We're both getting stronger and putting the worst of the illnesses behind us. Dean definitely suffered a bit worst than Paula, but Paula was still very unwell. We are so grateful to Felicity for taking Joel off our hands on Wednesday, there's no way we could have got through the day without her support. Dean said his tummy felt like the roundworm he had in Tanzania whilst the diarrhea was like his Shigela dysentery he had in Zimbabwe, sounds nice doesn't it!
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The Finnie family in Blighty, December 2021
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Dean and Paula pastor The Gathering together -
The Gathering -
Baptisms at The Gathering -
Preparing to serve at The Gathering's Soup Kitchen -
Soup Kitchen Welcome To 2022 lunch
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Serving hands - the heart of The Gatheirng -
Thankful Thursdays -
HOPE Home Based Care Team -
Gathering Ground -
Staying fit as a family -
The Helderberg - The prettiest of the mountains we face
We have both been really sick for the past 48 hours with some sort of a virus. Unfortunately, it led to Dean vomiting up blood all of last night and we are both wiped out from this and lack of sleep. We have a very wonderful friend however, who, on hearing this, came and washed our dishes, picked up Joel and took him home to her place to play with her 2 year old son for the day. This was absolutely fantastic, allowing us to sleep for the day and try to recuperate. In 14 years of marriage, we have never been so sick at the same time. There was no way we would have been able to look after Joel today, so thank God for friends! We are both feeling a little better tonight- weak but not as sick.
I eventually found out yesterday (Monday), after much phoning around, what had happened to Gert. It turns out that he was discharged on Friday shortly after arriving at hospital. He had 2 X-rays taken and was given a letter of referral to Ikhwezi clinic (where he'd been on Friday morning!) and then left to get himself home. So that's why the hospital couldn't trace him on Friday evening. Yesterday afternoon in CNP we managed to piece the whole story together. Gert had no means of getting home after being discharged and certainly couldn't walk, so he spent 2 nights sleeping in the hospital car park and spent the daytimes in the waiting room. Luckily, a lady from CNP attended the hospital on Sunday evening and whilst there bumped into Gert and brought him home.
This is an outrageous story but sadly a true one! Sadly it's not an uncommon story for folk in Chris Nissen. In fact, the ambulance had been called into CNP on Thursday for Gert but never arrived.
This is an outrageous story but sadly a true one! Sadly it's not an uncommon story for folk in Chris Nissen. In fact, the ambulance had been called into CNP on Thursday for Gert but never arrived.
Dean had an excellent small group this morning with 8 men attending which was a first. They all said they enjoyed the study (we were looking at Samuel) and said they would come again next week, so that's really exciting. To think that just a few months ago I was struggling to get 2 regulars to commit! The three new guys this week were Danny (Anna 'Bop's' partner) Trevor & Willem (see photo below). The group want to continue our season of Character Studies so we will carry on with that and include some New Testament characters in the coming term.
During her visiting in CNP on Friday, Paula went to visit Anna 'Bop', a dear friend suffering from AIDS, who very recently became a Christian and who had been attending Paula's cell group on her stronger days. Anna was really weak, but was battling courageously. They prayed together and Paula gave her some baby porridge in the hope that she might be able to keep it down, as she wasn't able to eat anything. Sadly Anna died on Monday morning. Obviously, this has been a bitter blow for Anna's family and all her friends. Death is never easy, even when you watch someone you love slowly deteriorate. Tonight Paula went in to visit Anna's family.
Aletta is a faithful church member and a lovely lady who really does put the needs of others before her own. For a long time she has been preparing meals for sick and vulnerable people in the community with little or no help from anyone else. Basically, Aletta buys the food and cooks it at her own expense and then distributes it within CNP. Unfortunately Aletta's cooker broke down recently and she was unable to provide any meals for just over a month, which had a serious impact on a few folk in the community, particularly as the last month or two have been very cold and wet.
Paula & Joel arrived home safe & sound, it is so good to have them home. Joel has clicked back into his routine and appears to be so happy to be home, he's smiling all the time and enjoying rediscovering all his toys. Whilst Joel was away, I bought him a guitar and he hates to be parted from it now and we're really looking forward to Sunday when he'll take it to church. It's so good to have normal service resumed, the house is cluttered with toys and is a complete mess, but I wouldn't want it any other way.
I said in an earlier post that I would try and find a church website in New Orleans with relevant prayer topics etc, but unfortunately I've not found one yet. However, I did come across the following article and photos on the BBC News website.It's brilliant to know that the church is responding to the gospel by reaching out to those hit hardest by hurricane Katrina. In Galatians 2:10 Paul wrote: "All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do." The poor are dear to God and close to his heart and when the church acts to help the needy God is really happy. The following article should warm our hearts too.
The following article is ©BBC.
My weekend's been quite good so far (given that I've not managed a lay-in for 3 weeks, parenthood has definitely reprogrammed my body clock!), on Saturday morning I went to Hermanus on my own, the weather here at home was gorgeous, not a cloud in the sky (maybe Spring has sprung?) but as I drove over Sir Lowry's Pass the fog (cloud) was really dense and once through that it was quite overcast.
Looking at some of the blogs about Hurricane Katrina and life in New Orleans, it does appear that the authorities have dismally failed their citizens, leaving people to fend / fight for themselves, in many cases leaving people fighting for their lives without much success. Government at all levels has failed, locally and nationally and the mayor of New Orleans must take as much criticism as any other authority figure including Bush. Michael Moore has pitched in with a cynical open letter to Bush, which isn't really helpful as the time for mud slinging is not yet - soon but not yet. Now is the time for helping the survivors get their lives back together and help them to rebuild their communities. This will inevitably take a long time, but it's a job that has to start and it will need a huge commitment from all the players. What this job doesn't need is political point scoring.
Paula and Joel spent the weekend in Wimbledon and stayed with Susan overnight. Paula had a great time chatting and catching up with Susan and then enjoyed meeting up with some old friends on Sunday after church. Joel really enjoyed church as the children stayed in for the whole worship time (here the kids go out after about 10 minutes) and then when he went to creche the 2&3 year olds had their own teaching time, so he thrived.
This is a photo of a train thrown 200 yards by the hurricane, apparently, no-one knows whether or not it still contains any chemicals.
David James: "I'm not available right now so please leave ...damn, just dropped the phone..."
Wayne Rooney: "I'm at me gran's right now, leave a message I'll get back to you in 3 minutes
Harry Kewell - "Harry was on his way to the phone but has broken down after getting up out of his seat"
Sven G.E - "Hello Nancy, I forgot to set my alarm clock"
We've just had an excellent bible study, we were looking at the life of Elisha as a follow on from the life of Elijah last week. We had seven men plus John & myself which is our largest attendance so far. Ben joined us for the first time and Ernest came too (he doesn't normally like to come out in winter), it's also Ernest's birthday so John brought a cake along which went down well.
Paula and Joel went to the farm in Weald with Joel's Godparents, Richard & Sal (Richard's family have been farmers for many years in the village) to see the animals and have a ride in a real tractor. Joel is just a little bit obsessed with tractors and 'scoops'. As well as riding the tractor and seeing the animals, Joel also watched the cows being milked which was very exciting for him.Thank you so much Richard, Sal, Josh & Issac for taking Joel to the farm and for lending Joel so many toys whilst he's in the UK. You are such STARS!
Hope you all enjoy the photos below...
Paula & Joel have been gone for a week now and I'm counting the days until their return. I know I shouldn't wish time away, but I'm really missing them!!!
Contrary to popular conception, there is no pile of washing up to be done, I haven't run out of mugs or teaspoons and I've only had one Pizza since being on my own! I am house trained and quite nifty in the domestic department when I put my mind to it, since I've been on my own the washing has all been done and there is only a small pile of ironing awaiting my attention. There's not much chance of me losing weight either as I seem to be cooking for two and then spreading the meal over 2 days - which is good.
Contrary to popular conception, there is no pile of washing up to be done, I haven't run out of mugs or teaspoons and I've only had one Pizza since being on my own! I am house trained and quite nifty in the domestic department when I put my mind to it, since I've been on my own the washing has all been done and there is only a small pile of ironing awaiting my attention. There's not much chance of me losing weight either as I seem to be cooking for two and then spreading the meal over 2 days - which is good.
That wasn't the best weekend I've ever had, particularly being on my own for Sunday lunch, never mind. In the afternoon I went to the Nature Reserve armed with my camera and went on one of the longer walks (don't normally get a chance with Joel), the weather was stunning (very cold overnight) with cloudless skies and I took some lovely piccys, I hope you enjoy the ones below.
Dean has had a mixed day which started with a trip to the magistrates court to support Dina as Donovan appeared on two charges of assault. Unfortunately Dina was very angry and was complaining about ho so many people in CNP (especially our church members) were gossiping about her, however Dina proceeded to do exactly the same to the crowd of Rastas who were also there to support Donovan. Dina is so angry at the moment that she can't listen to reason, please pray for her as she said she is going to give up on church. This would be really sad and a real backward step in her life.
As we said in our post on Tuesday 16th 'Interesting Afternoon', Dina's husband, Donovan has been arrested for allegedly assaulting two young men in CNP. Unfortunately, one of the alleged victims is the son of another church member; Aletta, who until this incident was good friends with Dina. Sadly, things are very tense between them now with Dina refusing to speak to Aletta. We really need you to join with us in prayer over this situation. We want to see Dina & Aletta maintain their friendship and to be able to support each other through this messy situation.
This photo is of Paula & Susannah in front of Table Mountain. As you can see the 'tablecloth' is obscuring the top of the mountain.
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.
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.
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!
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).
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
After Tyrone has had the operation we'll post 'before & after' photos so you can see the results.
Thanks for your prayers!
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.
David & Jacqueline arrived safely yesterday afternoon, Praise God! Against the odds they managed to get a flight out of the UK (BA duly obliging) and arrive in Jo'burg where they had a few hours to kill before getting a connecting SAA flight to Cape Town. We’re quite amazed that they got through at all as the SAA strike is still going strong and is set to escalate as the Technical staff are on the verge of joining the industrial action and SAA's pilots are on the verge of striking, but for different reasons. As you can see from the photo, we've enjoyed a nice meal out tonight.
These 2 photos should be in with the ones above, but Blogger will only allow us to post 3 at a time. The one above is of Ben, he's a good guy who looks after himself and Dean enjoys visiting him from time to time. Ben is the one who collapsed and almost died in CNP and had it not been for Jonathon & Rachel (the visiting Dr's on Elective) he would have died. Jonathon simply moved Ben into the recovery position, a very simple procedure but it did the business!
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