South Africa 5 - I love Usaka!!

Well, I was going to apologise for putting such alot of detail in my previous two blogs. But my parents seem to be enjoying the detail (even though I'm not sure I'll write about riding in the back of a pick-up again anytime soon! :-P)

I am however limited on time today as I have to turn the computer off in 20mins to stop it going crazy when the power cuts out in 30mins.

Cell group on Tues eve was soo much fun. we didn't end up having a bonfire because several ppl are ill (i myself have the misfortune of trying to fight off a cold!)
We had worship and bible time (Deut 32:1-13 the fatherhood of God) and then mass pudding eating sess :D followed by a game of 30 seconds (the SA version of Articulate) many hilarious moments. and embarassment on our part as we don't have a clue on some of the more South African things that we had to describe!
The best moment was probably when one of the SA guys tried to convince us that "The Wanderers" was a cricket ground in England (it is in fact outside Jo'burg!)
closely followed by Izzy's description of Jerusalem as "the place where Jesus was born" pure classic!

We were all pretty tired by this point as we had been up late with Abby the night before - thankfully Dean got us home pretty quick!

Weds 30th
Today was the school trip to the water park in Durban (Usaka - pronounced Oosarka-or something close to that!)
Unfortunately Abby couldn't make it because of resting her foot and absolutely insisted that none of us should miss out; so we're planning another trip when her foot is better.

Let's jst say nothing like this trip would ever be attempted in the UK. 240-odd kids, four coaches and no more than 20 adults (7 UK volunteers included) at a busy waterpark. I have no idea how it worked and how we didn't lose anyone!
After a nosy journey on which I heard everything from Rhianna's "Umbrella" to some pretty awesome Zulu numbers and plenty of dancing (did i mention that the South Africans aren't particularly big on seat belt awareness?!)
we arrived. 240-odd wristbands later we, or rather they, were let lose.

The kids were given pretty much a free-rein - as were we - it was a very safe environment. We spent the morning together as a group of volunteers doing all of the slides and flumes (aside from two that we simply didn't have time for) including a slide with practically 90-degree angle drop(which turned out to be something of an anti-climax simply coz it happened so fast!)
Sooo much fun!!
Then lunch, which was done on Tues eve, and then spent the afternoon splashing in the pools with the kids. pretty cold unfortunately as it went cloudy.
A much quieter journey back and it was all i could do to keep my eyes open to follow the conversation the deputy head of the school was engaging me with!

Needless to say, I am looking forward to bed this evening. It was so nice to be doing something different, with the added bonus of it being so much fun at the same time!

Tomorrow we are going to Howick for a picnic with Dean followed by a film, i think! as its another public holiday.
Friday we were planning to go to Durban beach. But we may have to rain-check that one for another time as we want Abby to be included!

Peace out x

South Africa 4 - the weekend.....here comes an epic!

Saturday 26th
Was sooo nice not to be woken up by an alarm - for anyone who knows me, you will know early mornings simply are not my thing so even after two weeks I begin to need a decent lie-in....i hope the rest of the team will be able to cope with that! :-P


So the day started at me for 1100 - which really isn't the start of a day at all but the start of an afternoon - so yea.....
the rest of the team was out sunbathing, reading and Phil was watching some brilliant SA rugby (yea, yea i know.....but these guys know how to play a decent game.....unlike some of the international British games I've watched recently!)


We basically mooched round and chilled out all day - not much was done. nice showers had, much sunbathing by our resident sun-worshippers (jenny and abby!), reading, eating, sleeping.
All those good things!
Oh and of course I did have the first phone conversation with home - which was really nice -especially knowing that it was relatively inexpensive because of the genius who invented Skype!

At around 7 we all went out to Nando's with Kylie(who is also from the UK and working in the Karen Millen Fashion School onsite...) had a very nice meal which reminded me of many good times sat in Nando's in Britain with different groups of very lovely ppl! :D
I managed to set the alarm on the house off as we were leaving because the keypad is a long way from the door (relatively speaking) and I wasn't quite quick enough in the locking up! Luckily the large barrage of info i had been given on Friday helped out and after a quick phone call reassuring the security company that I was not a burglar(!) we were good to go.

So when we got back from Nando's to have a marathon game of MoPo (slang for Monopoly) with Kylie and I was so relieved not to have set off the alarm when we got back that I completely forgot to close the gate at the end of the drive! About 4hrs and a game later (me and Izzy won!!) we went to say goodbye to Kylie and realised that the gate was open and that Buzz (the older one who normally doesn't run away wasn't there!
Cue worry, driving around in the dark, very, very apologetic phone call to owners (who kindly told us not to worry and to stop driving around at 0100 as it wasn't particularly safe) and eventual strongly worded argument to stop the dog lovers from roaming the streets.

No-one really slept, lots of silence and prayer. At 2ish Jonno remembered he hadn't put the gear lock on the car (added security measure) and walked out to find Buzz running past the gate.
Much celebration and all-round relief!

Sunday 27th
Sunday morning a couple of people went out to PCF really early (well they left at 0845....) considering we hadn't been in bed till about 3 in the morning...
I got up around 11 again
swimming was attempted - but the water was freezing - so that didn't last long!
Another day of mooching around and not doing very much :D
Had a pretty amazing BBQ(or braai) meal and then went to NCF
Fairly uneventful except Jenny got food poisoning from the chicken she cooked and I was woken at 0430 by the biggest clap of thunder i have ever heard in my life - and lay there for an hour jst listening to it - and watching the flashes of lightning - triple flashes at times - trying not to be blinded by the light!

Monday 28th
Yesterday was wierd, packed up and left the house as tidy as poss. Came back, found that 60 eggs have been donated to us (which makes a grand total of 72 as we had already bought 12!) we have managed to eat 20-odd already!!
Lots of reading and quietness. I think its fair to say that everyone sort of wishes we were able to start work properly this week - to stop drifting around the site. but at the same time it gives us more time to adapt into our changing team dynamic as we shift from being on our "best behaviour" to being more normal - which is good but inevitably leads to some tensions; nothing abnormal just one of those things to be aware of and sensitive towards as we do life together, I'm hoping it won't last too long!

In the evening we had a good session of Monopoly which I lost pretty badly due to leaving the game to talk to Dad who was bored while doing the VAT return(! second to a VAT return - I don't know!) therefore I was not the one rolling the dice - and i had the mishap of being more or less bankrupted by the time I got back!
This unfortunate incident was unfortunately overshadowed by Abby telling us at the end of the game that "I don't know why I'm laughing but I think I've broken my ankle"

Basically she had fallen down a couple of stairs in between our room and the seminar room (one of many oddly shaped and uneven set of stairs onsite) before we had started playing monopoly.
The lump(s) on her foot were now rather large so we got some frozen peas(these later turned out to be open but no-one noticed/cared at the time) and got her foot elevated.

And then the fun really began. (It was 2330 our time)

We phoned our Team Co-ordinator (phone off), our cell group leader (no answer), our UK Oasis contact (no answer and no response whatsoever on the emergency number). Finally we got directions to the nearest private hospital from Di - who is on the South Coast at the moment!
Jonno, Hannah, Phil and Abby all went to the Hospital (on Payne Street!!) and Jenny went to bed as she was still recovering from the chicken incident.

Abby was seen very promptly and was discharged home with crutches, strong painkillers, a bandaged foot and instructions to come back tomorrow morning for an X-Ray (this has now been done and there is no break. Brilliant stuff!)

I guess Monday and Tuesday have sort of blurred into one - but at the moment nothing that exciting has happened yet, please don't let this be famous last words!
We have a cell group bonfire night 2nite (plenty of marshmallows :D) so we might need to take extra special care that nothing unpleasant happens.....gas masks anyone?
and have a large packed lunch to prepare for the trip to the water park 2moro.
Bring on the supermarket....I am continually surprised by how much food seven of us manage to eat!

There isn't much to say to end this except - we promise to be careful the next time we crack open the Monopoly....

PS - We did eventually get hold of our Oasis Uk contact(Lisa) and she is going to try and find out why we couldnt get through on the emergency phone as it was on all of last night.....so don't panic!!

Peace out x

South Africa 3 - the rest of week2!

Tues 22nd
Tuesay was cool we sat in more meetings about the fundraising and then we prepared for Phil's birthday which was on Weds. some ppl shopped and then baked a FOUR TIER CAKE (i kid you not - i would put a pic on but i haven't got my camera with me so it will have to wait to go on facebook. Much hilarity while we tried to organise it and keep phil clueless (specially as he has most of the keys - luckily i keep hold of the car keys :-P)
Tuesday evening sat up very late playing card games - alot of witty banter and general idiocy going on, great fun!
which was a little silly considering our wednesday morning schedule!

Weds 23rd
Went to Northdale Hospital at 0530 - its about half an hour from PG - i won't tell you how we got there coz the family will probably freak - all i will say is that travelling on the back of a pick-up is jst as much fun as it looks. (sorry mum and dad!)
We buttered bread and cooked soup (all donated from various sources - i believe the soup actually came frm the states!) and then distributed it.
The hospital was the worst poverty we've seen so far - though (compared to a lot of things i've seen previously in kenya) it wasn't as bad as it could be.
It makes you appreciate the NHS!
Got back to PG about an hour late (0900) so grabbed a bite and headed out to esther house (which is onsite) which is the sheltered accomodation for women and children.

Esther House was different from what we were told to expext - in terms of no one really intor-d us we were left to jst spend time with the ladies there.
there were plenty of very lovely children to keep us occupied and there was a volunteer team who are jst heading back to california as they've been helping at PG as well as other places as part of their uni course. So there were plenty of ppl there and there was lots of singing and dancing going on! :D
What we hadn't realised was that the America team were saying their final farewells and so when it came to us saying goodbye all the women were pretty down.
I think this brought all the feelings from the morning and any homesickness ppl in the team were feeling together and lunch was a sobering affair - every1 was feeling down (myself incl) and no one felt like talking.
After lunch one of the team disappeared and our afternoon activity got cancelled because of an emergency in the community project we were supposed to be visiting.
So after a much needed group prayer sess - in which i realised jst how many ppl were properly missing home - every1 felt a little better equipped to decide what to do next.

Jonno, Hannah, myself and Phil headed out with Becky to Howick falls to get a clear head while Abby, Jenny and Izzy spent some time relaxing(and sorting out the birthday prep for Phil!!)
However, the car never made it to Howick Falls as the oil pump started packing up, instead, we went to one of the bigger shopping malls in PMB!
Shopped a little and bought some board games (Jenga and MONOPOLY - oh yea!) for the team to use!
and had a really nice ice-cream with oreo pieces for just over a pound! It was soo nice but felt a little ill on the way home as it was rather large!

Spent some time doing the team report that has to go in on Friday (my excuse for keeping Phil occupied while the last minute touches to the surprise were done!)
and then it was time to start the celebrations!!

All was well - ALOT of food was eating then the power went off coz of load shedding so we lit candles and collapsed on bean-bags in a comfortable silence to try and digest food!
Slept sooo well!

Thurs 24th
Up very early again, this time to go to Edendale Hospital - in the more African dominated side of town (whereas Northdale was in the Indian dominated side)
Met a team of volunteers frm NCF church who were also helping and who were all rele gr8 to get on with!
Had to leave the hospital early - so didnt stay as long as before - still got a feel of the kind of area we were in tho which was cool!

Came straight back to gateway on our awesome transportation as mentioned earlier and dived into assembly for the younger half of Gateway Christian School. They all hero-worship their headmaster (Pastor Sinatra Mantemelou - think i mentioned him before?) with good reason!

Found out a bit more about our trip to the water park which we are all majorly excited about. even if its going to be completely tiring!

Then the lady who manages the school admin told us more about what we would be doing if we chose to volunteer in the school.
Think I will be involved (defintely maybe) but there a lot of people in the team who are very eager to work there - whereas there are other places that i'd also really love to work - so thats kwl!

I also met Geraldine, John Koch's sister(for those of you who don't know John he is a member of Christchurch who is moving back to Cape Town within the next few months!)
Had a really brilliant discussion with her and hope to be in more contact soon. also met a girl (i believe her name is Cindi) who someone in V.Water sponsors. Am going to get to know her better so that i will hopefully be able to thank them on her behalf when I get back!

In the afternoon we went into the hands and feet project, which is a very new project run by only a handful of volunteers which collaborates with the projects in the community and collects, stores and distributes donations from one of the accomadation blocks in the prison which hasn't been rennovated at all really.

There is a lot of sorting work to be done so we helped with that - which ws very satisfying albeit we were very tired and it was very dusty!

We're going out to visit one of the worst of creches in the community next week (week starting 5th May) which will be challenging but i'm looking forward to seeing for myself the kind of extremes that everyone is always talking about. Because, although we have been to the hospitals going to the communities will be a different experience altogether.

Then a much needed shower...(well i wasn't going to get up in time to have a shower before leaving at 0530 was I??!)....before going to listen to R.T Kendall. He gave a sermon on tithing and 50 odd ppl gave their lives to Christ!!
In a word.
Amazing.

so many different things that i hadn't thought of before - i could have listened to him for hours (though a few more hours sleep beforehand would'nt have hurt!)

Friday 25th
I went to Rob and Debbie's house instead of going to chapel as they came and asked us on Thursday afternoon if we would like to house-sit them and their dogs while they were all away for the weekend. We all jumped at the chance; so I went to their house to get the low-down on how their house worked.
and boy, was there a lot to remember! Codes and gates and dogs and all sorts of things! but by the end of it i was pretty sure I had everything sorted!

We spent most of the rest of Friday at the botanical gardens which is a place of extraordinary beauty. We spent some time individually wandering; thinking, praying and generally enjoying the sun.
We then met up again with Becky(team co-ordinator) and discussed as a group where we each thought it would be good for us to volunteer.
That was a good conversation to have, we don't have any more a timetable than we did before but we have more of an idea about where we might be heading.

For me. because i can drive i want to do some work for the community care project which spends a lot of time in schools and homes educating and caring for people who are at risk or who have HIV/AIDS (which is basically everyone)

I would also like to do some IT work in the admin because, even though I'm not the biggest IT geek in the world I've realised that i know so much more than most of the Gateway staff that I would love to help them develop that side of things.
The schools IT room has been abandoned because of lack of funding, lack of computers and software and because of teacher:pupil ratios sinmply being too high. I would love to help out there, but i think i should try and walk before i start running. So that's a we'll see for now!

A bit of time at the school on thursday afternoon when they do alternative activites would be a lot of fun. and some time spent with the ladies and children in the sheltered accomadation would be brilliant. but i'll have to wait and see how to fit that in!

On Friday afternoon we packed and mooched around as we didn't want to go to the house till after load shedding (which ws 1530-1700 here and 1930-2100 jst five minutes down the road where we were staying - brilliant!)
Rocked up at their house at around 9 and acquainted ourselves with the two labradors that they own, Charlie and Buzz (lovable and exuberant but annoying!!)- the getting there and unpacking was no where near as stressful as i thought it was going to be!
We watched Narnia and then chatted abit before bed.

There is a blog coming....

BUT LOAD SHEDDING KEEPS GETTING IN THE WAY!
its annoying me
where has the week gone??

South Africa 2 - gimme the keys

Friday 18th

We went to the morning chapel service for the staff of project gateway which was brilliant - our first full-on experience of zulu worship - absolutely fantastic - so loud and joyful and there was some english mixed in!

we were all dressed up smart to create a good impression - which was a good thing coz we got asked to come to the front to be introduced and prayed for! got lots of postive feedback afterwards so it was all worth it!!



Then Becky showed us round PMB city centre which was dirty, bustling and full of interesting monuments - like a lot of cities!

Found a lovely tea-room(!) in the art gallery and so had late elevenses there!

then came back and attempted to cook before the power cut coz of load shedding (1600-1830)

we managed (just!) and played some Uno in the dusk/dark - which was good fun as we were straining to see what colours or cards were!!



Then we went to PCF's (the church onsite) youth group and watched a dvd about relationships
DVD was brilliant; the kids were sooo excited to meet us and more zulu worship :D
We also actually got an early night so that was nice :P


Saturday 19th

we were up early (left PG at 0730) to go team building

we went into a forested/bush area and did some silly team games. then some hardcore trust games (falling backwards off a 3ft wall to be caught by everyone certainly challenges you!). then coffee, then a wires challenge and a blindfold challenge. in pairs one person blindfolded the other guiding just with touch or just with voice. then lunch. then another blindfold challenge but with the roles reversed.

then a swing challenge

the challenges are pretty difficult to explain but were pretty exhausting. As was walking through the bush. so needless to say we were all completely shattered when we got back

i was absolutely covered in dirt, a shower has rarely felt so good!



That night we went round to Sheelaghs for pizza. so wierd being in normal size rooms again, felt a little strange&slightly scary!
i have become incredibly used and comfortable with the confines of a cell!

we played a few board games with becky, samke (becky's assistant who also came team-building), Umtogo(the site manager) and kylie (who is from england helping out in the Karen Millen school of fashion which was started here in January!)

Then came back home and crashed out - all of us had very wierd dreams and woke up with our bedsheets all over the place - was funny to compare stories!

Sunday 20th
We went to NCF church at 1000 - Dean (the guy who heads up the cell group we will be joining) helped us out with lifts and finding the church. The church is very much like a lot of churches in the western world - and is aimed at a completely different demographic than that which PCF aims at - the worship is abit hillsong-like and there is no zulu worship (which to begin with was a tad disappointing)
tho there is something nice about not having to be worried about the culture and how we will fit in - it is a large church but once we get to know the cell grp i think we will all feel far more settled.

The rest of Sunday was spent chilling out and relaxing - we were all still tired frm sat - and it was chucking it down sooo much - we didn't want to go outside - the rain&thunder was so loud on the iron roof of the church that they cut the sermon short coz no one could hear - even when the preacher was miked up!!

and we then went out to NCF in the evening for a music event which they hold every couple of the months with a short msg -- its a type of outreach i think!
the event was great - even more like hillsong than in the morning - but we were all very aware that hannah wasn't feeling very well (she's back to being fine again - just needed to catch up on some sleep) and so headed back early.

Tho Abby, Phil, Jonno and I all stayed up pretty late playing cards (i'm definitely hitting the pillow early 2nite!)

Monday 21st
We have spent most of the day in the monthly meetings that the admin dept have with each project to get feedback on everything....so interesting - and so much to be done! still haven't decided which project to be a part of - but listening to the reports gives you more of an insight into what is going on and which areas of need there are (apart from the very stark financial need that comes from every project) i have a feeling i will be doing a heck of a lot of fundraising when i get home.

I drove to the SuperSpar with Abby&Phil this afternoon to do a big shop for the rest of the week - its pretty amazing how much food seven ppl eat in one week! but is equally amazing how cheap the majority of things are! We were aiming for the Spar which is closest to us but ended up at another Spar nearer NCF - not entirely sure if this was the one the person who gave us instructions was aiming at - but we got there in one piece and without driving into any dodgy areas so thats good! I am gradually getting used to non-power steering and beginning to enjoy the africa driving experience even if our car has very little acceleration at all&there is a rather interesting squeaking noise emanating from the bonnet - we have a car!!!

Wedsnesday and Thursday we are heading out to the feeding projects at two of the local hospitals at 0530 - so we're going to be pretty shattered on friday when we make final decisions about which projects to work on (we are doing visits to projects on weds and thurs during the day)

On Thursday evening R.T Kendall (look him up on Google if you've never read any of his books) is coming to preach at NCF church due to a mix-up on his teaching schedule in Durban and we are all going to go. Its pretty wierd that we're in South Africa going to listen to a teacher who used to work in London! but not turning down the amazing opportunity!

It has not rained today but has been persistently cloudy (and dare i say it; cold! :S) we are told things should be back to 'normal' tomorrow - all i can say is: I hope so!

Feels so strange that we will only have been here a week 2moro - it feels like so much longer than that! am so settled!

Peace out x

South Africa 1 - what will they say when they find out I'm a Jesus freak?! :D

OK! so now i have carved out a little more time in order to blog!
Here is my journal to date!

MONDAY - TUESDAY(15&16/04/08)

Had a bit of a hectic day packing and the like but my day really started in the afternoon/evening when I got to Heathrow



- Team Wildcats all met up with family in tow; much hugging and holding back of tears on my part (if I'd have started I wouldn't have stopped!) and much thinking how surreal all of it is.

- check-in and boarding was uneventful - with one heck of a holy huddle before we got on the plane! humour as dad and i realise that he didn't actually give me the keys for the padlock for my suitcase!


Our plane >

-Then a long,long flight (10hrs 30mins), only an hours sleep - plenty of dozing tho! Jonno got a lot of sleep - this was annoying as he was very alert the nxt night! Virgin have upgraded their entertainment systems and there were LOADS of movies and songs to choose from! i watched Juno(which is surprisingly good), the Bee Movie and an episode of Without A Trace.




- we arrived at Jo'burg rather tired and slightly disorientated. approached a guy nr the check-in desks to ask which check-in we needed to go to. he grabbed one of our bags and said he was upgrading us to business class(he didn't) and ended up asking us for 20 quid each (by then there were three of them hassling us all at once). Needless to say we ended up being fleeced - very embarassing, slightly hilarious in hindsight and most definitely not happening again.

- despite this experience the flight to Durban was pretty awsum as flights go. nice food and really great views over the surrounding area as we very slowly descended into Durban airport. Unfortunately I had put my camera in my hand luggage and therefore couldn't photograph :S
Here's one from earlier on in the flight:

- Nice drive to PMB on highways which make Kenya look like Europe; there was a constant comparison to Kenya going on in my head. there is a only a minor culture shock compared to Kenya so far, tho we haven't been into the local township areas yet - so have yet to see the harsh reality of life for most ppl.


Was very tired when I got to Project Gateway. Though was hugely excited - and had been since descending into Durban. Couldn't belive that we were/are actually here!

- The rest of the day was a complete blur; tried to remove padlock from bag using Phil's pen knofe - this took agges and i was nearly there when a very lovely guy (who's name i forget - like a lot names i''ve been told since i got here!) turned up with these huge metal cutter and had my padlock (and Jonno padlock which had been crushed so he couldn't do the code) off in 3seconds flat! Phils penknife may be slightly worse off for hacking through a couple of mms of metal!

- we had an introductory meeting with Becky(Teams Co-ordinator), Di(fundraising and admin lady and all round genius), Lorne(absolute legend with a big heart for God), Sheelah(having us round for pizza on Saturday(need i say more? :D) and Mbkosi(sorry for spelling - he works in admin - haven't seen him much since)
Unfortunately not a lot of information from this information came anywhere near sinking in as i was a little too tired.

- Finished unpacking (i'm sharing a cell/room with Abby - and am ironically enjoying cell life!) and did my photo wall (BIG SMILES) missed everyone lots - but in a healthy way!

- Had our first dinner cooked for us by a woman who works in CCP (community care projects) and had a fun, very giggly evening(sleep deprivation) felt like midnight at about 8pm! lol!
Played one of the slowest games of Uno ever! (Phil's fault for dealing 13 cards each!)

Loving being here. Can't believe its happening and can't w8 to get started.

WEDNESDAY (17/04/08)

Felt a little homesick this morning but it quickly passed. Had a cold shower coz the warm water hadn't warmed up yet, it was nice and oddly refreshing. Breakfast was nice and chilled out and we had a discussion with Becky aboout our timetable for the next two weeks (third week is made up purely of public holidays and a day trip with the children of Pietermaritzburg Christian School to a water park on the beach front in Durban) In the fourth week we will have decided which projects we want to get involved with and we will make up our own timetable!

We visited Pastor Sinatra Mantemalow (originally of Zambia and who speaks seven languages!!) who is the principle of the school and he gave us a really brilliant session of teaching and discussion around Acts 17:24-31 and Matthew 5:13-17. He was full of wisdom.

We have also had an invite to go to his house for a classic Zambian meal (incl cow's intestine, and chicken head and feet....needless to say we're considering this invite cautiously as we will be expected to eat what is given to us..)

We also got to talk to some of the children which was awkward - as it was initially in Kenya. They were very eager to know when we were starting work. which is a slightly tricky qu as obv we haven't worked it out yet! But am looking forward to getting to know them and def to the waterpark trip!!

Becky then showed us around the Project Gateway site as it is quite big and told us abit of the history - which is incredibly interesting. The prison was built in 1862 (that building is derilict at the mo but plans are in the pipeline to turn it into a museum as it is the equivalent of a listed building and would be a good source of income because of tourists.

There are rumours that Nelson Mandela spent a couple of nights here on a transfer here - but there are no official records as most of the prisoners were not being kept here legally.

One of the guys who now works here used to be held here as a prisoner and escaped once (no mean feat!) before being put in the high security block. Amazing; definitely want to hear his testimony!

The building we are living in was built in 1892

and the building with all the admin, our kitchen and dining room was built much later on (1930ish)
we found out that our dining room was at one point used as the gallow room (there are the outlines of the space in the ceiling where they were hung and the outline of a pit in the floor for bodies!) and the kitchen used to be the post-mortem room
Needless to say i think most of us almost wish we didn't know that!

After the tour we had lunch and headed out to go shopping(becky had bought some food for us prior to our arrival). We went to Scotsville Mall (about the size of Egham High Street but with two storeys and more parking)
Driving is interesting. I didn't drive on Tuesday but did drive 2day(weds)
We are driving a vauxhall corsa with a little hatchback. The clutch is heavy, there are some suspicious squeaking noises after a recent repair, when you push down the clutch to the floor and then turn the wheel you can feel the steering axel with your toes! and there is no power steering so it is incredibly difficult to maneourve - but all in all a pretty fun experience!

We spent an age in the supermarket working things out, and ended up buying alot but didn't spend as much of our weekly budget as we thought we would, we are going to have far more than enough in the weekly food budget! Things that cost 3-4 quid are considered pretty expensive out here!

After our shopping trip Pastor Jabu (pronounced Jar-bu) who''s the overall pastor of Gateway gave us a talk about culture which was good and helped us all to understand that we need to be quite careful and take our time to understand how things work because even though the country is far more westernised than many places in Africa we still need to be very careful not to ruin our witness - though we will inevitably make some mistakes! we are human after all!

We then attempted to cook for the youth worker from NCF - the church that will be discipling us (as opposed to PCF which is onsite) and two of his friends who he brought along with him.
However our tuna pasta bake turned out rather stodgy due to being unable to accurately measure anything and not having much experience of cooking for 10!
The fruit salad was more of a success although the ice-cream was a little more like cream as the freezer decided not to work properly (it has since sorted itself out properly!)

At 1930 the electricity went out for one and a half hours - this is scheduled power-shedding; as there are not enough power stations to power the entireity of the country so there are scheduled localised power outtages - this affects us for one anda half hours Tues, Weds, Fri and Sat - at different times. The only really annoying ones are the one on Weds and the one 2day which goes out 1600-1830 which is normally when we would cook dinner and we are out at PMB youth group at 1830 so we having a late cooked lunch.

We sat around and chatted for a while in the dark which was alot of fun.
Went back to our rooms around 10ish but me and Abby ended up sitting up till 12ish chatting about lots of stuff - mostly deep stuff - but some pretty random stuff aswell - well, this is me we're talking about!

THURSDAY (18/04/08)

We spent the morning at Bethany House (just opposite the prison) which the headquarters of CCP, sitting in on a workshop morning for the staff who teach HIV/AIDS education in schools. Started off with some awesome worship songs - few zulu one english - just so amazing to be a part of - gets your mind in the right place and makes you realise how naturally gifted the African ppl are at singing!

It was a long and heavy sess - very open about everything and discussed alot of things - not overly relevant to us - but good nonetheless.

Learned some shocking stats

Kwu-Zu Natal (the province of which Pietermaritzburg is capital) has the highest rate of HIV infection in the WORLD

and in a class of 50 children about 5 will be being/have some experience of sexual abuse.

seriously sobering stats.

Then lunch and a talk from Di Milford about the history of SA - which has opened a lot of questions and discussion

its all very different when you're here to when you're reading it on a info pamphlet thing.

Had an awsum meal last nite

mainly helped by bananna pancakes and chocolate spread for pud!!

I have literally been typing for ever

I hope you are not all too bored.

I doubt I will have time to write this much normally

we shall see

there are many other important things which may be prioritised over this!

I LOVE the sunshine

its the best

even if the evenings are short (its dark around 1830) and fairly cool.

Hope alls well

Peace out

SOUTH AFRICA

I love this place its amazing!
I will be writing an essay of a blog soon but don't have enough time rite now!
can't wait to tell you all bout what's happening!

but for the meantime we are here safe (have been since mon)
and are eating well hehehe

more soon
xox

Just a little aside

I love LOST!

This is jst a little bit of fun!

Which Dead Lost Character Are You?

More on Lost. Created by BuddyTV

FIVE DAYS TILL SOUTH AFRICA!!!

So cool!

A) I am now officially 19 (OK, well i might have to wait till 2130 this eve for the actual officialness to kick in but.....)
Seriously wierd and makes me wonder where on EARTH the past year has gone - i mean, i blinked and i feel like i pretty much missed it!!

B) So that I can stop sounding so overly-freaked out by the minor detail of my age (how am i ever gonna cope when i get to 50 and other age-related milestones??!)
Check out this cool trick.........when it says phone number it means your home phone number.....

1. Grab a calculator. (you won't be able to do this one in yourhead)

2. Key in the first three digits of your phone number (NOT the areacode)

3. Multiply by 80

4. Add 1

5. Multiply by 250

6. Add the last 4 digits of your phone number

7. Add the last 4 digits of your phone number again.

8. Subtract 250

9. Divide number by 2

Do you recognize the answer??!