Hermanus

A delayed second part of the 'Cape Agulhas' post:

On our way home from Cape Agulhas we drove along the coast road to Hermanus in the hope of seeing some whales. There were a few in the bay but due to the grim weather they were quite a way out and certainly not performing for us. Never mind, we continued on the coast road and as we got to Gordon's Bay we saw several whales enjoying themselves and they were very close to the shore. As you can see from the photos below, we had a great view of the whales.

Cape Agulhas

We've just been to Cape Agulhas and then Hermanus with Susannah. When we arrived at Cape Agulhas the weather was truly appalling and the guy we got to take the photo of us nearly got blown off his feet, hence the lack of focus in the picture!

Interesting Afternoon

Dean had one of his more interesting afternoons in CNP today. Initially he took Tyrone and his mother to Hottentots Holland hospital and then returned to CNP for a meeting with the Social Worker from ACVV the Afrikaans Christian social service. Whilst Dean & Dina waited for the social worker Dina received news that her husband Donovan had been arrested. As the social worker was late we decided to go to the police station but passed the social worker on the way so had the meeting. This was a constructive session and although Dina has some issues with the social worker, she calmed down towards the end of the meeting and hopefully we can start working together a bit more.

CNP

Susannah went into Chris Nissen yesterday afternoon with Dean but unfortunately the weather was gross so they couldn't stay for very long. Susannah met Henna, mama Jane and Rosie who are members of Paula's cell and then had a brief guided tour of the community before being accosted by the kids to push them on the roundabout (see photo below). In the evening we went to Lorna's for an Indian which was very nice! 

Susannah Arrived

As you can see from the photo above, Susannah has arrived safe & sound, we appreciate your prayers in getting her through, it sounds like Heathrow was still in chaos as she left. Sadly the weather has been horrific since Susannah's arrival and the forecast is not looking too good for the rest of the week. We're really hoping for good weather on Wed and Thur as we're traveling to Cape Agulhas (the Southern most point of Africa) and the driving back through Hermanus in the hope of seeing some more whales (see post: Whale Watching below).

Joel Drumming

Well the good news is that Susannah is due to fly out tonight so we'll pick her up from the airport in the morning. We can't wait to see her as we've got quite an itinerary lined up including going back to Hermanus to see more whales!

As you can see from the whale photos we've had a great day. Over lunch we wandered around the craft market in Hermanus and Joel had a drum with some of the guys there. Joel enjoyed this and the guys were really accommodating!

Whale Watching

We drove out to Hermanus this morning as the weather was so bad (it's been raining for days!) thinking we'd just have a nice drive, but as you can see from the photos below we were blessed with an amazing morning! Joel was so excited to see the whales and exclaimed: "I can see it, whale" on several occasions. These whales are all 'Southern Right Whales' so called as they were regarded as the 'right' whale to catch back in the bad days of whaling.

Strike Chaos

We're quite gutted this morning as our oldest Niece (Susannah) should have arrived for a ten day stay before returning home with Paula, but due to the catering strike at Heathrow, her flight has been cancelled and we're not sure whether or not she'll make it. Please pray that Susannah can get a flight either tonight or tomorrow (Saturday). We'd love to see her and we're sure she'll be really upset if she can't come.

Clinic Visit

Dean took Basil to Ikhwezi clinic in Nomzamo yesterday morning as Basil has been in a lot of pain for the last few weeks with some large growths on his chest and back. Basil was diagnosed as being asthmatic, suspected diabetic(he has to go back in a month for further checks) and as for the lumps Dean couldn't really ascertain what they were!

Letter To The Editor

The following is an extract from a letter in the current 'Weekly Telegraph' and to a certain extent sums up all that is wrong with contemporary Christianity and the church:

"SIR - I am a white, British moderate Christian who never goes to church. ..." (The Weekly Telegraph Issue No. 732)

Bubbles

Today is Women's Day so we're enjoying a public holiday (SA has several more 'Bank Holidays than the UK does!) and the weather has even brightened up a little, with the rain stopping and the wind easing up. It's been great to have an extra day together and Joel has really enjoyed the extra attention. This afternoon we went to the Nature Reserve and met up briefly with some friends, Joel enjoyed playing with Sean.

Zapiro Cartoon

Ordinarily we tend to avoid politics in this Blog, but we thought this cartoon by Zapiro was quite poignant with regard to the current situation in Zimbabwe and the fact that Mugabe has approached SA for a loan. The cartoon is a spoof of a series of posters in SA published by the local tax office.

Thursday Mornings

We both run small groups on Thursday mornings and have done for a little while now. Dean leads a men's Bible Study group in Chris Nissen Park between 10.30 and 12pm whilst Paula leads a Cell Group at the church building which is intentionally cross cultural, attracting some whites and 6 ladies from CNP.

Good & Bad

Dean had an excellent afternoon on Chris Nissen although he encountered both good and bad news. Firstly, Michael told Dean that the police had arrested three men for the rape and murder of his daughter Michelle (see post: May 17). This has really encouraged Michael and he's now looking forward to going to court to see the trial.

Christine

Dina rang Dean yesterday morning in tears to tell us that her good friend Christine had died. We knew Christine reasonably well and had visited her a number of times in hospital. Christine was very open about her HIV status and was a great role model to others in CNP, she was also a lovely lady with a heart of compassion for others in CNP. When Dean first met Christine, she was looking after a man called Michael aka. Rasta, who was in the latter stages of AIDS and died shortly afterwards (see post: Oct 7th) .

Ronco's Visit

We've had a lovely week with David & Jacqueline Ronco and thought we'd post some photographs of our last day together on Sunday. We went to the Helderberg Nature Reserve after lunch and had a lovely afternoon with Joel watching the wildlife and enjoying the scenery. This morning they left to go to Mossell Bay where they will spend a week before returning to Cape Town to fly home. We've enjoyed their company and Joel has had a ball playing with david & Jacqueline!

Ronco's Visit (2)

Here are some more photos of out time in the Helderberg Nature Reserve on Sunday with David & Jacqueline.

On The Beach

We've had a lovely morning on the beach and thought you might like to see a picture of Joel with his feet buried in the sand. Today was one of the first days that we could consider going to the beach as it was a lovely day. The rain is due back tomorrow, but we're hoping it will stay dry as we're planning to go to the Nature reserve with David & Jacqueline after church.

Tyrone Update

Great news about Tyrone... he has an appointment for the 16th August at 13.30 to see the Dr and have his eye corrected! We are so pleased and as you could imagine Tyrone's family are ecstatic.

After Tyrone has had the operation we'll post 'before & after' photos so you can see the results.

Thanks for your prayers!

Ouma Sophie

This photo is of David & Jacqueline with Ouma Sophie outside her shack. As you can see the shack doesn't improve and with the recent wind and rain the little bit of waterproofing she has on the roof has been severely battered and is now almost ineffectual. 

Please pray that Ouma will see sense and return home to her family in the Eastern Cape where she has a perfectly good home and family who love her.

Paula's Cell Group

This photo is of the ladies at Paula's cell where Jacqueline was the main speaker. The photo shows the ladies enjoying tea, coffee & friendship prior to the meeting.