Hello everybody I am finally up to date with my blog so here is an idea of what we have been getting up to these past five days, its been a busy week...enjoy!
It has been a really busy but productive week this week. I was working at Ethembeni from Monday to Thursday. On Monday I had the pleasure of meeting a number of people who were interesting in sending volunteers to Ethembeni and so it was good to take them around Mpophomnei and briefly up to KwaHaza while describing what we have been getting up to over the past two months. I was also able to update our Facebook page on Ethembeni Days of Hope. If you already don't know about this, it is a campaign that we, as a team, have started. The idea is to tell stories and share bible verses that have made an impact on us while we have been here in Mpophomeni, to bring hope and encouragement to the community here. We have been printing these out and putting them on the wall of the Family Centre but we realized that this is an opportunity to let people, outside of Mpops, what God God is doing here. This train of thought resulted in us creating a Facebook page where we will post the stories we are printing outs o that everybody, from anywhere in the world can see them. This is the link to the page, please do have a look, it is a great way to be able to see, in more detail what God has been doing in the community and for you to be able to see the stories from others in our team, not just me! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ethembeni-Days-of-Hope/503010689735139
On Wednesday we had our third English lesson which was just as successful as the others! I am so glad they are going well. We also had an amazing team time where we sat together prayed, talked about this weeks aims and also had a chance to have a brief bible study. We looked at 1 Corinthians 12:12-24, which talks of the parts of the body and how without each different part, it would not be able to function. This is so relevant to us, we are all different and have different strong points and I was reminded of how important each of us is to the team, we were all put here by God for a reason and together we make an awesome team. Ruth also really blessed us by going around and telling us what she valued in each of us and what our gifts were, it was such an encouragement.
On Thursday this blessing continued as I went out to the Home Visits with Jan to give out food to our families and got to spend time with them, praying and reading the bible.
Today it is a tad cold and miserable just like good old English weather. I am cuddled up by the computer wearing a jumper, socks and with a blanket wrapped around me. I also have a lovely lady with the name of Joanna, the youngest child of the family Ruth and I have been living with for exactly a week today, sitting next to me keeping me company while I type away! I am looking forward to doing youth work this evening. It has been a lovely relaxing day so far!
Friday 19 April 2013
Tuesday 9th - Sunday 14th - Our last week living in Mpops
On Tuesday we had progress at Grace Chapel Pre School. We painted on the green hills over the blue background so it is starting to look more like landscape now! We also went to a bible study in the evening in a house in a local game reserve. It was good to relax and talk about the way God answers prayers and why some times he just says 'no'. Wednesday brought about our second English lesson which went really well, apart from the fact that only one of the Aunties had done her homework, I felt like I had gone back in time and was back at school when the teacher asks for homework and there is an awkward silence and nobody wants to be the first to admit they haven't done the work! We started the lesson with some exercise which was good fun, one way of starting our Wellness Campaign subtly so they don't get scared off by the word exercise!
Thursday's home visits went really well. Unfortunately Jan, the lady I usually go with, her car was broken so instead it was just myself and Nicola leading the bible studies with Zonki, the care worker who is able to translate what we say into Zulu so that the families understand what we are saying. I was slightly excited but also nervous that it was just going to be us two leading the studies but it went so well. We did Proverbs 3:5-6 - 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him and he will make your paths straight'. It was so relevant to the people we were visiting Praise the Lord! We took food to the triplets who were so happy to see us and were as lively as ever. They are getting bigger and bigger ever time see them, Blessing is already counting to seven and they are only two! We also popped in to see the family with the amazing 101 year old lady, she was so pleased to see us and we were able to pray with her. I feel so blessed to be a part of the food parcels, the people we meet are incredible I don't think I will ever forget them! I was also blessed to be able to spend the evening with Nkosi, the lady I used to live with when I first arrived here in South Africa. I went back to her bible study group and spent the evening playing cards with her boys, 'cheat' and 'top ten' well loved card games!It was a lovely evening, just like old times.
On Friday we moved out of Mpophomeni and into Howick! It has been an amazing experience living in the township but it will be good to spend the last four weeks in the town where we will have a lot more independence and be able to walk around by ourselves and eat food we are slightly more used to that isn't chicken and rice! I spent a lovely day in the sun on Saturday, reading outside and getting to know the Twiggs, the family who are hosting us in their home - they are a really lovely family! On Sunday after church we went to lunch with a friend of ours called Sam who leads the youth at HCC. Her grandmother made us a lovely roast and finished it will a classic South African dish, the milk tart - I am definitely taking a recipe home with me! It was such a good end to the week!
Thursday's home visits went really well. Unfortunately Jan, the lady I usually go with, her car was broken so instead it was just myself and Nicola leading the bible studies with Zonki, the care worker who is able to translate what we say into Zulu so that the families understand what we are saying. I was slightly excited but also nervous that it was just going to be us two leading the studies but it went so well. We did Proverbs 3:5-6 - 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him and he will make your paths straight'. It was so relevant to the people we were visiting Praise the Lord! We took food to the triplets who were so happy to see us and were as lively as ever. They are getting bigger and bigger ever time see them, Blessing is already counting to seven and they are only two! We also popped in to see the family with the amazing 101 year old lady, she was so pleased to see us and we were able to pray with her. I feel so blessed to be a part of the food parcels, the people we meet are incredible I don't think I will ever forget them! I was also blessed to be able to spend the evening with Nkosi, the lady I used to live with when I first arrived here in South Africa. I went back to her bible study group and spent the evening playing cards with her boys, 'cheat' and 'top ten' well loved card games!It was a lovely evening, just like old times.
On Friday we moved out of Mpophomeni and into Howick! It has been an amazing experience living in the township but it will be good to spend the last four weeks in the town where we will have a lot more independence and be able to walk around by ourselves and eat food we are slightly more used to that isn't chicken and rice! I spent a lovely day in the sun on Saturday, reading outside and getting to know the Twiggs, the family who are hosting us in their home - they are a really lovely family! On Sunday after church we went to lunch with a friend of ours called Sam who leads the youth at HCC. Her grandmother made us a lovely roast and finished it will a classic South African dish, the milk tart - I am definitely taking a recipe home with me! It was such a good end to the week!
Friday 5th April - Monday 8th - A Sharks game and the longest church service...ever
On Friday evening we were lucky enough to go to a Sharks (the Durban rugby team) game at the 'Shark Bowl' in Durban. Although the stadium wasn't full, the atmosphere was still amazing! We got our tickets when we arrived for 90 rand which is around 6 pounds! Luckily the Sharks won so there was celebration in the air when we left to get food at a food court nearby. The evening ended with a peaceful 30 mins walking along the beach. The stars were so bright it was an incredible view. Another incredible but slightly different experience we had this weekend was a Zulu church service that lasted 3 hours and 40 minutes ( and we left before it had ended!). We didn't understand a word of the service except for the regular "Hallelujah', 'Amens!". It was a gathering of a number of branches of a church, one of which, a friend of our attends. We had to go on stage to introduce ourselves and we felt so welcomed. There was so much singing, far more than talking and in true African fashion, it was due to finish at 1 pm and the speaker didn't start preaching until 12.45pm! After this we spent the afternoon at a friend's house, relaxing and having a braai, a lovely end to a great weekend.
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