Saturday, November 29, 2008

Thanksgiving






It has been a joy these past two years to celebrate Thanksgiving with Americans and South Africans down in Durban. Our children completely enjoy the time of fellowship and I love all the food! Turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkin bread, rolls, stuffing, and the list goes on and on. We've had so very much to be thankful for and praise Him for the continued blessings!

Monday, November 17, 2008

A look at our schedule

We get a lot of questions asking us about our weekly schedule and what it looks like to "language learn". So, I thought I'd write out our schedule for this last week. Granted, it changes all the time and every week looks a little different.

Monday: 7:45am - We leave the house for Zulu class at the University. The girls come with us.
10am - arrive back home and being a few of the girls home schooling subjects
12:45 - run Abby to her ballet class
1:45 - look over some Zulu notes, put the girls down for a rest
2:30 - staff meeting at our home, it lasts the rest of the afternoon
Evening - Monday evenings are free for us this semester. In December, I will start back up with music practice in the evening.

Tuesday: 7:45am - We leave for Zulu class
10am - start the grocery shopping. This takes me several hours because not everything can be found at one store. There is no chance to shop in the evening here in South Africa because most of the stores start closing at 5pm.
12pm - drop the girls off at another missionary's home and head out to do hospice home visits.
3:30- pick the girls up, rush home to clean the house
5:30- Babysit for some missionary kids while the parents take a needed date
8:30 - finish the pinata we're making for our Mexican fellowship at church on Saturday!

Wednesday: 8:00am - Start home schooling subjects
10:00 - the girls are taking a break outside, I'm looking over some Zulu notes
2:00pm - Put the girls down for a rest and study some more Zulu
3:00pm - The girls are up :) Studying is done
5:00 - A friend arrives for dinner and some counseling
7:00 - Bible study in our home

Thursday: 8am - Start home schooling subjects. Also, my house help is here, so I get to practice Zulu with her throughout the day
2pm - Put the girls down for a rest. A friend arrives for some follow-up bereavement counseling.
4:30pm - Run quickly into town. The bread has molded and the milk is gone. We don't have as many preservatives in the food here and things are picked quite ripe. So, I have to run to the store more often.
6pm - Dinner and then Kyle is off to do a discipleship course with a family from our church.

Friday: 8am - Start home schooling subjects.
10am - The girls take a break from school and I look over Zulu notes
2pm - The girls go down for a rest and I study more zulu
5:30pm - Kyle is home, he lights up the braai and we enjoy a relaxing evening

Saturday: 7:30pm - The gardener arrives and Kyle takes the morning to practice Zulu with him.
9am - I head into town to find all the things I need for the Mexican fellowship tonight at church. It takes me longer than expected because the main grocery store is changing some things around and doesn't have most of what I need.
1pm - 2 ladies from church arrive to help me start cooking for the evening.
4:45pm - We've been cooking straight through and now it is time to head to the church. People will be gathering to help make tortillas.
8pm - We're home and the kids are in bed. We had a great time at the fellowship. Tacos, enchiladas, pinata and musical chairs. It was great, but I'm beat.

Sunday: 8:30am Off to church
11am- Kyle heads out to Pastor Isaiah's church to work on his Zulu. Straight from there he goes to Pastor Clement's church for a meeting with a group of Zulu pastors.
6pm - We are back at church for the evening service and Kyle should be arriving at any moment. We weren't quite sure when he would get done out at Pastor Clement's
7:45 - back home and getting the girls to bed. Monday will be quickly upon us!

Kyle's week looks a little different. We have class together and do some hospice visits together, but that is about it. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, he goes out to the townships to the hospice support group meetings. He teaches a bible lesson and practices Zulu. Two days a week, he usually visits the orphanage - more Zulu practice. The rest of his time is spent in Zulu study and preparation for lessons.