Hello faithful readers!
I guess it's time we update everyone on our lives. Blogging is a challenge when internet speeds don't usually exceed 5 kbps and electricity is an unreliable thing.
So I guess I'll pick up the story of our life after we returned from a two week vacation touring the eastern coast.
Once upon a time we returned to "The Cottages" full of vigor and excitement. We were ready for everything at that point and so happy to see the children again. We returned "home" on January 8th - one week before the first day of the new school year. We continued with our "summer school" program until the start of school. However, on the 12th, the power went out and what that meant was that our local water plant, which is just up the hill from us, also lost power. When your water plant has no electricity it cannot give you water. Luckily, we have three reserve tanks (called "Jojo"s) so we did not realize that we had no water until Sunday.
The reason that was such a huge deal should be obvious. We cooked with water that came off the roof and were unable to shower, flush the toilet, and drink water to name a few. David and I added a whole new spin on things when we spent all day Saturday throwing up from food poisoning that we got from Friday night's dinner (under cooked chicken). Thank God that we still had water running on Saturday but we were dreadfully sick and up all night. Thank you so much to those who prayed for our health during that time. We were feeling better on Sunday but still woozy and we had horrible headaches from dehydration. We had no idea that that day we would take our last shower for the WEEK.
The next week the power was on and off all the time and totally unpredictable. We had no running water until the next Saturday. God was gracious and broke the hot spell and gave us rain almost every day that week so we praised Him for that. We really did collect rain water from the end of the gutter in all our pots and buckets for cooking and for washing clothes and washing dishes. David actually stood at the end of the gutter and took a shower under it one day. I was a little more low key and filled a bucket so I could wash my hair.
Still no water for the kids first day of school (the 16th). We have 8 high schoolers who walk one direction to school (maybe a 15 min. walk) and then the other 14 school aged kids walk about 2 k to the primary school the other direction. David and I have been walking them to school on a pretty regular basis just for fun. The round trip takes about an hour.
On Sat. the 19th we finally got running water so I washed all our clothes by hand and I think I took two showers just to celebrate! Aaron and Phyllis (the managers here - also Americans) took us on a little tour of Winterton, a town we live near but David and I had never been to before. The tour took about 3 min. and now I know why we had never been before. But then we drove back towards home and didn't turn off. The road took us straight up into the mountains to a peak called Monk's Cowl in the Northern Drakensburg Range. We just went to the info. center
and bought a hiking trail map for the next time we come up with plans to hike. The ride up was gorgeous and we passed the "Drakensburg Boys Choir" on the way up the mountain. If you do not recognize the name you should look it up because they are world famous. Hopefully we will get to see a performance before we leave.
On the 22nd we got a call from a couple that we had just briefly been introduced to. Their names are Adam and Chrissy and they are full time missionaries from the States. They are both 30 have lived here for about two years and have two young children. Anyways, they invited us to Spioenkop Game Reserve for a picnic. They picked us up around 3:30pm and we went to their house that they are renting (they are not affiliated with Agathos) and packed the picnic box and then set out. We got to the Game park and it just so happened to be everyones best experience at animal spotting. It was overcast and evening so all the animals were out. We saw probably 100 zebras all over the park, maybe 20 giraffes and a couple babies of each. There were also an innumerable amount of impala/antelope looking guys but my inexperience can't appreciate it because there are so many different species that look like that I didn't really know what I was seeing. The icing on the cake though was the rhinos. We were driving along the dirt road in the park, dodging zebra and giraffes in the road and we came across TWO rhinos in the road - a mom and a baby. We stopped to get pictures and then all of a sudden a THIRD and much larger rhino came out from behind a bush to join it's family in the road. Just 5 min. earlier Adam was saying that all he wanted to see were the only three rhinos in the park and that he had only seen them once before (and they have a year pass!). It was such a great experience and we were able to share dinner there and then we went to their house and spent all evening talking and getting to know our new friends.
We've got a pretty relaxed and enjoyable schedule at this point. Wake up at 6am, breakfast at 6:30am, leave for school at 7am, home at about 8:15am, shower, read, relax, whatever for as long as we want. Then we make our own lunch and the kids come home some time between 2 and 4pm. They can play all they like when they get back but first they have to hand wash their uniform for tomorrow and do the chores their caretakers ask of them. Between 4pm and 6pm David and I offer ourselves as resources for homework help and we also open up our "library" cupboards so that the ones without homework (usually the younger ones) can look at some books and practice their English (a required to pass subject in school). Then after homework is done we color, paint, play soccer, play hand games, whatever until dinner at 6pm or sometimes we do that after dinner. David and I usually retire around 7 or 7:30pm to our room were we read, go online or just listen to music and play cribbage. We try to get to bed some time between 9 and 10pm.
Right now is an exciting time because we are getting into a few different things that will help fill our down time during the week.
Barbara is an American who has lived in South Africa with her husband JD for like 8 years. They are both in their 60's and they are so amazing. Barbara had gotten a bunch of local women together to start a beading business and they sell their crafts locally and in catalogues in the UK. We have started to get involved in this side thing just by helping Barbara with preparation work for her bead markets that she holds quite regularly at "The Cottages". The women really do some amazing work and it is so neat to watch.
JD is going to take us horseback riding in the mountains by his house later this week so we are really excited for that. It is his neighbor's horses so it will be free!
Starting this Friday, we are joining a morning Bible study with other missionaries in the area. So that would be JD, Barbara, us, Adam, Chrissy, and...you'll have to wait and see because we haven't gone yet to meet the others.
Also starting soon, David and I will be going to our kids' high school to help teach English to an 8th grade class and a 10th grade class. We had a meeting with the teachers last week and it sounds like it will be great. One worrisome thing is that the classes range in size form 40-something to 80-somthing. You got a few chairs and even less desks in the room so order sounds impossible. But during the meeting the teachers were asking us how we were taught in the states so that they could get some good ideas for their kids. They asked us what we thought about them teaching Shakespeare. It was very interesting because they aren't required to but they know we learn it and they were really self conscious with the idea of trying to teach it (they can't even speak english well). We told them we never learned anything that confusing or complicated in our second language class and they were relieved.
We are also doing little labor jobs around the Cottages like weeding, mowing the lawn, scraping paint and repainting, etc. Thankfully when we get hot and sweaty from all our hard work we can jump in the river to cool off. We just have to make sure we have running water to wash off all the river muck and grime afterwards!
The power is actually a national crisis that I can't go into full detail about but it is all over the news. The entire nation is on a power shortage so we are being delegated "on" and "off" times. When our power goes off, it means another village or cities power can come back on. It is killing the economy and right now they say that the power shortage will continue for another 6 years unless someone has a better idea. So we are trying to get used to it.
Well I guess that might be a little overkill but there you have it. Our life in a large nutshell.
Please be in prayer for our health (since refrigeration is a problem). You can also pray for Jesus' guidance in our new teaching position.
Love Heidi (and David)
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Photos, almost
These are the photo captions, we weren't able to put them below the exact pic so just read and scroll. Hope you enjoy our stories, and I hope all the photos are up that I wrote captions for.
Here are some pictures of our living conditions, the kids, what we are doing with them, and our Christmas trip to Durban while the kids were away with distant relatives.
The first few pics are of our room and outside our front door, looking at the cafeteria, play equipment and the bathrooms.
In one of the pictures you can see another volunteer, his name is Will and he is from Michigan. He has gone home now (He was there for 3 months but we only saw him for his last 10 days).
You can see all of us with only a handful of the kids. All the names you read you pronounce phonetically.
The next few pics are of us playing with the kids in one of the trees by our door. The young boy is Mfundo (3 years), he can't climb so we would hold him in the tree. You can also see Notile (13 years) and Tandeka (8 yrs) which are the girls in the tree. There is also a picture of me in the tree with a boy named Kaye (6), and another boy named Snetemba(10). The little girl with the apple smiling wide is named Zipno (4).
Then we have a shot of the scorpion we found under a tall pill of books with my journal at the bottom. We caught him in my malaria pill container and killed him on our front step. The little ones are the most poisonous. The only remedy is to take pain relievers for four days until the pain subsides. We check our bed every night.
Then we have some pictures of a common night outside. It always storms with lightning and thunder, even if it isn't raining. Every night for the fist 2 weeks there was lightning. Now I cans says that "I've seen the rains down in Africa..." (By the way, they love that song over here. Who would have thought?)
The property we are staying on is technically owned by the dead king of Kwazulu Natal, so the land is open for grazing of community cows. So we have some pics of the cows outside our window, and a pic of Kaye chasing the cows away with a stick. Throwing rocks at the cows is a good pass time in the hot weather. The cows don't even flinch when you hit them, unless you hit their horns.
There's a couple shot of the dog Mango, Kaye, me and Mfundo out side our door.
In the following pics you can see the river that passes the perimeter of the property on one side. It gets pretty dirty but we still swim in it. Most of the kids can swim but only a few of them float the river with me. Heidi leads the rest along the shore to the swimming spot with all the smooth rocks you see in couple of the pics. If you look you can see the girls wearing bread bags on their heads trying to keep there hair dry. They also float down the river with empty milk jugs to keep them afloat. We are usually in the river 2 times a day because it gets so hot. The boys under the umbrella are just wearing underwear to swim in, that's normal.
Next is a shot of Lulama (7) and Dumi (6) standing on the shore.
In the following photos you can see us teaching summer school. Every day we read the Bible then ask questions, then we break up in to different reading groups. Heidi gets 3 groups of little kids while I work with the older kids. Then we work on the kids math skills. We then do arts and crafts or play a game of soccer. Then we inevitably jump into the river. School usually lasts for 2 hours. Right now we are just teaching on what they have already learned in school, but come January 16 we will be helping them with their homework and other school projects.
In the next shot, Heidi is holding an HIV positive child named Kwaneli(2). He is always pouting, and even in a shot where he is happy it looks like he is mad. There's another shot of them with Zipno.
Next shot we are in the "kombi" (Volkswagen van) heading to JD and Barbara's house for a "braai" (BBQ). JD and Barbara are long term volunteer that have a house on some very nice property just 20 min drive from the Injesuthi Cottages. (The meat in S. Africa is unbelievable. It has so much flavor and is always good. The most tender meat I have ever had!)
In the van you can see some of the kids and a couple of the moms that help out at the cottages.
There are some shots of the drive to their house. The large umbrella tree you see is supposedly the largest of it's kind in S. Africa and it is on their property. They own about 100 acres and a forest that is filled with wild monkeys.
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Here are some pictures of our living conditions, the kids, what we are doing with them, and our Christmas trip to Durban while the kids were away with distant relatives.
The first few pics are of our room and outside our front door, looking at the cafeteria, play equipment and the bathrooms.
In one of the pictures you can see another volunteer, his name is Will and he is from Michigan. He has gone home now (He was there for 3 months but we only saw him for his last 10 days).
You can see all of us with only a handful of the kids. All the names you read you pronounce phonetically.
The next few pics are of us playing with the kids in one of the trees by our door. The young boy is Mfundo (3 years), he can't climb so we would hold him in the tree. You can also see Notile (13 years) and Tandeka (8 yrs) which are the girls in the tree. There is also a picture of me in the tree with a boy named Kaye (6), and another boy named Snetemba(10). The little girl with the apple smiling wide is named Zipno (4).
Then we have a shot of the scorpion we found under a tall pill of books with my journal at the bottom. We caught him in my malaria pill container and killed him on our front step. The little ones are the most poisonous. The only remedy is to take pain relievers for four days until the pain subsides. We check our bed every night.
Then we have some pictures of a common night outside. It always storms with lightning and thunder, even if it isn't raining. Every night for the fist 2 weeks there was lightning. Now I cans says that "I've seen the rains down in Africa..." (By the way, they love that song over here. Who would have thought?)
The property we are staying on is technically owned by the dead king of Kwazulu Natal, so the land is open for grazing of community cows. So we have some pics of the cows outside our window, and a pic of Kaye chasing the cows away with a stick. Throwing rocks at the cows is a good pass time in the hot weather. The cows don't even flinch when you hit them, unless you hit their horns.
There's a couple shot of the dog Mango, Kaye, me and Mfundo out side our door.
In the following pics you can see the river that passes the perimeter of the property on one side. It gets pretty dirty but we still swim in it. Most of the kids can swim but only a few of them float the river with me. Heidi leads the rest along the shore to the swimming spot with all the smooth rocks you see in couple of the pics. If you look you can see the girls wearing bread bags on their heads trying to keep there hair dry. They also float down the river with empty milk jugs to keep them afloat. We are usually in the river 2 times a day because it gets so hot. The boys under the umbrella are just wearing underwear to swim in, that's normal.
Next is a shot of Lulama (7) and Dumi (6) standing on the shore.
In the following photos you can see us teaching summer school. Every day we read the Bible then ask questions, then we break up in to different reading groups. Heidi gets 3 groups of little kids while I work with the older kids. Then we work on the kids math skills. We then do arts and crafts or play a game of soccer. Then we inevitably jump into the river. School usually lasts for 2 hours. Right now we are just teaching on what they have already learned in school, but come January 16 we will be helping them with their homework and other school projects.
In the next shot, Heidi is holding an HIV positive child named Kwaneli(2). He is always pouting, and even in a shot where he is happy it looks like he is mad. There's another shot of them with Zipno.
Next shot we are in the "kombi" (Volkswagen van) heading to JD and Barbara's house for a "braai" (BBQ). JD and Barbara are long term volunteer that have a house on some very nice property just 20 min drive from the Injesuthi Cottages. (The meat in S. Africa is unbelievable. It has so much flavor and is always good. The most tender meat I have ever had!)
In the van you can see some of the kids and a couple of the moms that help out at the cottages.
There are some shots of the drive to their house. The large umbrella tree you see is supposedly the largest of it's kind in S. Africa and it is on their property. They own about 100 acres and a forest that is filled with wild monkeys.
">" border="0" alt="" />">" border="0" alt="" />">" border="0" alt="" />">" border="0" alt="" />The biggest lightning bolt we captured. Lately there has been no rain or lightning, just heat, but for the first few weeks it was hot during the day and then around dinner time the thunder and lightning would start and the rain would come a couple hours later.
"Us with some of the children (the teenagers are missing) and Will, the American volunteer who left on Dec. 14th.
This is a pic of our bedroom. The only picture that I have been able to upload so far. Enjoy!
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Pics of the Cottages at Injesuthi
We are trying to post a slide show video we made but S. Africa's internet is so slow I don't think we will be able to do so. Now I am trying to post some pics of the Cottages but I am having trouble. I have a few different ways to post pics and I will try each of them.
We have typed up the captions for each photo so I hope we can post the pics.
Sorry for the long delay.
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