new blog !

Hello!

I've been back in the UK for a few months now and it's time to start a new blog, which will be more about my life in the UK rather than Africa, however there will be updates on what's going on in SA from time to time!

If you'd like to continue following my adventures go to...

http://justprincesscaroline.blogspot.com/

See you there! Caroline xx

JANUARY 2011 – FINAL NEWSLETTER

BACK TO THE WINTER

Just before Christmas I bade farewell to the Summer heat of Durban and arrived back to temperatures of -9 in the UK! A bit of a shock to the system!

I had a good time catching up with my family over Christmas and enjoyed the snow briefly before it all melted. I hope to see people this coming year and catch up with you then if possible.

In this final newsletter I’ll detail what happened at the end of my time in South Africa and look forward to what 2011 has in store. Happy New Year!

END OF YEAR @ INCHANGA PRIMARY SCHOOL

Victoria from the sewing co-operative managed to get the rest of the uniforms for the 20 children to me just before the end of term and on the last day of term I distributed them along with food parcels for each of the 40 orphans.

Fikile the new Project Manager, and Mr Mkhize helped me to organise the children. It was a good opportunity for Fikile to explain to the children that she is taking over from me and they were sad to hear I was leaving but excited that she will be taking care of them from now onwards.

As we had decided not to feed the children each week I’d put together a food parcel with extra food in it plus stationery that will be useful for next year. About 30 of the ‘40’ were there to receive this and the rest was given out to other needy children.

It was sad to say goodbye but I know I’ll be back to visit them one day and Fikile will work hard to make sure they are looked after. Thanks again to Maureen from Our Journey,inc for providing the uniforms. The children were especially pleased with these.

SIYATHEMBA – WHERE HOPE BEGINS

Since September I have been going regularly to visit Mlu and Goodman, 2 ex-GGA young men, in the township in Pietermaritzburg to give them basic food items and to check on their welfare. At the end of November it became urgent for them to move out of their lodgings. As we looked around an exciting opportunity arose to purchase a small government-built township house for them to live in. Using some of the money from the sale of the Hilux (see over for more details) I arranged with them to buy this one-room breeze-block house which is part of our Siyathemba project that I wrote about last time.

Goodman (20) and Mlu (18) are now living in their new home and are very excited about it. They’ve already made a start on clearing the small plot of land to create a vegetable garden. Steve will keep an eye on them next year and there are various other people around to help out if need be.

This whole venture has been God-ordained and directed from the beginning and all came together very quickly in my last month there. Pray for these young men as they settle into independent living in their own home and for protection and further provision of jobs and finance for future training.

‘For I know the plans I have for you, (..) plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’‘ Jeremiah 29v11

Church@GGA – YOUTH ALPHA

Once we dealt with the distraction of the Apostles Church, the Youth Alpha Course got underway and was a runaway success. 30 children participated and each one benefited from it. At the end of November they came up to our house for the Holy Spirit Day and we baptised 2 of the children in the pool which was a joyous occasion. In particular the children appreciated having the opportunity to ask hard questions and also the space to receive prayer and be listened to. Many of these children will be starting boarding school in January which is new and exciting and so church@GGA will have a different dynamic. Please remember them in your prayers and also pray for God’s continuing provision for God’s Golden Acre as a whole.

What’s happened to the Hilux?

The plan to sell the Hilux to Russell and Precious fell through, but we all agreed this was a God-incidence as the house for Goodman and Mlu came about just around the same time. Instead I was able to purchase the house for the boys and get them kitted out with basic household equipment as well as blessing Russell and Precious with a donation. As they have just got married (see below) they were exhausted and also desperate to visit Cape Town on honeymoon. When I suggested to them that they use some of this donation for that purpose they were filled with excitement and gratitude and I think a trip is being planned. With so many kids living in their home a time away for relaxation and refreshment is well overdue!

RUSSELL AND PRECIOUS – THE WEDDING WEEKEND

Russell and Precious’s Wedding was a 3 day affair. We started on Friday afternoon when the first goat and cow were slaughtered. I had to take photos and it was a bit gruesome but also fascinating to get an insight into local ways of doing things. Saturday was the White Wedding. We were expecting about 20 people to turn up at our house for the service but ended up with well over 120! Steve and Mike, in their over-sized shiny silver suits, performed wonderfully in the wedding dance. Our outfits on Sunday went down well too with the boys in traditional skins and me in the Zulu beaded skirt and top. It was an exhausting but joyous occasion and I was pleased I could offer them lots of photos as a gift of memories for them.

FUTURE PLANS

Back in the UK I’m applying for Children’s Ministry jobs in London as that is where I feel the Lord is directing me to next. I’ve thought about living in London for a while now and it will certainly be different from the valley! Whilst applications are processed and I await news I’m using my time productively to write a book about my time in South Africa and a testimony to God’s faithfulness and provision. I really sense that now is the time to write this, while I have little else to distract me. Pray that the motivation and focus that I have currently for that will continue and I will see this project through. Pray also for someone to agree to publish it too.

Bob’s visa was denied on Christmas Eve, which was frustrating. He is reapplying and will come over to visit as soon as he can get it sorted. I was upset that he couldn’t meet my family and friends over Christmas but am comforted by an inner peace that tells me this is somehow all in God’s timing and eventually, at the right time, he will arrive here. Continue to pray for us and for direction as he would like to move here and work. Especially pray for the right work for him, he has his own business and would like to continue something along those lines.

Finally, a huge thank you for praying and supporting me during this past year in South Africa. It’s been an amazing time of experiencing God’s love and sharing it with the children and people of KwaZulu Natal. I’m constantly surprised by God’s attention to detail and provision for our needs. I have a very real sense of completion of my ministry over there, even though the work still progresses. Although I shall go back to visit as often as I am able to, I know that my time of living there has come to an end for the moment.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR INVESTING IN GOD’S KINGDOM WORK IN KWAZULU NATAL.

Much love from Caroline xxx

Back in the UK

Quite a change from the South African summer!

After 13 months in South Africa working for Grapevine Foundation I've moved back to live in the UK. It was sad to leave but also I felt a great sense of closure and completion. It was exciting to welcome Fikile onboard to take over from me as Project Manager and I know she'll do an amazing job and be a real blessing to the children at Inchanga School as she already knows them.

The church@GGA came to a natural pause as well as we completed the Alpha course and a loit of the children went to visit relatives for the Christmas holidays. Many of the older children will be starting a new adventure at boarding schools in January and the church on Sunday mornings at GGA will have a different dynamic with their absence. I know God will continue to meet with those children and volunteers and to bless them as they meet to worship, pray and learn together.

I'm just writing my final newsletter now and I'll get this on here as soon as I can. I'm currently staying with my parents in Warwickshire and had a lovely Christmas catching up with family and friends. Now that January is underway and people return to normal life post-Christmas I find myself in a period of waiting for the next adventure. Whilst seeking employment I'm also taking time to reflect on the year that's past and to look for where God is leading me this year. He's brought me back here for a purpose and all will be revealed very soon. Despite my current unemployment I remain positive that something big is around the corner!

End of term

Another term is over and Christmas is fast approaching. Thanks to a donation from CMA back in September I was able to go out and buy all sorts of things to give to the children for a Christmas Food parcel. As well as a little bit of food to help them out, I also put in a new pencil case, and some pens and pencils to start them off next term.

As I'm leaving soon we decided not to feed the kids over the holiday. Instead we've reminded them that the 1000 Hills Community Helpers next to the school give out food daily during the week so children can go there.

A lot of my '40' were in school on Thursday. It was the offical last day of term and most children come back to receive their reports. Attendance in the last few weeks has been sparse, with only about 50 children from the 1000 pupils turning up at school.

It was sad to say goodbye to the children and staff but I'll be back to visit in the future...

wrapping up and continuations...

By now you should be aware that I am leaving South Africa on 22nd December and am returning to live in the UK. I resigned from my job with Grapevine Foundation thinking that I'd have to leave all my profiling and documents at the school until someone else came along in the future to pick it up again. However God had other plans and within a few days of me resigning, one of the teachers from the school came forward to take over as Project Manager! God is good.

Her name is Fikile Nxumalo and she works in the management at Inchanga Primary School. She's been watching me for a while and wondering whether to get involved but the time is right now. I've already had a meeting with her and I'm confident that she's the absolute perfect person for the job. She speaks Zulu and excellent English, she knows the kids already and can visit them at home without the need for an interpreter!

We are so excited about the way God has moved in this situation, it's yet more confirmation that He is moving me on and moving the next person in. My job has been to introduce Grapevine to the children and then get Fikile interested and excited about it, just by going about my work.

It's nearly the end of term and I'll be saying goodbye to the children next week with a final food parcel for the holidays. Please pray for Fikile as she takes over and for the enthusiasm she has for helping the children to grow and grow as she gets stuck into her new role.

Russell and Precious's Big Day

After many months of planning, Russell and Precious's Wedding weekend extravaganza was finally upon us!

Final frantic preparations were taking place on Thursday, even at our house, the 'church' for the White Wedding part. Some of the young men from Russell's were dispatched to help make the garden lovely and they worked hard alongside Steve and Mike to clear and burn all the garden debris. Friday was just as chaotic with any spare vehicle being sent left right and centre to move marquees, chairs, wedding clothes and the like. In the midst of all of this one of Precious's brothers had his car stolen in central Durban, so that added to the stress!

The fun was officially timetabled to start at 3pm on Friday when the first cow was to be slaughtered. However, the poor thing didn't meet its end until gone 9pm! Even for Zulu timing that is late!! Before that, at Precious's mum's house they had to slaughter a goat and then inform Russell's house that it had been done, this gave the go-ahead for the cow. I missed the goat slaughter but the rondavel in which Precious was hauled up absolutely stank of dead goat by the time I got there! Poor Precious and her ladies had to sit in there all night. I was glad I could travel, as photographer I had to go between the 2 sites. They offered me some freshly boiled goat, but I politely declined!

One of the main events on Friday was the moving of the 'Wedding Chest'. This is a huge polished cabinet with a lovely elephant decoration on the front. It was moved from Precious's house to Russell's on Friday night accompanied by a lot of ululating Gogos. It featured in Sunday's traditional rituals.

Also, at midnight, Precious had to smuggle herself somehow into Russell's house. If she managed to do so then all the men there had to give her money. Sadly for her she was spotted. I missed this as I had to get home for some sleep. Steve and Mike, who stayed in the valley the whole weekend, also appear to have missed it - I think the excitement caught up with them and they were asleep. The rest of the wedding party however stayed up all night.

The problem with staying up all night is that you are quite tired the next day. So when I turned up on Saturday at 7am ready to party, everyone else was already a little worse for wear! Thankfully it was a beautifully sunny day (unlike the forecast - ah the power of prayer!). Once everyone was ready, the main bridal party - couple, 4 bridesmaids, 4 best men (including Steve and Mike), and the flowergirls and pageboys - all set off for Durban for photos on the beach.

We were only running 2 hours late for the service at our house. By the time we got to our house it was quite crowded. Officially only about 20 people had been invited to the White Wedding service in our garden. Unofficially, another 100 Zulus had turned up. They were hot, hungry and desperate for a glimpse of the happy couple. Apart from the rude women who helped themselves to food out of our fridge, everything went smoothly. (thankfully for them, they only stole juice, fruit and bread, if they'd started on my chocolate, it would have been a different story...!!!)

The procession then travelled from here back to Russell's in the valley, with cars beeping their horns and veering all over the road. Everyone they passed waved and cheered. At several points they stopped the vehicles and various people got out for a bit of a dance. None of this dancing compared to the first dance (video on facebook) which far surpassed all other dancing of the day. The entire bridal party danced into the reception tent. I can't really describe it, it has to be seen to be believed...

With the White Wedding over and done with, Sunday morning arrived with cloudy skies and the traditional outfits for Umabo. Having been to several weddings now, I'm noticing a change in atmosphere on the Umabo days, it's much more relaxed than the white wedding. I think the Zulus just do their thing on these days and enjoy it.

I'd hoped to miss the second cow slaughter, scheduled for 6am, but no, it happened at 11.30am, just after I arrived.

Oh joy. Yet more brutality and blood.

It's totally gross and then strangely fascinating. Once the animal is dead it just looks like a huge piece of meat and the butchering is rather interesting.

The photos are still gross though!

Mike and Steve were in traditional Zulu Skins (see above pic) and I wore a Zulu outfit too, slightly warmer than theirs. The Zulus were delighted to see us dressed like this and lots of people wanted photos with us. The traditional cermony comprised a lot of dancing, singing and parading round with sticks and shields for the men. The boys joined in and blended in very well. After all the backward and forwarding, they were officially married the moment Precious did a runner from the field and Russell headed off after her. Then suddenly it was all over.

The heavens opened shortly after this and I decided to make a move, given that all the houses were now full of hungry Zulus awaiting their beef curry. Mike and Steve stayed on and reappeared only yesterday, so their wedding experience lasted a lot longer than mine, although I still reckon I'll remember more than they will ;-)

A great weekend, all in all, crazy, chaotic but full of fun times and good memories.

Now there's just the small matter of about 1000 photos to edit...

My newsletter - December 2010

I've finally worked out a way of getting my newsletter onto the blog!
Below is what I sent out for December 2010 - lots of changes as you'll see.

END OF AN ERA AND FRESH CHALLENGES
After much deliberation and prayer, I’ve made the decision to move back to the UK in December, just in time for Christmas. Read on for more information…

SCHOOL UNIFORMS
Maureen Ahern, from the American charitable organisation ‘Our Journey, inc’, contacted me earlier in the year with the offer of school uniforms for 20 of the orphans at Inchanga Primary School. She visited South Africa in October and made this happen. I selected the 20 most needy, most of whom were from my ‘40’ children, and measured them up for new shoes, dresses or trousers and shirts. A local sewing co-operative in Swayimane, run by a lovely Zulu lady called Victoria, were given the task of making school dresses, grey trousers and white shirts for the children. They are finishing them off as I write.
A few weeks’ ago, Maureen and I went into Pietermaritzburg where she purchased shoes, socks and school jumpers for the children. Unfortunately, Maureen couldn’t come into school with me to give these out to the pupils but they were overjoyed to receive the new items and eagerly put them on. Thank you so much for this donation that takes the worry away from 20 carers for new uniforms for the new school year!
A couple of shoes were the wrong size and needed to be swapped. On the way to the car, I noticed another one of my ‘40’ who was wandering with no shoes on at all. I asked her what size she was and she said ‘2’. Amazingly, that was the very size I was about to swap so I gave her a new pair and went off to buy another pair in the shop instead. She was very happy but didn’t put the shoes on immediately because she was too busy showing them off to her friends!

SIYATHEMBA – WHERE HOPE BEGINS
My sister, Liz, and our friend Anita spent 2 weeks here in September. They were here to spend time with some of the young people from God’s Golden Acre as Anita’s family sponsors several of them. During this time it became apparent that some of the older young people needed encouragement and assistance with the next step as they looked to finishing school and making the transition from care to independent living.
We’ve been looking into ways of facilitating this and founded ‘Siyathemba’ to make this happen. For the past 2 months I’ve taken food regularly to 2 of the older boys – Mlu and Goodman – who have been moved to live in a township but have hardly any food and nothing to do all day. It’s not an ideal situation. Pray for the right direction for these 2 boys as they consider their options. Pray for protection as township life is much different from residential care, especially that they wouldn’t be tempted into alcoholism or drug abuse (cannabis use is rife in all townships).
We are seeking ways to help these young people to make the most of their education and complete any training they can do for a better future. Please pray for the future of Siyathemba, in its initial stages now, that the right people would come onboard and it would benefit the young people over here and be a source of hope and encouragement to them.For more info please email me at siyathembadirector@gmail.com

‘Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come.’

Jeremiah 33v3

‘For I know the plans I have for you, (..) plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’

Jeremiah 29v11

Church@GGA – YOUTH ALPHA

This term we’ve been doing Youth Alpha with the children at GGA. This has been amazing so far and we still have a few weeks and the Holy Spirit Day left to go. When I returned from the UK we had initial troubles from a group from a local Zion Church who had moved in to take over the Sunday services. Google them to find out more, but basically they believe in a mixture of Christianity and Zulu tradition, which is not Biblical. It took a lot of prayer and discussion to get them to leave the children alone. Praise God that the children recognised immediately that what they preached was false. Pray for the management at GGA, that they would stand firm in their decision that the church@GGA is Anglican and Bible-based. Pray against these people returning when I leave in December. They are still loitering now and the children need good solid Bible teaching and not to be confused. Alpha, in the meantime, has been well-received and in the first week all of my group of 11-14 year olds prayed to become Christians. The Holy Spirit Day is set for Saturday 27th November. Pray that nothing prevents that from happening and for an awesome time together. In total over 30 young people are doing Alpha in 2 groups.

CHRISTMAS FEEDING PROGRAMME 2010

I will be co-ordinating a food parcel for the ‘40’ for the end of term in December but as I am returning to the UK there will be no feeding programme as such during the holidays. However, there is the 1000 Hills Community Helpers project next door to the school where the children can get food every weekday so this will help them.

RUSSELL AND PRECIOUS – SITHEMBAKUYE

The wedding of Russell and Precious is fast approaching – Friday 12th-Sun 14th November. Look out for pictures on Facebook, my blog and in my next newsletter! Everyone is working hard to get things ready and Steve and Mike have spent many hours practising their dance moves for their roles as groomsmen. I’ve decided to bless this family with the Hilux (or money from the Hilux sale) and we are in the process of arranging that. If they can raise the funding to cover the extra costs on the vehicle they can have it or I will sell it and donate a major proportion of the money to them to buy a different car. Russell passed his driving test recently and a vehicle would benefit their organisation and family greatly. Pray for the right way forward in this and that the Hilux would continue to be a blessing.

FUTURE PLANS

As I mentioned in my last newsletter, I made the decision on Oct 31st in light of my support and funding that it would be financially unsustainable for me to continue here. Therefore I shall be returning to the UK on December 23rd in time for a family Christmas. I have started my search for jobs in the UK, mostly in teaching again but I will consider anything. Whilst I am sad about leaving the many children here and having to return to the middle of Winter in the UK, I know that this is the right decision to make. I have had an amazing time here and met so many brilliant people who will remain forever in my heart. I intend to continue supporting people in whatever way I can from the UK and shall return here to visit at some point in the future. Pray for Micky and the future of Grapevine Foundation.

However, new challenges await me in the UK as well. I shall not be returning to the UK alone but with my new partner, Bob Okafor. I met him in October and it would appear that our meeting was no accident but a God-incident. He is currently living in Johannesburg but will visit the UK with me for Christmas and then look to relocate to the UK once I have a job and am settled somewhere. Pray for us as we embark on this new and exciting relationship and for God’s guidance in where to live, work and for visas for him. He is a Nigerian businessman, a strong Christian and we get on very very well!

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR INVESTING IN GOD’S KINGDOM WORK HERE IN KWAZULU NATAL.

MAY GOD BLESS YOU MIGHTILY AS YOU SUPPORT ME AND THE CHILDREN OF SOUTH AFRICA.

Keep in touch!

Much love from Caroline xxx

New Uniforms - Part 1

new shoes, socks and jerseys - how smart!

usual state of the kids' shoes!

Today I took 20 jerseys, socks and pairs of shoes down to Inchanga Primary School. This is the first half of a kind donation by a group from the USA called 'Our Journey inc.' School dresses, grey trousers and white shirts will follow in a few weeks' time. A sewing co-op in the valley are currently creating these for the children.

It was a blisteringly hot morning in the sunshine and yet the children were still happy to don their new jerseys and amazingly all but one fitted extremely well. Each child got a pair of shoes and socks as well and they were grateful for these. A lot of children have holes in their socks and worn-out or sometimes no shoes at all.

While I was walking back to my car I noticed that another one of my 40 was wandering around just in her socks and no shoes. I questioned her about it and she said she didn't have any shoes. It turned out she's a size 2, the exact size of one of the pairs of shoes for a child who was absent today. I was really happy to realise this and so was she when I gave her these shoes, I'll get some more tomorrow.

Thank you so much again to Maureen and the kind people in the USA who donated to Our journey inc to make all this possible. It's a huge help to these children and they look so smart in their new jerseys.

Preschool Opening Photos

children enjoying breaktime in their new school building

very happy parents, Gogos and carers

children inside the new classroom!

A happy day

Yesterday the children of Ehlanzeni moved into their new Preschool building as the 'Steve Davison Preschool' was finally open for business!

Steve, Mike and I joined George the Headteacher of Inchanga School, a few other staff, the teachers of Grade R and 1 and the parents and children to celebrate the opening. It's not the official opening (we didn't have a cake for a start... ) but that will take place in December. But the children were desperate to move from the draughty old community hall with its broken windows, holes in the roof and floor to the new building.

Whilst there's no electricity in yet and the windows were only finished yesterday, there are desks and doors that lock and there's water, so that's enough to start with. There's plenty of land to expand as well, thanks to the generosity of a local shop owner who donated the building and land surrounding it.

For the rest of this year there are 2 classes there - Grade R and Grade 1, for the first time yesterday they had their own space and classroom, before they were sharing. The joy on the children's faces and for the parents was obvious. The children had all arrived really early ready to learn. From January there will also be Grade 2 children learning there.

This school was finished off by Lionsraw back in the World Cup. It was great seeing the team work on it during the school holidays but that's nothing compared to the excitement of seeing the buildings in use! Steve gave a speech, as did George and several others.

This preschool is important as it's in a good setting. Before, the parents and small children had to walk up to 2 hours up a mountain to get to the main school. It's too much for small legs and also for the some of the Gogos to make it every day and as a result some children were just not going to school. This school is in a perfect place for them to get to. Having this school means these children will get the best possible start to their education.

NEW WEBSITE!!

Finally we have our website up and runnning - take a look at

www.gvfsa.org

There are links from that to the givengain website where you can make secure donations to the work of Grapevine Foundation.

Have a look and let us know what you think! ;-)

A new pitch

The Sports Trust (http://www.thesportstrust.co.za/) have teamed up with the Pavilion, our local shopping mall, to provide a multi-million rand state-of-the-art multi-sports pitch at Inchanga Primary School for the benefit of the whole community. Today was the opening ceremony.

Being a Roman Catholic School, the local priest started by blessing the pitch with a dose of holy water, then various guests gave speeches. The school choir performed as did a choir from another local school. It was a happy occasion.

The pitch will be used by local schools and also by clubs in the area and everyone is excited about the possibilities. This is only the second pitch that has been built in South Africa so it's a real blessing to the community of Inchanga.

Some photos from Visiting Liz's sponsor family

Liz, Anita and Siyabonga with the family that Triangle supports plus a few extra kids

the food parcel we put together (larger than usual)

a couple of the kids modelling their new hats (thank you Grandma!)

New plans and opportunities

Many of you know I've been praying for God to reveal His way forward for a long time now. Well, I think that He might be revealing some of the answers this week through Liz and Anita as they visit me...

Just over a week ago, Liz (my sister) and her friend Anita arrived for a 2-week stay. We've certainly packed a lot into these weeks and they are not over yet! (I'm planning a quiet weekend...) Anita sponsors several children at GGA and wanted to spend some time with them so we've spent a fair amount of time up there.

Firstly Church@GGA has been interesting. I returned from the UK keen to start Youth Alpha with the kids but we were greeted on the first Sunday back with a visit from a group from the Zion Church. That would have been fine except they were under the impression that they were going to run the church there from now on, which would not do at all. Google them if you want to know why... Anyway, after a morning with them, the children were upset and we were not too happy either. Praise God that the situation was sorted this Sunday and now we are back on track to start Alpha next Sunday, just a week later than planned. So far, 29 children aged 11 and over have signed up and it looks like it could be an amazing course. Please remember us in your prayers over this term.

We've also spent a bit of time catching up with a couple of older GGA boys who've been relocated to a township in Pietermaritzburg. It was great to see them and also challenging as they were already out of the food that had been given to them. Thankfully we had some food to leave with them and we've popped back today to check on them. It's obvious that their spirits are lifted by our visits and so I've no intention of stopping seeing them... In fact, plans are coming together to help them in alternative ways. More details to follow soon...

Also, Liz's church - Triangle in Ipswich - has been sponsoring a family in the valley of Mophela and today we arranged a visit to them. We collected the local community health worker this morning and took her with us as well as Siyabonga, Anita's sponsor child. Liz had been given some money to buy food for the family and we had a good time in Spar yesterday purchasing lots of different food to give them. I'd visited 3 years ago with my parents and I could thankfully remember where the house was. We borrowed a wheelbarrow from a neighbour and took the food down to the house. The oldest girl in the family was there and she was overwhelmed by the gift to them. It was a real blessing as today they were down to their last bit of food and she had been praying for a miracle. There are 6 people there including 2 small children and they were all grateful for the donation.

While we were there Anita and Liz got to pray with her and to encourage her. We also discovered they want some chickens and have built a chicken coop but couldn't afford them. So we set off to find a man who could sell us some and after a few enquiries we found some chickens. However, only kids were at home and the chickens were out wandering so we couldn't get them there and then, but we arranged with the CHW to collect them later on. Apparently chickens regroup in the evening and are easier to catch!

I'd brought along some woolly hats that my Grandma had knitted and the children were really excited to receive these. It was chilly first thing but then the sun came out and the hats were still on their heads. They will be useful when the cold season starts again later in the year. Photos to follow...

In amongst all this, we've managed to pack in a quick trip to the Game Reserve over the bank holiday and finally saw some lions. Later in the week the girls are treating me to a Spa Day which will be lovely and relaxing. We are having an amazing time but also we are quite tired. We've prayed together a lot and we know that God has brought us together for a purpose and for such a time as this. There will be many more good times together. I've also realised that my time in South Africa is not over yet and that I must stay longer and trust God to provide for my needs. It feels good and it's exciting to be a part of established and new ministries out here.

Please continue to pray for God to direct His work out here, and as I said before, there are very exciting new projects in the pipeline and I'll reveal more about it in due course...

Holiday Feeding

This week Inchanga Primary School is on holiday. After several weeks of strikes there was a chance that this week would be taken up to make up for lost time. Then the Government decided they should close for holiday after all. They are only off for a week.

My sister Liz and friend Anita are visiting these 2 weeks (more about that in a minute) and they came with me to give the '40' kids some food to see them through the holiday. We went to Makro and bought the usual Maize meal, sugar beans, soya mixture etc and a few 'luxuries' such as a bag of cheese crisps each.

We went in to the school on Thursday morning and gave out the food parcels. Despite the crowd of eager pupils gathering round the car and pressing in for something, I managed to identify my '40' and we gave out a total of 30 bags of food. Not bad for the end of term. Not all kids make it in on the last day of term so I was happy with that. Unfortunately the rest of the kids had to be chased back by one of the teachers with a big stick and it was impossible to give out the rest as there was not enough. However, every orphan in the school would have been given a bag of porridge from another donation so nobody went home empty-handed.

I'll put up some photos as soon as my laptop is fixed. Yesterday it died somehow, I think the powerpack has broken but unfortunately it looks like you can't just buy a new one here in South Africa. Tomorrow my mission is to solve this problem... it's an urgent one as ALL my files are locked on there and I'm currently having to borrow Steve's laptop to update this (without all my photos ;-((( )

Sithembakuye - The new house

We said that Russell and Precious would not be able to keep out of their new house once we left the country and we were right! It was great to see yesterday what they've done with the place.

Lionsraw built this house from nothing and they still need to link up the electricity, water and put in the kitchen and bathroom, but apart from that, it was almost ready for moving in.

The Sithembakuye family have moved in, although some of them are still sharing beds until they get new bunk beds at some point in the not too distant future. The nice people at Pentravel came to paint and are coming back to finish the job soon. Everyone is overjoyed at the new place and the kids especially are excited about their new rooms.

Up till now about 12 kids were sleeping in a very small room and it was extremely cramped. Look at how many teddies they have for a start! ;-) Now these kids are shared out in 3 rooms with the boys having their own room for the first time in their lives. It is awesome to see how this new home is turning out. No one can be more excited or happy than Russell and Precious themselves, you can't wipe the smile off their faces these days!

Best of British...

Despite the ridiculous set up at Birmingham Airport, where you have to pay for a trolley now if you want one when you collect your baggage, which was extremely irritating after 15 hours of travel, I had a great time in the UK. I spent most of the time meeting up with family and friends and trying to chill out and also think about my future. It was a busy but happy time.

To begin with, I went down to Cornwall with my parents for a week of complete 'holiday'. The rain didn't disrupt too much and we had a lovely time visiting several National Trust gardens, the beach, St Ives and discovering some really fantastic food places too. I'm liking the 'Great British Food' industry that has sprung up and developed over the past few years. Particularly good were the meals at Trevaskis Farm outside of Hayle. We also loved the jacket potatoes at the cafe at Trengwainton National Trust Garden. Try it and love it too.

Back in the Midlands from Cornwall and it was time to catch up with many friends. Kath, who I met in SA, came down and we had a very enlightening time at Warwick Castle. It never ceases to amaze me how the people who run that place can alter it every year so that it's still interesting! The jousting was good. (see photo). I mean, what's not to like about grown men in medieval costume playfighting on horseback? There was the usual pantomime atmosphere in the park as we enjoyed that show. The powers that be at Warwick have also totally redesigned the 'Edwardian Weekend Party' Exhibit so that it doesn't just introduce us to the characters but now gives us an in depth look at all the scandal of the day as we now know who was messing around with whom. It was quite shocking to realise that morals seemed to go right out of the window during weekends like those. However, I must have seen that exhibit over 10 times and this is the only time I've actually remembered any of the names! (And that's why HEAT magazine is so popular... I guess ;-) )

I managed a trip to London to see friends there and enjoy a few meals out in Covent Garden, which was great. We also had some excellent dinner parties at home with various couples who have supported me over this past year. I spoke at a couple of churches and it was great to see so many people at my tea and talk at St Paul's in Leamington.

My village church had a cheese and wine evening, which was brilliant fun and I even won something on the raffle (Gotta love raffles!). Mum and Dad took me to their Folk Dancing group as well and that was surprisingly good fun, and thankfully I didn't dream about square sets afterwards!

Thank you to all the people who donated money to me during my time in the UK. It was great to meet up with so many people, to catch up with old friends and to make new ones.

Back in South Africa!

It would appear the strikes are over, at least for the moment. We arrived back in South Africa this evening and over the next few days I can find out what's been going on. First of all, though, I need to pack and most of all I need to SLEEP!!

Everything seems ok at the house, apart from the heat that has built up over the past month which makes sitting here quite unbearable. No critters in the house though, which is great!

and the strikes continue...

Apologies for my absence, I am in fact currently on holiday in the UK and enjoying a relaxing time of catching up with family and friends. I return to South Africa on 15th September.

Meanwhile, in SA the strikes continue to cripple the country. I received a phone call from the Headteacher of Inchanga School this week to inform me that the 'stay away' is still continuing. They had hoped that a resolution would be reached this week but it appears that this is not going to be the case. The schools have now been shut for over 3 weeks. All this takes its toll on the children, who actually want to be in school and come every day to see if it might be happening!

Pray for a resolution to be reached and for good talks between the Unions, government and all involved. It's not just teachers and schools affected, also hospitals are being assisted by volunteers and army medics as the staff there 'stay away'.

After the exuberance of a glorious World Cup, the mood of the nation has been brought down with all this action. Issues certainly need addressing and let's hope and pray that they are addressed and resolved as soon as possible.

Kids' Club - more penfriends

Today most of the government-run schools in South Africa were closed as the teachers went on strike over pay issues. We're awaiting to see when they will reopen but it doesn't look like a resolution will be reached very easily.

In the meantime, many many children will go hungry as they are used to being fed at school. It's really unsettling for them as they don't know when they'll be back in school for breakfast and lunch, not to mention the education that the kids are missing out on.

Let's pray that the government listen to the public servants and this strike doesn't cripple the country, as is extremely possible at this time.