Here I am!

Hey everyone. I’ve finally gotten off my butt and decided to write you about what is going on.

Well I think i’ve finally adjusted to South Africa life once again. It has taken me till today to finally get back in to the groove of things and accept that I am on here on a one way ticket!
I started Bible College last week. It’s gonna be good. I’ll tell you more about it once I’m further along into it. Neat things are gonna happen this year!!

The kids are doing great! They are all in different schools now, except Mary and Jake. They are attending a school where the kids speak Zulu, but they teach in English. I think that’ll be great because when we move to the farm they will be able to communicate with the local kids in Zulu!

Siya is in grade 1 and is doing very well. He is joining the chess club which I'm sure he will thrive in. He’s very clever.

Simon is at Broad Acres again. He has dyspraxia and no muscle tone, which effects his physical wellness and his speech. There is only one other kid in his class which gives the teacher lots of time to focus on their needs. I’ve noticed a difference in his speech and physical wellness from last time I was here. He is improving.

As for Ruth and Sinakekele... Things are moving. Ruth has four GREAT opportunities for raising funds.

Exciting things are happening here guys!! Ruth is calling it “2008 is the year to celebrate.” She is finally going forth and doing a whole bunch of fundraisers. Her passion has been restored and she’s ready to kick some ass!!

She is having a fundraiser towards the end of March or the beginning of April and it sounds promising. She has much more “elite” contacts so it should amount to good things. She is trying to get Thea (founder of TLC) to give the main speech which would be awesome because she has started from nothing and now has a thriving place for abandoned babies. A living testimony she is!

She will be also selling bricks for her building project. Each brick will cost R200 and for the Swiss and Canadians, $50. For other countries, contact me if you are interested. In return (locally) a magnet will be given with the Sinakekele logo and a thank you that looks like a brick. Once things get going and it is set in stone I will put another post and if you are interested you can contact me.

Ruth has contacted the local schools to raise money. There’s a thing called the interact club and they raise money for charities. She is still waiting on a response. If it’s a go she wants a puzzle drive where the kids buy a piece for R5. If the school reply, Ruth has to give a quick presentation to the schools. She wants me to speak as well so pray for me please!!! Sinakekele will frame all the puzzles a thank you with the Sinakekele logo will be put into all the frames. The representative of the interact club will come to the fundraising dinner and they will present the money to Sinakekele in front of everyone. Ruth plans on getting the local paper involved. This will also make good publicity for the school.

There is also a professional fundraiser company here which will go and get funds for Ruth. They take something like 30-40%, but that’s okay b/c Ruth gets at least 60%. They raised
R5 000 000 for Ruth’s church. She has contacted them and she is now waiting for a response.

Things in this country are still crazy!! To save power they now have these things called load shedding in which they will shut off the power of big areas for a couple hours. It can be quite an inconvenience especially when you re at the internet café or trying to cook dinner for the kids!! Gotta’ do what you gotta do I guess…

So these next few months will be full of exciting things!!!!! Keep on visiting cause hopefully each post will bring news of good things!!
Remember to keep us all in your prayers, if you pray:o)

Love to you!!

In SA.

Hey everyone.. This is just a very quick post. I am here safely in SA and things are going good.
It's exciting to hear the news of Sinakekele. 6 months time things are gonna be completely different!
I'll post much more once I get another plug in for my mac.
Oh, just to let you know... Benji is back home!

Bye!

Switzerland

Well my time here in Switzerland is quickly coming to and end. I’ve been fairly busy so i’ll just tell you what i’ve been up to this last week.

My plane trip to Frankfurt went quite well. No complaints there. Actually... I was trying to get some shut eye in Frankfurt and there is absolutely NO place to lay down and rest. So with lack of chairs and sleep I was determined to find a spot to sleep. I found a spot by the escalator, pulled my jacket over my head and tried to sleep. I was half asleep when I felt something land on me. I took my jacket off of my head and couldn’t see anything so I pulled my jacket back on my head. The only difference is that this time I had the smell of Juicy Fruit the whole time I was trying to sleep. I looked for this bloody piece of gum but I only found it once I got up. Someone spit their gum at my head from the escalator.

After my tragic gum incident I boarded my plane to Geneva! I was looking out the window in the plane and all what I saw was the foothills. I was thinking to myself that the Alps weren’t that impressive! Yes I know, blonde moment. But then the plane turned around and there they were in all their glory. No matter how many times I see mountains they never cease to amaze me!

The landing was smooth. I collected my luggage, went through customs (I didn’t get a stamp for my passport!) and ran into Carolyn’s beautiful arms.
We drove a little over an hour to her home in La Tour-de-Peilz, very close to Montreux. It is absolutely beautiful here!! I thought I might not make it to South Africa. Becoming a snowboard bum is very tempting! We did some running around, went by her brother Kevin’s flat (Mel you should date him) and then back to her mom and dads.

The next day we went snowboarding at Crosets, about an hour from La Tour-de-Peilz. It was cloudy and snowy, but I will take anything besides Mission Ridge!! It took me about an hour to catch on and then I was boarding like a pro! Because of the snow conditions you couldn’t see where some of the trials dropped off. Good thing for the coloured poles to help you navigate through the run.

After the boarding we relaxed our poor bodies in some natural hot springs at Lavey-les-Bains. I could’ve stayed there all night! It was sooo nice. You’re surrounded by the Alps. Why do I want to leave?? Oh yeah, SA;o)

Okay, what day am I on?? So on Thursday the 9th Carolyn had to study for a final for Friday. He sister Tamsin took me around Lake Geneva (Thanks Tamsin), saw a statue of Freddie Mercury and then to Chateau Chillon, a castle in Montreux I believe. I’m not a fan of history, but it was really cool to see the inside of the Castle and to see how people survived. The view from the top was astonishing!! After the Castle we went to Vevey I think. Walked around for a bit and then went back home.

Some random French guy at Chateau Chillon.

On Friday I slept in while Caro wrote her exam. I’ve been getting up around 5:30/6 every morning, but today I slept right through to 8:30! Oh yeah, but that will end once I get back to SA. 5:45 am here I come! Umm, I kinda veered off there.

So after Caro got home we went to Lausanne (where Caro goes to Uni.) and looked at the shops. It was very hard to say no to some of the clothing. No room in my luggage:o( Probably a good thing. We stopped off at a shisha bar and had a shisha and a beer. We got back to La-Tour-de-Peilz around 9:30, quickly packed some overnight things and drove about an hour to Caro’s friend that lives in Neuchâtel. When we finally arrived her three friends were patiently waiting for us to eat a very late supper of spaghetti.

Sat. morning we got up and had breakfast (i’m gonna miss the chocolate croissants!!!) and then toured around Neuchâtel. The villages/town’s here are so cute. We then went to the village where Caro was born and departed ways from her friends. They were all very nice! Too bad I can`t speak french. Next time!

Sunday morning we got up to go skiing at Verbier. I was pumped all ready to conquer the mountains. Boy was I wrong!! You see in Canada I always snow boarded goofy foot and when I boarded the first time here I went the opposite way. So we changed the board to goofy before we hit the slopes and I was much better the other way (I guess i’m regular then!). I kept on trying to catch on goofy and it wasn’t happening. Of course stubborn me wanted to beat the goofy so I didn’t change the bindings until an hour after. Everything was good until about two hours later when I had a nasty fall and then I couldn’t board anymore. I couldn’t do anything and I was getting soooo frustrated. The F-bomb came out a few times. I even swore at the mountains. They conquered me!! Little do they know I will come back and kick some serious butt!! Finally I decided to quit before I did some serious damage. But the view from Verbier was gorgeous! It was well worth the view!

Nice view while eating lunch.

I had enough at this point.

The kissing picture is for Mel. I just couldn't get it by the picture.

After snowboarding we went to Caro and Tamsin’s friends. They have a cute little flat in a mountain village. We had some tea and dessert and headed back to Caro’s home.
So here I am on monday taking it easy before I have to take off tomorrow. Gotta pack (the room where i’m staying is a wee bit messy!) Oh yeah I forgot to tell you I ate horse and the ironic thing it was imported from Canada!! Hahaha.. It tastes like beef, but the texture is a wee bit different.

Check it out Megan, it's the Canadians that butcher their horses!

That's it from Switzerland. Next time South Africa!!

Benji, Jan 8th

Hey everyone, here is another update on Benji.


Today was a bit better. Dr. Blok is very sensitive about managing the pain and to me that is really crucial. So, after the big operation last night, Benjamin has been kept sedated and although he is conscious he is very calm and quiet and there is no pain. When I told Dr. Blok about the other doctor and how they left him screaming and climbing up the walls in Mulbarton Hospital is was very angry and said it was absolutely unnecessary to do that to a person in this day and age. I am SO GLAD Benjamin is not there anymore!!!

This morning I had an appointment to see Dr. Blok. Eric came with me just in case there was something I did not understand. He once again explained what he did with Benjamin and then he showed us pictures on his computer that he took during the operation. First there was a picture of Benny as he was yesterday, after taking off the dressings. I nearly fainted. It was such a horrible sight. All blood and flesh and no top skin at all. Then there were a couple of other pictures and finally a picture of Benjamin as he should look right now, behind the present dressings. My friends, it seems quite beautiful to me!!!! I think he did such a good job! It's unbelievable. He neatly stitched that grafted skin and although you can't get a PROPER impression because of Ben was unconscious and with things in his mouth ... it looked really beautiful to me and I have fresh hope. So, I am going to be praying on my knees a lot tonight ... mostly thanking God because I think the miracle is in process.

Then, also, thank you for your permission to use the money as we see fit. I promise to be completely responsible ... as always ... but I did need to clear that up with you.

Well, now I am going off to bed. Tomorrow Murphy, Dominique and Paul start at their new remedial school. Carlton also starts at a new school ... with Crispin and Kay. Eric will take Faith up to sit with Benjamin while we settle them all in and I will take over from her a little later.

If all goes well I might go on a retreat for 4 days next week and when I get home, Pippa will go as well so that we can recover a little. But we will see. Let's not tempt fate ... I say it holding my breath. But I could really do with a little break. Next week will be a good time because Dr. Blok anticipates letting Benny come home on that weekend of the 19th which means I will be back then. And that last week there won't be any more operations and things for Benjamin so it will just mean recovery and Pippa will probably manage that on her own. But we'll see. Don't want to jump the gun.

Okay, thank you for your love and prayers. I am completely convinced that God has carried us through this terrible time, on account of them. And ... well, I know I squeel a lot when I am in trouble ... but I also know that you can take it. I need to do it to stay sane. It's just the way God made me. But thank you for holding my hand as I walked through that horrible valley. But I think the end is in sight.

All my love to you all,

THEA

Off once again.

Well my time has come to a quick end here in Canada. It was very good to be back but at the same time i'm looking forward to seeing what the future will bring!

The reason why i'm doing this post is because so many of you have opened up your hearts and helped Benji from TLC and are wondering how he is doing. I'm just gonna post a couple posts that Thea (founder of TLC) has put up on her myfamily site.

Jan. 6, 2007

Tomorrow morning at 7am Benjamin will have another operation. A big one. The plastic surgery. They will be taking skin from the inside of his thighs and putting it on his face. (I think the forehead).

He seems a little stronger within himself. He LOVES his PCP ... PLC ... MAYBE PSP? Gosh, I forget, but the little game he has. Thank God he loves it so much, because it keeps him busy and seems to offer some kind of challenge which he loves. He can barely take the time to eat or take his medicines, or whatever ... because he has to put the thing down for a few moments! It was really a good thing to buy for him.

Yesterday the Plastic Surgeon to a lot of the bandages off in preparation for the operation. We all got a little shock. Especially Benjamin. When he looked into the screen of his gadget he suddenly let out a yell. He could see his reflection there and it really spooked him! Ugh! My poor litte lamb!

Anyway, please pray for him that all goes well tomorrow morning. I am expecting a miracle from God. I know He can do it. I have full confidence in Him. Not arrogantly. I just know he can do it. Did you know that I died in a car accident exactly 20 years at almost the same time that Benjamin ended up in hospital? So, I believe in miracles. I am a walking miracle myself. I will tell you the story sometime when I have time. It's the reason I started this ministry ... the reason for a lot of things. :~)

Aaah well. Now I need to go to bed. I am going to put a couple of pictures of Benjamin up that I took this morning. Don't look at them if you are squeemish. They are not very nice. But they will inspire some of you to really pray.

God bless you all.

THEA

Jan. 3, 2008

Hello dear friends,It does seem that somebody fiddled with access onto this website ... I guess I will hear about it when my life settles down and I can have a normal conversation again. All I can say is my Myfamily page doesn't look anything like it ... hence the "test" I gather! :~)

Things are not getting much better for my boy. But I guess they are, really. To look on the bright side, he came out of theatre yesterday with those stapled things off his chest and arms. But that was the only good thing.

I had ushered him right into the theatre. He was so very, very scared after the last experience. I promised him that this time would be different. That last time they did not give him an anaesthetic but that THIS time they would and that the pain might still be there but it would be very little compared to before. Eventually he, very reluctantly, allowed them to push him through into the theatre and out of my sight, still waving a very nervous wave as he disappeared.

I had promised that I would wait at his bedside in the ward. Which I did. After 2 1/2 hours I could hear his screaming coming up the passage to the ward. When he saw me he went completely crazy. It was so, so awful and traumatic. He was literally climbing up the walls in agony. Even some of the nurses started crying. I was begging all of them, all around me to give him something that would knock him out. But ... they had to ask permission first. After what seemed like an eternity, they came back and said the doctor said he had already had a full quota of morphine and that he couldn't understand that he was still so strong. Can you just imagine how bad that pain was.

Then I got hold of the doctor myself as he came out of theatre and begged him to give him something else. Then the sisters came him a strong dose of valaron. AFter about 2 minutes he fell into a kind of stupor, shuddering and shaking. Oh God! This is the hardest thing I ever had to do!

Pippa took over from me later on in the evening. He came round at about 10ish and ate a little bit of food. But then puked it all up as she was getting ready to leave and that made his head ache all over again.

It seems that the forehead is the worst part and the doctor said that this part was going to be badly scarred. I kept thinking about it all night. I can't bear it ... my beautiful, special, big-eyed, handsome Benny ... so scarred. It's just beyond belief. I thought about it all night long. Trying hard to sleep ... yet wondering just how bad it was going to be?

When I got to the hospital early this morning he was not himself. You could really sense the aftermath of the shock. He was a little bit dead inside. I know it was very extravagant but I sent Pippa out to buy him a PSP because that is what he wanted. I had know idea what it was. Poor Pippa searched the length and breadth of Johannesburg to find one because they were all sold out after Christmas. Praise the Lord! At about 4 pm she walked in with one. A BEAUTIFUL ONE. A RED ONE! According to Benny you NEVER get RED ones! So, he was a little happier and it kept him busy from 4 pm until I left him with Pippa and came home.

But a wonderful thing DID happen today. First of all the doctor came to the Ward at lunch time. He told me that he was going to have to take skin from the inside of Benny's thighs so that he could graft it onto his forehead. He said he wanted to do this on Saturday morning. My anxiety levels shot up again.

Rhys came to sit with Benny for a couple of hours and I came home just to check on things and as I sat sipping a wonderful cup of tea, I started thinking about the fact that this doctor is a "trauma surgeon". Last night before I left home the two Karate Senei's came to visit Benny. The one, Sensei Clinton, is actually finishing his studies as a plastic surgeon. He mentioned casually that I should try to get a plastic surgeon to do the skin grafting, and not the traumas surgeon. I was just reflecting on that when suddenly I got a deep sense of urgency about this.

Brendon has been to a very good Plastic Surgeon highly recommended to me by the Professor of Plastic Surgery at the Pretoria Government Hospital who did all Brendon's initial surgery on his cleft palate. This man retired and he recommended that I go to Dr. Blok. I called him up after deliberating for a little while. He agreed that it is much better to get a specialist to do this operation because they have more training and experience in this field. I really begged him to take my little Benjamin and finally he agreed.

THEN I HAD TO GO AND SPEAK TO THE OTHER DOCTOR!!!!! UGH! Well, I plucked up all my courage and went to see him. Would you know, that man was SO GRACIOUS! He got tears in his eyes, took both my hands in his and said ... "Well OF COURSE my dear! You MUST do the very best for your little son. And I agree with you, Dr. Blok is the very best person to do this for you. I will very happily make all the arrangements for Benjamin to be transferred to the Union Hospital in Alberton tomorrow and if there is anything more you need from me ... just ASK!"

Oh my goodness! I am so so so VERY happy to have settled that. And I just know that the money is going to cover it all. I cannot bear my little Benjamin going into his life with his face all mutilated. THIS IS THE TIME to fix it ... not later.

I AM CRYING MY HEART OUT RIGHT NOW, do you know why? BECAUSE YOU HAVE MADE ALL THIS POSSIBLE. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! What would I ever have done without you lot????? What would my little Benny of done? God is SO good to have given you to me. God bless you all ... a million, billion, trillion times over! My dear friends, I will TRY to be a better person from now on. At least I will try and shape up to all your expectations of me. I am really not as grand as you all think. Only God and I really know what a simple creature I actually am. But I DO love my kids. I DO love my babies. And I DO love all of you. In THAT I DO think God has made a grand arrangement between us, somehow.

I am really exhausted now. I am going to take two Syndols again. Forgive me :~( It's the only way to get some sleep.

All my love to you all ... forever and ever.

THEA

So there's a wee bit of news for you.

Till next time..