SA Adventures!

Good bye blogspot!

2011-04-07T20:23:00.001-06:00

To my faithful blog readers. I have moved to www.ckcanada.wordpress.com

Bye:)

New Spot

2010-10-21T04:51:00.001-06:00

Hey all who still visit:o) I'm no longer going to use this for my blogspot.. I will be changing sites and I don't even know what it is yet;o) So I will be silent for a couple months.. nothing new, eh? But when all is going I'll tell you where you can go.
Thanks!
CK

I really, really got to blog more!

2010-03-30T08:11:00.013-06:00

Here I am.. Writing my blog.. Thinking what I can say..
Good new, my battery charger is still working. I thought my adapter had it, but it's still got some miles left...

Well I'm moving once again in about two weeks. I have got myself another job. I am now the proud employee at Zara's cafe. When I came here I was set that I was never ever going to waitress again. Well the dream came to an end about 3 weeks ago. If I ever want to move out, I had to get another job. But it's not too bad:o)
Before I move, here are some pictures of where I'm living. It's lekker!!!
I will be moving in with my friend Sharnie (She's the lady in the rock climbing photo's) from the church. I have been looking for places but there is absolutely nothing available. Because of the FIFA World Cup, people are renting their places to the foreigners. They gonna cash it big time!!! After FIFA is done, I'll be looking for my own place.

These photo's are a wee bit of their house (my favourite is their bathroom!! Look at it!!) And the little room is mine. The best part of the room is the air conditioner. Something that everyone should have in the summer here!
And I'm going to Canada for a visit in June!! Yipee! I can't wait. And I especially can't wait to chow buffalo chicken wings. I don't know why, but the would be on my top things that I miss. Sad, eh??!!
Sheesh, just look at that!!!!

And I've been getting into rock climbing since I've been here and I'm loving it! I went to my first cliff yesterday with a few friends.
Well I don't know how to write below the photo's??? So till next time I should be moved out and I will try to make an effort to blog more.. Ciao!

Volunteers please

2009-12-14T03:01:00.003-07:00

Hello everyone...
This is just a quick post to ask if you or anyone you would know of would like to volunteer with abandoned babies??? Coming this Thursday Sinakekele will have 5 babies, but only 1 full-time volunteer.
Accommodation and food is provided and it's on a beautiful property.
It's a wonderful experience. Hard work at times, but well worth it. You can do it for 2 weeks if you wish, or it's something great to do for a gap year.
If you are interested please contact me at cindeeklaudeman@mac.com or info@sinakekele.org.za
Thanks and hope to hear from anyone!!
Much love

A few changes

2009-11-01T06:13:00.019-07:00

Well here I am sitting in my new place. My lease expires in the middle of this month and I told the guy who stays in a smaller room in the complex where I was staying that he could move in by the end of last month.
Are you asking why I would tell him to move in without me having a place to go? Well here's the story.

For a little over a month now I have been going back to Ruth's (Sinakekele) twice a week. She has started a play group for orphans. They come from a community that is up the hill from Ruths. As of now there are four. Melokuhle (Melo), Rose, Sibu and Gcinwa (I still can't pronounce it right!). They speak NO word of English.
The first day I noticed the kids were going outside to the toilet. It dawned on me that most, if not all, the houses where they stay don't have their own bathrooms, therefore they go outside or use the outhouses provided. So I tried to show them how to use the toilet. It still didn't work. I asked this zulu women the word for toilet which is emboshi (not spelled right). So I went to the kids and tried to explain the best I could that they must go to the toilet inside. I would point outside and say, "emboshi ta (toilet no) and then point towards the toilet inside and say, "emboshi yebo (toilet yes). They just laughed at me and made fun of me. Some of the boys still go outside. But they are slowly getting it.

I have been going to Ruth's now for over a month and she's got the volunteer cottage up, the nursery up, and she has a baby!! I thought it would be a great idea to move out to the farm.
Problem... I don't have a car to get in and out 5 days of the week. I have to be in Umhlanga between 8:30/10 pm therefore I would have to stay at someones place those nights because I wouldn't have transport to get back to Ruth's.
I was in deniel about having everything sorted. I had a meeting with a lady from the committee of Sinakekele and after the meeting reality hit. I had no place to go! Unless God provided a vehicle for me and petrol(gas) money, I wouldn't be able to get in and out. So I had 4 days to find a place and with my funds from Canada gone and the salary I make, I couldn't afford anything in the area.

Panic sunk in.

The day that I had the meeting I went to work after and I told my boss that moving out to the farm wasn't going to work. She mentioned something about me staying in the little suite connected to the house and I said I would feel like I would be intruding. She said she would talk to her husband anyways. I was thinking not, but she told me to think about it.
The next day when I came she asked how I was and I started to cry and she said it would be okay if I stayed. She said we could try it out for a month or two and see how it works for free! I said yes. I will still be looking for my own place though...
So here I am in my nice cozy place and loving it! I feel out of place because it's so beautiful! But I'm going take it and enjoy it, because I have a feeling that I will be living in some pretty crazy place, eating some pretty crazy food, doing some pretty crazy things for God one day.
I'm excited about the future! God is good:o) And the plus side. I will still be able to go to Ruth's Monday to Friday to help out! Praise God! So things worked out in the end. I'm still floored by His faithfulness!
Since being here everything has been falling ino place. I got my nice little place which my funds sustained me until now. Got a great job and a scooter. Got a new place for free and I get to do what I enjoy. Can't tell me this is all coincidence. Everything is perfect in His timing! Wow!
That's about it for now.. I will be staying out at Ruth's for Holiday because I can:o)
Love to you all!

Scooter of Death....

2009-08-23T06:13:00.024-06:00

Hi...
I have some time to kill so I'm gonna catch you up to what's going on.
Things are going really good here. God is good! I've started working and it's not waitressing! Praise God! I got a job tutoring a kid here in Umhlanga Rocks(pronounced Umshlanga). It's perfect. It far exceed the amount I was hoping for and it's just right around the corner from me. The kids name I tutor is Ross, AKA, Ross Boss. He's thirteen and is your typical teenage boy! Full of energy! He's great as is his whole family. They are absolutely wonderful. I have been sooooo blessed to have found this job!
When I first started they gave me a bike to get back and forth, which was wonderful. Then they decided to buy me a scooter! Even more wonderful!
If you see this Ross Boss... Sorry about the one picture, but I like!!!!

I got a story, actually three stories...

Story #1
The day I got my scooter my friend that lives above me had to fetch it for me because I've never rode on a scooter before. We were on our way home and he just about made it until he took the last turn to our place. Well he took the corner a wee bit fast and he panicked and opened up the throttle instead of breaking. He ran into the curb. Me and his roomate/friend, Anthony, were following behind him in Anthony's car and Anthony was checking the other way for cars and I said, "What's Andrew doing!?" and Anthony had no clue what I was talking about until he saw Andrew (the guy taking my scooter home) on the grass. But before he saw him on the grass he asked where Andrew was. I was concerned at first but then I had a good laugh. It looked so stupid! He looked like a rag doll on the grass. Besides some scratches and sore muscles he's okay.

Story #2
When I work I usually work anywhere between 3:30 and 5 for a couple hours. This particular day I started around 4:30, but I had to be at my church around 6. As soon as I got off work I had to rush home and get ready.On my way to the church, I was in such a rush that as soon as I turned the corner to get out of my drive way I did the same thing Andrew did. I opened up instead of pulling the break and there I went. I hit the curb. The first thing I did was look around to see if anyone saw me. No one saw, thank God!! I was so embarrassed! Poor Andrew, he had a few people see him fall. So I got up and quick, recomposed myself and drove a little bit more carefully up to church.

Story #3
Every Friday we have youth with Destiny (my church). We have been recording skits during the week to show on Friday nights. While we were filming in a parking lot, my friend Lloyd decided to go on my scooter and ride around a bit. During some filming, I was watching him riding around and next thing you know, my scooter took victim number 3. I don't know what he was doing because he wasn't going to fast, but he bailed. I went there to see if he was okay and he kept on saying, "I'm okay, I'm okay," and then immediately after that he said, "don't tell my wife." He too just had a few scrapes.
I'm not letting anyone drive my scooter (which I'm thinking of calling satans trap) unless they are wearing a helmet.... Maybe...

So things are going really good here. I'm becoming more involved with the church and youth, I gots me a good job, and I gots me scooter. God has been so good and how can I question His plans for me. He's provided from day one. From the place that I'm living to the food I eat. And it's only going to get better! "Seek and you will find, ask and it will be given to you, knock and the door will be opened."

He is Faithful and True:o)

Back in SA

2009-06-02T00:33:00.005-06:00

Hello. I am here. Excellent:o)

I arrived here after a thrilling 43 hour journey. Connections and such went nice a smooth. I watched lots of movies (The Curious Case of Benji Button is not good! I actually didn't watch it on the plane, but I would still like to know why it's got such great reviews????)
The movies I did watch were all depressing movies:o( Two people fall in love, and one of them dies... Umm... The wrestler... and.. I can't remember what else I watched). The book I was reading had a sad ending. But I'm here now which makes everything all better:o)

Oh, let me say. Getting through SA customs is a breeze! I didn't have to take any electronics, toothpaste, phones, etc. out of my purse/carry on. When I walked through the buzzy thing (you know what I'm talking about) no one was on the other side. When my carry ons went through the X-ray, the lady behind it wasn't even looking at the screen because she was busy talking to someone else. Much better than Regina!!! But maybe they're a wee bit lax.

I'm looking forward to getting into a routine. I've started catching up on my lectures and I'm waiting for a friend to get back to me about a waitress job. I would like to do that ASAP and I think in my spare time I will help out with the church where ever they need me and if that doesn't fill enough time, I will look to volunteer somewhere else. Problem is with that is I don't have transport and there isn't any places to volunteer around here.

That is it for now. I'm thinking my life will get much more exciting and interesting by the end of the year.
I have told myself I will do a better job at updating my blog. I will try, even if it's about eating food because that is where I'm a viking:o)

Pictures of my family on our Capetown/garden route trip

2009-05-19T13:59:00.046-06:00

Kelvin and Heather (My brother and his wife) on Table Mountain in front of Capetown.

Our Christmas dinner of yummy pies... Mmmm.

Me and Kelvin on top of Table Mountain.

On the way to Cape Point. Except for the lion. That was later on on the trip.

Kelvin would make pull over, what seemed to be every 5 min. to take pictures!!

Kelvin decided to go for a walk with his boiled eggs while Heather, my mom and I decided to stop at an Irish pub in Capetown to have a Guinness and some Irish stew.

Some random animals.

My mom, Heather and Kelvin doing some fine modeling in front of a very large tree.

Kelvin, Heather and I at the Southern most point of Africa.

Having a relaxing evening after some hiking. Or was it from driving for hours???

Kelvin and I being Tarzan at Storm Rivers Mouth. I must add, it is one of the most beautiful places I've seen! I will be back!

Otters Trial. I will do the whole thing one day. Absolutely gorgeous!!!!

A waterfall on Otters Trial.

On our way home from an exhausting, but awesome 10 day trip.

Finally I get to go back!!!!

2009-03-16T12:11:00.005-06:00

Well my planned three months in Canada has now turned into 4 and a half months instead of 3. Why you ask? My VISA. Wow, what a hectic time from getting my radiological report to the South African Embassy having my passport for close to two months.
I got back mid January to -50! Eish! One of the coldest winters in years! Here we are in mid May and it's still a wee bit chilly, 8 above. Looking forward to the plus 20 weather next week!!! Yeah.
My time here has been good. I just stayed under the radar and didn't socialize too much. It's just easier for me to do that when I'm here for a short time. I filled in most my time with work and yes I went back to Joey's Only:o)
Mid March came around and I started to work on getting the proper documents for my VISA. Everything was going fine until my radiological report. To get a VISA from South Africa you have to get an X-ray of your chest to prove that you don't have TB. I don't have TB, but the problem was getting back the form that the radiologist had to sign. What usually takes a week took a month.
I finally got all my documents collected for my VISA by the end of April. Now just to send it in. Before I sent in all my documents I called the embassy and asked them how long it takes. They said it would take 7-10 business days.
Just a note. I've had problems with the embassy before. The very first time I went to South Africa I had to change my ticket because I didn't get my passport back in time, so this time I wanted to make sure they had enough time before I booked my ticket. Also, I wrote them a note to contact me as soon as possible if there was problems.
I gave them a month. Bad plan!
3 weeks after I sent in my documents and a week before I was supposed to leave, they called. There was a problem with my acceptance letter for college. I got a new acceptance letter and sent it to them via e-mail 3 days before I was supposed to leave. They called me the day before I was supposed to leave and said they just received my e-mail. I had to change my ticket. I asked them before I changed my ticket if two weeks would be enough time for them to process my VISA and the embassy told me yes. So I gave them another two weeks. Bad plan again!
A week after I got a call from the embassy to tell me there was another problem with the acceptance letter. I got a new letter done and sent it to them right away. This accpetance letter was fine but there was a problem with my itinerary. They needed an updated one. I sent it four times by e-mail and they said they didn't receive it. My goodness!!!
I didn't get my passport in time so I had to change my ticket.. Again! As soon as I got my new itinerary I faxed it, e-mailed it from both my accounts and my travel agent sent it, so they had no excuses!!!
Just to add onto the stress I couldn't get in touch with them. All I wanted to know what was going on. I called several times, as did my travel agent. And they NEVER call back. They only call when they need to get a hold of you.
Well they called back last week and to tell me my passport is on it's way and today I opened up my mail box and there it is! My precious passport!

I'm going/coming back to SA baby and I couldn't be more stoked!!!

Whoo hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Home

2009-01-21T10:44:00.002-07:00

Hi, I'm home in Canada. But only for 3 months
I had problems with my VISA so here I am sorting it out!

Never give up, never give up, never give up!!!!

2008-11-21T06:57:00.005-07:00

Ok, my first question for all you mac users... Why can't I post any pictures on here?? Or my profile picture!!!???

I'm feeling feisty.. I'm feeling restless.. I'm feeling like I will not let the circumstances/hits of life get me down. I think I'm at a point where I have realized that I cannot make it on my own. I have tried too long and too hard to make things happen on my own when there is God that will fight for you, that will lift you up, that will make things happen for you. And how do you do that??? Just trust!!!

This year nothing went my way!! I came here to South Africa thinking that I was going to get all super spiritual. You know a halo hanging over my head and angels singing all around me. Why not, I was going to be working with AIDS babies and I was going to bible college. I'm a saint, right??!! Not!
Also I thought that I would be working full-time with pay as the volunteer coordinator/nursery manager for Sinakekele children. Well as you know if you have been keeping track, that went terribly wrong!!
God took me down.

So I'm still sitting at my nice comfy flat in Westbrook. I have attempted to volunteer at other places, but transport and finances have kept me from doing pretty much anything. I tried that baby house (read previous posts), and that didn't work out.. I checked other baby houses, but the volunteers basically just sit there and hold the children. The domestic helpers do everything.

And then I tried Missions Ablaze. I enjoyed it the most. It was like an adrenaline rush everyday!!

Missions Ablaze is located very close to me here in Westbrook. They get food donated to them and then they go to the streets and feed the poor. The places that I would go to with the feedings were in Durban and the majority of the people that they fed there are big scary men. I have not doubt that I have looked in the eyes of many criminals.

This is how my day would go...

I would wait at a traffic circle and then the Missions Ablaze bakkie (truck for all you North Americans) would fetch me and I would go to three different locations and help pass out bread and pour soup. The workers with Missions Ablaze would ask me to say the blessing, but I got too intimidated. There would be quite a bit of eyes on me and it was scary!! But that is something that I will get over. God did not give me the spirit of timidity, but of power, of love and of self-discipline.
So the guys will queue up and the very few ladies that would come will queue up separately, and yes they got to go first. They come and get their loaf of bread and their soup. You see they don't have bowls for soup so what most of them do is find a 2 litre pop/fizzy drink bottle and cut it in half and use that as their bowl.
Missions Ablaze feed from Monday to Friday's. So Monday's the boys are very hungry and can be quite hard to tame.
This last Monday this one guy wanted seconds, but there wasn't enough to give so he decides to "curse" and give choice words to the guy that is ahead of the operation that day and then I had some words to say to him and then we all started arguing. He still didn't get his food so he went to the nearest garbage bin and had a little fit and started throwing the rubbish out of it. I found it quite humorous.
The last stop is Point Place. It's well known for prostitution and drugs. When we drove up to the spot where we give the food, there were more people than food. The old man (guy in charge) was trying to get the guys to queue up and they weren't so he told them if they are not going to queue up then they won't get fed. Most were listening, but some weren't. So old man jumped in the bakkie and took off. I was in the back of the bakkie and the hungry men were grabbing at the bread and I was praying the whole time!! So we parked around the corner and organized everything and then attempted to feed them again. This time they were queued up.
Everything was going well and then they realized that the food was getting low. Before I go on, a guy with Down syndrome came and he was trying to help with the queue. Okay... So the food was getting low and the guys saw this and they started mobbing the bakkie so old man hopped into the bakkie and took off again leaving the guy with Down syndrome behind with the mob!!
Three guys hopped in the back of the bakkie with me. One of them already had a loaf and the other two didn't get any. So the one guy with the bread was trying to get the two loaves that was left. I gave them to the other guys and he tried to take if from them. Some of these guys will get extra bread and then sell it on the streets. Crazy! So after we got the guys off we sorted the crates and went back to get the guy with Downs. He came running and gave old man a HUGE hug and then gave me a huge hug. Poor guy!! He was so startled and scared!!!

So I attempted Missions Ablaze, but it's not working out. I love it, but transport is a problem. And I will only be able to volunteer 2 more weeks because I will be going to a camp in Joburg Dec. 7th for a week and then after that my family comes (JOY JOY!!!) and then I will hopefully be moving near or in Umhlanga. It's closer to the college and the church. Also it is near shops, so if I need groceries I can go whenever I want. There is nothing in Westbrook. The closest thing is Ballito. It's about a 5 min. drive. It will be soo nice to be near everything and people!!

I know some of you will be upset with me, but I was waiting for my ride with Missions Ablaze one day and they didn't pitch. I didn't feel like going back to Westbrook because it can get sooo boring. I have no reception for my tv. or the radio, and I don't have a dvd player, so instead of coming back home, I decided to walk to Umhlanga. It would have taken me about 5 hours. It was funny cause I sms'd/txt my "good" friend Rudi and told him I was walking there and he called me back and said not get get murdered, or something like that. It's good to know that I have friends that think and have a weird sense of humour like me!! If it was anybody else they would say I'm bloody mad!! hehehe...

I walked for about 2 hours until someone picked me up. The first guy rolled down his window a wee bit and asked if I needed a lift and I asked him how I know I could trust him and he told me that he was in the company car and just to get in. So I did. Didn't take too much to convince me;o) Nice man he was. He dropped me off and the guy that was behind him when I got picked up picked me up. He followed him. He said I shouldn't be doing what I was doing. Too dangerous. But I was getting cabin fever!! And I'm alive and safe... So no worries, right!!??

But you know I haven't felt that free in such a looonggg time!!! Just being able to get out and not having to depend on someone else and just going with the flow was amazing!!! You know that feeling when you go up into the mountains, or when you're in the middle of the woods and you just stop, close your eyes and you smell that fresh cool air?? Or that feeling and smell of spring after a long winter? That's what I felt like. Like I could do anything. Like nothing could stop me. Rejuvenated...

I have been wrestling with the thought of coming back to Canada for a year next year. I will have financial freedom, physical freedom (in the sense of getting to places), freedom to do what I want. Makes sense, right? Well I've decided I'm not normal and I will fight to stay here. A friend told me when she came here (she's from France or Reunion?? It's french anyways) that she did not want to stay here, but she said that her spirit was excited to be here. She stayed and she has no regrets. That's exactly where I am. I have come alive here and I don't want to risk what I have learned by coming back there where things seem stagnate in the Spirit. I still have so much to learn, so much to do!! My spirit is alive once again.

The favourite quote of my pastor here is "Never give up, Never give up, Never give up"...Sir Winston Churchill.

New beginnings

2008-08-10T15:42:00.001-06:00

Well it's been an interesting few month here. For some reason I cannot get pictures to download. I am still not doing much, but I am sure that's about to change real soon!
I did go volunteer for about a week, but I had to put my own gas (petrol) in and it was costing to much. It would have ended up costing me over R1000 a month which is too rich for my blood! So here I am again, but change is happening my friends, change is happening. I believe my season is done with working with babies. My heart wasn't really with the babies anymore. Don't get me wrong they are beautiful and it still makes my heart fill with joy when I see those wee ones, but I want to touch people's lives, do something more. Do something radical!

I was on the TLC myfamily web site and Thea (founder of TLC) posted this. It really touched my heart.

On Monday, 28th July, I found a group of 5 people sitting in my kitchen. Upon enquiry I discovered that the old lady was called Johanna Mathye. She only spoke Afrikaans. The two other ladies were her "sisters". The two children were her grandchildren, Thulani (6) and Tsakane (11).

Granny said that she would like us to take in these two children to stay at TLC. I told her that we are not registered to take in big children. We are only allowed to take in babies. She was very upset because the lady at "Amazing Grace Children's Home" told her that they are also full and that she must take them and drop them at the Police Station and just leave them there. I said this was not an option. I asked why she did not want to look after the children herself. She told me that they were very naughty, especially the girl. She was disobedient and ran away from home every time. She thought she should go to a "stout school".

I sat next to the little girl who only speaks English (not Afrikaans). I asked her why she was giving her granny such a hard time. She did not answer, but looked down at her hands. I took her out of the kitchen thinking it would be easier for her to talk. This was her story:

Her mother ran away from home in January. She had just found out that she was HIV Positive and took the news badly. From then on the two children were left with the stepfather. He is a security guard and is never at home, so the two children have to stay in the shack on their own and they are scared at night, so sometimes they try to go and find their granny. Sometimes they find her ... sometimes they just sleep anywhere because they can't find her and then they have to go back to the stepfather. When they do manage to find granny she gets very cross with them and shouts at them and makes them go back to the stepfather's place. But sometimes she is kind and if she has food she gives them some food and sometimes she even lets them stay with her for one or two nights.

I asked about the stepfather, and what he was like. This is what she told me:

"My stepfather is a bad man. He makes me have sex with him all the time when we are together. I am afraid because I know my mother had AIDS. I also want to go back to school and I don't want a baby. I have to look after my brother. When he tries to force me, sometimes I run away and try to find my grandmother. I always take my little brother with me wherever I go because I want to keep him safe. I have been looking after him since he was born on 2.2.2002. My mother worked and I looked after the baby. The first year when he was born I was in Grade 1. I went to school at Eikenhof Primary. But they wanted my mother to sign the forms and bring her ID. She did not come for the whole year. When I went back for Grade 2 they said I could not come if my mother did not bring her ID. From then I stayed at home with my little brother."

I asked her if her granny knew these stories. She said 'Yes'.

Then I went back to the granny and told the granny what Tsakane had told me and asked her if she knew all this. She said 'Yes'. Then I asked her if we could organise the grant for the two children, would she be able to keep them and look after them? She was very adament. NO! She did not want them. They were too naughty. I got a little cross with her and told her that these children were her flesh and blood and that she should at least take some responsibility for them. I did not think, at the end of the day, that God would take kindly to the fact that she did not stand up to her responsibility for these children and just left them at some police station where who knows what would happen to them.

She started to cry ... really loud. And then she said ... in Afrikaans ... "I walk from one corner of the earth to another, with my little bundle of earthly goods under my arm. I scratch here and I scratch there for find a place to sleep. When I find a place to lay down my head for a night or two, I am so happy. And when I find a place where they will take care of me a little bit longer, I am so happy. But then these two children come and if I get soft and do something nice for them, or keep them with me for just one night, I lose my own place to stay and get kicked out. Then I have to find another place all over again. Maybe God will judge me harshly. But I am old. And I am tired. And I can't look after these children!”

How much longer can we sit around? I just don't understand? How much longer can the church sit around?! I'm not one to talk!! What Christ has called us to do we ignore. Are we just gonna keep on sitting back and let things happen? Isn't it time we do something?! Read Matthew 26:31-46 With Him all things are possible and with His love nations will be rocked!! That's right

On that note.. Thea did find a place for them to stay, but the problem is only gonna get worse. They ain't going anywhere...

A time of reflection

2008-07-13T03:58:00.011-06:00

I’m back from the Burg! It was nice to get out to the country and see some of the natural beauty of South Africa, but after a week I was ready to come to my cozy flat!
I went up with my friend Sharn. It was really nice going up with her and get to know her a bit more. This women is amazing!

She is 55 and at 52, I think 52, she decided to get a round the world ticket and travel for a year. She worked in Canada as an apple picker, a nanny in the states and when she saved enough money she went to Thailand, India, New Zeland, Australia and Europe. She would hitch hike, rock climb, bungy jump, sky dive, white water raft, etc! You’re never to old!

We got to the Burg after a 2 hour drive and we parked it in a backpackers. She stayed with me for two nights and then it was just me to fend for myself. No electricity and you had to light the wood stove to get hot water. Kinda neat... for awhile;o) People were coming in and out while I was there. There was a group of kids from England (I’m still alive;o), a military group from England, a family from Pretoria, South Africa, and the last group was from the states with a Newfie leading them. It was so nice to see another Canadian.

The second day, Sharn and I did some pony trekking in the mountains. It’s gorgeous. They keep on telling me I must go in the summer because it’s much more beautiful. The reason why we went trekking is because Sharn was in the Burg about 3 weeks before and she put her glasses down and she wanted to look for them. I thought she was crazy and that she would never find them... But she did!

So Sharny left and it was just me. I wanted to stay till Saturday but I decided to go home after a week. It was bloody cold up there! I had my touque, winter jacket, ski pants and scarf out! And the wind was wild. It was just time for me to come back.
On Wednesday I boarded the Underburg express that took me close to home. There was a guy from Ireland, Vancouver and a lady from Holland. The rest were from South Africa. A part of me just wanted to keep on going and travel and meet people. But it's time to get back to reality.
I went to this place called Ithemba Lethu, website www.ithembalethu.org.za. It is absolutely wonderful! I am hoping to get out there SOON and start volunteering, but the problem is I don't have transport. You see public transport here is not safe and if I take a car taxi that would be bloody expensive. So could you please shoot out some prayers for me to get out that way? It's about a half hour drive from where I stay.
Just some closing thoughts. I’ve had over a month to just reflect and really think about why and what am I doing here. It has been a season of healing and getting to know God in a way I never thought possible. What a wonderful God I serve. His love, peace and joy goes sooo deep and I’m just starting to learn! And I do know I belong here, but I'm not too sure for how long. but I'll go wherever God takes me! As long as I'm in His will He will take care of me and take me beyond my wildest dreams! Exciting times ahead!!
Hope everyone is doing well! I really do miss and love everyone!!

I have 300 MB of data to waste in 46 min.!

2008-06-23T15:12:00.005-06:00

Well this is how the internet works here. You don't buy at a set rate each month, you buy data. So if I send a picture, or even better, a video, it will use my data fast therefore I would run out of it fast. So for me to go on Youtube is a not because I would be spending a fortune on data.
AND.. If you don't use all your data in a month it expires. I do love this country! Really I do! Otherwise I wouldn't be here.
So I am just going to post some pictures on here.
Enjoy!

Well scratch that. Working on my blog with this old version of Mac just doesn't cut it. My hard drive crashed and now I'm using OS.. Why I brought that program with me and not my leaopard will always leave me bewildered!!

I will post the photo's on my facebook. If you don't have facebook, my apologies.

Ta ta ol' chaps!

2008-06-12T06:54:00.006-06:00

Well, well.. Where should I begin!
I have moved out of my little flat and into a beautiful three bedroom flat right by the beach. It’s about a 15 min. drive from Umghlanga (I probably spelled it wrong) but it’s well worth the drive! It is fully furnished, about half the price of what it should be and it has everything that you need. ei. utensils, towels toaster, washer.. and so forth.

Maria, the new volunteer, has been here for close to a month now. She stays with me on the weekends. Very lovely she is and it’s nice to have another Canadian around.

And, I have resigned from Sinakekele. There may be a chance of me going back, but right now it's highly unlikely. It’s a wee bit complicated, but I wasn’t happy there. A few changes have come up with the vision that I doesn’t sit right with me. There are a few other things but I will refrain from spilling the beans. I do pray for the best for Sinakakele and I’m sure one day it will sky rocket, but I will not be a part of it. So begins another season of my life.

With that in mind I have been looking around for other places to volunteer. South Africa is limitless for volunteering so I am scouting out the possibilities right now. I am staying here because I’m still attending college and I would only be a fool to leave the church. The people of Destiny have done nothing but support me! I once said that I would give up on the church (not Pathway, you too have been a constant support!!), but never on God. He had different plans.
Some of the pep's from church.

So I’ve been just taking it easy for the moment. I’m planning on heading up to the mountains for real this time to figure some things out and then after that I’m gonna go on a war rampage!!

PS.
I brought Sampson but he ditched.

Just bored..

2008-05-01T12:56:00.004-06:00

News, news.. Hmmm, what do I have to tell you?

Not much is going on. The kids are on a few holidays again this week. Monday (today is a holiday), Thursday and Friday are holiday as well. Not just the kids but everyone. I think they make up holidays in this country just for a day off. Something like family day;o)

On Thursday, Friday and Saturday I’ll be heading up to the Drakensburg mountains for a hike with a few people from my church. I’m looking VERY forward to that. Some nice crisp fresh air and I heard the stars are absolutely amazing once out in the country. Let’s see if they are as good as the stars in the northern hemisphere:o) I’m sure they are.

So I can get quite bored and lonely in my little place. I was in the washroom and I found a slug and I’ve grown quite fond of the little guy. I even named him Sampson. I don’t have an actual picture of him so I drew him up as I see him.
Oh yeah, there was another reason I wanted to write. Food can be limited here and my creativity with food is limited!! If you have good recipes for ground beef, chicken, pasta, please e-mail me!!!! Thanks!

2008-03-31T13:21:00.002-06:00

OK!! Where do I begin!

I will start with Ruth's house being put on the market yet once again! About 3 weeks ago we found out that the owners of the house want to sell the house leaving us till the end of June to fine another place to rent.

I went to camp I came back and on Saturday Ruth showed the actual drawn up plans from the architect (sorry its sideways). Ruth tells me that she has 1/3 of the money. With the brick fundraiser up and going and the plans drawn up it's becoming a reality.

We went to Ruth's sister the day after I got back from camp. The Salina's (missionary couple from American that lives across the road from Ruth's donated property) were in the area and they absolutely needed to have a meeting. I went with Ruth and we sat down and Joanna called her husband up and she whispered to him. Ruth and I looked at each other both thinking, "are they going to take away the donated land?!" They told us the exact opposite!!
They are moving back to America so their son can finish his gr. 12 at home. They offered Ruth the land for R450 000, house and all! Not bad! But with that in mind it leaves 2 adult women with volunteers, babies and a teenage daughter. It also leaves us with a ministry that they started and have done beautiful things with ei, weekly feedings and womens bible study, visits to a local school, etc.

The Salina's, along with people that know about this are praying for 2 Godly men and someone to head up the women's bible study and the feeding scheme as well. We will also be in need of volunteers! Joy! I'm guessing the next 6 months and before hand they will most definitely be helping out with building, painting and all that good stuff. Also the kids will be homeschooled come next year when they start new grades. So if you know of anyone that is interested in volunteering for a year as a teacher that would be lekker!!

It's happening guys. By the end of June we may be out there!! It seems so unreal because Ruth has been pushing for 5 years and God is opening the doors all over the show!! With that in mind you can also pray for a car for her! If God's blessings are on her might as well take advantage.. hahaha;o)

Please pray for all these situataions! Also for her daughter Taz as she won't like to come out to the farm with. There is a possibility of boarding with her school, but God will need to provide the funds for that if Ruth wants that to come to pass.

Please, please pray for us. It is needed urgently now!!

Good Friday

2008-03-21T05:31:00.019-06:00

Well after going to Dan's blog spot, he's put me to shame. I really have to come on here more and update!! He goes into such beautiful detail! So here I go trying to give it a try!!

Right now I'm sitting by Simon listening to some rap music and he's making farting noises to the beat. I've come to realize that

amusements with farts start at a very early

age and goes with you to the grave.

Well for some people anyways;o)

Good news! You see the volunteer car has been without radio since i've been here. A guy by the name of Andrew (many thanks to you!!!)

knows his stuff about wires and all that stuff so he said he'll take the car one afternoon and fix it.

Well it came back with new seat covers, new mats, a new air freshener and.... A new cd player!!! Joy! It's so nice having mu

sic! The kids don't have to listen to my beautiful voice anymore!! I feel like I'm driving a brand spankn' new car.

If you look carefully you can see the knob of the stereo.

The kids are on holiday now for three weeks. I'm finally starting to understand the school year. There are four terms through out the year. Between terms they have three week holiday and so today it begins. I won'tbe here for the first week because I'm going to a youth camp with the church. And yes I'm a camper! You are still considered a youth in your 20's, but I'm pushing it. I'm pretty excited about it though.

I just finished exams for the first term and they went alright. I wrote four and 2 of them went well and 2 of them went iffy.. But as long as I pass I'm happy. Church is absolutely awesome! Completely different to any church i've experienced. If you don't b

elieve in God going into Destiny Harvest Church, you'll come out questioning your beliefs, no doubt!

Siya is a pro at swimming now. Actually all of them are and they all can swim in the deep end. They are all very proud of it. Jake and Mary are in pre-school still and Simon is in kindergarten/grade r.

Friday's Simon's friend Mpilo has been coming over. He is such a sweet boy!

Such a good character. They just go in the pool and they entertain themselves for a couple hours therefore I get to sit in the sun. Such a hard life. Mary's friend Tori (formally known as Ntombi) comes over once in awhile. Tori came through Sinakekele

and was adopted 3 and a half years ago. I remember when she first came in. She was born a hydrocephalic child and came in with a very large head and she still has it. Ruth and I used to call her head. Hehe, it's completely harmless. But she is doing well. The doctors said she wouldn't walk, but she's right up there with the other 4 year olds.

Jake is doing well. Him and I are actually bonding, believe or not! Since the first day we met we've never clicked, but I think it's

happening. Wow, what is going on!?

But he's still yours Caro. By the way.. When are you coming back?

Ruth is busy, busy as usual. We are now starting to get things ready for the brick fun

draiser. At least 50 have been sold and we haven't officially started yet, but please don't stop!! I guess I could say Sinakekele is officially selling bricks for the building! Ruth is putting a gauge on her website that keeps track of the number of bricks sold. So come on Canada let's kick some butt!! The website is www.sinakekele.org.za

It has FINALLY cooled down here. I'vetold you before and I'l tell you again, this Canadian doesn't belong in a tropical climate!! And there's this blue chair here that I'm sure wh

o ever has sat on it has fallen at least once on it! Mel is an exception with a about 10!

And if you check closely at the roof you'll see I had to pin up the material part. I think because of the humidity it doesn't stick?? Sounds good to me!

I think that's it for now. I think. Hopefully I get in a better habit of coming on here!

Cheers all!

Brick Fundraiser

2008-03-14T00:59:00.001-06:00

Hey everyone, it’s been a while!! Well not much is new actually. Just doing the same thing as I was before.

My weeks are pretty busy with Sinakekele and I usually have things in the evenings. So on the weekends I take it really easy!!!! Sometimes.

The kids have been really good!! We have finally adjusted to each other and we get on pretty good now. The first month was kinda hectic, but it has smoothed out quite nicely. Ruth is still busy, busy! She is thinking of getting a weekend job, but I told her she’s mad!!!

She has been speaking to schools and tonight, Tuesday 3rd, she is speaking to a rotary club. So that’s good. And she has now started a buy a brick fund raiser.

I’ll explain it and if you are interested you can contact me at cindeeklaudeman@mac.com. Ruth has a goal of selling 5000 bricks at $30 Canadian for a brick. You will get a little gift in the post if you do decide to donate. And once the building is up we will get the kids to put their handprint on the newly built wall. Those who donate, their names will be written on the handprints (i’ve been designated this job!!! I need volunteers just for that;o) and the nationality will also be put there along with the name. So come on Canada, let’s kick some butt!!!

We are also selling bricks in the UK, Switzerland, I think Holland and I’m working on Australia and America. If anyone is interested in taking this on in other countries, get a hold of me and I’ll give you the details in what you have to do.

Just to let you know the money you donate is only tax deductible in South Africa.

Well besides that not much is new. Bible college is going great and I’m really enjoying it! Ummm.. It’s really hot here. I checked what it was the other day and it was 28 but with the humidity it was 40. I’m telling you it’s been like this the whole month and a bit last month. I think i’d rather take the cold weather, but then again I would be saying the exact opposite once home. But I am a Canadian girl at heart and I can’t wait till the day comes God calls me back to Canada!! I miss it!!

Check you soon!

Here I am!

2008-01-26T13:28:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-01-17T23:44:00.000-07:00

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

2008-01-14T09:32:00.000-07:00

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

2008-01-10T09:15:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-01-06T21:18:00.000-07:00

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..

A wee bit of news from Canada

2007-11-28T23:25:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-09-06T19:34:00.000-06:00

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

2007-08-13T00:48:00.000-06:00

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

2007-08-12T03:49:00.000-06:00

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

Hello

2007-07-17T02:51:00.000-06:00

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...

2007-07-10T11:50:00.000-06:00

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.

2007-06-26T02:09:00.000-06:00

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

2007-06-18T11:57:00.000-06:00

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?

2007-06-13T11:45:00.000-06:00

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!

2007-05-31T11:03:00.000-06:00

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

2007-05-27T07:47:00.000-06:00

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

2007-05-11T10:31:00.000-06:00

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!

2007-05-06T08:52:00.000-06:00

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

2007-04-29T10:33:00.000-06:00

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

2007-04-22T12:22:00.000-06:00

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...

2007-04-11T15:30:00.000-06:00

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!!

2007-03-27T15:39:00.000-06:00

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

2007-03-21T05:46:00.000-06:00

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!

Never was too fond of Goodbyes!

2007-03-09T00:30:00.000-07:00

Well the time has come for me to leave Regina. Am I excited you ask? I've been asked that many times and at the time yes, but as of now.. ummm, yes and no. I'm gonna miss my family and friends and oddly enough work! I think it's the people I work with and some of the customers.

This last week has been full of many goodbyes. I'm quite anxious to get on that plane and say my final goodbyes.

Being from Canada we had to have a couple goodbye parties in the snow. Hot tub and BBQ. Sorry Elliot I didn't know how to rotate the piture, so everyone, turn your heads.

Wild deer we had. Good stuff..

Lucky Nathan was the only guy in a hot tub full of some good looking women! I'll miss you all from work! And Evan, I didn't get the classic Evan pose for my going away! I guess when I come back.

And yes that is the fry guys. Fry guy number 2 and fry guy number 7.

Have to get one of Mark. Since you left Joey's there has been a huge void in mostly everyone's hearts.

A huge thanks to everyone at work for many, many good times, support through hard times and lottsa' laughs! I'll miss you all!!

To my friends. I'll miss you all eventhough I don't see many of you all that much since you are all over the place. But when I get to see you it's like you never left. And I don't have many pictures so i'll keep it short.

Jen, it just won't be the same without you!! I'll think of you everyday and shed a tear!

And to the crazy ladies. Many memories have been created with you and i'll never forget. I'll miss you all!

Now to my family.It's a small family here and Regina so there wasn't that much for going away. I worked it out so I would have one last b-day here before I left. So we had birthday/going away part for moi.

This was at my grandpa's 98th birthday. I'm sure i'll be seeing many more times!! Tough old man!

My big bro. and sis.

Great Grandpa with the rugrats.

And a radom picture of the family I thought i'd throw in.

A many thanks to each one of you for your constant support *cough*.. Me going back to South Africa would be impossible without you. I'll miss you all very much and look forward to seeing everyone.

I bid everyone a farewell.

One more month!!

2007-02-07T21:23:00.000-07:00

Well it's been a long time! I usually have one day a week to do my running around, so i've been a busy little beaver these last couple weeks collecting my last min. documents.
This week I got my international license and went to the university to get copies of my transcripts. Yes, yes, I actually got lost in the University of Regina. Thank goodness I ran into someone I know and he guided me to the right place, which i'm very familiar with! They've put up new buildings since i've last been there. I can't believe it's been that long!

Also about a month ago Mel and I got all our tickets for Europe. Belguim, France, Ireland and England. It's gonna be crazy busy those 12 days, but i'll get to see people I havn't seen for a long time. Close to 3 years, so i'm pretty pumped about that!

Today Mel and I went to get shots..
Actually she went to get shots, hehe. Here she is before.

During the shots...

After the shots. Well done mel!

I was the lucky one. No shots for this gurl. All I needed to do was get a vaccination for Typhoid Fever which I take orally. Yeah! Take that Mel!

So now we sit and wait. Less than 4 weeks at work and a month till we take off to Wienerpeg. Crazy!! Yesterday some of my regulars were saying their final goodbyes making it feel more real, but it won't sink in until I say bye to my family and take off on the plane.

I have started my packing and I already have one suitcase full (over the limit) and I haven't even packed my Kraft Dinner and Tim Horton's coffee, but i'm willing to sacrafice some articles of clothing to bring those two precious items over!

Next time you'll hear from me will more than likely not be from Canadia!!

Wha?!

2006-12-27T23:36:00.000-07:00

Please hang tight while I figure this site out. There won't be much on here for the next couple months, but once March hits things will get more interesting, hopefully. Ciao