there. Was impressed by the multi-cultural-ness of the parents from all ethnic backgrounds and everyone was friendly and helpful.

It was kind of odd being on the other side of the table for a change and not being the teacher, but I guess it was also odd for the teachers to have to talk to 2 English women and a Dutch guy, all white, about 2 Zulu children! If they thought it was weird, they didn’t let it show! I think they are used to GGA…

It was good to get off-site though. It’s strange being up here as we really are quite isolated. There are vehicles going down to Cato Ridge during the day for various errands, but volunteers are only supposed to go down to either Spar supermarket on a Friday morning if they are working that weekend, or to the Pavilion Mall in Durban on a Friday afternoon if they are weekend off.

Plus points: don’t get to spend money easily, you really appreciate any opportunity to get off-site even to take someone to the Dr…

Minus points: ‘cabin fever’ can set in quite quickly, there’s nowhere else to go up here, if you wander past the (non-existent) perimeter fence you risk being attacked, robbed, murdered etc so it’s not advisable. You don't feel afraid up here but it's good to be aware of the dangers and realities of this area which is so poor and rundown. We cover a fairly large site, but it can still seem small at times.

Which is why HJ and I are so desperate to get a car so not only can we go to church, but we’re not stuck up here all day every day. We’re in the process of negotiating for a Toyota, it might be the right one, might not, more details to follow when we’ve got a clearer idea about it… In the meantime, it’s bank holiday weekend here so all car rental places are out of vehicles which kind of scuppers our plans to go and explore… praying that somehow, by some miracle, we can get transport to go to church on Sunday. It’s our weekend off, we certainly deserve a bit of chill-out time!

But before that, it’s time to hit one of the biggest shopping malls for miles around and a little bit of retail therapy! There are various things I need to get for the house and I’m on the hunt for bargains! I love new supermarkets and shops, such an adventure!

Speaking opportunities?

Heather Reynolds will be in the UK from mid October for a few weeks and would be delighted to speak at any function or event that might be on then.
She will be in Warwickshire and then in the Bath area and also in the London area at some point.

If you would like her to come and talk about the work of GGA at a function, or in church or something, please contact me via my email and I'll pass it on, or contact Ann Smith in Bidford-on-Avon, via the website www.godsgoldenacre.org.uk . There are some events already programmed in but this is a general request in case there's someone out there who has space for her!

Also, if you live in or near Bath or London (or somewhere else in the South of England) and could provide accomodation for 2 couples during that time, would you be in touch. They have a place to stay in the Midlands but the rest is not quite finalised yet.

Thanks, you never know on the blogging network what opportunities might crop up!

Prayer-Newsletter 2 Sept-Oct 2006

I'll be sending this out in an email to many people, but here's my prayer letter, if you want to copy and paste and print this out instead, be my guest! The most important thing is to bring things before Almighty God in prayer and to stand with me in the work I'm doing out here!

Caroline’s Adventures in South Africa
Newsletter 2 Sept-Oct 2006

Welcome to Africa and to God’s Golden Acre!

I’ve arrived safely in South Africa.
God’s Golden Acre ‘Khayelihle’ is situated on top of a hill up about 3kms up an extremely dusty dirt track. It’s quite a big place and houses 85 children, 39 volunteers and more than 20 staff.
My house is one of the best equipped on site and is situated safely next to the offices near the car park, away from the children, so it’s fairly peaceful. Heather J (from Leamington) lives next door and Christine (volunteer co-ordinator) lives next to her. We’re forming a cosy little community and even considering doing something with the garden, even if it’s only clearing out the dead plants to prevent snakes from hiding there!
One big answer to prayer is that you can buy pretty much every thing here (except Balsamic Vinegar and De-caff Tea), so I’m managing to eat healthily!

My Role: My official job title is now ‘Educational Projects Manager’. I’m overseeing everything from crèche up to arranging adult literacy classes for the Gogos. In addition to this I’ll be working with Heather Reynolds on setting up some sort of training for those in the valley, maybe working with the local primary school. Heather J (HJ) and I are also working on the spiritual side of things here, which involves:
Setting up a prayer/counselling room – currently being painted
Offering to pray with people whenever the opportunity occurs
Bible study with Volunteers
There’s a lot of potential here for Sunday school, Youth Bible studies, prayer groups, maybe even Alpha. It’s an exciting time of development and opportunity. Many people are willing to talk and open to receive prayer. Pray for wisdom to make the most of every opportunity

The children
So far, I’ve only spent time with the children on site at Khayelihle. They are a delightful bunch aged 1-21, very keen for attention. These are some of the kids I met on the first day. They are amazingly cute, if grubby all the time! It’s exciting to finally meet those who I’d only seen on photos over the past year. Looking back, I can already see their unique characters shining through on photos!

JOYS…
• The children respond well to attention; their smiles are precious; setting boundaries and seeing them play safely within them; knowing that I am making a difference to their lives.
• HJ and I are aiming to be positive peaceful influences around the place, singing and praying together regularly. We’re starting to sense a more peaceful atmosphere, although with so many different cultures working together there are still volatile moments.
• The Valley of 1000 Hills is beautiful, we’re on top of a hill with amazing views all around. Photos don’t really do it justice. It’s hard to believe there is such poverty and death amongst the townships, but the grim reality is that 1.3million out of 9.2million people here in KZN have HIV/AIDS.
…and FRUSTRATIONS
Communication – it took me almost a full week to access the internet and even now it’s REALLY slow. Time passes slowly here and at 6pm every night, darkness falls, literally. It’s not safe to be out then.
Car – Church – we’re seeking the right church family to get involved in, and transport to get there, a car is essential, we just need to find the right one.
Cold – I arrived with a cold, which wasn’t good. Having mixed with children with a range of runny nose, it’s hasn’t improved. I’m now on antibiotics and need it to clear before I head anywhere near the Valley, as a nasty strain of influenza is apparently rife down there, not to mention Drug-resistant TB!

XDR-TB
You may have heard about a new strain of drug resistant TB that is spreading. We are right in the epicentre of it in KZN, where 60 people in Eastern KZN have died of this particular TB.
900 AIDS patients die of TB daily in S.Africa and this new strain is impervious to the main TB drugs.
Pray for those dealing with this and suffering from it. Pray too for better education for AIDS patients so that they take their medicine properly when first diagnosed, to increase chances of not contracting TB.
Here are Khayelihle we are currently not affected, I believe. Give thanks for the health of the children on site.

Wildlife watch
No big game yet. GGA is home to at least 12 dogs, 5 cats and a large domesticated sheep called ‘Sunday’. Not to mention the Cockerel who likes to start his morning under my bedroom window.
On my first day here the children found 2 night adders in the undergrowth, we’ve got several deadly species of snake here, usually recognised by the crowd of children trying to kill it and the volunteers all running in the opposite direction. No anti-venom available on site though. The snakes are just coming out of hibernation now and will be hungry and grumpy. Best left alone. As long as they don’t come anywhere near my house or office everything will be ok…
I share my office with a lovely Zulu social worker (not wildlife), a snail and a frog. Only one can help me with my language learning, but as the windows can’t be closed properly I can’t be bothered to evict the latter 2 yet, more may still join them!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS AND SUPPORT!
TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
WITH LOVE FROM
Caroline xx

ISAIAH 61
PHIL 1v6

Keeping in touch
*NEW* South African mobile number: ask me!
UK mobile (SMS only): ask me!
Address: God’s Golden Acre, PO Box 331, Cato Ridge, 3680, KZN, South Africa

Some pictures!

Here's a collage of some of the pictures I've taken so far. I love photography and when you capture the right moment with an animal or child, it's fantastic!

 

first time driver - the 4x4 experience

So to go down to the Drs I was given the 4x4 to drive.
Old, just back from the garage. No seatbelts. An adventure.
With a bit of help I got it started and then I, and another brave volunteer who also needed to go to the Drs but hadn't realised what he'd let himself in for, set off down the less dusty, because it's rained so much, track.
It was an experience. There were a lot of interesting and unexpected bangs from somewhere in the vehicle, which wasn't as off-putting as the temperature and revs counters which were going beserk... (I later discovered this is normal for that car!).
Yet we got there. I locked the car and then couldn't get back in again later, we had to climb in the back (conveniently unlocked) and reach round. (although in all seriousness, if someone had wanted to steal it, they would have had to be blind as it isn't exactly the most desirable vehicle in the car park... - one good trait at least!!)
It was actually quite fun, but not a thing I would like to drive regularly.

Oh and I've got some sort of bacterial infection in my throat, chest? Had to go on a nebuliser which contained what I thought he refered to as adrenalin?!?! and now have even more pills and antibiotics to take... but I'll sleep well tonight! Have also been given some blankets so I won't freeze!

Going out now to watch the sunset.... more adventures soon.

my house!

This is really just a test to see if I can post pictures using this limited connection speed (up to 24kbps today, Martin! That's triple Saturday's efforts)

My house is not the whole photo, I have the left hand half of it, the first green door is me, with Heather Jean (from Leamington) next door and the brown door leads to our volunteer co-ordinator's flat. It's not a bad size actually, and you can see our lovely garden!

cold

'you won't need to take many clothes with you'
'clothes will dry quickly in Africa'
'it will be so hot, you won't know what to do with yourself'

All of the above were repeatedly said to me by various 'experts' in the UK before I came out here.

THEY WERE LYING!!!!

It is SO flipping cold in this place, the wind is whipping through and knocking pods off trees onto roofs and heads, children are manic and yesterday it rained more than I've EVER seen it do in Wales. My washing is taking an eternity to dry (and all my skirts are 'too short' because I'm very tall and thighs are the most desirable part of a woman's body in Zulu culture - so I can't wear them). I'm almost down to my last pair of trousers!!!!

There's no heating and the floors are stone cold- literally...

And to top it all off I'm STILL ill! Have had a cold for a full 2 weeks now which gets worse, gets a tiny bit better, gets worse. I'm sure I've only slept well because I've been stoned on all the cough mixture and flu capsules I've been taking! ;-)

Still, it's Monday morning after a hectic weekend of being in charge and running around everywhere with keys, starting each morning at 6am signing Security men out. The sun is out but the wind is still here. Have booked Drs appointment. Am allowed to drive one of the vehicles on these crazy tracks. Nice. Think I may need antibiotics, already.

But, despite ranting, I'm choosing to remain positive. There are many blessings to be counted here. And life's not bad :-) The sun will come out tomorrow...

Slightly out of sync 'first impressions'

First impressions

I’m writing this in my flat on Saturday 9th Sept, although I have no idea when I’ll actually have any semblance of internet connection to post it on my blog, but hey, WELCOME TO AFRICA!!
My first 24 hours at GGA have been quite chilled, getting settled in. I’m still trying to shake a lingering cough and hoping that I won’t just pick up more from the kids to add to it or make it worse. It helps that today is Saturday, when there is less going on here. I spent some time this morning getting to know some of the children better by going to sit with them in their dusty playground outside their lodgings.
The first child who grabbed hold of me, a 5-yr old boy, told me he was looking for snakes and asked me if I supported England, who got kicked out of the World Cup. Was very pleased to tell them that I’m an Italy fan! The same child proceeded to point out some weeds growing up through some stones and tell me this was a garden. It was about at this point that I asked him what he had in his mouth and he opened it to reveal a reasonable size piece of glass!
In an attempt to learn all the names, I’m taking a little notebook round with me to write them down in, I haven’t had chance to write in it myself yet, as they all want to write their own names down and then draw me a picture, so it’s taking a while. They’re also teaching me Zulu words, but I think some could be a bit dodgy, so I’d better be careful when repeating them.
And here’s my first attempt at positive behaviour management. A little girl climbed all over me and was licking the packet of something like ‘Wotsits’, she finished doing so and threw it on the floor. I encouraged her to put it into the bin and she ran off… Never to be outdone by a child, I merely remained seated watching her, considering my next move in the adult-child power struggle, which was handed to me neatly in the next minute as she climbed a tree but got stuck, so I was able to rescue her, carry her back to her rubbish and encourage her to put it in the bin, which she then did… However, checkmate was played by her, as in the process of putting the crisp packet in the bin, she spied a piece of red pepper in there, reached in and scoffed it right in front of me! Disgusting! And yet she still seems quite healthy.
It seems kids will put anything they can find into their mouths. The crèche kids were enjoying some more ‘wotsits’ (have we got a massive donation of them somewhere?!) and a sweet, grubby little one-yr-old kept offering me one. I declined as it had already been in and out of her mouth several times and then rolled in the dust before going back in her mouth slightly darker than before!

My flat is quite nice but basic. I’ve got a living room/bedroom with lots of cupboard space (for all the clothes I didn’t bring), a reasonable size kitchen and bathroom with shower. My friend Heather from Leamington is next-door to me, which is great, although the walls are thin so I can hear all the worship music she is playing, which is also great! From now onwards I shall refer to her as HJ, so as not to confuse with Heather Reynolds (HR) who runs the place.
Yesterday I was taken down the dusty track to the SPAR supermarket in Cato Ridge in a Combi van with the Zulu workers heading home for the weekend. The whole mini shopping complex was full of Zulus shouting and getting their shopping done, especially from the market. I’ve now made a list of things I need to get for the house, such as a sharp knife as today I chopped all my veg using an eating knife about as sharp as a butter knife. Improvisation is the name of the game. I’m going to be cooking for myself, which is probably best given the number of things I can’t eat. Yet I managed to find enough stuff I could eat at the supermarket so that is an answer to prayer!

The other thing you notice up here is the number of animals. I’ve met 4 dogs (out of about 13) and there are at least 4 cats who like hanging out outside our houses. I’m not letting them in though, or there’ll be fleas EVERYWHERE! There’s also a large domesticated sheep called Sunday, and a cockerel has moved in who starts at about 6am and ends about 10am, he decided to take up residence just outside my house, he may not survive… (only joking of course, I love animals!)

Mosquito watch (a new feature where I recount encounters with some of the less-welcome residents of GGA): to count, none J - a large hornet (no relation) flew in at lunchtime but I shouted at it that if it didn’t go out I’d have to kill it (with my blunt butter knife!) and it left! But it’s still technically winter and these creatures come out in the spring with the rains. It’s really pleasantly hot here at the moment (dread to think what it will be like in the middle of summer!)

So that’s me for the moment. Tomorrow I’ll be checking out the Zulu church and seeing what I can contribute to the spiritual upbringing of the kids. There is much need for prayer out here, for God’s grace to flow throughout the place, more on that another time maybe. Then on Monday hopefully I’ll be getting more of an idea of my exact role here as that’s still unclear.

I hope everyone is well, I had a ‘moment’ when setting up yesterday but it got better when I put all my photos up. You can still send me texts on my UK number if you feel like instantly encouraging me, it won’t cost you any more as it’s to the UK, I pay more to write back. I miss everyone like crazy, but I know that I am here for a purpose and I must walk it out.

OK, time to sign off now and go in search of more children to practise my Zulu on! I’ll add some photos when there’s an established connection.

Finally online!!

SAWUBONA! UNJANI?

So after 5 days of trying, I've FINALLY managed to get connected to the internet here in my office. A good introduction to African ways I suppose. The connection is really slow so I'll try to put some pics on but may be difficult.

I'm doing well, arrived safely after a comfortable, if long, journey. Excess baggage through ok, although it was a bit touch and go at one point. I'm living in a nice little flat next to the offices and today am the duty manager so am in charge of all the keys! This also meant getting up at 6am to sign the security out, but I'll get used to it.

I wrote a blog entry last sat when I got here and I'm putting this into the next posting, so it's a bit out of order, but you'll get a feel for the place from that!

I've now got a S.African mobile number, if you want it so you can text me encouraging things, then just ask, my UK stays the same and you can always use that. Please don't underestimate just how HAPPY and ENCOURAGED I am to hear from people overseas at any time ;-)

ok, I'm going to post this now to check it works, then I might try pictures...

so if you don't hear from me for a few days...

... it'll be because I'm travelling and then getting sorted down at GGA. I'm also working straight away this weekend (which means I get next weekend off to explore!). So I don't know when I'll be able to blog again, but I'll find a way somehow and sometime soon.

Nationwide have given me a slight baggage allowance increase, which helps as I seem to have a lot of stuff (surprisingly?!?!). Everything else is on track, although still in piles near my case as I write this, there'll be time in the morning to put it into aforementioned bag. Then it's the old passport-tickets-brain check before heading down to Gatwick with my parents. We may even manage some time for plane spotting if the motorways are clear...

Think it's time for a blog title change - check it out.

The next time I write on this, I'll be living in Africa, so good bye England for a while and Sawubona KwaZulu Natal!

Sala Kahle! 

now you see me

pleased to announce the arrival of the smallest webcam in the world (probably, not)
so all being well I will be able to see some of you, and to be seen too during the next 2 years!

the aargh moment...

Met my GGA predecessor this morning - Rebecca, along with her partner Tom and little baby Callum (who now has 2 front teeth - if you kn0w them!) . Was good to chat through some issues and to hear more about what I might expect! And to get some more insider knowledge of places to go and people to see...

However, this afternoon the combination of my continuing cold, the mass of plastic boxes and suitcases full of clothes to be sorted, tiredness and heat lead to the 'aargh moment', when I totally didn't know where to start packing etc... It was the 'I really need to do something productive but have run out of energy moment.'

However, the solution was simple and eccentric. Unbeknown to myself (although it seems half of Leamington was in on this) my sister had arranged to travel over from the other side of the country to surprise me and come on the family farewell meal this evening. Whilst I was upstairs sorting out clothes, she sneaked in through the back door and started up the stairs...

I heard someone coming up the stairs, the footsteps too loud for it to be the cat, and called out 'hello?'...
no response
'hello?'...
footsteps getting nearer...
by this time my mind was starting to panic but the only things within reach were t-shirts (not very useful in self-defence moments). I seriously didn't know who it was and all I could think of was 'this is it, someone is going to kill me before I even get to Africa'

And then Liz appeared.

At which point I was so surprised, and of course relieved that I hadn't paid for a flight only to get murdered 2 days before enjoying it, that I promptly burst into tears.

Crying is great, afterwards it's so easy to focus and packing was no problem... ;-)

btw, Caffe Uno in Stratford is a great little restaurant. Highly recommended!

On leaving Leamington

Today's the day I leave Leamington Spa (for the moment - who knows if I'll be back living here one day!) I'm not really that sad as this is my home area and so I know I'll be back. Having gone to school just down the road and with family living all around this area, it's not like I'll never visit or even come back here to live.
I've come through a weekend of quality time with good friends and family, although the late nights are taking their toll, that along with cuddles from my niece who had a cold, which now means I'm fighting a cold (thanks G!)... sorry to anyone who might be on a flight to Jo'burg on Thurs night who might come down with a cold on Friday - recycled air and all that... but on the bright side, I'll be the one sharing the bugs around, instead of receiving them inflight!
So, it doesn't quite feel real at the moment, the living room here around me is still full of various items of important documents etc that need to be packed as soon as I've posted this. Most of the rest of the house is done though, but it's all the little, yet vital, jobs that I need to remember that are floating round my head.
I've had 5 wonderful years in Leam, living in 4 different places and mixing with hundreds of amazing people, all of whom I will miss. The majority of my closest friends from the past couple of years have also left Leam now, and that makes life slightly easier, as we've already proved that the world is indeed small with msn, skype and the like, meaning we talk even more now they're not here than when they were. And so I join them in communicating from a distance (and probably erratically from what I've heard about the phone lines in KZN).
And as for those good friends who I leave in Leam itself, see you in 'new' Starbucks in a couple of years time for a long overdue Grande Decaff Iced Latte and granola bar! How much I'll miss you, the people not the food (well maybe the coffee a little!)

Time to finish off that packing!

Party pictures

By popular demand, here's a selection of pictures from my party on Friday night. Enjoy!

 

the morning after...

THANK YOU to all the wonderful people who came to my leaving party last night, it was great to know that I am loved and supported by so many fantastic people. I will miss you all but you all know that you are very welcome to come and visit (and do some valuable work in the meantime) and that, even if it is the other side of the world (technically) , with today's modern miraculous means that's not really that far away... email, snail-mail, phone, mobile, msn, skype... the possibilities of contact are endless...

The general feeling of most people who I talked to last night, however, doesn't seem to be
'am I ready for Africa?'
but
'Is Africa ready for me.....!!?!?!'

Well, in 5 days, we'll find out... ;-)