African Evening

Hazel got the bright idea of holding an "African evening" when she heard that there was a new Kenyan couple on the island. I phoned the 3 Zimbabwean nurses, the Kenyan couple, and saw the Zulu doctor, and invited them to an evening of visiting with fellow African born and raised people. I had collected the ingredients for our supper over a period of a few days - I tracked down some mealie meal to make "sadza", some chicken pieces, pork cubes, beetroot and brocilli. For pudding, I made a pineapple mousse and chocolate brownies.
Most of the day was spent in either cleaning the manse or preparing food for the evening. Although I was tired, I was a bit excited at the prospect of making new friends. Then Blessing phoned to say that she could not make it. Then 7 pm arrived. About 10 minutes later, John Mbungwa and his partner, Margaret arrived. John is the new English teacher at the high school. We waited, and waited, until about 8 pm. John said that Sabelo (the Zulu doctor) should be coming. I then phoned him, and was told that he had completely forgotten about the evening.
Anyway, 5 of us now had a table of food that was meant for 9 people. We had a pleasant evening, chatting about various topics - exchanging opinions and solving the world's problems.

Deadwood

Nick Williams brought a gift with him to the Good News Club. It was a beautiful portable CD player - from our friends in America. I love lively children's music, but cannot sing properly any more (damaged vocal cords). Now I can drown out my "croaking" with proper tuneful music.
We visited the folk from my ladies Bible study in Deadwood today. Ethel belongs to the Salvation Army. She is such a dear friend - I forget that she is 71 years old. Her husband, Harold, keeps a mean vegetable garden. Here he is harvesting his crop of potatoes. (Of course, we went home with a packet of the treasures) Here is a photo of the inside of his garden shed, with his little drum with an old sack on it, that he sits on when he takes his tea break, and Ethel's drum (nicely covered in floral fabric and a soft cushion) in the background...

We also visited Winnie and her sister, Rosie. It is always good to see people in their home setting.

When we arrived home, we found that Arthur had already left to visit with some young adults, BUT he had taken the front door key with him. Luckily Graeme and I knew how to get into the schoolroom without a key, so we sat there waiting for 5 hours.... An experience that tests ones sanctification. We are all a little more careful about carrying keys etc with us now.

Board member

After the success of our coffee morning, we have been asked when will the next one be. After sorting out my craft room, and seeing what fabric I had available, I found that there were a few pieces that I could turn into fabric handbags. Only problem - I did not have anything suitable to use for the linings. So... off to the Salvation Army thrift shop. I bought garments that I could cut up and use. I also got 4 beautiful new Italian shawl-cum-scarves - all for 25 pence each! I love bargains! (I wore the paisley scarf to supper at Vince and Vilma's home)

Nick and Lolly are very involved in Shape. Lolly is the secretary, and her brother-in-law manages the day to day running of the operation. They urged Graeme and I to become "members". This simply means that we show an active interest in them and their work.
Then Nick pestered Graeme to attend the AGM - just for information purposes...
We went along to the meeting as "interested spectators" and came away with me being elected onto the board. I do not have a portfolio, but will be expected to contribute towards the decision makings etc. I hope that it will allow me to make new contacts and friends.
The island is very good in its attitude towards the mentally or physically handicapped e.g. they have a cerebral palsied man, Gene, working at Med u Care. Anywhere else in the world, he would be held up, and the till emptied while he was trying to help a customer.

We were invited to supper at Vince and Vilma's home this evening. Beatie and Francie were also there. They are friends that we can relax with, and there is always a lot of happy banter when we are with them. They teased Arthur about his strange gospel music, and he teased them about their 'blue grass' and country preference.

Saint FM

Arthur hosted "gospel hour" on Saint FM today, together with the usual presenter, Tammy Williams. He presented his sermon from Ecclesiaties - the meaning of life. He would speak for a few minutes, making one of the points in his sermon, then play a gospel song, then the next point, then another gospel song. His choice of songs was a bit unconventional - gospel rap - but with very good lyrics. Him and Tammy make a good team, and the gospel was presented with "no holds barred" - something that will not be tolerated in many countries today.
I later heard that one of his 'pagan' friends listened to the whole program.

Visiting

We have started our ‘visiting drive’, and this time, are concentrating on visiting non Baptist folk, and trying to make friends with new people. Today I went to visit Archit Kumar’s mother. They are Hindu, but send their son to our Good News club and Sunday School. She stays at home looking after Archit and his 2 year old sister, Helena. I was told that she was given a non-Hindu name because she was "made on the island". The father, Sunit, is the island’s physiotherapist.

Later I went to Cape Villa to celebrate Kate Hudson’s birthday. She was not sure how old she was, but Anthony checked the records, and confirmed that she was 82 years old. I have found out that birthdays are a big thing here. I am sure I am going to offend someone one day by forgetting their big day of the year.

Arthur had a group of young people over for the evening, and Graeme and I were delegated to our rooms upstairs so that the young ones did not feel intimidated....

Sermon

Josh was the first to arrive at Sunday School. He was excited because he and Karla had gotten their older half sister to agree to come as well. This meant that they would each receive a special eraser as a prize for bringing a friend. They had baited her by telling her that she would be allowed to visit the dogs after Sunday School....

In the afternoon we held our monthly meeting at the CCC. It was good and sad to chat a bit with Edie. She chats away, all friendly, and then interrupts by asking “Excuse me, but who are you?” She has become very frail, and can no longer walk without leaning on someone’s arm.

Arthur’s sermon went very well. A sermon crit class would have found a few areas where he could polish it up a bit, but for the hearer, the main impression was that he was speaking from his heart. I am still mulling over the way he applied Hosea’s story to us and to our relationship with God, and then to His relationship with us. It is all about relationships.

Steve and Maureen came over to the manse for a cuppa after the service. It is good to have them back again – especially to have Steve back behind the organ for the services.

SHAPE

There is an organisation called ‘Shape’ on the island that creates work opportunities for the mentally and physically handicapped. They make soaps and shower gels, recycled paper, do simple woodwork, maintain a vegetable garden, make mats and bags and things out of flax or aloe fibre, a blind lady strings beads for necklaces, etc. Although they have been in operation for 6 years, they had their official opening this afternoon.
There is a peach tree in the middle of the front garden, and it was in blossom. So pretty. As the opening speech was being made, the rain came down. I moved under the passageway’s roof, but Graeme and Arthur braved the weather.

Graeme and I came home and watched the DVD of ‘Fried green tomatoes’. My kind of movie. I ended up watching it with a dog on my lap and a cat on my shoulder.

Arthur stayed up late, going over his sermon, and rose very early. He made me nervous for his sake.

Bible needed

I went for my usual coffee with Bev Kilner. I really enjoy her as a friend. She asked me to be one of her surrogate 'mothers' when she delivers her baby at the end of next month. The hospital only allows family to visit in the maternity ward, unless, if you are an ex pat, you have appointed 'family' before the occassion. I have been duly appointed. So now I am expecting my first surrogate grandchild...

On my way home, a lady called to me from the door of one of the shops. When I came in, she sort-of nervously asked me whether I had a New King James Version of the Bible for her. (Not the question that I would have expected.) I told her that I would check, but if I did not have that version, I would bring her a NIV Bible. Who knows... a friendship might develop.

Arthur is very busy preparing his first sermon for the Saints. It will be on Hosea. I am looking forward to hearing it. He has an enthusiasm when talking about the Old Testament that makes it come alive. (When preparing a message, he sometimes uses me as a sounding board)

Change of plan

It was decided that Arthur should preach this coming Sunday. Tammy also asked him to host Thursday's 'gospel hour' on radio St FM - it means giving a sermonette, as well as choosing and playing the music. He has asked that we move his part of the spring cleaning to next week, so that he can prepare properly. Gospel work always takes priority over mundane, boring, hay fever producing, house work.
I wonder how much of my planned spring cleaning will actually happen during the next 3 weeks. I often start off the day with a bit of energy, and good intentions, but run out of steam fairly early in the day. House cleaning reminds me of my sinfulness - always there, and always needing 'working on'; it builds up very quickly if I let it slide; it requires constant self discipline; good intentions are often replaced by convenience; etc, etc.

New confidence

Clawd’s first kill has definitely pushed his confidence levels up a notch. This morning, as the 3 pets were walking down the passage towards the back door, he put his arm around Abigail for a few paces, then walked ‘hip to hip’ with her for the rest of the passage length, before darting outside. ‘Saucy cat’ is what the Saints call him.

It is the end of the UK academic year, and the schools have broken up until early September. The Bible studies are going into recess for this time. I hope to spend the first week spring cleaning the manse, shampooing carpets and setting up a veggie garden with Arthur’s help. Graeme has undertaken to assemble 2 flat packed cupboards that we ordered. The 2 weeks after that, we will be concentrating on visiting as many people as we can.

Jean and Trevor called at the manse to report back on the 'talk in the street' about the coffee morning. It appears that the bit that most folk enjoyed the most was the sing along! A suggestion was made that we organise a 'Gospel Sing Along' one evening soon. We could take a free will offering that could also go towards the rockfall relief fund. (Well, I never!) Comments were also made about the lovely spirit that prevailed. (God's doing)

First kill

Clawd follows me everywhere, and has found a way of getting into the school hall where we have Sunday school, by going through the alley between the manse and the chapel, and jumping through a broken chapel window. So when I unlocked the school room door, there he was, waiting for me...
As I was setting things up, one of the little girls that arrives early, pointed and shrieked ‘Cat has got a bird!’ He had caught his first little bird, and brought it in to show it off to me... I tried to get the bird away from him, but he just hid under some piled up pews in the chapel, then ran and triumphantly jumped through the broken window, carrying his prey in his mouth. (Not a pleasant way to start Sunday school).
As the lesson ended, he came back again and tried to tidy up his mess by eating most of the feathers that were lying in the front of the hall.
The regular children came again – 7 of them – and asked that we do NOT go into recess during the holidays. After the lesson, they came over to the manse for their usual ‘play with the pets’. This time, we sat in the back yard – they could run around and get rid of energy, and it was less stressful for me.

2nd anniversary of the rockfall

Well, the coffee morning has come and gone. Praise the Lord! Praise Him that all the tension is over, and praise Him for the wonderful success of the day. It just happened to be held on the 2nd anniversary of the rockfall.

Friday was spent collecting tables on loan and rearranging the hall to accommodate 90 seated for tea, as well as having 3 sale tables set up. Then there was the pricing and displaying of the sale items. This all finished around 8 pm. With aching feet, I hobbled home, and still had to tidy the kitchen and bake my donation towards the following morning’s eats. I settled on chocolate squares – the no bake kind that just set in the fridge.

Saturday morning, bright and early (around 7.30 am) the food started trickling in, and the ladies started arriving to help with the day’s activities. The ladies (and the odd man or two) just mugged in, and filled the gap wherever there was a job to be done. The community was also very generous with contributions towards the sale items, and some sent donations where they were unable to attend. There was a lovely spirit.
Most of the pot plants were donated by a non-baptist lady that attends lace classes with me – Sylvia Legg. Prudy brought the veggies from somebody's private garden.An example of lace work by Beatie Peters (a Baptist) from Sandy Bay. To give you an idea of their size, I fitted them onto the top of my lap top computer. After the tea drinking and snack eating was almost over, we announced that the last items on the tables were now half price. The ladies descended on the tables like locusts. One table had magazines and 2nd hand books for sale at 20p each (now 10p each). There was a pile of ‘You’ magazines, and one lonely ‘Huisgenoot’ (very familiar S African magazines). Michelle Yon – an ex S African – bought them all.
Then they wanted some entertainment... (I never knew that this was part of a traditional coffee morning. Apparently, they usually play bingo or something). Well, the Saints love to sing, so we twisted Graeme’s arm to get his cornet out, and with Vincent as the leader, and me rattling out the rythmn on my yellow tambourine, we had a sing-along out of our hymn books. Even professing non-Christians sang along.

Then came the clearing up, and rearranging of the hall back to a church-like look, with rows of chairs and a pulpit in the front etc. Some of us that arrived all spritely in the morning, limped out of the hall at about 1 pm that afternoon. But although our feet were aching, we all had smiles on our faces.

The final takings towards the rockfall relief fund was 600 pounds!

BWA coffee morning

Yesterday morning I came down the stairs to start my day, and was greeted by the delicious smell of hot bread. Graeme had ordered a bread making machine, and had set it so that a new loaf would be ready in time for breakfast. It was an aromatic breakfast - filtered coffee and freshly baked, HOT bread - complements of Graeme.

Later in the morning, Graeme answered the door bell, and I heard the voices of our friends, the Terrys, in the lounge. It was great to see them again, and catch up on news after 4 months while they were overseas.

I am gearing up for the BWA coffee morning and craft sale that is to be held on Saturday morning. The profits will go towards the restoration of the Jamestown chapel. All sorts of items have been trickling in to the manse to be added to the sale tables. (Beautiful lace work, crochet, book bags, toys, jam, clothes, toiletries, books and magazines, pot plants, manure, etc). Even non-Baptist folk who have heard about our venture, have contributed things towards the sale. At one stage I was nervous that we would not have enough to sell, but now I am receiving unexpected boxes of all sorts of odds and ends. There is still a lot of organising to do to get everyone coordinated on the day, tables to be borrowed and collected, the hall to be set up, prices to be put on all the sale items, etc. etc.

It is going to be interesting to see how the day turns out - a group of ladies (all with different opinions and tastes and ideas) trying to work together to hold a money raising event...

Arthur is getting stuck into English literature homework and assignments. He got 'B's for his first 2 assignments :) Scary maths only starts next month.

No Show

The lady that "drives" the Half Tree Hollow Bible study, Wendy Henry, left for a 3 month study course in Ireland. It seems that her absence affected the rest of the group. Arthur and I arrived at the hall a few minutes early. The hall was locked, so we waited outside in the cold and damp... 12 minutes after the meeting was due to start, we were still the only ones there. As the Saints tend to arrive early for their meetings, we took this as a sign that no one was going to come.
When we got home, instead of just putting our Bibles away, and licking our wounds, I asked Arthur to do the study that he had prepared, with me. It ended up being a most profitable time for me. Arthur has a different style of teaching - he prefers to get the person with him to be an active participant - to read the passage and discover the Bible truths together with him - rather than just being a passive listener. It is not easy to get islanders to participate in this way, but Arthur seems to have a way of drawing them out. Perhaps I can pick up a few tips from him.

Children and visitors

After Sunday School, the children insisted on visiting with our pets. Renee loves the fact that Abi is scared of strangers, and only wants to sit on my lap when they visit. (Renee is scared of dogs) So she stands next to me, stroking Abi, and telling her not to be "sceeared". When the children come over, they each just "do their own thing". Regan read to Renee for a bit, while Sunna was the only one that could get Clawd to play without biting her. The others enjoyed Cho. Here is a photo taken by one of the children.

In the afternnon, Graeme and I went to Tammy and Gavin Williams for lunch, while Arthur stayed behind to start a "one on one" study time with one of the Saints. Tammy kindly sent a plate of food home for Arthur.

Craft day

Very few children pitched up for Good News. There was a craft day exhibition, and it seems that any "event" causes normal attendance to drop.

I was asked to support the craft day by.... sitting next to the lace wonderwomen with my cushion, and showing that "even beginners" can produce something. Visitors "oohed" and "aahed" when they saw the speed that Violet and Wanda's mom worked at, and the work that they produced.

I got sympathetic nods and smiles.

Some of the work produced on the island that was on display.

Catching up

The past week has had its “challenges” – one of which was a problem with my computer. Thankfully, it is up and running again. Below is a “catch up” of news over the past week.

Thurs 29/07/2010

Had to hand wind 58 bobbins for my lace class this evening! My fingers went into cramp before I finished the task. I have been given a pattern for a circular piece of lace that will be attached to a small round cloth.

Fri 30/07/2010
I am beginning to feel like a Jamestown Saint! I recognised that 2 ladies entering a shop were not locals. (Not difficult, as they both had long blonde hair – blondes are a dime a dozen in SA, and go unnoticed in a crowd, but here they are the exception). It turned out that they were part of the crew of a VERY large yacht that had called in for the day.

Arthur went out for his usual Friday evening with a group of friends, and Graeme and I took ourselves off to Anne’s Place for some gruyper and chips. It used to be a sort of open air restaurant, with flags sown together as a canopy. Later on, a roof was erected over the eating area, but the flags were retained as a ceiling. They cater especially for the “yachties” that call on the island. We saw the 2 blondes eating with friends at a nearby table. Graeme got chatting with one of the men, and found out that they belonged to the huge yacht, and were leaving straight after their meal.
After our good meal, Graeme and I went to see whether we could spot the sails being hoisted as the big yacht sailed away in the dark. To our disappointment, it sailed away on engine power.

However, by cupping my eyes to shut out the street lights, I did see the most beautiful view of the milky way. The planet venus shone so big and bright that it left a reflection (like miniature moonlight) on the sea. The stars were so big and clear that it felt as if I could touch them. The last time I saw stars like that was when we lived in Kokstad, SA, about 25 years ago. Kokstad has a very high altitude, (making it closer to the stars than most other towns) and we lived in a farm cottage far away from pollution or city lights. The sky used to look like navy blue velvet onto which someone had thrown a handful of diamonds and diamond dust.

Sat 31/07/2010
Good News Club was disheartening today. One of the regular girls no longer attends because of a squabble with another girl. It just so happened that the lesson that I had prepared was on forgiveness. The children all agreed that they were happy to avail themselves of Christ’s forgiveness of their own wrong doings, but that there was no way that they were going to be “easy forgivers” when others wronged them... They simply could not understand that there was a condition in the words “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us”.

Although Tammy Williams put a lovely ad in the paper about the 2pm teens Bible study with Arthur, only 2 teens attended. They did, however, appear to be warming to Arthur, and were more relaxed with him than they were last week.

Where, on this planet, is a cabbage more expensive than a big, fat bacon steak? Only on St Helena. There was no price to be seen near the cabbages, so , thinking that they could not be that expensive, I took one to the till – only to see the cashier ringing up 2.74 pounds! The bacon steak that would be our protein for the evening came to about 2.10 pounds. Winter is drawing to an end, and I am definitely going to make an attempt at growing my own vegetables.

Tues 02/08/2010
We decided that we would give the Sandy Bay BWA ladies a break from my teaching, and that Arthur should address them instead. I am going through the gospel of Mark with them, and we have reached chapter 8 from where the story shows Christ as “setting his face towards Jerusalem” where he would be crucified. Arthur took us through Revelation chpt 4 & 5 that deal with John’s vision of Christ as “the Lamb upon the Throne”. It will good to keep the end glory in mind, while continuing with the story of the crucifixion next week.
Our evening Bible study was badly attended as folk went to a “requiem mass” for one of their friends that died recently. He was an Anglican. So, instead of our regular Bible study, we watched the DVD “The Passion of the Christ”. A movie that cannot leave one unmoved. Not entirely true to Scripture, but very thought provoking.

Thurs 05/08/2010
Had coffee with Elza and Bev for the last time before Elza goes away for 8 weeks – 6 of which will be in South Africa. Elza was all excited with anticipation, and I was jealous.
Asthma playing up a bit, and I was feeling homesick. I even longed to be on that l-o-n-g straight road between Warden and Villiers in the Free State... For those who do not know this stretch of road - it is straight as an arrow, with only flat farmland on either side for scenery, and is about 130 km long. Usually, a mind numbingly boring stretch to travel. But all I could think of was wide open spaces where one can see for miles and miles.

Then Arthur put a screen saver on his new computer of an elephant running on a wide open plain, with trees and mountains in the distance. Oh, how I longed for Africa!
Just before I got all weepy and sorry for myself, I managed to remember to “fix my eyes on Jesus” who willingly left the wide open spaces of heaven to come to live on earth for us. I wonder whether He ever felt “homesick” ?