62nd birthday

I enjoyed a lovely day.  My white skin is getting more wrinkled by the day - sad, when one has to live amongst Saint folk that all have satin smooth skins.  Even Mama Lizzie, who is 93 has fewer wrinkles than I do.
Graeme took me to The Consulate for a celebration dinner, and my word, was it marvellous! 3 mouth watering courses - but the best was the main course.  SA T-bone steaks covered in a mushroom and pepper sauce.... Just melted in the mouth.

Here I am sitting in front of the Consulate's display of crockery in their dining room.

Hannah's dedication

Just as I was about to start the Sunday school lesson, a tall Black South African man walked in. He is working for Basil Read, and had come to church. He went over to have a chat and some tea at the manse with Arthur while I continued the lesson. His name is Johannes Monaheng - a Sotho man from the Johannesburg area. I had a good chat with him before Graeme came home from his round of preaching. He is a true Christian, and will most probably be on the island until the end of May. Arthur took him home, as he lives quite far from Jamestown, and has no transport.

THEN... as we were having lunch, Graeme and Arthur mentioned the fact that Hannah was going to be dedicated in the evening service. Talk about being the last one to know what is going on in your own family! Anyway, it was a Sunday to remember in many ways. It was Arthur's first Sunday leading a service after his time of discipline had ended. It was also the first time that Graeme had held Hannah. We were given fresh flowers from the Head O'Wain church, so Jamestown had fresh flowers - a bigger arrangement for the adults, and a weeny one for Hannah. (Flowers are not readily available on the island)

Here are some photos of Hannah after her dedication.

Grumpy at being woken up. A profile showing her cute little button nose. Happy and with a dress full of drool.

Church Retreat

The church members were invited to attend a "retreat" on Saturday morning at the Sandy Bay chapel to discuss where we felt the church was "at" and to put forward suggestions regarding the way forward. Although the meeting was not well attended, I was encouraged by the openness and participation of those that did come along. A few good suggestions were made. There was a good spirit of prayer.
Graeme and Vincent leave for Ascension Island in a week's time for a 3 week mission there. We will be rather thin on the ground during this time - the Terry's have gone to the UK for 6 months - so we will be short of a pastor and 3 deacons and 3 musicians during this time.

Mini Market

There was a mini market at the Consulate, and the Baptists were given a table. We decided to give away Bibles and tracks, and sell second hand books that were donated to us. We gave away 5 Bibles and a number of comic type gospel booklets to children, and raised 36 pounds.
Strangely enough, our table was right next to the St Helena Distilleries' table - so we had Bibles on display next to the liquor...

Back on St Helena

Getting back to the Durban airport for the start of my return journey to St Helena, I had too much luggage and had to carry the blanket that my mom had crocheted, around my neck like a shawl - in steaming hot weather. At least 3 people asked me whether I would sell it to them. Here is a photo of my "lying down view" in my cabin on the RMS, with her blanket at the foot of my bunk. This time I shared a cabin with one other lady. A final view of Cape Town from the deck of the RMS. A sunset on the Atlantic.

I arived back on St Helena on the morning of the 12th of March, and hit the ground running. Graeme had told all the studies that I usually lead, that I would be there from Monday evening onwards... Monday evening, Tues morning, Tues evening, Wed evening....a house in need of serious attention, food cupboards rather depleted, pets all vying for attention - I was home!

Despite the fact that I had a wonderful holiday, and enjoyed every minute of it, I know that St Helena is where I belong for now. I am more settled in my spirit.

It was good meeting up with the folks from my Bible studies again, and being able to share God's word with them again. Everyone has different issues that they are facing, yet God is intimately involved with every one of us.

Hannah has grown like a little mushroom. Her eyes have settled into a deep blue - like her great granny Vanny. She now gurgles and smiles and wants more human interaction. Here are 3 photos taken on her 3 month birthday - and she is wearing navy blue - not black.

On St Helena, things are starting to change - the 2 newpapers that have been around for a number of years, have closed down, and a new one will be taking their place at the end of the month. Basil Read (a SA construction company) has people all over the island now, starting work on building the airport. It is VERY hot and sticky, and I miss the relief of a good old thunder storm (as experienced during my last few days in Durban)

Good bye to family

After the bird watching morning, I attended Elizabeth's ladies' Bible study; then packed my bags in the afternoon. We had "pap & wors" for supper (at my request). Lloyd, the Zimbabwean, asked for seconds - "pap" or "sadza" is the staple African food. George held the mid week Bible study in the evening, and then there was the wait for my bus - it was supposed to reach Welkom at 01:35h on Thursday morning. "The wait" proved to be a very emotional time for me. I had to say good bye to my aged mother, and my brother and his family, not knowing whether I will ever see them again on earth.

Last morning in Welkom

I spent the morning with Janine Goosen, a lady that is an avid bird watcher. She took me in a 4 by 4 that glided noiselessly along dirt roads, and we went to the pans just outside Welkom. What an amazing experience. I never knew that so many birds could be found in one location. And Janine told me all their names - both the English as well as the Afrikaans name - as well as interesting things about their habitat and things that they do.

One big black water bird (we did not manage to get a photo) walks in the shallows, then suddenly lifts his wings around his head to form an umbrella around him. This "umbrella" casts a shadow, and the fish etc swim into the shadow "for protection", and he pounces on his meal.

Here are one or 2 photos that give an idea of the morning - both of the birds and the areas that we found them in.

This photo of a dry tree in front of a lovely lush one just reminded me of St Helena - the dry, arid hills surrounded by green, lush ones. Wetlands. Not a good photo - but I loved the effect.

This king fisher "pozed" at the side of the road for us.

Oh yes, one of the pans is next to the sewrage farm. We found these happy creatures wading in the effluent that leaked out of the farm.