I posted about 50 New photos on Facebook!
CLICK HERE!!
Hope you enjoy.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Few More Days in The Mother Land.
So yesterday (Saturday) we went back up to the Children's home for a half day of painting and then a half day of playing with the kids.
It was a great day. We got our goal dont RIGHT at 11:55. Just enough time to have lunch. Packed Lunch is so good when your out on a mountain in the middle of nowhere. So after lunch we went to the playground and hung out with the Toddlers. I wish I could capture these kids on Camera. I mean as you can see their faces are beautiful. But its like a scenery shot, you can NEVER capture that beauty in a picture. No matter how hard you try. I am going to post some other pictures soon on Facebook so I will set up a link for your viewing pleasure soon.
After playing w/ the Toddlers we found that most of the older kids were down at the field playing Football. So we hiked down and watched the game. On both sides of the field the mountain just drops off. And the wind just whips through there! Sometimes the kids will kick a ball and it will come right back at them. But I KNOW God plays a part in the game because whenever the ball starts rolling off the mountain the wind will blow it right into one of the 4 rocks in sight. It was a great game.
So at the end of the day I had to say goodbye. The kids have said goodbye to me about 3 times in the past 6 months. So I think they are starting to assume I'm never REALLY leaving. It kind of makes it easier. I and I think its better for them. And me. When the kids cry I Cry. So we said our goodbyes and head down the mountain and back to the Hotel for our last Stir Fry dinner.
One thing that is a bummer is that the road going to the Emmanuel Home is REALLY bad. Shirley say's there is no way I can make it up. And thats where my girl Nondumiso is. :-( So it sux that I wont be able to see her before I go. If you dont know the story of my Girl Nondumiso than CLICK HERE and you can read it. It's amazing.
Well today we had to be up a little early to get Jeff and Connor to the airport. They are heading to Cape Town for a few days and then back to Georgia. They are a great Family. From the two I've met at least. I told Jeff that I was planning on making another CD and before he we dropped them off he gave me $25 and said "Send me a CD when its done" Soooo Looks like I got my first CD sale. Before its even DONE. Soooo what do you say? Anyone else wanna buy a CD before its done?!? hah But really I am thinking about doing a Pre-sale when I get closer to recording. Its a good way to pay for the CD. Then when I'm done I'll ship them to the first people who bought one. But Jeff was the first person to buy my second CD. Thanks Jeff. I'll let you know when Pre-Sale starts.
We made good time today. about 9 hours total there and back. But some tell me they can make it to the Airport and back in 7 hours. I was thinking on the way back that this will be the last time this year that I will make the trek back to Swaziland. Its Sad. I'm gonna miss Shirley too. And Charles and Cindy and Joshua and the other Joshua and Caroline and Antony and Rachael and and Denis and Kaleli... The list goes on and this is JUST SWAZILAND. Not to mention all the children. Its hard now that my heart is in both Swaziland and Kenya. Who knows what the future holds. Well I know someone does. And I'm glad he wont let me in on it. No fun in that.
The next couple days I'll be layin low. Wont be much to BLOG about. Well actually you never know around here. But I will give you a Link to the new Pics as soon as they are uploaded.
Thanks Peeps,
Peace&Love...SPREAD IT!
It was a great day. We got our goal dont RIGHT at 11:55. Just enough time to have lunch. Packed Lunch is so good when your out on a mountain in the middle of nowhere. So after lunch we went to the playground and hung out with the Toddlers. I wish I could capture these kids on Camera. I mean as you can see their faces are beautiful. But its like a scenery shot, you can NEVER capture that beauty in a picture. No matter how hard you try. I am going to post some other pictures soon on Facebook so I will set up a link for your viewing pleasure soon.
After playing w/ the Toddlers we found that most of the older kids were down at the field playing Football. So we hiked down and watched the game. On both sides of the field the mountain just drops off. And the wind just whips through there! Sometimes the kids will kick a ball and it will come right back at them. But I KNOW God plays a part in the game because whenever the ball starts rolling off the mountain the wind will blow it right into one of the 4 rocks in sight. It was a great game.
So at the end of the day I had to say goodbye. The kids have said goodbye to me about 3 times in the past 6 months. So I think they are starting to assume I'm never REALLY leaving. It kind of makes it easier. I and I think its better for them. And me. When the kids cry I Cry. So we said our goodbyes and head down the mountain and back to the Hotel for our last Stir Fry dinner.
One thing that is a bummer is that the road going to the Emmanuel Home is REALLY bad. Shirley say's there is no way I can make it up. And thats where my girl Nondumiso is. :-( So it sux that I wont be able to see her before I go. If you dont know the story of my Girl Nondumiso than CLICK HERE and you can read it. It's amazing.
Well today we had to be up a little early to get Jeff and Connor to the airport. They are heading to Cape Town for a few days and then back to Georgia. They are a great Family. From the two I've met at least. I told Jeff that I was planning on making another CD and before he we dropped them off he gave me $25 and said "Send me a CD when its done" Soooo Looks like I got my first CD sale. Before its even DONE. Soooo what do you say? Anyone else wanna buy a CD before its done?!? hah But really I am thinking about doing a Pre-sale when I get closer to recording. Its a good way to pay for the CD. Then when I'm done I'll ship them to the first people who bought one. But Jeff was the first person to buy my second CD. Thanks Jeff. I'll let you know when Pre-Sale starts.
We made good time today. about 9 hours total there and back. But some tell me they can make it to the Airport and back in 7 hours. I was thinking on the way back that this will be the last time this year that I will make the trek back to Swaziland. Its Sad. I'm gonna miss Shirley too. And Charles and Cindy and Joshua and the other Joshua and Caroline and Antony and Rachael and and Denis and Kaleli... The list goes on and this is JUST SWAZILAND. Not to mention all the children. Its hard now that my heart is in both Swaziland and Kenya. Who knows what the future holds. Well I know someone does. And I'm glad he wont let me in on it. No fun in that.
The next couple days I'll be layin low. Wont be much to BLOG about. Well actually you never know around here. But I will give you a Link to the new Pics as soon as they are uploaded.
Thanks Peeps,
Peace&Love...SPREAD IT!
Friday, November 27, 2009
More To Come...
Hello Peeps.
Wednesday:
Today we went to the Hlane Game Park. It’s the same one I went to with the group in August but this time it was cooler because there were only three of us. This time we got to get out of the jeep at one point and walk down a path to a little pond. Inside and around the pond was about 7 Rhino’s. When we first cleared the bushes and they saw us a couple of them jumped up like they were about to charge. The tour guide didn’t budge so I felt pretty safe. I thought a tour guide running was just about as bad as a doctor saying “ohhhhh I’ve never seen this before.” But he didn’t run. We saw tons of other stuff like Giraffes and Impala and Warthogs (with about 5 little babies) and even a Dung Beetle. The best was the Lion though. We had to drive for about 30 minutes to find one but when we did it was well worth it. He was sitting in the shade under a tree. And the driver drove off the road to get us close enough to take good pictures. When we were close I said “I’m gonna go pet him k?” and the driver said “It’s ok, watch” he then opened his door like he was going to get out. And as soon as he stuck a leg out the lion perked up and his eyes got big. It was so funny. Then we went to the market. I HATE going there w/o buying anything. All of the ladies say “Please support me!... I haven’t eaten any food all day and I am hungry” Its all part of the game but its soooo hard not to just give them money. One lady said “Who is going to help me if you wont?” and I said “God helps all of us doesn’t He?” and she agreed. Most of the ladies that own the shops are Christian. But still I felt like the guys in the Bible that say “Oh you are naked and poor? I’m sorry! I will pray for you!” and don’t feed them or give them clothes. Its hard. :-(
Thursday:
So today we went to El Shaddai and painted some more. Its kind of difficult because some of the walls got bad water damage from the rain. So the concrete is just rolling right off as we are trying to roll paint on. But we got a lot done. I think this was our first FULL day’s work and it went by very quick. Also the guy Mark who is staying at El Shaddai asked us to stay for a Thanksgiving Dinner. As soon as he told me there would be Turkey I was on bored. Jeff and Connor were excited too. So we stayed and played soccer with the kids after work to kill some time. Well I mostly hung out with Gift. She is a child who is very chicky. Is that a word we use in America? I learned it in Kenya. But Gift is full of life and is soooo fun to hang out with. So she took me on a tour of El Shaddai (even though I had seen it many times) and she insisted she be on my shoulders for the duration of the tour. It was fun. For dinner Mark had Frank and Jane (couple who is working at the bottom half of El Shaddai), Sean and Alison (worship leaders for Marks church), Jeff and Connor, and Me. The food was amazing! A serious Thanksgiving Feast. Two Turkeys, Mash Potatoes & Gravy, Sweet Potatoes, Baked Potatoes, Broccoli Casserole (yeah mom I ate it and it was GREAT), Stuffing, Corn, Jell-O mixed with fruit, and Coleslaw(I’m sure I’m missing something. Oh and to finish it all off… Pumpkin Pie, Apple Crunch, and Ice Cream! I Love you Mark! So later in the night I found out that I know Frank and Jane’s Daughter. She went on my first trip to Kenya with her boyfriend who now she is married too. It was cool to make the connection.
Well after the great dinner we got home By Gods Grace. The roads had more fog on them than I had ever seen! It was so scary to drive. You never know when a GIANT Cow will pop up in front of you in the middle of the road. And on top of that I forgot to get gas on the was to El Shaddai. And when we got there I saw we were on Empty. I seriously doubted that we would get to the closest Gas station that was FAR away. But we made it. Now I’m home and I see Shirley has turned the Internet off. I think she found out I’ve been sneaking on to check e-mails and update my blog. Hah. I have fallen in love with Shirley. She is the greatest lady ever. I’m gonna miss her. She will miss me to although she probably wont admit it.
Today(Friday):
Well we went back to El Shaddai today to paint. I thought we were gonna get a lot done but the second coat is white as well and its not covering. So we might have to do a third coat. IF we can make it there. Today the Fog was still bad on our way up. And then at lunch time when we went to eat (leftover Turkey!) the fog got WAY worse. And we started to paint more and the storm came hard. Thunder and Lightning everywhere. We realized we needed to get down the mountain soon. Once in gets bad the roads are like slip and slides. When I was cleaning the brushes and rollers in the pouring rain I started to see lightning all around me. I started to think It wasn’t a good Idea to be on top of a HUGE mountain in the middle of a HUGE rain cloud with HUGE lightning bolts all around. But God kept us from danger once again. It was sad seeing all the kids walking in the rain with no umbrellas. So if the rain continued than we wont be able to make it up the mountain tomorrow. Sooooo we will have to see. 
Also I had a cool idea today. I think when I get home I will put on a Christmas Concert at Café Primo to raise money for another CD. I REALLY need to get these songs down on a CD. I’m working on one right now that’s got some potential.
I Love You All,
Peace&Love…SPREAD IT!!!
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Canaan Update W/ PICTURES!
Yes people you heard me right. WITH PICTURES!
Real fast shout out. HI SAMANTHA MARSCHALL.
But those will come later. First let me tell you something I recently learned.
When I spent some time with the Kenyan's they told me I was lucky to be alive (I just keep finding more reasons to thanks God that my Run-In-With-A-Thief wasn't worse). I guess the Red Eye bus that goes between Mombasa and Nairobi is a very dangerous ride. Kaleli was surprised that no one informed me. Just about every one of them had a story about someone getting jacked from that bus. You see the road is long and dark with no town for miles at a time. Kaleli said he has heard many case's where people will buy a bus ticket and board the bus like a regular people. Then when they are at the "planned meeting spot" they will pull out guns and put one on the driver and some on the passengers and tell the driver to drive into the bush. They will take you out far from the road and make everyone get out of the bus and remove ALL their clothing and place it in a bag along with Cell phones, wallets, passports. EVERYTHING. Then they will take the keys to the bus and their friend will show up in a car to load all the goods and they will leave. He even said sometimes they would make people do stuff that I don't want to repeat. So I guess you can say God really protected me on that trip. They couldn't believe I actually went on that bus!
So on a lighter note. The food at the Hotel has been great. And spending time with Jeff and Connor has been great as well. They are a great family. Connor is in that age where he asks TONS of questions. Even if he knows the answer. He will always ask his dad a question and I will just wait with a smile on my face to hear Jeff's response. They really love it hear. Yesterday we went to El Shaddai to do some painting. We got a tour from Mark and got to eat lunch on the Prayer Rock. Mark showed us a new building put up for guests to stay. He opened the door and their was a fake snake wrapped around the end of the bunk bed. I was thinking "DANG that looks real!" as I approached. It then jumped to the ground. I seriously screamed like a little girl about to sit on Santa's Lap! No just kidding. I caught bare handed Bear Grill style and we cooked it for lunch (Then I woke up). The kids are just finishing up the year so a lot of them were outside playing. It was soooo good to see some familiar faces. All the girls running from me before I even got to say hello. Oh and Sharla I told Ndumiso "Sharla said your football shoes will be here soon." and he said "How soon?" hah I can tell he is excited. Jeff and Connor had a blast running around and playing with the kids. Although Connor got mad because he said when he went to go pee the kids all stared at him. We tried to tell him it was because he is like a celebrity but he didn't go for it. So that was yesterday.
This is the upper BIG Dam. Honestly when I was there on Thursday I was walking around at the bottom of this Dam. I remember thinking "this dam is NEVER gonna fill" I wish I had some numbers for you but these two Dam's are HUGE.
The best part about this is that ALL of this water wasn't being used before this. It was just running off into huge rivers that took it to bigger rivers that eventually took it out to the sea! And this is good stuff. Not nasty water but fresh spring water. Brought straight from Gods creation. The other day I put a post on Facebook that said "I thank God for Rain. It brings Life to Life" But without the soon to follow sun the rain would ruin everything. So I also thank God for the BURNING sun that we had today. Because of it the Maize was looking great. Here is some snaps of the Maize.
Well what a great day. We were supposed to work on a gate but we never even started. We took a tour till about 1 and then Jeff and Kaleli talked a lot about smart people stuff. I nodded my head a lot. Really though I could tell Jeff was loving it. Sometimes I feel bad if we don't get work done but then I realize that these trips are meant for bigger things. I mean yeah we need this stuff done but the knowledge Jeff got from today he will go back with. And he might tell a co-worker who tells his wife who tells her sister. And her sister might come on a trip and donate some big time bucks. Or better yet maybe she's not saved and she see's what God is doing here and has but no choice to accept Him! These are the things God gets to enjoy on a daily basis. The connections we don't always see. But I know one day in Heaven we will be able to con
nect the dots. And we WILL meet people who are there because of us. Even if we've never seen them before. WOW. God is good. And his Mercies endure forever.
Tomorrow we go to a Game Park. I'll try to get some more pictures. Thank you all for reading. Nancy if you want to get some Stats from Wayne and post them in a comment that would be cool. Maybe telling us how big the Dam's are.
That's all for tonight. Hope you enjoy the pictures.
Real fast shout out. HI SAMANTHA MARSCHALL.
But those will come later. First let me tell you something I recently learned.
When I spent some time with the Kenyan's they told me I was lucky to be alive (I just keep finding more reasons to thanks God that my Run-In-With-A-Thief wasn't worse). I guess the Red Eye bus that goes between Mombasa and Nairobi is a very dangerous ride. Kaleli was surprised that no one informed me. Just about every one of them had a story about someone getting jacked from that bus. You see the road is long and dark with no town for miles at a time. Kaleli said he has heard many case's where people will buy a bus ticket and board the bus like a regular people. Then when they are at the "planned meeting spot" they will pull out guns and put one on the driver and some on the passengers and tell the driver to drive into the bush. They will take you out far from the road and make everyone get out of the bus and remove ALL their clothing and place it in a bag along with Cell phones, wallets, passports. EVERYTHING. Then they will take the keys to the bus and their friend will show up in a car to load all the goods and they will leave. He even said sometimes they would make people do stuff that I don't want to repeat. So I guess you can say God really protected me on that trip. They couldn't believe I actually went on that bus!
So on a lighter note. The food at the Hotel has been great. And spending time with Jeff and Connor has been great as well. They are a great family. Connor is in that age where he asks TONS of questions. Even if he knows the answer. He will always ask his dad a question and I will just wait with a smile on my face to hear Jeff's response. They really love it hear. Yesterday we went to El Shaddai to do some painting. We got a tour from Mark and got to eat lunch on the Prayer Rock. Mark showed us a new building put up for guests to stay. He opened the door and their was a fake snake wrapped around the end of the bunk bed. I was thinking "DANG that looks real!" as I approached. It then jumped to the ground. I seriously screamed like a little girl about to sit on Santa's Lap! No just kidding. I caught bare handed Bear Grill style and we cooked it for lunch (Then I woke up). The kids are just finishing up the year so a lot of them were outside playing. It was soooo good to see some familiar faces. All the girls running from me before I even got to say hello. Oh and Sharla I told Ndumiso "Sharla said your football shoes will be here soon." and he said "How soon?" hah I can tell he is excited. Jeff and Connor had a blast running around and playing with the kids. Although Connor got mad because he said when he went to go pee the kids all stared at him. We tried to tell him it was because he is like a celebrity but he didn't go for it. So that was yesterday.
And today we went to Project Canaan. Mark (who works at El Shaddai) joined us. He's a great guy. So he followed us up in the morning and we met Kaleli at the building. Mark made the connection later that Kaleli was Charles Mulli's son and got very excited. If you haven't read Charles Mulli's book you should read it. It will change your life! Its called Father to the Fatherless. Kaleli took us in the 4Wheel drive Land Rover to see more of the land. We went up pretty high before the Truck started sliding of the mountain and we had to throw it in park and hike. We were pretty far up taking pictures when all of a sudden Kaleli says 
"Shhhh!!! quit!! There is something in that bush!" We had to quietly sneak down the trail. He looked scares so I was scared. I guess he heard something really big breathing really hard in the bushes next to us. He took us down to the lower dam. HOLY COW! OK here is where the pictures come in. This dam was seriously not even 1/3 full on Friday when I left Canaan. And now it was OVER FLOWING!
"Shhhh!!! quit!! There is something in that bush!" We had to quietly sneak down the trail. He looked scares so I was scared. I guess he heard something really big breathing really hard in the bushes next to us. He took us down to the lower dam. HOLY COW! OK here is where the pictures come in. This dam was seriously not even 1/3 full on Friday when I left Canaan. And now it was OVER FLOWING!
This is the upper BIG Dam. Honestly when I was there on Thursday I was walking around at the bottom of this Dam. I remember thinking "this dam is NEVER gonna fill" I wish I had some numbers for you but these two Dam's are HUGE.
The best part about this is that ALL of this water wasn't being used before this. It was just running off into huge rivers that took it to bigger rivers that eventually took it out to the sea! And this is good stuff. Not nasty water but fresh spring water. Brought straight from Gods creation. The other day I put a post on Facebook that said "I thank God for Rain. It brings Life to Life" But without the soon to follow sun the rain would ruin everything. So I also thank God for the BURNING sun that we had today. Because of it the Maize was looking great. Here is some snaps of the Maize.
Well what a great day. We were supposed to work on a gate but we never even started. We took a tour till about 1 and then Jeff and Kaleli talked a lot about smart people stuff. I nodded my head a lot. Really though I could tell Jeff was loving it. Sometimes I feel bad if we don't get work done but then I realize that these trips are meant for bigger things. I mean yeah we need this stuff done but the knowledge Jeff got from today he will go back with. And he might tell a co-worker who tells his wife who tells her sister. And her sister might come on a trip and donate some big time bucks. Or better yet maybe she's not saved and she see's what God is doing here and has but no choice to accept Him! These are the things God gets to enjoy on a daily basis. The connections we don't always see. But I know one day in Heaven we will be able to con
nect the dots. And we WILL meet people who are there because of us. Even if we've never seen them before. WOW. God is good. And his Mercies endure forever.Tomorrow we go to a Game Park. I'll try to get some more pictures. Thank you all for reading. Nancy if you want to get some Stats from Wayne and post them in a comment that would be cool. Maybe telling us how big the Dam's are.
That's all for tonight. Hope you enjoy the pictures.
Peace&Love...SPREAD IT!
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