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 |
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 |
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!