- The Finnie family in Blighty, December 2021
- 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
- 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
The Aftermath Of Moving
Moving Day(s)
Michael has been a legend and we couldn't have done half of what we have without him! He's coming again tomorrow morning when we'll move our beds and the last few bits. Then on Friday & Saturday we'll clean our old house before handing it back.
♫♪♫ School's Out For Summer ♪♫♪
We marvel at how well the boys have done and how they've blossomed through the year. Joel's reading is really good and he adores books which is great.
Eli just had a year of playing but in the midst of it actually learnt quite a lot. He often amazes us with just how much he knows and can do.
To celebrate the end of year and how well Joel & Eli have done this year we took them out for their tea to Primi's. Joel devoured a huge plate of spaghetti whilst Eli did serious damage to his pizza.
Joel was really pleased to be a king with Calvin & Jason whilst Eli was one of Santa's little helpers (not sure where that fits with the Nativity) and showed no sense of being intimidated by the stage or audience. If anything, he played up to the crowd!
The production was great and really well done and as to be expected the evening was not without a few priceless comedy moments. The best being the miraculous birth of a white Jesus to a black Mary, truly a miracle!
Turner Prize
Freight Arrived!
The delivery guy was really helpful and thankfully Michael was already with me at the house so he too got stuck in with the unloading. Even the boys had a go at carrying some of the lighter boxes.
Weekend Sans Enfant
We made the most of our weekend sans enfants and went to Pringle Bay where Peter & Gloria at the Wild Olive have an amazing way of making one feel at home in their guest house. Gloria is the perfect host and Peter is a phenomenal chef, so one doesn’t even have to go out for dinner.
Running Around Like A Loony
However between now and then we'll be running around like lunatics as there's a mountain of stuff to do which began with Joel & Eli's graduation ceremony. Whilst Dean feels it's bordering on the psychotic to celebrate the end of each school year quite so formally it was a really good service with each of the children getting a certificate.
We had previously fitted the steel plates to the front of the door and at last we were able to hang it. Being a hokkie it's not an exact science trying to fit a stable door within a 'frame' that isn't true. Still, it makes for some interesting on the hoof adjustments but it's all good fun.
The main thing is that Michael was delighted to finally be able to close and lock the door. Tomorrow he's got a friend from church coming to fit glass to his last open window and then the hokkie will be secure.
Pending Move
Eli's 4th Birthday Party
Sadly his best mate "The little Daniel" couldn't be there but everyone else rocked up. We kept it all low key and only did two organised games but because there were so many boys they were more than happy to run riot in the garden and explored it to the max. From a brief post-party examination it seems they left no corner untouched.
The girls were a bit calmer but they still had a lot of fun. The parents of Eli's friends are a really nice crowd too so it was a pleasure getting to know some of them a bit better.
Leaders Training
As I was driving into Cape Town I was really struck by the beauty of where we live. One of the highlights of the drive is Table Mountain as it starts of quite small in the distance and just keeps getting larger and larger the closer you get. What a privilege to live somewhere so spectacular!
The training was great, as ever and really helpful. I always enjoy listening to Steve Van Rhyn but this morning it was listening to Lex Loizides that really spoke to me. Steve had spoken about the Sovereignty of God followed by Lex on Our Authority in the Supernatural.
Prayer - Answers & Needs
Our biggest and most important prayer request recently has been for the boys and their schooling. After another meeting with the Principal yesterday we have agreed that Joel should remain with his current class group so he'll be with the older end of his age group again but with a new teacher next year who also has a lot of special needs training and experience. Hopefully she'll be really good for him. We also agreed to let Eli go to Reception class with his age group (although he'll be the youngest by some distance) and see how it goes. If he really struggles the school are happy to revisit his situation so we'll remain in close contact with his teacher and the Principal.
Hooray! The UPS man found me at home today so we finally got the paperwork for our freight, which means we're much clearer about where the freight is right now and when we're likely to receive it.
Presently it's wending its merry way South aboard the MSC Sophie somewhere off the coast of Portugal.
Frustrating Day
Documentation
Brilliant!
A while back I got into Facebook. It took three goes but on the third try I was hooked. Initially I had planned to use FB as a means of directing more friends to this blog and it worked. I quickly realised that a lot of our friends on FB were reluctant to venture much deeper into the web and some actually admitted that they didn't know what blogs were and were a bit intimidated by them. So my plan was to use the RSS feed from the blog to post onto Facebook so that friends there could follow the blog from the comfort of FB.
Pirate Michael
There's much that's wrong with the State healthcare system here but praise God that this op' has finally happened.
Joel thinks Michael looks cool as a pirate!
Dirt Is Good For You
Apparently the study confirms the "hygiene hypothesis" which holds that exposure to germs during early childhood primes the body against allergies. Well hooray for science!
Prayer Request - Update
Tiny Bubbles Christmas Party
Prayer Request
Please pray that whatever the outcome Joel's needs and interests are put before ours or the schools.
Gross Weather
Dean preached on Sunday and once again really enjoyed doing so. He spoke about Faith with two main points being Simplicity of Faith & Strength of Faith. It seems to have been well received. Particularly later on Sunday evening after most of the church had been to Love & Grace in Mitchell's Plain for a celebration meeting. Dean received some very positive comments afterwards about how the sermon there had been a bit of a follow on from his in the morning. High praise indeed as the preacher was one of Dean's favourite local preachers.
I heard from our freight company today that our shipping consignment has been packed on to two pallets, weighs 800Kgs & measures a little under 3.8 M³.
It has been shrink wrapped in plastic prior to shipping from Southampton on the 9th of this month, and the estimated arrival date in Cape Town is the 30th so hopefully we'll have it by the end of the first week of December.
New Smoking Laws
Here's a summary of the New Smoking law which came into force on 1 October 2009
It is now illegal for adults to smoke in a car where there is a child under 12 years of age.
Fines up to a maximum of R50,000 will be handed to owners of a restaurant, pub, bar or workplace who breach the smoking laws and R500 for the individual smoker.
A Different Sunday
I was really disappointed not to be with my family at Grace, so we decided to invest in some quality family time and went to Cape Town for some fun. The boys chose to go to the aquarium which remains a firm favourite of ours.
Whilst dropping the bags off in Heathrow, I asked the lady at the check-in desk if we could move from the very back of the plane to the middle and she very kindly gave us a row of four seats to ourselves. This was great as it meant Joel could really stretch out and have a good sleep. In fact Joel was a star the whole way and even the flight staff commented on how good he was and I was amazed when he ate the chicken curry for dinner.
Boys Will Be Boys
Farewell Freight!
I was up 'til 2am putting the finishing touches on the boxes, packing a couple of pictures and then making sure the boxes were all clearly labelled. Then this morning I finally got the packing lists done. In fact the last sheet was printing just as the van rocked up.
When I started this job I really wasn't sure I would get it done in time but now that it's gone I feel it was a worthwhile exercise.
A Big Day Out - For Joel
Joel had a lot of fun and was exhausted by the end of the day.
Big thanks to Grandad, Lesley & Jo for looking after my boy!
I managed to get a lot done and have now completed the packing and labeling of the 48 boxes and crates. I estimate it to be about 4 cubic metres in total so I'm interested to see what the actual figure is.
Cracking On
That meant I was able to crack on with the task in hand and am quite pleased with the results.
The question now is; do I crack on and finish tonight or have a rest and finish it off in the morning? I guess it'll depend on how many ales are to be found in the fridge!
We had a great time in the village pub followed by a couple of real ales back home. All in all a very pleasant time!
Joel also really enjoyed some time with Andrew and was thrilled with the Ben 10 toy he was given.
Packing Nightmare
A sense of foreboding and panic is sweeping over me as I begin to fully comprehend the size of the task facing me and the little amount of time left to complete it. I'm about ¼ of the way through the final packing (see below) but as you can see from the pile of boxes that's not really very far.
Fun At Spier
Given that Joel & I were 6000miles away you'll have to rely on the photos to tell the story.
What is abundantly clear is that Eli had a lot of fun which probably means Paula & Jo did too.
Joel had a lovely morning going shopping with Lisa (Paula's older sister) . He was reluctant to go, just as he was yesterday but he warmed up after a few minutes and really enjoyed the precious time with Lisa.
Great Day!
We had a lovely 'Christmas Dinner' with Lisa and the family which was a lot of fun. Joel adores the prawn starter and did quite well with his main meal. I simply adore Lisa's roast potatoes! Thanks Lisa!!!
Good Day Ahead
Productive Day
Joel got to spend the day with Sal which he really enjoyed. He adores Sal and really enjoys time on the farm. Also he had real fun chasing around with Josh after he got home from school, as they were shooting each other and causing chaos running around the house.
Exhausted!
Having been been back less than a day and having had to hit the ground running I'm quite pleased with what I got done today.. I had planned to get all the boxes down from Brian's attic (he's my father-in-law) ready for sorting over then next few days but in the end I only managed to get 2/3 of them down but was able to sort them in terms of freight, charity shop & bin which was far more than I'd expected to achieve.
The flight was great and as there were no personal TV screens Joel actually slept quite well. He also ate the food on the plane so he's definitely growing up.
Smart Cover
This now means that when in Chris Nissen or Macassar we can leave stuff in the bakkie in the knowledge that it's safe. This will also help when we do our feeding programme deliveries as we'll no longer need to be on tenterhooks worrying about bags of food being knicked from the bakkie.
26" Unicycle Anyone?
Please let me know, Ta
Swimming Lessons
Our boys have been having swimming lessons for a few seasons now and they have really paid off. So much so that when Eli recently fell into a swimming pool by accident he knew exactly what to do and saved himself. He actually emerged from the pool laughing. We weren't there at the time as he was at a friends house, needless to say our friend wasn't laughing!
Bodgit & Leggit
It turned into a much bigger job than we thought, involving lots of cutting and banging as we got the hole for the window just right but eventually we got it into place.
Michael is really chuffed as it's a huge step towards getting his hokkie finished and he really needs the extra space as he & Joyce having just taken in a young mum with her daughter. He really does make me so proud!
Dude, Her Head's Bigger Than Her Pelvis!
Recently Ralph Lauren ran a campaign with this pic which is clearly very disturbing.
PhotoshopDisasters and a few other sites picked up on the campaign and understandably criticised it. Ralph Lauren then threatened legal action against the ISPs which hosted the image. Pathetic!
I'm only posting this to assist in proving the Streisand Effect and to support PhotoshopDisasters.
See also Boing Boing and The Huffington Post
We're Back
The boys love the freedom of being able to roam the farm safely as well as playing on the jungle gym and the occasional dip in the (freezing) pool. We on the other hand simply enjoyed the peace & quiet being in the middle of nowhere which forces one to chill out.
Library Challenge - A Family Of Winners!
The challenge was taken very seriously in our house with Joel really enjoying reading more than normal and Mummy getting quite competitive!
It seems to have paid off as today at school it was announced that Joel had won 1st prize in the Junior Challenge and Mummy had won 1st prize in the Parent Challenge.
Apparently Joel was totally surprised by his win and had to pick his way through the assembled mass in assembly to collect his award from the principal. We're also told that he was really proud that his Mummy had won the parents prize.
Feeding Programme
Each month the food is provided by St. George's in Weald, Paula's home church and the Phillipi Trust here in Somerset West.
The distribution is specifically targeted through our home based care team; HOPE with the most vulnerable patients being at the top of the list. Amazingly, the usual gossip and jealousy which has often dogged feeding programmes in CNP and other places seems to be diminishing in CNP as the community are beginning to recognise how and why the food is distributed.
For us it's a real privilege to be able to bless some dear folk with desperately needed food which makes a massive difference to their daily lives.
Prayer Request
Without going into too much detail, there's a strong likelihood that Joel may repeat Year 1 and whilst we're not totally against the idea (especially as he is actually a year younger than most of his classmates) we'd need to know that the school has a plan in place to ensure that he doesn't become bored and disillusioned with school particularly as it's not his favourite activity!
To Rent Or Buy? That Is The Question
On the other hand the timing feels right as we've talked a bit over the 3½ years we've been in this house about buying it. We're in the process of getting figures but right now it would take a financial miracle to allow this.
Wonders Never Cease
I was stunned this morning as immediately after switching on my cell phone an SMS came in from Home Affairs of all people.
When we applied for our ID books we were asked for our numbers but never really thought that we'd hear from them, based on previous experience!
However, here we are with an SMS telling me that my application is already in Pretoria and is on its way through the system as they process it.
Hopefully it will be ready by mid December as they promised.
Presentation Of Work - Pt 2
We were really impressed by what he has done and amazed at how much Mrs Tinsley (Joel's teacher) has managed to cover. Joel really has come on a long way from the start of the year, especially as school is something to be endured (although we happen to know he does enjoy it).
Treats & Blessings
Presentation Of Work - Pt 1
Eli is very lucky to have Aunty Lisa (Mrs Broekhuizen to Joel, you & I) and Aunty Batwisa looking after him every day and we're really blessed to have such free and easy access to Aunty Lisa every school day to be able to chat about what's going on and how Eli's doing. We were really pleased to hear that Eli is well loved by his friends and that he has "the softest heart of all the children as he's a really caring boy". He makes us so proud!
Chickenpox
Definitely takes after his dad!
Wedding Anniversary
We spent the first bit of the morning at Home Affairs having decided to use the morning well. Having wasted 30 mins trying to get a passport photo done we were then told that because we're not South African we couldn't get our ID documents here in Somerset West but would have to go to Paarl. One hour later we arrived in Paarl and amazingly after just another 40 minutes we'd been fingerprinted and processed and on our way back home.
I love the way the sunlight just illuminates art of the web.
Michael didn't really get what I was going on about, I think he's had his suspicion that I'm a bit bonkers confirmed.
Amazing Weeks
Here is Paula's testimony of the last 3 weeks... Since my incredible encounter with God that Sunday morning God is giving me a new boldness and I am seeing breakthroughs. During the HIV course our trainer was unable to speak one morning (a bit of a blow for us all!). I decided to ask if I could pray for her. She readily accepted and I prayed in front of the whole class. Immediately, God restored her voice and she continued as if nothing had been wrong - wow! As a result of seeing this, one of the delegates approached me at break time and asked me to pray for a very specific medical condition she had. As I prayed with another of the ladies from church we sensed a heat building up from our hands into her body. She felt as if the area that had grown hot was 'unplugged' and we are now waiting on God for her total miraculous healing - thank you Lord!
Permanency!
This is a huge blessing and a massive answer to prayer! No more queueing every few years filing out endless forms for visas and dishing out ridiculous sums of money for the privilege. We feel this is also confirmation from God that we're in the right place.
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