SAA Srike

South African Airways have been on strike for about 3 days now and this has caused the airline to completely cancel all flights. This had a serious impact on Julia as she was flying SAA to Jo'burg to get a connecting flight on to Kenya, but missed the connection because of the strike and has been held up in Jo'burg since Saturday evening as a result. Julia could be stuck there until Wednesday if no seats become available on any other flights. Even if she gets to Nairobi, she still has to fly on to Kampala! Please pray that things would work out for Julia and that she manages to get home to Uganda quickly and smoothly.

Esse Quam Videre

Below is a poem from Ben Witherington. We thought it was quite good and worth sharing.

To Be, rather than to Seem
Esse Quam Videre - To Be, rather than to Seem

Our Week

Here are two photos of ourselves with Julia Downing. Julia and Paula grew up together in the village of Weald in Kent, so they've known each other for over 30 years! The bottom photo was taken 4 years ago when we last met up in Harare, Zimbabwe. The years appear to have been harshest on Dean, but we'll let you make your own minds up. Joel was in bed at the time of the photo. Julia is currently the Director of Training at the Mildmay Centre in Uganda, but was in SA to spend a week working on her PhD.

Tyrone

Dean spent most of this afternoon with Tyrone and his mother taking them to see Gavin Bingham (the eye Dr from church) at his rooms. Tyrone was excellently behaved and allowed Gavin to do what was necessary.

Goodbye To Lorraine

This morning has been a very sad, yet extremely culturally interesting one for Paula as she attended Lorraine's funeral at her home in Chris Nissen Park. Death really is just part of life and this was highlighted throughout all the proceedings. In many ways as white westerners we may have felt that some of the things that happen are disrespectful, but it was such a good reminder that death really is a natural part of life and nothing to be feared. As is customary for Cape coloured funerals, Lorraine's body was brought to the house and taken inside. The lid is taken off to reveal the face of the deceased and within seconds there is almost a rugby scrummage for people to get inside the little house to pay their last respects. People cannot wait to see the body.

Remarkable Puzzle

Here's a bit of fun for those dull moments. We will not be posting the answers, however, if you get really stuck, we'll email you the answers.

A Most Remarkable Puzzle

by Kaimi Wenger

BIBLE PUZZLE: There are 25 books of the Bible in this paragraph. Can you find them??

Lorraine

Lorraine sat outside her home in CNP. It's not a great photo of her but it it's the only one we have, so we thought it would be good to share it with you again. We're really happy that at last Lorraine has peace and is at rest. She was a deeply committed Christian so we can rejoice with her at her graduation.

Please pray for David (her husband) as he considers what to do next, particularly with regards to their daughter Devedeen, pray that he'll make the best decision for her.

Life & Death

As Dean was away all of last week I only had chance to pop in quickly to CNP on Friday (also my birthday!). I was so glad that I did as I got to see most of my cell group ladies and had good chats with them all. They had been really missing Dean, so it was great that I was able to go in.

That Was The Week That Was...

After a weeks break we're back to 'blogging'. Dean had a mixed week in Pretoria. The content of the workshop was top notch, with some excellent speakers and people that ordinarily we mortals don't get to speak to. Dean also got to visit the UNAIDS library which was excellent and enabled him to fill up on loads of resources from the UN. However, the timekeeping, communication and general organisation (or lack of it) was quite appalling at times and a source of frustration for Dean!

Guitar

Joel has recently become obsessed with guitars and particularly enjoys worship on Sundays as there are at least 3 guitarists in the worship band. Here Joel is being shown how to play by Barend. Maybe we have a future worship leader in the making.

Ups And Downs

Friday was another day of contrast for Paula in Chris Nissen. First she visited Aunty Poppy, a lovely widow and granny, known and loved by everyone in the community. She lost her husband 2 years ago and is still very very lonely. She is a wonderful woman and Paula really enjoyed chatting with her out in the sun on her 'stoop'. The great news is that she will now be free to go to Paula's cell from the end of July. This will greatly help the cell as Aunty Poppy is a keen and mature Christian, with a great command of English.

Helderberg Mountain

This is a view of the Helderberg Mountain seen from within the Nature Reserve. We are so blessed to have this right on our doorstep.

Rare Moment

Joel sitting enjoying the sunshine in the Nature Reserve, this is quite a rare moment these days!

Soaking Up Sunshine

Joel & Mummy on a bench in the Nature Reserve. The weather was spectacular today, so we made the most of it and went to the local reserve.

History In The Making!

Last night Paula was invited for the first time for tea with some ladies in CNP. She drove down at 7 pm last night to meet 5 ladies for tea and cake despite the freezing conditions. They spent the time in the house of a lady whose house had been deliberately burnt down a while back and whose court case against the perpetrator was about to draw to a close the following day. Paula was really humbled by the reception she received. The ladies simply cannot believe that she, a white woman, will drive alone to CNP at night and spend time with them. On top of this, it really dawned on her for the first time that for 3 of these ladies, this was the FIRST time since independence (10 years now!) that they had sat and had tea with a white person. They were incredibly nervous at first whilst history was being made, but soon warmed up as the conversation, cake and laughter flowed. God was so good as He allowed them to talk about being one in Christ as well as speaking plainly about the problems of gossip and dissension in such a small community.

Life In CNP

Below are some photos taken in the last few days in Chris Nissen Park, we hope you enjoy them. We feel that they give a taste of life in CNP and some of the issues people have to deal with on a daily basis. As you can see in the photos the sun is shining which has been a welcome break from the rain, Sunday was truly awful! As soon as the sun is out in winter we all pile outside to get warm! We know most of you don't believe us when we say it's cold here in winter, but this morning there was ice on my windscreen and I had to spend a few minutes scraping it off!

Free At Last

Jerome with his mum & dad. Jerome was released from prison yesterday morning after a year inside. He was so glad to be back home! Please pray for Jerome, he is basically a good lad but is easily led and has previously fallen in with a very bad crowd. Pray that he would get work so as to distract him, but also pray that he'll be strong enough to stay away from his old crowd.

Seven Leaves Utd

Seven Leaves United. These are some of the men from the football team which is mainly made up of Rasta's. We'll let you work out the significance of the name!

Many thanks to the subscribers of CP-FRIS and Neil at the Palace Echo for the shirts.

Aunty Poppy

Aunty Poppy enjoying a bit of sun. Aunty Poppy has not been well lately and she appears to have some long term health problems, but like so many folk in CNP she's not really pursuing the health service to get them sorted.

Dina & Miriam

Dina with her boss Miriam from the local ANC office.

Child-Care

It's not uncommon for older siblings to be left 'holding the baby' whilst parents are out working or otherwise engaged. This is an area of need in the community, if we had a suitable building for a pre-school, the lives of so many kids would be improved dramatically.