Manual labor and bleeding hands . . . .

Today was a FANTASTIC day, yet a little painful.
Kyle has been relationship building (the most important part of Zulu culture) with a Pastor named Clement. He lives out in a more rural area and their church hosts 3 little orphan homes. Kyle has had wonderful language learning experiences out there and I couldn't wait to have a chance to go.
Today was my chance!
Clement introduced me to one of the house mothers named Zodwa. She willingly agreed to let me tag along with her for the morning. We started by baking pan bread called jeqe (the "q" is pronounced like a cork popping). She gave me the directions in Zulu and I tried my best to follow them. Because a lot of the Zulu homes don't have ovens, they make bread in a pan with a hollow center that creates steam (hard to explain). While we were waiting for it to cook, we started the laundry . . . by hand. She laughed at me because I knelt down beside the tub and the Zulu women bend over the whole time. I tried that and my hamstrings about gave out on me :) Well, an hour later, my hands were raw and actually bleeding (typing right now is painful)!
But, what I gained from today is incredible. She was such a good language helper; very patient, repeated words, asked questions and let me try.
I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT.
Next week I get to learn how to make "fat cake". Sounds good!

More bugs!

I never like to hear, "Heather, you've just got to see this!"
We are always coming across new and interesting bugs . . . and they are BIG.
Not sure what this one is called, but it has a hard shell and rolls into a huge ball when you touch it. Emily thought it was fascinating.

A quick trip to the hills

Saturday we took a quick trip north (about an hour) to enjoy the view. It was a beautifully, cool day . . . a welcomed relief from our South African summer.

Emily turns 4

I can hardly believe that my youngest child is 4 years old already! She sure is a joy to have in our family. This last year, we've seen an incredibly funny personality develop, along with a love for bugs :)
Her birthday started early with choc chip pancakes at 7am. Kyle and I ran off to class and hospice and as soon as we got home she opened her presents. After a quick nap, lots of people from our church started popping in. We ate pizza for dinner and then put them to bed . . . tons of fun.

Game park visit

A really nice game park is only up the road a bit. We enjoy taking a morning trip to see the animals.
This trip was Lily's first time and we were joined by Henry, Shirley and their two college age sons.

The elephants were a safe distance away on the other side of the river :), but some warthogs were a little close while we were trying to eat breakfast. They would charge at you if you got too close.

One of Henry's sons, Grant, thought the view of our car made more interesting pictures than the animals.

Even though they warn you to stay inside the car . . . the two guys continued to have problems with that one :)

It was fun to come to a watering hole and find buck, warthogs, baboons and zebras all in the same spot!

A daily event

Every morning at 7:45, Kyle and I pull out of the driveway and head to class (a 45 minute drive).
And, every morning our 3 kids line up at the window to wave goodbye.
Every day is a different schedule for us. Tuesdays and Wednesdays we are out in the townships meeting the the hospice patients after class. Thursdays we try to catch up with our studying and Monday seem to be filled will survey work and meetings.
Friday is our only day without class. Kyle studies while I play with the girls (Lily volunteers at a creche).

New teammates!

It is always exciting to welcome new people into ministry here in Richards Bay. Josh and Heidi (and their 2 small boys) have just returned from furlough and moved up here to help train youth workers at Calvary Baptist Church. We are excited to see how God uses them.