April?!

I am a terrible blogger. Period. 

That being said, I would like to apologize to all of my friends, family and supporters that are wondering if I'm still alive. Let this be proof, I'm still here.

One thing that has always intimidated me about being involved in missions is that you have to keep in touch with lots of people for very valid reasons. I like you all a lot, I'm not trying to avoid anything, I simply need to process daily life and find out what might be important or interesting enough to share with everyone. Let me assure you, that life is sometimes very busy and other times very mundane... some days are full of housework, dishes, laundry and doing finances. Other days are so packed I treasure a 15 minute break to swallow a sandwich and catch the score of the cricket game before I have to jump in the car and head out somewhere...


A lot of people want to know what "life" is like for me at Sunbury... so here you go...

My alarm usually goes off at 6:30am each day... sometimes it takes me until 7 to actually get out of bed. Some days we go for a run around 7:15 but to be safe, Kirsten and I don't run alone. So on days that Mark Hugo and Greg Seghers can go, we start the day off with a 2-4k run. If office work needs to be done, I get in the office straight-away... it tends to turn into an oven after 12 noon, so I try to get everything done earlier in the morning.

Mondays are not generally "hard working" days around Sunbury, all of the staff (cleaning ladies and casual laborers) have the day off, so most of us do as well. This is a good day to play catch-up with miscellaneous things.

Tuesdays we host Bible Club from 3-4:30pm. Kirsten and Carlene Seghers alternate teaching the Bible story each week. We start by playing games and watching the kids on the playground. My specialty is pushing the kids on the tire swing, which I also count as exercise. :)  On occasion I also drive Kara Hugo to gymnastics on Tuesdays.

Assembly at Ramlakan Primary School

Wednesdays start with Assembly at Ramlakan Primary School. They graciously welcome teachings from Kirsten and anyone else that lives at Sunbury. Assembly starts around 7:45am and usually wraps up after 30-45 minutes. This is a twice a week gathering that we are able to share Bible stories and encouraging messages with the students. They usually sing songs also and teachers give important announcements. We also have tutoring classes on Wednesdays. I tutor 9, Grade 6 students from the school, and Kirsten tutors a total of 24 kids spread out over 3 days a week. We focus on English and Math, and last week I discovered that using flashcards makes a HUGE difference and they love it! I am not a natural classroom teacher... please pray for me and the kids in my class... they're coming along way but I know it's God's work, not mine. Having the relationship with these students is vital, we are very thankful to be a part of their lives and hope that God will continue to use this connection to reach them in other ways.

My Tutoring Class: Nonjabulo, Nosiplo, Nokwanda, Jabulani, Phindile, Nomusa, Nkosinathi, Me, Malibongwe &Bawinile

Thursdays are driving days. We get on the road at 2pm and usually get home around 7:30pm. Driving is quite a task around here, mostly because it's a huge time commitment just to go somewhere. Kara Hugo has gymnastics on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so we leave at 2pm, pick up her assistant coach on the way and get them to gym by 3:15. Her class is from 3:30-6:00. Usually Barb, Kirsten and I go to the mall nearby while Kara is in gym. We enjoy having time to shop around a bit and we always make sure to get Gloria Jeans Coffee (the closest thing to a Starbucks fix). After getting Kara, we start on our hour long journey back home. The past year I have been asking people to pray that I would adapt well to driving stick-shift on the opposite side of the car, on the opposite side of the road. God has answered these prayers and many more! Even in the scary times we have encountered flat tires or cars that break down… God has kept us safe every time. Psalm 20:1 is close to my heart: “May the LORD answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.”

University of KwaZulu Natal Westville, Zionist Bible Study

Fridays also begin with Assembly at Ramlakan School. Every-other Friday is pay day for the workers at Sunbury... payroll is my responsibility and usually takes me 2-3 hours each pay day. Friday is also the day that camps arrive for their weekend retreats at Sunbury. Usually the camps arrive after 3pm on Friday and stay until 3pm on Sunday. We take turns hosting the camps, but if its our weekend to host camp, we stay home all weekend. Friday nights we also help out with the youth group at our church here, which we enjoy. There's usually 20-30 high school students that come out and majority are girls. However, there are some Friday nights that we attend Bible Study at Westville University for Zionist students. They always have very practical and intriguing questions... God is working amongst these students!

Weekends are fairly normal, Saturdays are nice days to relax a bit, maybe visit the beach... and Sundays are church, eating lunch out and grocery shopping days.

That's about all for now... I promise I will try to write more often... Thanks for joining me on this journey!