Hi everyone,

This might be my last blog post, as I am not sure whether I will have access to my blog in Cape Town. It will be a short one as I'm in a rush. I need to go up and finish packing. This afternoon I am flying to Johannesburg where I will meet Hloni and tomorrow we will head down to Cape Town together.

On Saturday afternoon I went to Spur with Geri, Tarryn and Lunga and they had a farewell thing for me. It was really fun, they ordered heaps of food. Yesterday I helped out with MNCP again which was good (apart from getting a blood nose, I think it was the heat).

Today is my last day at AE. I have been busy making a few more changes to the newsletter and also organising last minute things before I go. This morning the staff gave me a farewell party (I think it was meant to be a surprise but I already knew about it). There were several speeches (by Sandi, Songe and Gloria). They were saying how they really appreciated me and also mentioned that when I came I was shy but they felt I had grown in confidence. Vasco shared how whenever he had work for me to do, I would always stop whatever I was doing and do it straight away. They said I would be missed and emphasised that I have to come back. I handed out some Australian souvenirs (including some of the Trinity choir CDs which were popular. I could have brought more over).

I shared how everyone had been very kind and I had felt blessed, and that even though there were times of difficulty (like feelings of homesickness) everyone was so supportive. They also prayed for safe travels and prayed that when I get back I will easily be able to adjust into life back home.

I am excited about Cape Town and looking forward to coming home next week. Here are some pages of the newsletter, which was sent off to the printers this morning. Over the past few weeks it has gone through so many changes!

Hi,

I have been busy this week trying to finish the newsletter before I leave, it is just a bit frustrating because the layout keeps changing (they keep adding articles or taking out articles). It was pretty much finished yesterday but then today I had more changes to make which was rather stressful, but I think it is done now (hopefully).

I had a nice weekend. On Saturday Leon (one of the workers at AE) took me out to Howick Falls which was nice. It is the most photographed waterfalls in South Africa. We hiked down to the falls which was rather tiring. Afterwards he took me to the Natal Zoo, where we saw a lot of tigers, lions and leopards.

I went to GFLC church on Sunday, and then after lunch I went to help out with MNCP (Mama Ntombi's Community Projects), an organisation started by Sandra Pillay who used to work at AE. I have done some design work for them, so when I got there many people were thanking me for my help with their newsletter. We went to two informal settlements (Jika Joe and Mattison's farm) and I helped hand out sandwiches and drinks to the kids (they gave out blankets also).

There was only a small number of kids there, since she told me that the government handed out food parcels to each family that day. She introduced me to one of the women and showed me inside her home. Her name was Gogo Bhengu and she is 75 years old. Her home is basically one room with a bed and a small fireplace and a kitchen cabinet which was donated to her. Sandra said they are trying to raise enough money to build her a kitchen and a toilet. I think she needs much prayer.

Though the kids have so little, they are so full of joy and they were dancing and singing. Afterwards we headed back to the church for afternoon tea and one of the guys gave a big speech saying how much I had been a blessing to AE and to MNCP. Overall it was a very special day. This Sunday I will go back and help out again.

Howick Falls

Handing out sandwiches at Jika Joe

On the right is Gogo Bhengu and behind us is her home

All the MNCP volunteers

A kid that was so happy while we were singing 'Akehko Ofana No Jesu'

Hi,

This is just a short blog post, because I haven't written one this week. Last weekend was a long weekend so Monday was a public holiday. I went to GFLC church for a father's day service which was fun. The sunday school kids performed a drama which was funny. The pastor asked all the fathers and young men to go up to the front and I went up with Lunga to the front (even though I am not a father). We were each given a black beanie and a pen, which was cool. I had a relaxed weekend. Sandi told me the deadline for the newsletter had been extended so it meant I didn't have to rush to finish it. On Monday I slept in late for the first time in ages. The centre was closed till Tuesday so they provided me with a 'box of goodies' (as they called it) which had in it meals for me to heat up at the cottage (fish and chips and macaroni cheese, yum).

This week I have been working on the newsletter, it has been a rather slow process as I am still waiting for one more article to be added to it. Yesterday I arranged plans to go to Capetown before I leave. The plan at the moment is to fly to Johannesburg on the 8th July and meet Hloni there and we will go on a roadtrip down to Cape Town (it is a very long drive). We will return to Johannesburg on Saturday the 14th July and I fly back home the next day. But despite the long drive, I am excited about seeing Cape Town as I have heard so much about how great it is.  

This morning when I woke up there was no running water in our cottage and then today at the office there was no network so the internet did not work. I have to admit, I am looking forward to all the comforts of being back home and having everything at my disposal (hot showers, power all the time, wireless internet, electric heating, the list goes on . .)

My box of goodies

 Hi,

On Tuesday Michael Cassidy came to speak at devotion. He spoke about his book 'The Church that Jesus prayed for' and gave out handouts with excerpts from his book. He mostly spoke about truth and that truth is not just fact but anything that coheres with the mind of God. He was also talking about heaven and after reading a book called 'Heaven' he said he is actually excited about dying. Because the foxfires did a dance before he spoke, he made a comment like 'If I had joined the foxfires in their dance, I could have died here right now' which was funny. Afterwards we had tea and Michael came up and spoke to me. He said sorry to hear that my grandfather passed and gave me a hug. Then he put his hand on me and prayed for me. It was quite moving.

Songe invited me back to his place on Tuesday night to stay the night as he felt I needed some family company at this time. I met his wife and his daughter. It was very nice and also his flat was so warm compared to the cottage. It was good to get away for one night and stay somewhere else.

Yesterday I went with the Foxfire team to a Youth Expo at City Hall. We were there from 8:30 to about 2pm. Tarryn and I were there to take photos. The expo was targeted for unemployed graduates so there were career counsellors there and also members from the Army and the Airforce there trying to recruit people. It was a good day, except that most of the speakers spoke in Zulu. I have attached some photos from it.

I have just heard that the next African Horizons newsletter needs to be done by Tuesday, which is very late notice. Sandi originally told me the end of June. I am still waiting on the articles and pictures to be sent to me so I can start work on it. The next few days will be very busy (I might have to work on it over the weekend aswell).

Me and Julian ( the Foxfire director)

Me with Danica

Hi,

I was going to post something last week but didn't get to. Last Saturday (1st June) I went to the Royal show with Geri and Shanna. It is a big annual event held in Pietermaritzburg which goes for 10 days. We were there for the second last day so it was very crowded. There were exhibitions and shows, farm animals aswell as a funfair. It was a fun day. I didn't go on any rides, but Shanna went on four. There was also a small snake park there, which was one of the highlights of the day.

I considered rushing home last week to be with the family after hearing about Grandpa's passing, but I felt that this was the right place to be. Though I found it hard at the start of last week, I felt so blessed and all the staff have been really supportive. It felt like a week of deaths - a former foxfire Sanele Dlomo died at the age of 24 and Marne's bird Simba also died (they buried him in the backyard). In addition to doing the order of service for Grandpa's thanksgiving service, I also designed the program for Sanele's funeral which was on Saturday. His friend wrote out the whole program for me in Zulu and asked me to type it out. This was a challenge as I had no idea whether what I was typing made sense or not (fortunately he did come back and check the spelling).

On Sunday I went to City Harvest church with the foxfires. It was a really cold day. We had to wait for 3 hours after church to be picked up. While we were standing on the street, they were picking out possible girlfriends for me from those walking past and then trying to persuade me to go up to them and ask them out. I don't know what it is about Africa, but everyone here is so keen for me to find a girlfriend. It was quite funny.

Shanna at the Royal show

Hi everyone,

There is a lot to write about last weekend so that's why I haven't written about it sooner. So sorry this is such a long blog post. I found Sunday quite encouraging. In the morning I went to GFLC which was a powerful service. We sang and danced to songs such as 'I press towards the mark of the high calling' and 'Wa hamba Nathi'. I have gotten so used to clapping and dancing to songs in church that I think it will be weird going back to Trinity where the worship is so different.

The pastor spoke about being filled with the Holy spirit, in particular the power that comes from receiving the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). He listed 4 things that happen when you receive the Spirit:
1) God attracts people to you, 2) He energises you, 3) He convicts us of sin and 4) He purifies us.

After the sermon there was a long time of quiet praise, a lot of the people (including me) had their hands out to receive the Spirit. I think it was quite emotional and many people went to the front of church while they played the songs 'Come Holy Spirit come' and 'We need your power, we need your strength, come pour it out Lord . . Open heaven . . Open heaven.'

After church Megan (who used to be an intern at AE) drove me and some others into town where we got pizza for lunch, and that was fun. After lunch she drove us to the Harry Gwala Stadium where Angus Buchan was speaking at 2pm. On the way we had to pick up 3 guys and her car was only a 5 seater so 7 of us were squished into her car! I don't think it was legal, we were all hoping there weren't any policemen around. But then again, the road rules here are much less strict than Australia, it is not compulsory to wear a seat belt.

When we got to the stadium we sat on the field quite close to the stage. There was something like 1300 people there, it was very packed. There was a lot of worship. Angus' son performed the song 'New Day' (the theme song for the movie Faith like Potatoes). Angus also spoke about receiving the Spirit and the power that comes with it. He also shared how God had worked in his life and how God continues to use nobodies and turns them into somebodies (like David defeating Goliath). His main point was that nothing is too hard for God.

The only thing disappointing was that his message was quite short, he only spoke for about 20 minutes and then the rest of the afternoon was like an altar call (he asked everyone to come to the front and pray together). This was also quite emotional, there was one lady near me crying very loudly (I was trying not to stare). It was overall a very powerful day and I was reminded me of how much we need Jesus in our lives and how dependant we are on him.

Hi,

So I finally know the exact date I will be coming home. I will be leaving SA on Sunday the 14th July at 1:30 and get in to Melbourne on the Monday evening. I'm in the process of getting my flight booked.

I heard that soon there is another intern coming who will 'replace' me. He is good at video, photography and writing except his design skills aren't up to scratch so Sandi is going to get me to work with him before I leave.

Transport has been kind of a problem here because if I want to go somewhere I usually have to ask someone to pick me up or get a lift, so the other day I enquired about the intern car and whether it is available. So yesterday Darryl, one of the staff members, took me for a test drive. I haven't driven a manual car in like 6 or 7 years so it was rather scary and I was so confused about the gears. I managed to get used to the clutch but a lot of the time I put the car into the wrong gear (eg. gear 2 instead of 4 or 3 instead of 5). The car also stalled A LOT. Anyway, I am going to be getting some more lessons I think next week.

Attached are two brochures I have worked on in the past 2 weeks.

Hi,

So I had a quiet weekend. I worked on a brochure which needed to be done urgently (by today). I will post that on the blog sometime soon.

The foxfires were away this weekend so I was living by myself. My neighbour Marne (who turns 7 this week) was going to sleep over with me on Friday night, but when he came over to my cottage he changed his mind. I think it was because it was so cold inside and he didn't want to sleep in a room by himself (he normally sleeps with Gloria, his granny). He was asking me 'Have I made you sad? Were you looking forward to me sleeping over?' It was sweet. I said for him not to worry about it, if he didn't want to sleep over than he didn't have to.

On Saturday afternoon I watched a movie called 'A Million Colours' which is a love story set during the Apartheid in South Africa. The film was very powerful and realistic. It depicted the brutal ways in which the black community were treated by white people, from being shot to being burnt alive. Even though I was very shocked by the amount of violence, I think it was good for me to see it and learn some South African history and see how times have since Nelson Mandela was released from prison.

Yesterday I went to GFLC (God's Family Life Centre) church again. It is the church that I have gone to the most while I've been here, I think because I have friends go there (who I met last year at the mission) and also I really like the worship, despite the fact that the pastor shouts.
Here are some photos of some of the staff that I work with that I took at a staff retreat we had and a conference last week.

Some of the women that I work with. Sandi (my boss) is the one wearing green.

Tarryn and Danica at a pastor's conference I went to last week

Danica and Annie

The outside of GFLC - yes it is a tent.

Inside of GFLC

Hi everyone,

I struggled this weekend because I felt homesick, especially on Saturday where I didn't have anything to do. I slept in till 10:30 - the latest sleep in I have had here and then I watched some movies. Hloni moved all his stuff out on Saturday night.
I shared in devotion this morning what I was feeling and how I felt homesick, and they prayed for me. I was actually a bit teary. I think I found it hard because everyone was talking about their exciting weekends and how fun Mother's day was and my weekend (apart from going to church) wasn't very good.
On a more happy note, yesterday I went to GFLC church which was fun. It was a Mother's day service, so the sermon was addressed to the all the mothers of the congregation. I had a fun time sitting next to Carmen, who I hadn't seen in a while. She was really getting into the dancing and singing and so I was aswell. One of the songs we sang was 'Lord you are good and your mercy endureth forever'. Some kids from the congregation performed dances (one was to the song 'Deep cries out') and some of them read out poetry to their mums.
I felt really looked after during the service. Carmen introduced me to her friends and relatives, offered me gum and chocolate and asked if I wanted money to put in the collection. It felt like she was my mum. I asked if I could get a picture with her so she took one with her phone, hence why it is so blurry.

Okay,

So the past few days have been very busy and also quite stressful. Last week Sandi, my boss, sent me an email asking me to design an advert recruiting young people for the 2014 Foxfire team. I made a start on it, she didn't give me a deadline but I asked Julian, the foxfire co-ordinator when it needed to be done by and he said by the end of this week.

Then on Monday the printers called Sandi and they needed the advert in 2 hours! Very late notice! So it ended up being a big rush to finish this advert. After I showed it to Sandi, I realised there was a big section of information which I hadn't included so I had to adjust the design to fit the other text. Then she changed her mind about which logo for me to use. I got it done, but not completely happy with it. I think I could have done a better job, considering it is being published in a magazine.
On Monday afternoon Sandi asked me to design a poster for the Global day of Prayer which she wanted by Tuesday 1pm. I didn't want it to be a rushed job so I decided to do it on Monday night and get it out of the way. I'm happier with that result.

Last Friday she asked me to do a small editing job on a video, which of course produced problems, particularly with exporting the video once I had finished.
Over the weekend I also did some designs for a t-shirt (Touching tomorrow today) which Sindiswa asked me to, which I actually enjoyed doing. She thought they looked very creative - I have attached those also. I have a pile of other jobs to do as well so I would appreciate prayer for inspiration.

Hi,

Thanks to everyone who has viewed my blog. It has had over 3000 views since I created it.
Yesterday I went to Grace Generation church where the foxfires performed 2 dances and did some poetry. Julian, the foxfire co-ordinator introduced me as being an intern from Australia and made me stand up and the congregation applauded, it was a bit embarassing. The sermon was short (only 20 minutes), unlike GFLC the church I normally go to where the sermon is about 1 hr long.

In the afternoon Tarryn (I mentioned her in my previous post) picked me up and took me to her house. I played with Shiloh (he is 18 months old). We went to the market where he went on a merry go round and then played at the park. He really liked the slide and also got very attached to the swings - it reminded me of my nephew who seems to spend most of the time on the swings when we go to the park. It was a fun afternoon.

Last night I went next door and as I walked in, Claire (their 18 month old daughter) walked up to me which was a nice surprise. They have been waiting for her to walk by herself and yesterday she finally did (she usually holds my hand or holds onto the furniture). Charne, her mum, said it was like an early birthday present for herself.

The foxfires are living with me which has been good. They keep commenting on my stash of chocolate in the fridge and how it is so tempting. It has been very cold here, especially at nights. It feels like it is winter already. I am still deciding whether or not to stay here longer. I would appreciate prayer about that. Part of me wants to go home in June, but people I've talked to have been surprised that I am leaving so soon and they think I should stay longer until my visa expires.