A wee bit of news from Canada

Hey, just a quick update on the exciting life here in Canada.  Things are going well.  Work is work (can't wait till I don't have to serve ever again!!) and i'm starting to experience a whole array of emotions about my one way ticket to South Africa!

      

                                                                              

My family is just lovely here.  My nephew and nieces are doing great and growing up so fast.  I 

will miss them but I know there will be a time when I come back to my beloved country for awhile, so that makes it easier knowing that SA. won't be my permanent home, I think;o)

                                                                 

                                                                                                                                                                                                       

 Of course, as most of you know, my beautiful riders FINALLY won the Grey Cup!!!!

Hopefully it won't be another 18 year drought!!  Quite honestly with the team they have I do believe they will win

at least one more in the next five years, so don't worry all you international Rider fans, you will more than likely see another home coming once on home soil!

Those are just some photo's and a video of the after party.  Good times!

So that's about it for now.  Will be heading to Lethbridge to see Miss Jen and her sis in Dec. (looking forward to that!) and shortly after that is Christmas and then I leave!  Crazy!  

Home sweet Home!

Oh boy it's been awhile, eh?!?! I have NO idea where to start. I think I have to go back about a month when I went to a Zulu school with a pastor for a feeding.
The Salina's, missionaries from the states, invited me to come to this school where he would preach and then feed the children after. We rolled up in our 4x4's at the Intaphuka Primary school, introduced ourselves to the head master (I think that's what the principle is called) and waited for the teachers to gather up the students. They youngest at the front, the oldest in the back. They put a string line at the front so the students wouldn't cross it while people were speaking. I got a kick out of the designated students who would occasionally walk the line to see if students were crossing over. He had a stick in hand and if any unfortunate student was crossing the line they would get a gentle whack!
There were about 600 students. Remember school in South Africa isn't free and they have to buy uniforms. I'm not too sure how some of these kids can go to school as some of them are orphans and . I'm guessing the government and other people might sponsor some children. Not too sure.
After all the students were settled down they started in song for us. 600 Zulu's singing is like listening to a chorus of angels! It was very touching!
After they sang someone spoke and then Pastor Salina spoke. After he spoke some students did some traditional Zulu dances for us. I can't explain how much rhythm they have! And while they are doing it someone is singing. They have the most incredible voices!
I was certainly touched and I think in the near future I would LOVE to work with these children and the surrounding people where Sinakekele will be. This school is located near the future spot of Sinakekele.
When we were finished being entertained the students went back to their classes while we, me and people from a church whose name I can't remember, filled bowls with briyani to pass out class to class. I assure you that some of these children haven't eaten for days. Some of the children were seen putting their briyani in the back packs to take home to their family. They only got a plate full. The less you have the more you give rings true in my mind.
Paper cups were snapped up quickly as us "inconsiderate" church goers threw out the cups thinking they were of no more value after being used once. I just ate my briyani in disbelief as I watched the kids snatch up the cups as soon as they were thrown in the garbage bin. I didn't think that something like that could be of huge use to anyone after being used. I was wrong. So after I got a reality check we packed up our stuff and headed home and watched Apocolypto. It was kinda long...

Not much new is going on at Sinakekele. Ruth will get her new volunteer car at the end of Sept. The church purchased it from someone who is going to the Sates and he isn't leaving until the end of Sept. The plans have been handed in for the property so once everything is approved the levelling of the land will start, then the fencing and then the building. It's quite exciting because i'm sure when I get back in January the building of the buildings will be started.

So my last month was pretty simple. Carolyn, a previous volunteer from Switzerland, came in Aug. to visit for three weeks. It's too bad I only got to see her for a few days, but I plan on stopping in Switzerland on the way back for a visit and a snowboard on the Alps. How sweet is that?! So i'm really looking forward to January! I got a bit sidetracked here. I was about to talk about the kids but it went to snowboarding. Basically I took it easy the last couple weeks, hung out with the kids, Mel, Feggo and Cacolyn. It was a real blessing to work with Mel and Feggo these last few months!! It'll be weird going back to SA without them there! Thanks guys for so many awesome memories and I hope the day comes where we can be back in SA at the same time!








My trip was good back home. My last day there Caco, Feggo and I got up at 5:40 am to get the kids ready for school. I try to put a hard shell buy Siya made me shed a few tears when he prayed for me and I shed a few tears when I said bye at the school, but it's more easy this time because I know that i'll be going back in January. After dropping the kids off all four of us plus Zim went out for breakfast at Feggo's. Then it was time to head to the airport. Had a tea there and then off to the gate. I was doing good with the tears until the end of Feggo's hug. Mel came to me with big crocodile tears. That set me off. I told them to go cause I like to get good bye's over fast. And guys once I got through the gates I cried more. And when I sat down I cried. And when I opened the cards I cried.
The plane ride was good. Met some guy from Italy and then once in Frankfurt I met a fellow Rider fan. Go GREEN!! People don't worry about the banjo bowl, they let them win. I arrived in Weinerpeg at around 6 to Sarah and she took me to Hooters for buffalo wings. They were very good!! Woke up the next morning and drove into my beautiful Regina.. hahaha, that ones for you Zim if you read this! It's really nice to be back home and I forgot how clean and crisp the air is. It's sooo refreshing!!
I surprised my family and here I am writing on my blog from home. Lekker!!









My conclusion of this SA trip. This trip completely changed my life! When I went there all I expected to be doing is taking care of the kids and seeing Sinakakele grow and staying there for who know's long. I really had no direction in my life. Then I went to Destiny Harvest Church. I have been struggling with church's before I came here and where I fit in. What i'm about to write does not reflect at all with Pathway. Without Destiny and Pathway I came to the conclusion that most Christians and most church's were a complete FLOP!! Coldness, hypocrisy, having nothing to do with the people Jesus told us to minister to, etc. There are your good Christians and some good churches but in my eyes not nearly enough! Destiny turned my life upside down. They prooved that a church can have the whole package! The pastor there is something else! A good else! This man shines the love of God, he acts the love of God, his congregation cares, his congregation loves. His congregation has x prostitutes, drug lords, druggies, witches, etc.. The people God has called us to minister to. The grace of God is evident in the congregation. The Spirit of God is thick at Destiny. Any body that goes there will be touched and I was one of those people that were touched! This church is living proof that there is a Living God, a God who does care and does love. The Spirit of God got my full attention this time and this time there is absolutely no turning back. My eyes are set in one direction and that is with Christ.
Where does this fit in with my plans? Well Destiny is sponsoring me to go to Bible college. I'm gonna go and i'm absolutely pumped to go. The course is two years, but if you are serious about getting into the ministry it's a three year course. I'll be in the three year course. While I go to college I will be working for Sinakekele probably full-time. I would also like to learn Zulu and go to Intaphuka Primary school once in awhile and hang out with the kids and also get to know the locals around Sinakekele. I'm sure by next our spring Ruth will be taking in babies again. With that in mind, anyone want to volunteer?! We will need people.
So I will be in SA, i'm guessing, for the next five year. I call it my training ground before I come back to Regina. To do what? I have something in mind, but that'll have to wait. Gotta see what God rolls out for me.
For the next four months I will be getting a part-time job and just taking it easy. My time will be busy when I get back to SA and I have no clue when my next break will be. You can come on here if you wish, but I don't know how much i'll post unless there's people from SA. coming on here. If so please tell me so I can post snow pictures on here.
Thanks everyone for their continuing support and prayer! Many Blessings!







I just saw I could add a video. So here is a video of the girls dancing. Nevermind it didn't work. Will try again later.

Hey

Hey everyone, howzit? Well let's see what's going on. I'm a wee bit tired so this one may be all over the show..

Hmmm.. I'm thinking what I should be putting with the pictures i'll be putting on. Did that make sense? Where do I start.

A couple weeks ago Mel, Mego Fego and I went to a feeding at the poperty where Ruth's land is. Peopls from surrounding townships came to get food, listen to a sermon and hear Sonya speak about AIDS. It was mainly women and children that came to listen and get the food.

A girl that came to the feeding.

After the feeding we all went up to Ruth's land to have communion. It's really cool because things are starting to move. Funds are coming in and there are many people willing to deticate their time with helping out with the planning and building. Someone has offered to do building for free. Ruth just has to pay for the material, so that'll save a lot of money giving her room to build everything all together. The main house, baby house and the volunteer cottage. So by the time I arrive back in January things should be happening and hopefully by next spring babies will be coming in! Yeah!!

So besides that not much else is going on. Well actaully the other car that Ruth was driving is slowly coming to its death. It's just a matter of time. But the good news.. Ruth's church raised enough money for another volunteer car! She doesn't know yet and she never comes on here so I don't have to worry about her reading this.

Other than that here are some random photo's.

This is Siya giving blood. He just turned 6 and he just sat there and watched the needle go in and all the blood come out. He did it without a word of complaint!!

Some ladies from the local townships at the Salina's farm.

e-mail

Hey guys.. My Sinakekele e-mail isn't working so please e-mail me at my other one.. cindee_maritz@hotmail.com thanks!

Hello

Hello everyon, howzit? Well let's see what's going on..
Well as you already know we finally got the volunteer car and a few days later it got stolen while we were skating and unfortunatley none of us got a picture.. But Mel did get a photo of me in the cop shop reporting it stolen. We were trying to be discreet so Ruth wouldn't notice us taking the picture, but I realized after the picture they had one of those mirror windows in the back so i'm sure she saw us giggling.

Here a few photo's of us enjoying some skating while the care was getting stolen in downtown Durban. The ice is kak, but I got my own skates. Check out Mels skates.

The last couple weeks the kids have been on holiday. We kept them pretty busy. The first week was more lax and the second one was a little more buys. The people that are living by Ruth's property had a vacation Bible school. It was open to all the children living around the property. I should add that most these people are very poor, so it was a little different to what we are experiencing in "rich" Durban. It's good for the other girls as well to see a little more of Africa. Here are some photo of the kids. Thanks Mel for all these photo's.

After the car got stolen we couldn't go anymore;o( Shame, it was really nice to go out there. Instead we packed up the house because we had to be out of the house by Sunday! So that gave us about four days to pack up and get out. Megan, Mel and I packed the small things on Thurs. and Friday and the boys came on Saturday to move the furniutre. Let's just say that we're all happy that we are moved out and kinda settled in. The bonus with this house is there's a pool!! So it will be quite easy to keep the kids entertained!!

So that's all the news i'm gonna put on for now. I have to hurry and pick up Thandi from the old house and truck her over to the new.

Ciao!

First the good, then the bad...

Hello everyone.. Well guess what? We finally got the volunteer car. I am sorry to say I don't have any pictures because.....
It got stolen last night;o( Mel, Tazz, her friend and I went ice skating in downtown Durban and when we came out two hours later it was gone;o( More bad news.. It wasn't insured yet.
To top things off, Jay (Ruth's son) and I got in a big spat tonight because we will have to share the car again till another one comes in. And other things came into the converstion as well.
Can everyone keep us and Sinakekele in your prayers! Things are starting to move here and you can completley see it. God has been so good this last month and Satan is desperatley trying to do all he can to stop the move.
So please pray about that and also about the car.
Thanks everyone.

Phhhh, wasn't much at all.

Hello everyone, howzit? Just for those of you wondering why I havn't been e-mailing, Ruth's computer is broken and I havn't had a chance to get on the internet until today.

Well the teachers are still on strike. One union has agreed to a 7% increase, but the other unions are still striking. They were asking 12% which would be nice for them because they get payed kak here! Listen here. The president here has decided to change a lot of the street names. Some of the names, not many, were from the Apartheid years, which is understandable, but Point Road? Come on! I'm not too sure many people would find that offensive, eh? Just an example of government spending here. So Mbeki (I think that's how you spell it) can spend many Rands to change street names, but can't give his overworked, underpayed teachers and hospital workers a reasonable salary increase? This government is messed i'm telling you!

And the police made empty threats and even if they did go on strike it really wouldn't of made much of a difference. I was told it's the security companies that do most of the policing anyways. You see here to be a police officer is one of the jobs that you don't want. It's a low end job. It too is another occupation that is underpayed, so I can see why it is so corrupt.

Besides that, everything is going pretty good here. The kids have been out of school going on three weeks, but today they went back and then Friday it's school holiday for two weeks!! It hasn't been bad at all though. The kids are a delite and they have finally gotten used to having us around and are taken by our beauty!! We will be keeping them busy the whole time. The first week we will be going to a farm and hanging out with children from the local townships. There is a couple that runs a camp sort of thingy for the week so the Megan, Mel and I, along with the kids and anybody from Destiny;o), will be volunteering there and hanging out with the kids. I'm looking forward to it. I will take many pictures and post it on here.

As for the other week. We'll be moving things. Ruth has possesion of the house next month so to keep the kids busy we'll be going back and forth. And.. There's a pool there!!! Lovely!! Tan here I come!! Everyone is anxious to get out of the old house (the landlord is a real prat!) and get into the new house. Jay will have his own flat. There is one connected to the house, so that'll give him the much needed space he needs.

It was Mary and Megans birthday this weekend. Unfortunatly I don't have any pictures because they aren't on disc yet. Come to think of it I could have brought my camera here and put it right on.. Oh well. Oh, Ruth got a new car!! The company that she works for gave her the company car, praise God!!! She didn't have to pay a penny!!

Mary's 4th Bday!! Sorry if it's a bit dark, I couldn't get my flash to work!

So that's about it for the news. Not much else is going on. Did I mention I found an awsome church here!? Never did I think it was possible to find such an intense real church! I'm telling you the Spirit of God is thick there. I promise you anybody that goes there will be touched in some way, I have no doubt!

Some people from Destiny. We took Megan out for her birthday. I must say the meal was beya lekker!!

Don't worry Zimbabwe, I didn't forget about you! There's many more wonderful people that we've met. I'm sure i'll be posting more as time goes by..

Much love and misses to everyone!!

Look my memory card does work in the computer. So here is a random photo and us and KD. Two more boxes left, but still plenty of Timmy's and Dill Spitz!

Monkey's are everywhere here. Love it. I know this isn't a baboon, but this is a question thanks to Clayton. And no I will never let this go. Who would win between a full grown male baboon and a human? Please leave me a comment. I still need to prove that Clayton is daft;o)

Everybody's on strike here!! Well that's what it seems like

Hey everyone, this is basically a prayer request. For over a week now the hospital workers and teachers have been on strike. At some schools they have to have people with guns because the teachers that do go to school may be threatened by those who do not choose to go to school. So for the rest of the week, like last week, the kids don't have to go to school.
Well the police threatened to join in the public strike if the public servants needs don't get met by Wednesday. If that happens all chaos may happen in this country.
I promise you the atmosphere feels very calm. Like the calm before the storm.
Would you please pray that the needs get met, if not, just pray for the country, it's completly messed up!!
Blessings to you all....

Help please?

Hello everyone, just wondering if any of you would like to do a favour? Alright.. Ruth will be moving out next month because her lease is due and the owner of the house is selling the house so she had no choice but to move.
Well her deposit is due Monday which is about $1000 Canadian and then she still has to pay rent on top of that at the new house which is another $1000 and then some money for the place she is living now..
Her salary doesn't even come close to covering that plus she has petrol money, groceries, etc. to pay as well..
Would anyone like to assist? She is in dire straights!
And I just wanted to say that Siya's med.'s have been sponsered! Praise God!
So please, please, please open your hearts to help her out. She cannot do it on her own. Reply to me, or e-mail me at cindee@sinakekele.org.za
Hope to hear from anyone very soon!
Many blessings to everyone!
Cindee

I like pie!

Hello everyone, howzit? It’s been a wee bit since I’ve last updated you so I’ll just fill you in with some news.

Last week was Siya and Jakes birthday. Siya is 6 and Jake 4! It’s amazing how time flies!! I remember when Jake first came in here. He was so malnourished and skinny. We used to call him Jake the Rake and he had a permanent purple tongue because of thrush. Purple because that was the colour of the medicine we had to put on his tongue. But now he’s a lean little boy who is full of so much energy! He looks up to Siyabonga so much, it’s kinda scary because Siya gets in a ton of mischief. Those two are going to be a force to reckon with!

Mel, Megan and I went to Siyabonga’s birthday at school. Jake’s teacher didn’t mention his birthday to us so we didn’t go! Poor guy! This past Sunday we Granny and Aunt Daph came by to celebrate. We had lekker cake. I love milk tart! Can we get that in Canadia?! Jake got a superman costume which in permanently stuck to him. Siya got a medal detector. He was all over the place with that thing. Mary and Simon also got some small gifts from mom. Mary got some hair thing and Simon a bow and arrow. Granny also made them some awesome pj’s.
All the kids are doing well. Come January, Siya will be going to primary school. Mary moved up a grade. Simon is doing very well with his occupational therapy and is thriving. Jake is Jake! He has a tendency to make anyone laugh. And he’s a very clever kid too! I already have plenty of stories of the kids, but I will save that when I see you again.

I don’t know if I mentioned this in the last blog (I write my blog entries on word before I post them so I don’t know what I wrote on the previous one) but we got a new volunteer from Canada and it’s been so nice. The stress is just about non existent now. We each have two days off. I usually get one day off cause I have to fetch the kids and take Tazz places. It’s much better than having no time off!!

Ruth is, as Jay and Tazz call it, getting her smile back. We have taken quite a bit of stress off of her, but she is still such a busy woman. I still don’t know how she did it without volunteers here!

Ruth didn’t get as much in the trust fund as she wanted. She applied for R700 000, but only got R200 000.It is still a large sum of money, but not enough to build a house and a nursery. The catch is, she needs proof of funds to build before she can receive the R200 000 and she has till February 2008 to do so. There is a Brazilian volunteer that has hopefully arranged monthly funds for Ruth at the sum of R40 000 for 6 months. Ruth should be finding out soon about that. Continual prayer would be lekker.

The three of us found this awesome church! I haven’t felt this alive in years and quite honestly I didn’t think it was possible again! This church is full of real people and I have no doubt that anyone from any back round would be touched in some way if they attended this church. The pastor is incredible.

Oh before I forget. For those of you who don’t know, Siyabonga has HIV. There was a mishap a couple years ago where his body started rejecting the anti-rets he was taking due to lack of communication. It took awhile for Siya’s body to finally accept a different kind of anti-ret. He about died due to complications. The medication he is taking now is called Ziagen and they are discontinuing it here. It is still available if you order it in, but it may be quite expensive. I’m not too sure of the price yet, but I was wondering if there is anybody out there that is willing to sponsor Siya’s medication? If he discontinues taking Ziagen it may be very difficult to find another one that his body will accept.

So that’s about it. The volunteer car isn’t here yet, but soon, hopefully!! Living in our own flat is heaven and I won’t be getting a job because my days start at 5 am and end at around 7:30/8:00. So that means school will be out of the question for now as well.
Well hope all is well with everything and miss slurpees, especially grape!!
Tons of love!!

Ps. What’s George Saxby’s e-mail addy!?!?!?

Lost me phone

Hey everyone, howzit? Well with lack of sleep this chauch here went shopping and put down her phone when she went to grap the milk or pay for the food. Therefore, it was stolen. The other phone that the ocean got is working, thank God, but I can't get any service. It's just in the shops now so hopefully by next week it will be fixed. I have a new phone number. It is 01127839552867.
Cheers all!!

Cell Number

Hello.. It has come to my attention that I messed up on me cell number.. OK, let's try again. It is 01127737211791.
And things are starting to move. Very soon Sinakekele will be taking in babies. Will update soon! Exciting things are happening!
Ciao

Update for this week, Yo!

Hello everyone! Well I’m sitting here in peace and quite. All the kids are asleep. Well kinda’. Siya and Jake are just sitting wide eyed. Simon doesn’t have naps. So I guess Mary is the only one sleeping.

What’s new? Hmmm.. Well Mel and I finally got our own flat!! It’s a cute little flat about 15 min. away from Ruth’s. The new volunteer will be joining us on Wednesday of this week. It’ll be nice to have a new face around. With a new volunteer comes more time and with more time I will be looking for a job. I have a place in mind. It’s called Olive and Oil. It’s a fancier seafood restaurant. Just can’t get away from the seafood restaurants!! So hopefully in the next couple weeks I will be serving again. Yeah (sacrcasm)! But I’m hoping I won’t be serving for more than 4 months. Why you ask?

Well some land was donated to Ruth. It’s not that big and at first we were not too sure. But after thinking about it, talking about it and getting other input from other people it looks promising. Ruth’s committee has agreed that it’ll be a step forward for Sinakekele. Also Ruth has a very good chance of getting a R 1 000 000 thingy. I can’t think of the word right now!! It’ll be donated to her. That will be more than enough to get things up and running. Who knows, maybe by August Sinakekele will be taking in babies again!! It’ll only be about 6 babies at a time, but that’s all that Sinakekele will be able to accommodate. And, with more babies more volunteers are needed. So if you are interested in volunteering or know of someone who wants to volunteer for a month or perhaps a year, go to the Sinakekele web site that’s posted on the side. We might need you ASAP or perhaps in 6 months.

Umm, what else? Well I went to Unisa (the university I plan on studying at) and I should be receiving my registry in the mail any time now. I have to register on June 5th, but the lovely thing is my landlords husband works at Unisa and she said that he would take in my registry so I wouldn’t have to stand in the queue all day!! Isn’t that just wonderful?!! It’ll be an extensive study of Africa. I’m actually quite excited to get my nose back in the books and the courses look really interesting.
When I was looking at the course it said I can use this degree to be a journalist. When I went to Unisa I told them I was looking at a journalism degree and they said they had no such thing. I told them the course number and they did have it. So I’m a bit confused about what kind of degree I will be obtaining. I’ll find out when I get my registry stuff and talk to the landlord.

So that’s about it. Mel is doing good. Oh and she has her own cell now. So if you want to contact her, her number is 01127738375906.

Rogers or Sasktel

Hello everyone. Got a question.. I have a bunch of you on my phone and i've tried to sms, but those who go through Sasktel won't be able to recieve my sms's. So I was just wondering if you could e-mail me or just put a comment on here if you go through Sasktel or Rogers. Rogers works.
Thanks..
As Mel would say,
PEACE OUT!

Ruth

Here's a picture of the Grobler family.

I am just writing an entry about a day in the life of Ruth in a wee bit of detail. It is hard to understand how much she has sacrificed unless you have been here personally to see her work towards her passion.
These last couple weeks have been very trying for Mel and I. We live with the family 24/7 and one day off that consists of three hours to the mall or to the beach. Space is limited and I find myself going outside at night after the children are asleep to take a breath of air. But what I have experienced this last month is absolutely nothing compared to what Ruth has been experiencing for the last 4 years.
Around 5:30 I will insert my foam earplugs to muffle out the waking of the house. First Ruth is awake and Jake is soon to follow. You can hear him with his high pitched voice calling out, “mommy, mommy may I have some tea?” Not too soon after is Mary. She’s relatively quite. But once 6 am comes around Siyabonga needs to be woken up to take his anti-rets, Jake joining him for his morning cocktail. By this time the earplugs don’t do much because now I can hear teenage voices yelling every demand to their mother. Ruth relentlessly gives in. With the chaos of getting the kids dressed, hair done, lunches done, breakfast and not forgetting herself, I finally stagger out of bed (readint this back I should actaully get up and help!) to drive Ruth and the kids to work. If it is raining, Jay will need a ride to school because he has been in two accidents driving his bike in the rain.
Many of you know I am not a morning person. I have to endure four children and two screaming teenagers at 7am. I look forward to dropping off the last of them so I can have peace and quite with Ruth. It takes about another half hour to drive Ruth to work. I drop her off and turn up the music for my 30/45 minute journey back to 2 Wager Ave. From 8:30 to around 1 pm the house is nice and quite. Just Mel, Thandi (the maid) and moi. Unless it’s a holiday in which the kids will stay at home and a 6 hour day turns to a 12 hours day. The last two weeks have been a holiday and as of now the car is broken so the wee ones can’t get to school, therefore they are at home.
12:30 comes around and I have to go fetch the wee ones from school. They usually fall asleep by the time I get back home, very nice! They nap till around 3, maybe a wee bit earlier. When 3 hits that’s where I have to be creative to keep them busy. I am seriously lacking in productivity when it comes to keeping them occupied. When Mel and I first came we were all gung ho and ready to play sport with them, colour, you name it. One month here and all interest in activity is gone.
So we try to keep them entertained till around 4/4:30 then send them off to the bath. Believe it or not I actually have been cooking dinner each night. While they are bathing I cook dinner for them and Mel keeps an eye on them so they don’t get the floors completely wet, wee in a cup or on the floor (boys will be boys!!!), or stop them from fighting. They usually stay in the tub till around 5 and usually dinner is ready by then. If not I will just turn the television on to keep them from running the house down. Usually works for only Simon and sometimes Jake. I finally get dinner ready and they’re usually very good at the table while they eat. 6 o’clock comes around and it’s time again for Siya and Jakes cocktails. Ruth will usually walk in around that time.
So she’s already had a 12 hour day and I promise you as soon as she steps into the house all the kids, including the teenagers, latch on to her like a bee to honey. Something triggers in Jake and he starts to wine. Justin and Taz are demanding something. Simon starts to wine. Yhew!! I thought the mornings were bad! So she tries her hardest to give attention to her 6 children and relax from her long day. I don’t think she ever has time to relax!
7 pm comes around and it’s bedtime for the wee ones. They have to make a wee before they go to bed and that can be a challenge sometimes. Their bedroom is one big bedroom that they share with their mother. Ruth will usually settle them in with a book. You will hear little whispers and sometimes yelling for about an hour until silence comes across. Ahhhhh!!! So it’s usually about 8 pm. Finally things start to settle in the house. The teenagers are winding down and Ruth will usually spend time with them till around 9. After 9 sometimes 10 she will get her laptop and do Sinakekele business. It is the only time that she get check her e-mails, check property, banking, all the things that one would do during the day or on the weekend. Around 11/12 she crawls into bed with Mary and catches about 5/6 hours of sleep till she starts her day again.
Her weekends consists of trying to organize the house and catch up on things that she has left for so long. With the kids running around it’s hard to get things done because they get into everything!!
If you don’t know the house that Ruth is renting out right now has been put up for sale so she’s on the look out to purchase property. If that doesn’t work out, she’s got to rent another house. One Sunday after a two day weekend to herself, she came back home to some problems. The same day she had to look at property and then return home to a barking teenager. I have never seen her break down, but that day she broke down.
For four years now this is what Ruth has been dealing with. No breaks in sight, no long term support in her grasp. I’ve convinced myself if this was anyone else they would’ve quit by now. I know I would’ve. I know I’m already considered it and I’ve only been here for less than a month. But I have to go back and remember why I’m here and why she’s doing what she’s doing.
Ruth was telling me that we have to put our heads together to get some funding in. I mentioned to her the only way you’re going to start getting regular support is to start taking in babies in again and adopting them out internationally. TLC (a home for abandoned babies in Johannesburg) gets about %80 of their funds internationally, most of it being from families that have adopted from TLC. So I’m thinking that would be the best thing to do to get regular funding. No response.
The next morning while driving to work she said she needs to start taking in babies again! Yes!! So she now has set goals. She needs to get a bigger space. A house for her family and a flat for the volunteers. Next goal is to have at least two babies at Sinakekele by August.
Now is the time to move. She’s ready to move. We’re all eager to get going!!!!! I’m feeling very optimistic, anxious, excited and again, very eager!! I’m sure the next few months will be full of big changes for me, Mel and Sinakekele. Keep us all in your thoughts and especially your prayers!! Till next time!

Wee update...

Hello everyone. We’ll I guess I should update on what’s going on here in Durban. Are you ready for the excitement?!?!?! Are ya? Are ya? Well not too much!! I won’t be posting any pictures on this post because I didn’t realize that Ruth gets charged by how much MB, etc. she sends out. She doesn’t get charged hourly, so I’ll be keeping it to words for now.
The kids are kids. They are keeping us on our feet!! They are on their second week of holiday and will be back to school next week. Whoo hoo!!!

Last week Ruth, Mel and I looked at some property. It is 5.5 acres and it only cost’s about $100 000 Canadian! And it also has a house on it. It is about 20 min. from Umhlanga, so it’s not too far from the beach!! So keep that in your prayers because absolutely everyone is ready and anxious to move forward and get Sinakekele going again!!

Also some good news. Carolyn, a previous volunteer from Switzerland, had a fundraiser concert for Ruth. Actually it was her brother. They raised about 5 500 Swiss Franks!! Sorry if I called the currency the wrong thing!! The Blake family are starts!!! And the other bands that played for free! And Carolyn is planning on coming in August for a visit!! So with that money Ruth will be purchasing a volunteer car which will take a load off of Ruth. I’ll take you for a cruise in your car Carolyn:o) Maybe you could drive;o)

Oh, we’ve been going to the beach once in awhile. I’ll tell you a little story. A few weeks ago a HUGE wave washed in shore knocking businesses, trees, etc. down. When the tide receded it brought with it raw sewage as well. So when Mel and I went down to the beach the lifeguard told us there was a breakout of Hepatitis in the water. I asked what kind because I got my Hep. A and B shots. That didn’t stop us from going in. We both feel just fine. A few minutes later Mel came up to me and asked were the hippopotamus’s are. I thought I had problems with accents!! HAHAHA.

Oh and there’s another funny thing that happened at German customs. I got my stamp in my passport and I was waiting for Mel outside of customs. When she came out I told her the customs person wanted me. Mel proceeded on telling me that he was pretty hot but little did she know he was a women. Hehehe. That also happened in Joburg. I could tell you about many Mel moments. She keeps me smiling.

So that’s about all that’s going on now. Oh yeah, I got a phone!! So if you ever want to grab a call card and give me or Mel a ring, my number is 0112773211791. Catch up soon!
Ciao!

ps. It was just brought to my attention that I said we went around Dublin. Sorry I think we were in Belfest. My bad! And I might have spelled Belfast wrong.

p.s.s My sinakekele e-mail is finally up and running, so if you were trying to e-mail me before it wouldn't of come through. So that one again is cindee@sinakekele.org.za

Finally in South Africa!!

Hello everyone!! Well I’m happy to say that Mel and I finally arrived in South Africa after a 40 hour journey from Newcastle. I thought the traveling would never stop. But it’s so nice to finally unpack the bags and settle down.
I just have to think of where I last left off. I believe I was still in Ireland. It was very nice and relaxing there. The last night in Ireland Mel, Karen and I went to Dublin to check out the sights for a wee bit and then off to a pub to enjoy a Guinness. It was prime! So I’ve done 1 thing on my top 100 things to do. After my stellar beer we went off to meet Mable. I haven’t seen Mabel for over 3 years. I met her at TLC. Oh Mable (that’s for you Jen) she looks so good and it was sooo nice to see her again! We had some Italian food and enjoyed some fine conversation. She’s heading off to the Philippines to do some volunteer work as a dentist. All the best!
The next morning we got up very, very early to head off to our last destination before South Africa.
We arrived in Newcastle early in the morning to meet up with a very tired Linsay and Tony (Linday’s boyfriend). We got on the metro to go to her flat. Settled in a bit and Tony fried us some breakfast. It was very good, thanks Tony. We took it easy for the rest of the day. Linds figured Mel and I would be very tired from traveling, she couldn’t be more right! So we just took it easy for the rest of the night and caught up on life. It was very nice seeing her again.
The next day we saw a wee bit of Newcastle and then headed back to her flat while she went to work. She works at a call center and she had a few good stories for us. We visited a bit before we got ready for our journey to South Africa.
I got up at 3 am the next morning to catch a taxi by 5 for our flight. Linds got up to see us off . Thanks for everything Linds!
There isn’t much to tell about our way down to South African except that I thought it was never gonna end! It took about an hour to get to Heathrow and then over and hour to get to Frankfurt. We were in Frankfurt for about 6/7 hours and then we prepared for our close to 11 hour flight to Oberg. We arrived in Joburg and hung out for about 4 hours at the airport until we had to board our 1 hour flight to Durban. Let me tell you that that was the longest plane ride ever. I was so anxious and I’m sure if I continued shaking my legs on the flight I would’ve put a hold through the floor!
Finally we arrived in South Africa about 2 pm Africa time to see Ruth. Oh it was so good to see her again. I can’t tell you how nice it is to be back here. She didn’t bring the kids because Mel and I have two huge suit cases each.
So now here we are on the second day readjusting/adjusting to life at Sinakekele. I must say it doesn’t take long at all.
Oh the kids! Have they ever grown and for those of you who know the kids, is it ever odd to hear Mary and Jake speak so good! They’ve grown up so much! I would have to say that Jake has changed the most physically. He’s not as round as he used to be.
So Ruth (founder of Sinakekele) is living in a house not too far from Gateway (that’s for those who know where Gateway is). There are three bedrooms and Jay (Ruth’s biological son) made up his own room. It’s quite nice but the property has been put up for sale and Sinakekele will be on the move again.
For those who don’t know Ruth has been in and out of houses for the last year and half. She is trying to fundraise enough money to build a nice big place on property outside of Durban so she can take in more abandoned babies. I’ll just give you a general idea of the rising problem of abandoned babies due to AIDS, poverty and unemployment.
3 babies are abandoned every 48 hours in KwaZulu Natal. The situation is so critical that the newspapers have likened the dustbins in Durban to the graveyards of newborn babies and fetuses. I found the previous fact and statement at www.carteblanche.co.za.
Even though Ruth doesn’t have a permanent place yet, she is hoping to take in babies very soon. She is getting help from her church and everyone is ready and anxious to move forward, so it’s just a matter of time. I think this next year will see a lot of changes at Sinakekele and I’m looking forward to seeing it grow. Please keep your prayers going for Sinakekele. They are well needed;o)

Me again. I'm writting this a couple days later cause the internet went off. Umm, I usually don't like doing this, but I figure it's good enough reason. Ruth is in desperate needs of funds. She barely makes the bills (food, school funds, petrol/gas, etc..) each month. She is also working full time, so she's doing all she can. She is really wanting the next place she moves to finally be the property to stay and take in babies. She also would like to get a volunteer car to take added pressure off of her because they don't have school buses here so she's gotta find ways to get the kids to and from school, not only school, but two of the babies have HIV/AIDS and need to go to the doctor regularly, also basic running around like groceries and getting the kids out of the house. Let's just say it's really hectic right now for her and her kids. It's pretty lax for me right now, but hopefully soon things will start to pick up.

If you are interested in donating in Canada it is tax recieptable (sorry if I spelt that wrong). But the thing is with that is %15 is taken for the organization is goes through. I know of a previous volunteer that wires money to Ruth and would be more than happy to wire it for you if you are interested. If you have any questions please e-mail me at cindee@sinakekele.org.za It will take a couple days for that e-mail to be up and running. Today is March 29.

Will update when something exciting happens! Ciao!

In Ireland

Hello everyone. Well here we are in Waringstown, Ireland. i have come to the understanding that although i am Canadian we are all really americans at heart! (Karen just put that on there, she really meant that Canada is the best country ever and she wishes to live in saskatchewan!)
Anyways..
This last week has gone extremely fast! One more day in Ireland and then off to Newcastle, England. And the chauch I am purchased the tickets for Newcastle for the 6 am flight and we fly out of Dublin. Karen lives much closer to Belfast and it takes an hour and a half to drive to Dublin. I really have to pay more attention to detail in e-mails!!! So we have to get leave at 3 am Thursday morning!
So how has the trip gone so far you ask? Well it's gone really good. The flight from Canada to Frankfurt went well. They don't have tv.'s in the back of the seats and to make things worse most the music stations weren't working, and to make things more worse, Mel's little entertainment unit wasn't working at all!

We got so bored we decided to stick the water bottles on our heads.







We landed safley in Frankfurt and stored our luggage and purchased a train ticket to Liege, Belgium. I think it took about 2 hours to get there. We arrived at around 11 am to the beautiful face of Nathalie!! So good to see her again. It's been close to three years since i've seen her last, but it feels like I just saw her. This photo is her and I at the Eiffel Tower.
The first day in Liege she showed us around. It's really cute and I do like Liege better than Brussels;o) Really I do! Everything is made of concrete and is really close together. They have cafe's and shops all over the place. We stopped at a pub and had a fruit flavoured beer. Was it ever good!!
After we went back to Nathalies and relaxed and went to bed very early.



The next morning we took off to Brussels and met her friends for lunch. After lunch we walked around and saw the sights of Brussels. I'm just gonna stick some pictures from Brussels.














Above is Nathalie with the troll and to the right is the peeing boy of Brussels. Nathalie was explaining to me the story of the peeing boy and I compleltly misunderstood her. She said that there was a fire going out of a bomb and he peed on it to put out the fire and saved the city. I thought she said bum instead of bomb. I later asked her again about the story and she clairfied the bum part;o)

The next morning we got up early and took a train to Paris! It took about two hours. We arrived and took the Metro to our backpackers and set out to the city of romance. We went to the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triumph, The Obeliske, Notre Dame, Champs Elysee and Moulin Rouge. There was a couple more things, but i've forgotten the names.




















At the top is Mel at the Arc de Triumph and beside that picture is the Obliske with the Eiffel Tower in the backround. On the left hand side is Nathalie and I in front of Norte Dame and to the right is Mel and I in front of the Eiffel Tower. And to the right again is Moulin Rouge, oo lala!


I must say we were all exhausted by the time we finished sight seeing! We had some food and in my salad I found a chicken bone, mmmm.. Oh and I now know how to eat salad and fries with a fork and knife. I'm a proper young lady now. After we ate we went back to the backpackers.
Got up the next morning and did a little bit more sight seeing and then just barley caught our train to Lyon. We arrived 3 min. before departure. It was just like the tv. shows with the running and the sweating and the jumping on the train. Well not that extreme, but the running was happening. It was exciting!

We were greeted in Lyon by Melissa's family. We hopped in the car to Bourgoin, France. It's a beautiful little town/villiage outside of Lyon. We went back to her cousin Marta's house and ate. When you eat in France you eat lots!! The courses never end!! I didn't know that they served in courses and neither Mel or I paced ourselves, so by the third course our buttons were popping off! And not to mention you drink good wine with each meal. A meal lasts about 2/3 hours. Lots of visiting. But it was a shame with the language barrier. It was very hard to have a conversation. A couple of her cousins spoke a little bit of english and our french really didn't amount to anything. I shouldn't of droped out of my university french class!!
The next day we got up and had another 3/4 hour meal with another one of her cousins. After lunch/supper, or lupper, we went to a rugby match with her cousin Virginie and then back to her other cousins house for another meal. We were still full from the other one but we made room for more food. I should mention Melissa has a million cousins here and I hardly remember the names. Finished that meal up and went back to Marta's to get ready for the next day.
We got up a wee bit early and went to a restauraunt/hotel for a very fine meal! Boy was it good. We started off with some duck liver (it was very good!) . The second course was frog legs and they were so tasty. The third was duck. After the duck we had cheese. The French have cheese after each meal. After the cheese was dessert. And of course we had wine with the meal. Oh was it good wine! It was from Bordeaux which I'm guessing is a popular place for wine. And I can't help but thinking of the wine tasting we had at Joey's. Deb this wine is much better then the wine we ever had!! No aftertaste. So good, but i'm sure it would cost you an arm and a leg to bring in! You would love it.
After the meal we visited more and drank a bit more... Well I drank a bit more, Mel drank a lot more!! You should've seen her the next morning. Hehe.. Oh and my apologies for no pictures from Bourgois. They are all on Mels camera.

The next morning we got up to leave for Dublin. Boy was that a long day. Our layover went from 7 hours to 10 hours in Stansted. Our plane got was delayed. And poor Karen!! She was waiting at the airport in Dublin for four hours with nothing to do! And again, why I flew into Dublin, I don't know!! My most sincere apologies Karen!!




This is Mel and I in Stansted.





The next day we got up and went to Newcastle for some lunch and we had a beautiful view of the mountains. We later went to a castle. Sorry Shar I don't think this one would make Most Haunted. It's very modern inside. We walked around the lake by Castle Wellan. It is just absolutley gorgeous here!! The air the scenery. It was nice to get out in the country again and get some fresh air.


This is a large chair that was by the lake.
Below is the Castle again.





















After the Castle we went to the worlds largest maze and if it wasn't for Karen i'm sure it would have taken us at least 45 min. to do! The sun was starting to set and Karen decided to help us out a wee bit, actually she just told us how to get through.
So here we are on the last day in Ireland, (should have stayed longer! I really don't know what I was thinking when I booked the tikcets). We are just eating something quick and then off to Belfast. Get to see Mable. It's been three years as well!
And I promise not to have such long blogs! Also I apologies for grammer/punctuation mistakes. Mel and Karen are patiently waiting for me as I finish this so I quickly went through for mistakes.
So next time I write will be in South Africa!!!!!!!!! Can't wait!