Paula's Birthday

This morning we celebrated Paula's birthday by going out for breakfast at Jenna Viva's a local coffee shop in Somerset West. We had a wonderful time and the food was excellent!

Paula celebrated with a glass of bubbles whilst the boys had huge bacon and maple syrup flapjack stackers. Eli ordered seconds!

Daddy settled for a full English breakfast and wasn't disappointed. The grilled banana added a slightly unusual dimension to it.

We both loved the loose leaf Rooibos tea which also came with an hour glass timer to ensure the leaves didn't over infuse. The boys loved playing with the timer.

We're Back

Our few days away in Greyton were fantastic for a number of reasons. Firstly, we're really jealous of our family time and guard it carefully. Secondly, we all relaxed very quickly and enjoyed just chillin' together, we really enjoy just being with each other. Finally, Greyton is a gem of a village with friendly locals and some of the best cafes and restaurants to be found anywhere in SA. The two highlights of our time eating there were Vanilla Cafe and Peccadillos Bistro both of which provide sublime food at very reasonable prices. Vanilla have hit it just right in how they cater for families and the more sophisticated clientele. The garlic soup at Peccadillos was amazing.

We're Off

We're just off for three lovely nights in Greyton, one of the overnight stops on the Cape Epic. Man we're all in desperate need of this break!

No more posts until we get back.

US Pastor Opens Church To Guns

I realise that it is often difficult to understand cultural differences and how the gospel fits within certain cultures. For example, working out the gospel in an animistic culture throws up a whole set of difficulties which aren't immediately easy to address. As such I may have completely misunderstood this article on the BBC news website, but I'd love for someone to explain just how carrying a gun for personal protection fits with the gospel and teachings of Jesus.

Weekend

Dean is finally feeling better so we had a lovely afternoon walk in the Nature Reserve after church. Thanks for your prayers for him.

Church was great this morning and we had a visiting preacher from Mitchell's Plain. Graham has spoken at Grace before and we certainly enjoy him. We had a few visitors again today which is great as word seems to be getting out that Grace is a church of integrity. One of our biggest joys about church is that our boys love it. This is such a huge answer to prayer!

Runaround

Whilst Paula was visiting in Chris Nissen with the HOPE home based care team I took the boys for a runaround in the Nature Reserve. We ended up there for almost four hours and Paula joined us for lunch after she had finished in CNP.

This is such a favourite trip out and we all really enjoy it. The weather was a bit better than it has been so far this week so we were able to walk about a bit.

A Moment In Time

Over on our photoblog Finnie's In Focus we've been running a series entitled: A Moment In Time and at present we're up to Part 17 with several more still to come.

Hope you enjoy the series.

Flu Is A Real Swine!

Spare a thought or a prayer for Dean as he's got himself a bout of real flu not the pseudo man-flu blokes normally seem to contract. He's on a hefty dose of antibiotics and is generally feeling pretty rubbish.

Hopefully normal service will resume shortly.

Winter Solstice

June 21 is the shortest day of the year also known as the winter solstice and we're pleased that it has finally arrived as now the days can begin to draw out and we can head back towards summer. Winter here in the Western Cape is quite unpleasant as it is the only part of the African continent where it rains. Everywhere else it rains in summer or seasonally as in they have no real winter. Tanzania was one such place whereas in Zimbabwe the winter was quite cold with temperatures dropping as low as -2°C but with midday highs of 25°C. Here the temperature never gets as low as that but with the rain and the northwester howling the windchill factor comes into play. All this means we're longing for summer!

Project Fix It - Goes Large

Project Fix It was an initiative we ran whilst with HCC in which we sought to bless our brothers & sisters in Chris Nissen Park by fixing their homes up for winter to ensure they all had leak fee roofs, proper windows etc etc.

Now, we're in Macassar and we're aiming to go further and higher by replacing existing dwellings/hokkies with wendy houses and actually building homes where possible.

Father's Day

Joel's school celebrated Father's day this morning by inviting the dads to come and do some silly races followed by bacon & egg rolls.

It was good fun and everyone entered into the spirit of the event and had a good laugh. It was also good to meet some of the other dads, you begin to understand some of the kids a bit better!

Joel participated in a beanbag race but Eli couldn't be persuaded to do anything other than chase around after Daniel his best friend.