Just a quick message to all those attending and taking part in tonights Geordie Night. Thank you for all your dedication and commitment. I hope it goes well and that you have a great evening of fun and fellowship.
Gan Canny!
Rob
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Progression
Matthew 6:34 - "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own"
The fourth week at Rehoboth marked me being here for a month. On one hand it's great that I still have 5 months of work left ahead of me and I've already done, seen and experienced so much. However, it's gone over in the blink of an eye. Which, having worked every hour God sent this year, is a shame. Every day I thank God for bringing me here. I wake up every morning and smile knowing I'm here, doing work for such a fantastic cause.
I read this passage shortly before writing my entry for my blog tonight and realised it pretty much encapsulates all of what has happened this week. All this week, today has been a big enough day to deal with, let alone sorting out what tomorrow will bring.
Mondays at Rehoboth mean one thing...meetings. After the management meeting in the morning, the volunteers sort out their rosters for the week and sort out where they will be at what time. Me, being the optimist assumed it would be a fairly calm week weather-wise, with it being spring and not really hitting the heat yet. How wrong I was. 2 hours later, sweat pouring from my head, drinking my bottle of warm water and wondering why there wasn't a breath of wind. And to top it all off, in the 2 hours, I'd managed to ground only 8 poles from the 36 needed for the fence outside Rehoboth. The heat was like a wall. Hitting you in the face and then making your water hot to top it off. The Lord showed his mercy in the afternoon. As i sat eating lunch, I beamed with a huge smile as I saw a massive black cloud hover overhead. It was quite nice aswell as it reminded me of home!
Progress was the name of the game on Tuesday. All 36 poles grounded, compacted and ready to go. All of this after a morning picking plastecine out of my nose. Having spent the morning in baby creche, where the progress started. For the last month, we have had a little girl showing absolutely no signs of life, communication, reaction or emotion. Everything I tried resulted in blank stares. Every time I tried playing peek-a-boo or pulled a funny face or spun her round (which the other kids find brilliant), there was nothing. It became a serious point of prayer for us all. All we wanted was a smile, or at least some show of emotion and this week it happened. From nowhere, this child exploded with life and in the space of 4 days, she is attempting crawling, laughing, playing, having fun and generally doing what kids are meant to do. It just proves - Nothing is impossible for God!
My pizza making skills were tested again on Tuesday night as we invited Ryan and Reece Sullivan the site managers down for supper. Like last time, everyone had a great time. The pizzas were very nice if I may say so myself. I guess I didn't work 70 hours a week for nothing!
On wednesday, God wanted to make me feel at home, so it was cloudy. But the blanket of grey provided the perfect cover to get the fence on the road finished. With a lot of help from Ryan, I completed the fence, hammering horizontal poles in between the vertical ones, making it strong and sturdy. However, we have not tested it yet, we are still waiting for a willing volunteer.
After a hard day of work, cell was a nice way to unwind and finsih off the day. It is so nice to leave the village for the evening. Living at Rehoboth somehow puts you in a bubble. You could quite easily not leave the premises for a week and not have a problem but it's always nice to meet together for fellowship and fun with each other. There was the obvious gloating done for the Rugby final last week, good job I was excempt from it.
Having finished the fence construction on wednesday, I was able to spend the morning in baby creche again, which seemed to have overnight turned into a camp for grouchy and moody babies. One minute it was someone getting hit with a toy, the next it was one of them throwing puzzle pieces and they seemed to take it in turn to cry. I guess this doesn't really paint a pretty picture of me one day being a dad, but then I suppose I'm not going to have 17 babies at once...I hope.
Next on the list for me, construction-wise, was a bannister for the volunteer accomodation. That was started on thursday lunchtime and come friday morning, done and dusted. How's that for progression. It was however all Ryan's work. I stood there, lumbered the poles around and varnished the poles, but a done job is another to be ticked off the list. It was however interrupted during these 2 days by 3 new arrivals at Rehoboth. The first boy of 3 months old came in on thursday, wrapped in a blanket and absolutely petrified. Which was exactly the same look as the other two new arrivals, a 6 year old girl and a 12 month old baby, the sibling of the 3 month old. It is totally understandable that these kids would be terrified. They are being plucked from a completely black community and placed in something totally alien to them. However at time of writing this blog, all 3 are happy and well. Again a brilliant example of not only what fantastic work Rehoboth is doing but also a reminder of what a fantastic God we serve. He holds every persons future in his hand and everyone of them is special and precious to him.
It is brilliant to look back on this week and see all the progression God has made come about in this village. May your prayers for Rehoboth and the work it does continue.
Until Next Week
God Bless,
Rob.
(Look out next week - Lots of pictures)
The fourth week at Rehoboth marked me being here for a month. On one hand it's great that I still have 5 months of work left ahead of me and I've already done, seen and experienced so much. However, it's gone over in the blink of an eye. Which, having worked every hour God sent this year, is a shame. Every day I thank God for bringing me here. I wake up every morning and smile knowing I'm here, doing work for such a fantastic cause.
I read this passage shortly before writing my entry for my blog tonight and realised it pretty much encapsulates all of what has happened this week. All this week, today has been a big enough day to deal with, let alone sorting out what tomorrow will bring.
Mondays at Rehoboth mean one thing...meetings. After the management meeting in the morning, the volunteers sort out their rosters for the week and sort out where they will be at what time. Me, being the optimist assumed it would be a fairly calm week weather-wise, with it being spring and not really hitting the heat yet. How wrong I was. 2 hours later, sweat pouring from my head, drinking my bottle of warm water and wondering why there wasn't a breath of wind. And to top it all off, in the 2 hours, I'd managed to ground only 8 poles from the 36 needed for the fence outside Rehoboth. The heat was like a wall. Hitting you in the face and then making your water hot to top it off. The Lord showed his mercy in the afternoon. As i sat eating lunch, I beamed with a huge smile as I saw a massive black cloud hover overhead. It was quite nice aswell as it reminded me of home!
Progress was the name of the game on Tuesday. All 36 poles grounded, compacted and ready to go. All of this after a morning picking plastecine out of my nose. Having spent the morning in baby creche, where the progress started. For the last month, we have had a little girl showing absolutely no signs of life, communication, reaction or emotion. Everything I tried resulted in blank stares. Every time I tried playing peek-a-boo or pulled a funny face or spun her round (which the other kids find brilliant), there was nothing. It became a serious point of prayer for us all. All we wanted was a smile, or at least some show of emotion and this week it happened. From nowhere, this child exploded with life and in the space of 4 days, she is attempting crawling, laughing, playing, having fun and generally doing what kids are meant to do. It just proves - Nothing is impossible for God!
My pizza making skills were tested again on Tuesday night as we invited Ryan and Reece Sullivan the site managers down for supper. Like last time, everyone had a great time. The pizzas were very nice if I may say so myself. I guess I didn't work 70 hours a week for nothing!
On wednesday, God wanted to make me feel at home, so it was cloudy. But the blanket of grey provided the perfect cover to get the fence on the road finished. With a lot of help from Ryan, I completed the fence, hammering horizontal poles in between the vertical ones, making it strong and sturdy. However, we have not tested it yet, we are still waiting for a willing volunteer.
After a hard day of work, cell was a nice way to unwind and finsih off the day. It is so nice to leave the village for the evening. Living at Rehoboth somehow puts you in a bubble. You could quite easily not leave the premises for a week and not have a problem but it's always nice to meet together for fellowship and fun with each other. There was the obvious gloating done for the Rugby final last week, good job I was excempt from it.
Having finished the fence construction on wednesday, I was able to spend the morning in baby creche again, which seemed to have overnight turned into a camp for grouchy and moody babies. One minute it was someone getting hit with a toy, the next it was one of them throwing puzzle pieces and they seemed to take it in turn to cry. I guess this doesn't really paint a pretty picture of me one day being a dad, but then I suppose I'm not going to have 17 babies at once...I hope.
Next on the list for me, construction-wise, was a bannister for the volunteer accomodation. That was started on thursday lunchtime and come friday morning, done and dusted. How's that for progression. It was however all Ryan's work. I stood there, lumbered the poles around and varnished the poles, but a done job is another to be ticked off the list. It was however interrupted during these 2 days by 3 new arrivals at Rehoboth. The first boy of 3 months old came in on thursday, wrapped in a blanket and absolutely petrified. Which was exactly the same look as the other two new arrivals, a 6 year old girl and a 12 month old baby, the sibling of the 3 month old. It is totally understandable that these kids would be terrified. They are being plucked from a completely black community and placed in something totally alien to them. However at time of writing this blog, all 3 are happy and well. Again a brilliant example of not only what fantastic work Rehoboth is doing but also a reminder of what a fantastic God we serve. He holds every persons future in his hand and everyone of them is special and precious to him.
It is brilliant to look back on this week and see all the progression God has made come about in this village. May your prayers for Rehoboth and the work it does continue.
Until Next Week
God Bless,
Rob.
(Look out next week - Lots of pictures)
Sunday, October 21, 2007
I Cut Myself Shaving - The Blood Was Green!
Hie Komme Bokke!!
My Third Week at Rehoboth began as the last week ended, wet and windy, however I am happy to say that as the third week of my stay draws to a close the sun is shining and not a breath of wind is around.
For those English rugby fans reading this, I'll not torment or tease you, I just want to say one word, "Shame!". Last night was a night of jubilation, celebration and relief. Like 12 years ago, everyone is on a natural high and it's a pleasure to be part of it. In fact the first words that the church pastor said this morning were, "Good Morning World Champions". We were the best team there and this is the perfect note to the politicians of this fantastic country. Let's choose talent over tone!
As I mentioned though, the week started less bright and cheerfully. With the weather being as bad as it was, outdoor work was put on hold and making new CDs and Videos for the kid's toy library was the order of the day. Monday night, was for me a time to just relax, after a strenuous night of rugby watching against Argentina on Sunday night, monday night involved sleep, sleep and more sleep. Tuesday saw yet again more rain and high winds so my morning involved spending time with the kids in the creche. It was brilliant to see for the first time a 1 1/2 year old girl smile for the first time. She has serious issues at the moment so everyone is making a concerted effort to see her advance and improve in her condition. The creche has 17 children in it, all of them under 3 years old so it is seriously hard work making sure none of them cry, fall over or hit each other, but I and any other volunteer in the creche is working with Olivia and Busisiwe, two fantastic women with such patience and control over the kids. Tuesday night saw the end of the deliverance course at the Gates of Praise church in Margate. It was an extended session which saw us there until nearly midnight. A whole 5 hours of teaching, prayer and advice. It's been fantastic to attend the sessions that give me more knowledge and insight into my faith. It has also been a fantastic oppurtunity to meet new people and share experiences and opinions.
Wednesday started with a brilliant sight, Sun! With this brilliant weather, I grabbed my shovel and spike and set about making holes on the side of the road going into Rehoboth. With the clearance of the trees it is now very apparent just how steep the hill is, so I have been charged with the task of building a fence to stop cars taking the scenic route. After lots of hours of hard work and sweat and some cuts and bruises later, the holes are set for the poles to go in. It's fantastic to see something I'm doing come to fruition. It's something to be proud of, but I also know that it's not me doing the work, I'm merely the vessel that gets God's work done. And to me that is an amazing privilege. In the evening we went to cell and carried on our DVD series by Rob Bell. Its brilliant to share in fellowship with people my age, with similar interests and opinions.
Thursday decided not to follow Wednesday's example and reverted back to wet and windy. However, I still went out and firmed up the holes making sure they hadn't collapsed or the poles hadn't gone walkabouts down the hill. The rest of the day was focused around finishing off the CD library for the mothers. In the evening we joined Yvonne and Alfons for a meal at the Spur, a nationwide Steakhouse chain. It was brilliant to talk socially with essentially my employers over a very nice steak and chips. Friday came and the weather was again quite bleak, so I quickly checked the holes and went to creche where the kids were only too delighted to use me as a human climbing frame. I guess that's why God made me big and bulky! After the kids returned from school, I thought I'd introduce them to a rugby ball. The first lesson was all about passing and catching. (Don't worry, they won't be tackling each other, however, they may try to collectively try and take down me).
The kids didnt have long though as Friday night was the start of the kids dancing performances at the local twon hall. 50 or so local kids took part and the 3 perfomances had taken weeks of practice and preparation.
My turn to go was Saturday night (I know the night of the final). However I was happy to realise that not only were our kids in the first half but due to medicinal requirements and purely because they were so shattered, we left at half time and arrived back at Rehoboth to clench the badge and sing the anthem.
Church this morning was an experience in itself with everyone beaming ear to ear (except Lindsay). It was fantastic aswell to see people, less than 12 hours after the match, put it to one side and worship God and remember that he is more important than any sporting event.
Until Next Week
God Bless
Rob
My Third Week at Rehoboth began as the last week ended, wet and windy, however I am happy to say that as the third week of my stay draws to a close the sun is shining and not a breath of wind is around.
For those English rugby fans reading this, I'll not torment or tease you, I just want to say one word, "Shame!". Last night was a night of jubilation, celebration and relief. Like 12 years ago, everyone is on a natural high and it's a pleasure to be part of it. In fact the first words that the church pastor said this morning were, "Good Morning World Champions". We were the best team there and this is the perfect note to the politicians of this fantastic country. Let's choose talent over tone!
As I mentioned though, the week started less bright and cheerfully. With the weather being as bad as it was, outdoor work was put on hold and making new CDs and Videos for the kid's toy library was the order of the day. Monday night, was for me a time to just relax, after a strenuous night of rugby watching against Argentina on Sunday night, monday night involved sleep, sleep and more sleep. Tuesday saw yet again more rain and high winds so my morning involved spending time with the kids in the creche. It was brilliant to see for the first time a 1 1/2 year old girl smile for the first time. She has serious issues at the moment so everyone is making a concerted effort to see her advance and improve in her condition. The creche has 17 children in it, all of them under 3 years old so it is seriously hard work making sure none of them cry, fall over or hit each other, but I and any other volunteer in the creche is working with Olivia and Busisiwe, two fantastic women with such patience and control over the kids. Tuesday night saw the end of the deliverance course at the Gates of Praise church in Margate. It was an extended session which saw us there until nearly midnight. A whole 5 hours of teaching, prayer and advice. It's been fantastic to attend the sessions that give me more knowledge and insight into my faith. It has also been a fantastic oppurtunity to meet new people and share experiences and opinions.
Wednesday started with a brilliant sight, Sun! With this brilliant weather, I grabbed my shovel and spike and set about making holes on the side of the road going into Rehoboth. With the clearance of the trees it is now very apparent just how steep the hill is, so I have been charged with the task of building a fence to stop cars taking the scenic route. After lots of hours of hard work and sweat and some cuts and bruises later, the holes are set for the poles to go in. It's fantastic to see something I'm doing come to fruition. It's something to be proud of, but I also know that it's not me doing the work, I'm merely the vessel that gets God's work done. And to me that is an amazing privilege. In the evening we went to cell and carried on our DVD series by Rob Bell. Its brilliant to share in fellowship with people my age, with similar interests and opinions.
Thursday decided not to follow Wednesday's example and reverted back to wet and windy. However, I still went out and firmed up the holes making sure they hadn't collapsed or the poles hadn't gone walkabouts down the hill. The rest of the day was focused around finishing off the CD library for the mothers. In the evening we joined Yvonne and Alfons for a meal at the Spur, a nationwide Steakhouse chain. It was brilliant to talk socially with essentially my employers over a very nice steak and chips. Friday came and the weather was again quite bleak, so I quickly checked the holes and went to creche where the kids were only too delighted to use me as a human climbing frame. I guess that's why God made me big and bulky! After the kids returned from school, I thought I'd introduce them to a rugby ball. The first lesson was all about passing and catching. (Don't worry, they won't be tackling each other, however, they may try to collectively try and take down me).
The kids didnt have long though as Friday night was the start of the kids dancing performances at the local twon hall. 50 or so local kids took part and the 3 perfomances had taken weeks of practice and preparation.
My turn to go was Saturday night (I know the night of the final). However I was happy to realise that not only were our kids in the first half but due to medicinal requirements and purely because they were so shattered, we left at half time and arrived back at Rehoboth to clench the badge and sing the anthem.
Church this morning was an experience in itself with everyone beaming ear to ear (except Lindsay). It was fantastic aswell to see people, less than 12 hours after the match, put it to one side and worship God and remember that he is more important than any sporting event.
Until Next Week
God Bless
Rob
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Wet
The Second week of my stay at Rehoboth could be described in one word...wet! Having being ridiculed by friends and family for bringing four long sleeved jumpers to South Africa in Summer, my decision seemed more than justified as the rain and wind continued. This led me away from any outdoor work planned for the week. My plan had been to finish the guttering around the houses and move onto the securing of the road into Rehoboth with a barrier and cemented beams. Instead I started up a music library that takes effect in 2 weeks. The idea is to have 10 CD cases with 5 CDs in. Then once a week the house mothers can borrow a case and have music to listen to for the week. This meant that someone had to find lots of music to put into these CDs. And seeing as the weather had set in, that became my task.
The bad weather also allowed me to spend a lot of time in the baby creche. The baby creche ranges from babies (funnily enough) all the way to 3 year olds. I love being in baby creche. The kids just want to play and have fun. Even if it does involve scooping plastecine from their mouths and trying to explain why we shouldn't paint our faces purple. We have such good fun, just reading, playing and generally being with the kids.
The incessant rain also let me spend time with the older children that the group from church spent so much time with last year. It's a very humbling experience to sit with only 2 or 3 kids and begin reading a story. And as the story progresses more and more children come around, not necessarily to understand the story but just to be with their friends, laughing at the pictures and at the way the portly, geordie narrator goes over the top with the storytelling.
A big talking point of the week has been the Lake Eland bike race this Sunday (14th). Alfons and Ryan are taking part and so many trips have been taken in the rain preparing for the 45km race. Obviously with my athletic build, i would have jumped at the chance, but some things aren't meant to be.
Evenings at Rehoboth, scarcely equal quiet time. With such a wide range of people and characters there is always something new to do, somewhere new to go. Monday night was spent at the van der Galien household (yvonne and alfons) after a trip to the local KFC. Tuesday was another chance to go to the deliverance course at the Margate church, Gates of Praise. The leader of the course Steve, a man involved in deliverance for 17 years pulls no punches in his sometimes aggressive and boisterous seminars. His topic is not for the faint of hearted either. His focus is on what people need deliverance from, whether it be greed, jealousy, anger or other things. Now, having attended last week, leaving the church my head was in such a state I couldn't agree on the colour of grass, so intense the seminar was. So this week i came armed with a pen and paper and made notes of what he said and what he meant. Having re-read the notes it seems to make more and more sense. The final session is on Tuesday where we can ask questions and have open discussions. If anyone else is like me and has reams of questions, I think a sleeping bag might be in order. Wednesday night was cell night. It was very much a depleted number compared to the first week I went, but the discussion topic was nevertheless very insightful. It was about God's image of the church. Would God look at the church today and shake his head? Would God endorse the squabbling that occurs in almost every church? What can we do to get our churches back on to the right path? Answers on the back of a postcard please. Thursday night was a lovely evening where Ryan and Reece invited me for supper at their house. It was lovely spending the evening with such lovely, God-filled people. The food and fellowship left me in no doubt that I was meant to be here.
The weather did pick up at the weekend with temperatures reaching 36c on Saturday and higher on Sunday. Summer is well and truly on its way.
The weekend has, however been about one thing and one thing only...rugby! With the talk of 1995 on the lips of every South African, the dreams of millions hanging in the balance, the country has been completely enveloped in the possibility that South Africa might win the Rugby World Cup, 12 years after Joel Stransky gave it a good old lick at Ellis Park in front of Madiba! At the time of writing this entry South Africa are in the final and playing England, and sorry to those of you that thought I would support the men in white, my blood runs green and gold!
Until next week
Rob
The bad weather also allowed me to spend a lot of time in the baby creche. The baby creche ranges from babies (funnily enough) all the way to 3 year olds. I love being in baby creche. The kids just want to play and have fun. Even if it does involve scooping plastecine from their mouths and trying to explain why we shouldn't paint our faces purple. We have such good fun, just reading, playing and generally being with the kids.
The incessant rain also let me spend time with the older children that the group from church spent so much time with last year. It's a very humbling experience to sit with only 2 or 3 kids and begin reading a story. And as the story progresses more and more children come around, not necessarily to understand the story but just to be with their friends, laughing at the pictures and at the way the portly, geordie narrator goes over the top with the storytelling.
A big talking point of the week has been the Lake Eland bike race this Sunday (14th). Alfons and Ryan are taking part and so many trips have been taken in the rain preparing for the 45km race. Obviously with my athletic build, i would have jumped at the chance, but some things aren't meant to be.
Evenings at Rehoboth, scarcely equal quiet time. With such a wide range of people and characters there is always something new to do, somewhere new to go. Monday night was spent at the van der Galien household (yvonne and alfons) after a trip to the local KFC. Tuesday was another chance to go to the deliverance course at the Margate church, Gates of Praise. The leader of the course Steve, a man involved in deliverance for 17 years pulls no punches in his sometimes aggressive and boisterous seminars. His topic is not for the faint of hearted either. His focus is on what people need deliverance from, whether it be greed, jealousy, anger or other things. Now, having attended last week, leaving the church my head was in such a state I couldn't agree on the colour of grass, so intense the seminar was. So this week i came armed with a pen and paper and made notes of what he said and what he meant. Having re-read the notes it seems to make more and more sense. The final session is on Tuesday where we can ask questions and have open discussions. If anyone else is like me and has reams of questions, I think a sleeping bag might be in order. Wednesday night was cell night. It was very much a depleted number compared to the first week I went, but the discussion topic was nevertheless very insightful. It was about God's image of the church. Would God look at the church today and shake his head? Would God endorse the squabbling that occurs in almost every church? What can we do to get our churches back on to the right path? Answers on the back of a postcard please. Thursday night was a lovely evening where Ryan and Reece invited me for supper at their house. It was lovely spending the evening with such lovely, God-filled people. The food and fellowship left me in no doubt that I was meant to be here.
The weather did pick up at the weekend with temperatures reaching 36c on Saturday and higher on Sunday. Summer is well and truly on its way.
The weekend has, however been about one thing and one thing only...rugby! With the talk of 1995 on the lips of every South African, the dreams of millions hanging in the balance, the country has been completely enveloped in the possibility that South Africa might win the Rugby World Cup, 12 years after Joel Stransky gave it a good old lick at Ellis Park in front of Madiba! At the time of writing this entry South Africa are in the final and playing England, and sorry to those of you that thought I would support the men in white, my blood runs green and gold!
Until next week
Rob
Sunday, October 7, 2007
New Surroundings - Week 1
After arriving on friday the 29th, it was a surreal feeling finally going back to Rehoboth. When i left last year, things were so much different. I had kind of expected it to stay the same but reality was far from that. After dropping off my bags in my room and meeting Joan and Tamara (the other volunteers) I made a turn to the first 3 houses built to see the kids that I spent so much time with last year. They were all thrilled to see me and arrangements were made to play football the next day. Saturday was nothing but absolute madness!The shops were, how you say, eventful! I bought plenty of vegetables (There you go mum!), bread, pasta but no milk, margarine, meat or drinks. Luckily, the first week consisted of some meals at the main house with Yvonne and Alfons so my shopping blunder wasn't to evident.
At Rehoboth, they are adamant that you don't work at the weekends. This is so you can have your own time to unwind, relax and get used to culture changes.
Sunday brought the first church outing with the kids. They attend the Paddock church about 10 mins down the road. The older children all go, with one or two house mothers and the driver, Mak. The church is an old school building where the church only starts when everyone has arrived. The relaxed idea at this church extends into the service which was very refreshing. It was refreshing to be in a place where the preacher could speak for 40 mins if he wanted, or the singers could sing another song if they wanted. It was refrshing to be in a place where people's need for God made them listen and acknowledge everything being said. It was brilliant after the service to meet up with Penel and Adelaide, friends I made last year. Penel even went so far as to say I should go and make pizza for them. It's funny that I travel 6,500 miles and can't escape Pizza.
Then Monday came. The first day was an orientation day, showing me round the village and refreshing my memories of last year. I had a meeting with Yvonne and then Alfons basically telling me what my tasks were around the village. Having mentioned that I was handy with a computer, I set about assembling a computer in a house for the house mothers to use. This is so she and a friend can teach themselves (with the aid of a disk) how to manage computers, type letters and generally build up basic computer skills. In the afternoon we had a 10th birthday party for one of the boys with cake, crisps, sweets and juice. Which all went down well with not only me bu the kids aswell. Not bad for a first day.
Tuesday morning was the start of real work as I called it, my first full day. After spending the morning in the creche with the babies, I started cleaning the gutters on the office. After days of heavy rain, leakages were becoming a problem so I became chief gutter cleaner, which later turned into gutter dismantler. Tuesday night came with a deliverance course at a church in Margate. Now, I am not an expert on deliverance and don't think I ever will be! I probably didn't help joining the course half way. That coupled with the fact that I was dealing with concepts I had never thought about let alone heard of. Oh well, we'll see what next week brings.
Wednesday, after more guttering saw my first cell meeting here at Rehoboth. It was in Umtentweni, just on the coast. It was at the house of the cell group leader Mark. It was evident from my first step in his house that I would be made welcome, and I was. 3 hours later, we left after studying a very worthwhile DVD from Rob Bell an American Pastor. Like the night before I joined half way through a course but unlike the night before I got into straight away and had a really great time at my adopted cell group.
I mentioned before that I couldn't escape Pizza even in South Africa, and this became apparent again on Thursday night. I had had a hard day at baby creche in the morning and guttering in the afternoon and then i remembered we'd decided to host Yvonne and Alfons for supper, and I was making Pizza. To cut a long story short, it was a great success with everything being devoured ( and not by me either).
Friday came as a massive relief. After a long week it was nice to unwind at the end of the day. Creche had taken it out of me in the morning. The kids were so excuberant and playful which is nothing but good, but after a few too many fingers in your nose and knees in the crotch a lie down was well deserved.
The weekend is mainly a time to shop, with little time to shop during the week. However this time I was armed with my list. Everything bought, ticked off the list and still with some change.
Until next week.
Rob
At Rehoboth, they are adamant that you don't work at the weekends. This is so you can have your own time to unwind, relax and get used to culture changes.
Sunday brought the first church outing with the kids. They attend the Paddock church about 10 mins down the road. The older children all go, with one or two house mothers and the driver, Mak. The church is an old school building where the church only starts when everyone has arrived. The relaxed idea at this church extends into the service which was very refreshing. It was refreshing to be in a place where the preacher could speak for 40 mins if he wanted, or the singers could sing another song if they wanted. It was refrshing to be in a place where people's need for God made them listen and acknowledge everything being said. It was brilliant after the service to meet up with Penel and Adelaide, friends I made last year. Penel even went so far as to say I should go and make pizza for them. It's funny that I travel 6,500 miles and can't escape Pizza.
Then Monday came. The first day was an orientation day, showing me round the village and refreshing my memories of last year. I had a meeting with Yvonne and then Alfons basically telling me what my tasks were around the village. Having mentioned that I was handy with a computer, I set about assembling a computer in a house for the house mothers to use. This is so she and a friend can teach themselves (with the aid of a disk) how to manage computers, type letters and generally build up basic computer skills. In the afternoon we had a 10th birthday party for one of the boys with cake, crisps, sweets and juice. Which all went down well with not only me bu the kids aswell. Not bad for a first day.
Tuesday morning was the start of real work as I called it, my first full day. After spending the morning in the creche with the babies, I started cleaning the gutters on the office. After days of heavy rain, leakages were becoming a problem so I became chief gutter cleaner, which later turned into gutter dismantler. Tuesday night came with a deliverance course at a church in Margate. Now, I am not an expert on deliverance and don't think I ever will be! I probably didn't help joining the course half way. That coupled with the fact that I was dealing with concepts I had never thought about let alone heard of. Oh well, we'll see what next week brings.
Wednesday, after more guttering saw my first cell meeting here at Rehoboth. It was in Umtentweni, just on the coast. It was at the house of the cell group leader Mark. It was evident from my first step in his house that I would be made welcome, and I was. 3 hours later, we left after studying a very worthwhile DVD from Rob Bell an American Pastor. Like the night before I joined half way through a course but unlike the night before I got into straight away and had a really great time at my adopted cell group.
I mentioned before that I couldn't escape Pizza even in South Africa, and this became apparent again on Thursday night. I had had a hard day at baby creche in the morning and guttering in the afternoon and then i remembered we'd decided to host Yvonne and Alfons for supper, and I was making Pizza. To cut a long story short, it was a great success with everything being devoured ( and not by me either).
Friday came as a massive relief. After a long week it was nice to unwind at the end of the day. Creche had taken it out of me in the morning. The kids were so excuberant and playful which is nothing but good, but after a few too many fingers in your nose and knees in the crotch a lie down was well deserved.
The weekend is mainly a time to shop, with little time to shop during the week. However this time I was armed with my list. Everything bought, ticked off the list and still with some change.
Until next week.
Rob
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
