Hi,

Last week was rather busy. I attended two all-day conferences. One was held at 'Project Gateway' which is an old prison. About 20 pastors gathered there to discuss teaching in schools and I went with some of the staff workers to help out and take photos. On Friday I went to Durban for a workshop that was run by an organisation called 'Focus on the Family', which was interesting, it kind of felt like I was back at uni, sitting in a lecture and taking notes.

I might have mentioned this already, but there is another volunteer intern here who I have been spending a lot of time with. Her name is Tarryn and she is the same age as me. On Thursday night she invited me to go and see a play with her at a university where she used to study drama. It was a very weird play, I didn't like it very much but I enjoyed going with her. 

On Saturday I went to her house and met her family and played with her son Shiloh who is 1 and a half (I was tickling him and he was laughing). In the evening I went to her mother's church where Tarryn and her sister performed a dance. They have started an organisation called 'Shine Creative Ministries' which ministers through dance, drama and poetry. There were also other concert items and worship which I enjoyed. I met some of her friends, I think they thought I was her boyfriend but she told them I was just a work colleague.

I have got some big things to work on this week. They include a brochure for MNCP and a poster advertising new leaders for the 2014 Foxfire team (which they are hoping to publish in some magazines) so I should be able to post some of that work when it's done.

Conference at Project Gateway

Project Gateway chapel

Tarryn and I before seeing the play

Hi,

This weekend was pretty relaxed. It was cold and poured with rain, so I stayed inside and watched movies and hung out with my neighbours. Yesterday I went to a different church called 'City Harvest' with the foxfires. It was a praise and worship service so there wasn't a sermon, but I really enjoyed it. First they had a big block of worship, starting with the song 'Water you turned into wine' (by Chris Tomlin) which is a common song that is sung here. There were performances from various singing groups and choirs - the sunday school kids danced to 'One way' (Hillsong). The pastor asked all the first time visitors to stand (there were only a few) so I stood, and everyone standing was given a free ticket to hear Angus Buchan speak on the 26th May, which I think I will go to.

I spent the rest of yesterday with my neighbours. They asked me to stand on a chair and fix the lightbulb in the bathroom which was loose - I pushed it in too hard and it smashed in my hand! I got a bit of a fright and my hand was bleeding. It is okay though, I only have small cuts and it's not that sore anymore. We watched TV and I played with Marne, we hid behind the couch and pretended to shoot each other and kicked the soccer ball down the hallway, and played games like Eye Spy. It was fun and I feel so blessed to have them - it will be hard to say goodbye to them.

Just on a personal note, being in South Africa is making me change my perception about myself. For one thing, I feel tall here whereas back home I feel like I'm short. I've also come to realise how fortunate I am and that I should be more thankful for what I have and for what God has given me. Another thing that I've learnt is to not feel so self-conscious about the way I speak. The other day one of the kitchen staff complimented me on how nice my voice was. I feel like one of the purposes for God calling me here was not just to gain work experience and to serve, but to also grow and become more confident as a person. I believe that is happening.

Hi all,

I thought that I would post some of the work that I have been doing. I haven't had heaps to do, it has mostly been personal requests that are not necessarily AE related. The Administration department has been very busy but it has been pretty quiet in the Communications department which I work in.

Sello, my old roommate, left for Johannesburg and is wanting to start his own screen printing t-shirt company and he asked me to design a logo for him. His company is called 'Salt + Light' - his suggestion was that the plus sign look like a cross. I have attached some ideas which I sent him, he thought they were very nice. I am happy with the way they turned out. I am waiting to hear back about which one he wants to use.

I redesigned the bulletin for Scottsville Presbyterian Church where Songe is the worship leader. He asked me to do it. The old bulletin was done back in 1999 and he said it looked ugly. I had to use Microsoft Word (because the person who updates it each week doesn't have inDesign) which I find difficult to use, I think inDesign is so much easier in terms of what you can do. I have attached the first page of that (I'm having trouble uploading the second page).

I have also been working on proposal documents for African Enterprise Ethiopia. I am working on the third one now, they are quite large documents with lots of text (I have attached the covers).

Hi,

Sorry I haven't posted on the blog in awhile. This past week has been pretty quiet, so there hasn't been much to post about. The American students have gone down to Capetown. It is a bit sad knowing that I will probably never see them again. There has been a group of Africans here doing a course called Activate, so I have been sitting with them for meals, but they left yesterday.

On Friday night I joined the foxfires in going to a hostel in Woodlands where they were doing youth ministry. I found out that the term Foxfires comes from Judges 15: 4-5 - "So he (Samson) went out and caught three hundred foxes and tied them tail to tail in pairs. He then fastened a torch to every pair of tails, lit the torches and let the foxes loose in the standing grain of the Philistines." The foxfires' goal is to set youth ablaze for Christ, so this is how it ties in.

Julian, one of the Foxfire co-ordinators was telling someone how I gave my testimony last year at one of the Imbali schools during the mission. He told me that over 50 of the students came to the Lord that day! So awesome, I did not know that. Of course it might have been from what Sipho said (my translator) but still I was pretty stoked about that!

The night was very powerful, I was so glad I attended. There were about 50 young people there. The foxfires performed two dances and acted out a role-play and at the end there was an altar call for people to come to the front. I didn't expect such a big response. Many of the girls were crying and many of them accepted Jesus.

The rest of the weekend was pretty quiet. I went into town and did some shopping for warm clothes. I attended church yesterday (GFLC) and in the afternoon hung out with my neighbours, watching TV and playing with her two kids Marne (6) and Claire (16 months old). They said how I was like part of the family because I visit them so often. They are very hospitable, I am always very warmly welcomed.

My neighbours: Charne with Marne and Claire

Hi everyone,

This past week I have been working on some project proposals for African Enterprise in Ethiopia. It has been rather time consuming as they are quite big documents, and I was designing the layout for them. I received very positive feedback from Melisachew, the guy that I did it for. He sent an email saying it was SUPERB (in big letters) and 'excellent'. He also said I deserved a standing ovation. I was really encouraged. 

Tomorrow all of the American students leave which is sad. It will be very quiet and a bit lonely without them. Last night they had a bonfire to celebrate which I joined them for. They introduced me to s'mores, and they were really surprised that I didn't know what they were. They asked what Australians toast on campfires and I said marshmallows on a stick and they were like 'That's it? That's boring!' Around the bonfire they were revealing everyone's hidden talents. When it got to me, I said I could sing (I couldn't think of anything else). They requested that I sing the Australian National anthem, so I did (slightly embarassing because I forgot the words halfway through!)

Tomorrow Sello, my roommate, is also leaving and going to Johannesburg. This morning we had a farewell party for him. I told him that I was going to miss him and that it would be lonely in the cottage. He reassured me that some of the Foxfires are moving in with me, so it is going to get crowded soon.

Speeches

Sello and me

Sello, Danica and me

Hi,

Sorry I haven't posted anything all week. I have had a busy long weekend. The only disappointing thing was that I didn't get to celebrate Easter (it felt strange to not go to a Good Friday service).
On Saturday I went with all the APU students to the Victoria Street market in Durban. I bought some cool souvenirs to take home and a leopard print t-shirt for myself! At the stall where I bought the t-shirt, the man asked where I was from and I said Australia and when I left he said 'Give my regards to Skippy'. Afterwards we spent a few hours at the beach, though it was a bit cold to swim.

This weekend Hloni got married and I felt privileged to attend his reception yesterday (the ceremony was on Saturday). It was an early start and Rudi (the manager at AE) picked me up. The wedding was in Harrismith which was nearly a 3 hour drive! It was halfway to Johnnesburg and a nice drive through the Drakensberg mountains. When we got there, they were still setting up and he had to wait for Hloni and the others to make an entrance. While we were waiting, Rudi took a photo of me with his phone and then said 'Hamish does a cheesy smile really well. If there was a competition for who could do the cheesiest smile, you would win'. It was funny.

There was a small marquis which was very nicely decorated - there wasn't much seating but we got to sit inside the marquis close to the bridal party table - I think they thought I was one of the official photographers as I was taking lots of photos. There were supposedly about 400 people there (but about half of them were just part of the community who had come to watch).

The bridal party and the family entered by doing a procession down the street, swaying to music. The program consisted of a lot of speeches, which were all in Zulu (I did not understand most of it, though a lady at our table translated a bit). Also they did not serve lunch till 3pm so I was very hungry. It was also pretty relaxed and casual and I expected more partying and dancing,  and I felt overdressed wearing a shirt and suit pants. Apart from those things however, it was a nice day and was good to experience a wedding of a different culture.

Two cute boys wearing matching jackets

Hloni looking smart in his white tunic

Hloni with the groomsmen (Sello on the left)

Procession down the street

Inside the marquis

Cutting the cake

Me with Rudi and his wife Michelle

Hi,

I had a really nice weekend. On Saturday I was going to go cliff jumping but decided to go to the lake instead. I was the only guy that went, with about 8 girls and it was very relaxing. It was a warm day and we went swimming and then had a picnic beside the lake. They had a big assignment due yesterday so some of them were working on that (one guy took some of the girls out on his sailboat, but I didn't go). A girl brought her ukulele and was playing songs and singing along. At the end we got a group photo which I attached.

Yesterday morning I went to a church called 'North Hills Baptist' - it was quite a casual church, in an assembly hall at a primary school. It reminded me a little bit of Trinity in that the congregation was predominantly white and also there were a lot of families and we sang hymns, like 'Crown him with many crowns'. Afterwards I went outside for morning tea and there were no signs so I accidentally grabbed coffee instead of tea! I drank it, but it wasn't very nice.

In the afternoon I went with three of the students to Durban. Two of them went surfing and I looked around the market with one of the girls (she was waiting to meet up with a friend). I bought a cool painting of a map of Africa with an elephant inside and also two shirts. I had a long conversation with a couple at the stall where I bought the shirts, they were very nice and said they had worked in Melbourne and also hitchhiked across Australia - through the desert. After looking at the market I headed to the beach and found that the girl surfing had been stung by a bluebottle jellyfish (it had wrapped itself around her ankle) - she said it was very painful. Fortunately it wasn't severe and today she is a lot better. We went and got icecream and then I went for a quick swim (I was careful to look out for jellyfish!)

Last night I played cards with some of the students which was fun. This morning Hloni said he is planning to drive me to Capetown at the end of May/start of June for about four days (he is going to ask some of the other staff to come too). He said he has some work to do there, but that he will be my tour guide. I told him that I really wanted to go, as I've heard so much about it, so that will be nice.