I'm sorry!

So Mondays are incredibly busy. Gymnastics start at 9am and we just keep going all day long. I did not get to write an Africa journal post today. To make up for it, I'll write 2 or 3 days worth tomorrow!

In other news, our friendly elf Finnbeck Jimmy arrived on dec 1st to spend until Christmas with us. Each day when the kids wake up they find him in a different place. Tonight he is doing some zip lining with his friends the little people. The kids are gonna laugh in the morning!

Nov 12~ A visit to Noviane

November 12th ~ 4:50pm

This morning we were up bright and early to go to the beach.  It was so refreshing after sweating all night.  Now I can say that I swam in the Indian Ocean.  Which by the way must have 10 times more salt in it than our ocean.  

After that we got cleaned up and received breakfast which was one bun.  It was delicious and amazingly it filled me up until lunch.  After breakfast we met in the church for Heidi Baker's service.  It was their kids church with 2 hours of worship and then Heidi preached.  One thing I got from her message was this.  "You will not go without if you share all that you have"

The church is in the bottom half of the compound where the village children have access to so there were all kinds of kids running around.  They would just swarm you if they thought they could get a handout or if you had something interesting like a camera or a bible.  

There was a girl there about 11-12 named Danya who was just sweet.  She tried on my hat which I had discovered was too small for me. I forgot about it though and walked away.  I realized later that she still had it and they had told us that the village kids would take things so I figured it was long gone.  About an hour later though, she found me and gave the hat back. I told her she could keep it.

After that we had lunch and Don & Elizabeth came and took us to Noviane to set up the trampoline.  The kids there were so fun.  We did some face painting and we had some toys that we played with them and once the trampoline was set up, the kids had a blast on that. 

There was a girl named Ziena who knew english very well so the other kids would look to her to translate.  She was so funny.  

This is Ziena.  She was embarrassed because  Papa Don was bragging about how well she knew english.

Another girl who really caught my heart was Maria.  She doesn't live inside the compound but her older sister does.  At first I was taken back by here because I gave her a bracelet and then she would go hide it and then look for another member giving out bracelets and get one from them as well.  I think she ended up with 6-7 of them.  She was really sweet though and kept touching me and singing to me.  She didn't know any english but she sang "Jesus loves me, Jesus loves you" to me and danced.  She had a beautiful smile!  

The one in blue is Maria.  See all those bracelets on her wrist?

They all have wonderful smiles.  There was a boy who kept asking me to take his picture and another tiny boy about 2-3 who gave me a thumbs up every time he saw me.

There was a mix up in communication when we went to leave.  I ended up left behind with Gail J.  We had to walk back on our own and I had to carry the duffle bag which wasn't very heavy since it was practically empty.  It wasn't too far but probably about 2 km.  I very nearly had an asthma attack when I got back though.  I just couldn't catch my breath but I think I'm okay now.

9:30 pm

I had a major headache tonight.  It's possible that the walk and my breathing caused it.  After supper, we relaxed for a little while which was good because I needed some downtime.  At 7:00 we went to a harvest school service where there was worship and the speaker was Duncan Smith and his team.  The message he spoke really went straight into a place inside me.  He talked about the spirit of independance.  He gave an example where if we are offered something or if someone offers help we say "no thanks" because we don't want to acknowledge that we need help.  I realize this is exactly what I do.  I don't want to be a burden to anyone.  I want people to not see my weaknesses.  I need people.  He said love is not love if it is only given.  It needs to also be received.  

God is speaking so many things to me.  One verse I got tonight was Psalm 138:8 "The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your love O Lord endures forever- do not abandon the works of your hands."   I have decided to trust that God has everything worked out for my life and all I have to do is trust.

My camera battery is dying.  I'm trusting that God will help with that.

Nov 11th ~ PEMBA!!

November 11th ~ 9:10am

I'm on a plane to Maputo, Mozambique now.  We will land there, go through customs and then we will board another plane on our way to Pemba.  It was another very early morning at 4:30 this morning.  Had a late night last night as well so only got about 3-4 hours sleep.  We stayed in Johannesburg last night at a guest house.  My bed was right by the door and it didn't help that Lisa said that Johannesburg was the murder capital of the world!  haha.  Hopefully I can get some sleep on the next plane.  

We got to the airport this morning in plenty of time to do a bit of shopping which I hadn't gotten a chance to do much of.  I was able to find the kids a few things that I hope and think that they will be very happy with.  It's hard to think of them without having tears well up but last night I was able to get online and received a message from Jeff that encouraged me and gave me the strength to move on.  It feels like I have been away for a few weeks rather than a few days and last night it was really bringing me down so receiving that message at that time was I think God's way of saying "okay focus on the task at hand. Everything is okay at home."  So for now my mind is on the kids I'm going to meet today. I'm so excited!

8:30 pm

These kids are absolutely adorable and amazing.  We got into Pemba around 1:00.  I was privileged to be sitting across the aisle from Don D who pointed out a ton of stuff as we landed since he'd been there many times before.  The airport was tiny.  Barely enough room to get past the baggage carousal.  But there outside was Don Kantel with 5 girls between 12-14 years old.  they were all smiles and as soon as we came out they were hugging and talking.  They were playing with all the travel pillows we had.  Having such a great time.  One girl came up to me and started playing with the pink strands in my hair asking if I had colored on it.  She was so friendly.

Once the big truck came, we loaded up the bags and jumped in the back of the truck with the girls.  We sang and laughed the whole five minutes to the base.  

Once we got there, we met up with Elizabeth, got our rooms and then got a walking tour of the compound.  It is a huge place.  I think Don said it was 1 km from the front gate to the top of the hill and a half a km wide.  One little girl came up to me and she  made me think of Kaia because she was just her size and wore a sleeping beauty shirt.  

Later, we unpacked and reorganized all the duffle bags.  Then we went to get supper.  They were serving rice with something called Mutapa which I think is kale (or green leafy something) with peanut sauce and other stuff.  It looked very slimy and since I didn't have a fork to use, I decided to eat just the rice.  Plus I smelled Barry's and it didn't smell good at all.  I will probably try it (I didn't) but I was so hungry that I wanted the rice to be just plain.  It was  good and filled me up.  It was a crazy amount of rice they had.  The pots they cooked it in were so big I could have sat in it.  It took 5-6 big boys to carry one. I would say they feed close to a thousand people every meal.  Amazing.

See that silver thing those guys are all sitting around?  It's full of rice!

After supper we just relaxed a bit and then had a our nightly meeting and devotional.  Now I am laying under a mosquito net with a flashlight as everyone has gone to bed early.  We have two fans going and it is still sweltering hot in here.  Thankfully there was a nice breeze today but Elizabeth said that is unusual.  I'm believing for an awesome breeze everyday.  

Tomorrow morning we head to the beach for a refreshing swim at 5:30 am.  The color of the water here is unlike anything I have ever seen.  I can't wait to go for a swim in it.  

Afterwards there is a service with Heidi Baker and after that I don't know.  I feel so happy here.  When we were unpacking the bags, I just felt like singing.

I had so many kids come up and high five me and ask my name.  There was a sweet little boy at dinner who as soon as Darlene crouched down, gave her a big hug.  I could write on and on I think.  I better get to sleep though.  I think I'm getting used to the early mornings.

November 10th Journal ~ Its a deep one!

November 10th ~ Ingwe Safari ~ 9.50 am

Just got back from a morning safari.  We left at 5 am and it was so beautiful.  Got to see lots of animals.  the sun was warm but lots of wind to cool us down.  We actually got to get out of the land rovers and walk up to a couple of rhinos.  We got about 70 meters away before we had to stop because they were getting ready to run.  When we got back, Michael had our breakfast ready for us.  scrambled eggs, bacon, toast and a wonderful salsa.  I asked Michael how he made it and he said he puts tomatoes in a pot with olive oil. When those get mushy, take them out and do the same thing with onions.  When those are done, add the tomatoes back in with a half a cup of sweet chili sauce and a half a couple of sugar.  It was so delish!

9:00pm

After breakfast we left the safari.  After about an hour driving, we arrived at the Shangana cultural village.  We learned a bit about the culture.  It seemed quite fake though.  After a quick lunch we left for a mall where we had a half hour to browse.  After that we set off for Johannesburg.

That was a four hour drive but amazing.  Darlene and I were sitting right behind Michael and Lynn (our drivers) and we had the most amazing conversation with Michael.  First off he explained to us that when someone asks "How are you?"  we should always respond with "Excellent" .   The reason behind that is because "ex" means "from" and "el" is a name of God.  Lent means cleansed so when we are born again, we are excellent because we are cleansed from God.

He also talked of the word repent.  He talked of a penthouse and how repent is not something you do, it is a position.  We as children of God are meant to be in the penthouse or the highest position.  We talked about the churches purpose.  There are 5 positions in the church: pastor, teacher, evangelist, prophet and preacher.  All are important but sometimes today's churches put pastor at the top of the list.  

He asked us when was the last time we rose someone from the dead.  He quoted Matthew 10:7-8, "As you go, preach this message: The kingdom of heaven is near.  Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons.  Freely you have received  freely give."  He told us to look in the mirror.  We are made in God's image.  That means we can think like God.  Why do we have eyes?  To see the needy.  Why do we have ears? To hear the cry of the broken. Why do we have hands? To raise people from the dead.  Why do we have feet? To go our and preach the good news.  

We were made in God's image and his likeness.  His likeness is love.  The greatest commandment is written in Matthew 22:37-39.  "Jesus replied, 'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself.    What is most important in my life?  First is God.  Myself should be second and neighbor should be third.  If I can't love myself as God loves me, how can I have any hope of loving my neighbor.  And because everyone is made in the image of God, when I look down on someone or judge someone, I am doing that to God's image.

Michael urged us to read the word and immerse ourselves in it.  He talked of John 3:16 and gave us a little illustration.  Say there were 12 people in a group and another one comes along and is a heart surgeon. He wants to join their group.  They welcome him with open arms saying how nice to have a heart surgeon in the group.  They all get along fine.  Suddenly one in the group has a heart attack.  Everyone panics, calling 911 and yelling for an ambulance.  The heart surgeon says "Hey, I'm a heart surgeon.  Put him up on the coffee table and I'll get him fixed up."  The rest cry "No, No you don't have the proper operating table, you can't do that here." They believed him that he was a heart surgeon but when it came down to it, they didn't believe IN him.  John 3;16 "Whoever believes IN him, shall not perish but have everlasting life"

I realized that I trust God but when it comes down to it, when it really matters, I have a hard time trusting IN him.

Our words vibrate through the air long after we no longer hear them.  God's word stays the same today as when it was written.  Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord.  They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."

Michael showed us a neat card trick.  He said when we look at everyone we see different people. Then he flipped through the deck and all the cards were different.  When God looks at us, he sees the same, His image. Then he flipped through the deck again and it was all the jack of diamonds.  

November 9th

November 9th - Ingwe wilderness reserve~

Outside our rooms at Michael's Children's Village

Today we had a ton of fun.  we woke up around 6:45 or so.  Don D prepared an awesome breakfast of scrambled eggs, hash potatoes, porridge  and toast.  We ate and then had our devotional.  A bit later we met with Kelsey and Catherine who are missionaries here.  Later on, Teesa, who is the director of Michael's children's village came and we learned a bit about what they do.  It's unlike any orphanage I ever imagined.

They have three houses of children.  The Dube House, the Khosa House and the Baby House.  Each house has a set of house parents who care for them.  MCV's vision for them is to get them established as a family unit and then help them get established back into the community.  They then find new house parents and start the process again.  They also have a bible college, a preschool, and a dream centre which focuses on teaching them computer skills and career development.

We didn't get to meet many of the children as they stayed in their houses because of the rain.  We did meet a few of the older ones and they were very shy.  Shortly after that Lynn and Michael who run a safari came to get us.  They drove us a long way to their safari spot near Kruger National Park.

After we got settled in our rooms, we jumped into the safari mobiles.... Aka.. Land rovers... 

 There were six to a vehicle and I was with Barry, Gail M, Morgan, Lisa and Darlene.  We had a ton of fun.  So many laughs.  Nearly fell out of the Jeep a couple times and nearly got pushed out by Morgan who got a little jumpy when it got darker and more bugs came out.  

The other group

We spent 3.5 hours driving through the African Bush.  It was so beautiful.  Our driver was a little girl named Denise.  Well she wasn't really a little girl but she was very small.  She was really funny and loved to tell stories.  She was cute and had a great laugh.  We didn't see many animals but had so much fun.  We saw some elephants, wildebeest  gazelles, cape buffalo, and mongoose.  We are getting up at 4:45 tomorrow to go on an early safari.  Hopefully we will see some lions and leopards.  We got back at about 7:30, had some wonderful bbq chicken & sausage with salad and garlic bread by the fire.  I love the night sounds here.  Crickets and frogs. Also there is a bird that makes a sound like water dripping.  So Cool!! 

Cape Buffalo... See that tent in the distance?  Barry slept there that night.

Back in Canada

I'm back!!!!  Well I"ve been back for a week now but have been sick with a stomach bug for the last week and a half so haven't really felt up to doing much.  But I have neglected you for far too long and I know you are dying to know how my trip went.  I thought the best way to do that is just copy out of my journal that I kept for the trip.  So HOPEFULLY each day for the next 15 days, I'll post one day out of my trip.  And add some pictures.

Here we go!

Days 1-3 ~~ November 6-8 (well I didn't journal anything on Nov 6th )

November 7th

It was an exhausting flight to London.  I barely slept maybe a half an hour.  That made for a tiring day in London.  We did manage to visit Buckingham Palace where we caught the changing of the guard.  I didn't see much because of course I'm short and there was a huge crowd.  Don D held the video camera up for me so hopefully we caught something.

We also saw Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London.  I got some cool pictures for the boys.  We also stopped at a fish n chips diner called "The Laughing Halibut" for lunch and they had the best fish n chips I have ever tasted.

By the time we did all that, we were ready to go back to the airport and rest.  We didn't get much rest though by the time we got through all the trains and through security.

Now we are waiting for our flight to Nairobi, Kenya.  I took a gravol and I'm really hoping to get a good night sleep.  I think it is a ten hour flight.

November 8th ~ Nairobi

9Am ~On another plane heading to Johannesburg.  The flight from London was actually only almost 8 hours and I'm happy that I was able to sleep for most of the flight.  I'll look forward to sleeping in a real bed tonight.  Thinking of my birthday girl today and missing them all terribly.

9:45 pm ~White River, South Africa

 

It is amazing how good a shower feels after being in the same clothes for 3 days.  We finally made it through our three flights today.  The airport we flew into in Nelspruit was so cute but I forgot to take a picture.  Maybe someone else did.  We finally got to the base here in White River.  There was a huge storm when we were trying to land in Johannesburg so it was a really rough ride and I even saw some lightening outside the plane window.  We got here to the base (Michael's Children's Village) around 6 or so.  When we got here they had made us a traditional South African meal.  It consisted of fried chicken (although Barry called it fried crow) rice, coleslaw, beets, another cabbage looking dish, something that looked like really starchy, gluey mashed potatoes, (Barry thought it was made of ground up corn... mealy meal I think it was called) and a soup that had a broth with potatoes, onions and carrots. I think it had chicken in it as well.  It was all very good but the best was putting the soup over the rice and mealy meal.  

When we got there we were greeted by two very sweet and animated girls around 12-14 years old. They told us that their names were Abigail and Bridget but we found out later that they just made up english names for themselves.  It was there job to show us around the guest house and they had fun with it.  Their english was very good.

After we ate, we cleaned up, sorted the stuff that we are donating to them, had showers (with HOT water YAY) and played crib until we were too tired to think anymore.   One of the thoughts I had to day... Our driver from the airport, Johnny said that they have electricity about 75% of the time.  He said it went out about 3 times in the last week usually for about 4-5 hours but sometimes several days.  I just tried to imagine going without electricity for several days.  We go crazy after it's been out for an hour.  They cope without it here though.  I may have to go without electricity at home for a bit just as a little lesson for the kids.  Speaking of the kids, I was looking at pictures on the camera of them while at one of the airports today.  I miss them.  I can't wait to see them and I wish I knew how they were doing.  Anyway, I best sleep.  I'm glad to not have to go on another airplane again for a while... well until Sunday......

10 years...

My first baby girl is ten years old today and I'm in Africa unable to celebrate with her.  So I wrote this post before I left so that she could read it on her birthday.

It seems too hard to believe that you have been in my life for 10 years and yet I can't remember life without you.   I was soo stinkin happy when I found out I was pregnant.

 I was so excited to know you.  When they said it's a girl.... I think my heart nearly burst.  My very own little girl to love.

As you grew into a toddler, you made us laugh when you would bite your toys when you were angry.. You only bit a person once though.  Your dad yelled so loud at the shock of it all, I think you never wanted to do that again.  

At age 2, you were a great talker and we have videos of you talking and talking and talking.  We used to call you sweetie pie and you would get so mad if someone called you a different nickname.  Gramma used to call you sugar plum and you would say "I not a sugar plum, I a sweetie pie" in a very frustrated voice.

At age 3, you were eager to learn.. you already knew all your letters, colours and shapes.  You were a wonderful big sister to "T". You had Daddy wrapped right around your finger too!

At age 4, we started dealing with your melt downs.  It was almost as though you had too many emotions inside you and didn't know how to let them out so you just melted down.  You were so sweet though most of the time.

When you were 5, you had two little brothers looking up to you... You were soo girly.  Loved purple and anything else girly.

At age 6, you were a social butterfly.  You had so many friends, loved your brothers, and just loved life.

When you were 7, you finally had that baby sister you always longed for.  And did you ever love that baby.  She was like your own living doll.

Age 8 and  you still acted like a second mama for Sweet Pea.  You were kind and loving to your brothers and sister.... well most of the time.

At 9 you have grown into such a beautiful young lady.  You have such a tenderness about you.  You are so caring.

 Now you are 10, I am so amazed at the girl you are becoming.  You are sweet, smart, kind and generous.  Your heart is truly good.  You fill our lives and everyone around you with laughter and joy.  

Laughter.... I love your laugh.  It fills the room and when you are really laughing hard, your giggle makes it really hard not to laugh along with you.

I love you so much.  I wish that I was there to celebrate this special birthday with you. I am thankful that you support me in going on this trip even though it meant I had to miss your birthday.   My wish for you on your birthday is that you continue to grow into that kind, generous wonderful young lady that you are. That you are happy and know that you are loved so much.

I love you beautiful girl and I miss you.