Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Its o so cold.......

Greetings - we returned back to the UK this morning - back to the cold and the snow!! But good to be back.  We left White River and drove the long 4 hour drive to Jo'Berg airport - this time without getting lost!  We arrived in good time at the airport only to get into the Check in queue where the computers where so slow - (thats Africa!) so Check in lasted about 2 hours - normally I would be pulling, what little hair I had out, but we got chatting to a lady from Australia would was asking what we were doing in SA - she goes to Hillsongs Church and is friends with Pastor Brian Houston and his wife. It was lovely to chat to her - and it past the time....A great flight and after 11 hours arrived in Heathrow to lots of Snow!  Thanks all for your prayers and comments and particular thanks to Lisa and Pete for having Mad and Kieran and Jan &Vic and my Mom and Dad for having Nomes!! I guess for now.... thats all folks! Love J and L xx

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Not long now and we'll be back in the snow!

Hi Guys! This is just a quick update as we are at someone house who have Internet.....
today we have been really busy - went to Church called Manna which is a massive church here in White River - we actually went with some friends whom we met from Swaziland as they were up her visiting some friends.  We then went to a massive shopping Mall - a bit like Merry Hill Shopping Centre - to have lunch and buy some bible resources for the Teen Challenge  back in Swaziland.  Then off to meet a couple in White River who are from Australia and who have been out here for 10 years - they did us afternoon tea and cake (very English!!) and then to visit Mercy Air - where Jip worked when she was with her girls last July, when she was out here. They have aeroplanes which they use to ferry Missionaries around Africa as well as dropping off Aid and Medicines - a really amazing organisation - the couple we are with at the moment (he is one of the Pilots) are from Shenstone and Walsall!!  Any way were off tomorrow to make our way back home - we are leaving Jo'berg at 9pm and due into Snowy Heathrow at 7.30am.  So due home around lunch time - ready to pick up our kids from school! Can't wait!!!!

Friday, November 26, 2010

Thursday
Woke up so refreshed after my much-needed early night, although it was so so cold it woke me up a few times. This morning it's brighter and looks like it'll be warm today. The weather really is random, one extreme to the other. The project run a clinic for the community in the morning, led by volunteer nurses from the UK, most from the Birmingham area so it was great to have some brummies to chat to!! They would weigh, check blood pressure and give out deworming tablets. Then they would see the nurse and she would prescribed any other medicines needed. then they would sit and chat (often have a laugh) with a counsellor and finally they could be prayed for by the minister. Fantastic!! Also any practical needs that arose would be noted.  Lloyd and I were thrilled to be able to give some of the money Ward End church & friends had given to help change some of their lives a little. One lady had a patch to grow food but had no seeds (no money to buy seeds) and one little boy, who had an awful life so far and was very poorly, needed some regular food for his medication to be effective.  £150 meant that a vegetable patch with fencing to keep out the animals could be made to sustain him and his family for the future. The project have come to know the families and their histories over several years so we have complete confidence that these tasks will have a real positive impact on their futures.  They had Lloyd praying for people and had me (Nurse Jip) checking blood pressures (hilarious!)

We left Swaziland around 1pm, hired a car and headed for White River, South Africa. Passed through the border crossing smoothly and headed towards Nelspruit, following directions kindly given by Pastor Kevin. However we were meant to hit a T junction and turn right at 35km but we hit one at 17km! So we decided to turn right. Argh! After about 20 minutes on this road it appeared to be getting a little sandy (but thats okay because roads in Africa do that sometimes when they run out of tarmac). We continued but another 20 mins on they were a bit rough and narrow and very sandy and bumpy. There were cows with ENORMOUS (Lloyd's comment) horns that were stood in the middle of the road. Lloyd got a little stressed at this point and it was best that I didnt speak to him, lol.  We passed a crossing with a man on a gate and checked with him that we were still in South africa - he said yes but very close to Swaziland. We appeared to be driving in and out of the mountains on pretty horendous roads in a little VW Polo. Not funny although I was still quite enjoying the adventure.  5pm and it was getting a little duskier and the further we went, the roads seemed to get worse and we wondered whether this little car would make it. A truck with 5 Swazi's on the back of it passed us in the opposite direction and yelled some foreign words at us (!) We thought it best to ignore them. Although further on wondered if they were saying 'turn back' or something like that!  It was about 6.30pm when a tarmac road appeared (what a lovely sight to see).  Arrived at HAnds at Work hub about 7.30pm to caserole, sweet potato and rice - NICE!
PS Lisa yes absolutley -don't bother texting back - that's fine xxx Love to you all xxx
Wednesday....
Rain, fog, damp, cold, grey - words that not only descibes the weather in a typical day back home, but today in Swaziland!  It was miserable!!!  After feeling like we'd just gone to bed our alarm woke us up at 5.30am - yes there are two 5.30's in a day - we headed for an early team meeting at the HQ of Teen Challenge meeting all the heads of the various depatments. After this we headed off to visit the Teen Challenge Mens Drug Rehab centre.  This was an amazing location - right in at the foot of a mountain surronded by amazing views. After that it was off to see the womens refuge run by Teen Challenge - based on the edge of the Capital Mbabane.  It was so humbling to see the lives of those being reached and helped by both of these incredible ministries.  After lunch with the Pastor and his wife, Helen, we headed back to the Childrens homes, where we both took about 23 childen and played games taught them some worship songs and prayed with them - what amazing children who have been and are going through some traumatic experiences. And then to round off the day we had dinner with Mafuka&Lily wo run the project. Now a typical Swazi evening - it's 8pm and its off to bed and with Joanne already away with the faries it time to say good night!!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

அஸ்ஸலமு அலைக்கும்......

இறைவன் திருபெயரால் ஆரம்பம் செய்கின்றோம்.

        உங்கள் அனைவர் மீதும் சாந்தியும் சமாதனமும் உண்டாகட்டும்....

                            நாம் இத்தளத்தில் அறிந்துகொள்ள இருப்பது இறைவனால் அனுபப்பட்ட நபி மார்கள் பற்றியும் அவர்கள் வாழ்ந்த இடங்கள், இறைவன் ஒருவன் அவனுக்கு நிகர் யாருமில்லை என்பதர்க்கு திருகுரானில் உள்ள அத்தாட்சிகளையும் மற்றும் இஸ்லாம் பற்றி அறிஞர் பெரு மக்கள் பயன்களையும், அன்மையில் இஸ்லாத்தை ஏற்று கொண்ட நமது சகோதர, சகோதிரிகளின் விளக்கங்களையும் பார்போம்.

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The 100 - by Micheal H. Hart

  1. நாம் அனைவரும் வாசிக்க படவேண்டிய புத்தகம் ஒவ்வரு காலகட்டத்திலும் அந்த அந்த காலகட்டங்களில் சிறந்து விளங்கிய மாமனிதர்களை பற்றிய புத்தகம் தான் இந்த அந்த நூறு மனிதர்கள் (The 100 - by Michea...
    l H. Hart) புத்தக பிரியர்களுக்கும் மற்றும் வரலாற்றை தெரிந்து கொள்ள விரும்புபவர்களுக்கும் இந்த புத்தகம் அறிவு பசிகேற்ற ஒரு நல்ல தீனியாகவே இருக்கும் . இந்த புத்தகம் உலக முழுவதும் நல்ல வரவேற்ப்பை பெற்ற புத்தகம் என்பது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது

    மைக்கேல் ஹர்ட் என்ற அமெரிக்காவைச் சேர்ந்த ஒரு வரலாற்று ஆய்வாளர் கடந்த 1978ல் உலகின் மிகப்பெரிய மாற்றத்தை ஏற்படுத்தி மக்கள் மத்தியில் நீங்கா இடம் பெற்றவர்களின் சாதனைகளை பல்வேறு வரலாற்றுக் குறிப்புகளோடும், அவர்கள் ஏற்படுத்திய மாற்றத்தின் முக்கியத்துவத்தின் அடிப்படையிலும் வரிசைப்படுத்தி தொகுத்து வெளியிட்ட புத்தகமே அந்த நூறு மனிதர்கள்.

    அவர் ஆய்வுக்காக எடுத்துக்கொண்ட 1000 மனிதர்களில் சிறந்த 100 மனிதர்களை வரிசைப்படுத்தியுள்ளார். வரிசைப்படுத்தியது மட்டுமல்லாமல் அவர் வரிசைப் படுத்தியதற்கான காரணங்களையும் தெளிவாக குறிப்பிட்டுள்ளார். ஏன் முதலிடம் தரப்பட்டுள்ளது, ஏன் இரண்டாம் இடம் தரப்பட்டுள்ளது என காரண காரியங்களுடன் வளக்கியுள்ளார்.

    அவர் வரிசைப்படுத்திய மனிதர்களில் பல்வேறு மத தலைவர்களும், பல்வேறு கண்டுபிடிப்பாளர்களும், புரட்சியாளர்கள், அரசியல் தலைவர்கள் மற்றும் பல்வெறு கொள்கைகளை அறிமுகப்படுத்திய தலைவர்களின் பெயர்களும் இடம் பெற்றுள்ளன. அது தான் இந்த நூலின் முக்கியமான அம்சமாகும்.

    இந்த நூல் பல்வேறு விமர்சனங்களையும் சந்தித்துள்ளது. மைக்கேல் ஹர்ட வரிசைப்படுத்திய விதம் குறித்து பல்வேறு கருத்துக்களும் மறுப்புகளும் சில மதவாதிகளால் எடுத்துவைக்கப்பட்டது. காரணம் இந்த நூலில் ஹர்ட் இஸ்லாமிய தலைவரான முஹம்மது (ஸல்) அவர்களுக்கு முதலிடம் கொடுத்ததுதும் கிருத்துவ கடவுளாக கருதப்படும் ஏசுநாதருக்கு 3ம் இடம் கொடுத்ததுமே காரணம். பெரும்பான்மையான கிருத்தவர்கள் மத்தியில் வெளியிடப்பட்ட இந்த புத்தகத்துக்கு இப்படி ஒரு விமர்சனம் வரும் என்று அவர் முன்பே எதிர்பார்த்து இருந்ததால் தனது கருத்துக்களில் உறுதியாக இருந்தார் மைக்கேல் ஹர்ட். பின்னர் இந்த நூலை தமிழ்நாட்டு எழுத்தாளர் மனவை முஸ்தபா அவர்கள் தமிழில் மொழிபெயர்த்து வெளியிட்டார். இந்த புத்தகத்தை வாசிக்காத சிந்தனையார்களே இறக்கமுடியாது என்று கூட சொல்லலாம் ..
                                         
                                                            ***********

    கிழேயுள்ள லிங்க்யில் the 100 ஆங்கில புத்தகத்தை பதிவிறக்கம் செய்து கொள்ளலாம்.
    https://docs.google.com/uc?
    The 100 -Michael Hart.pdf - Google Docs




Weekend in the Western Cape

A few weeks ago I was hosted by Nic's family in Cape Town. Cape Town feels a lot like the Bay Area where water and mountains define the urban area. Just like California it is also a Mediterranean climate (one of only five in the world, thank you Suzanne) and the fog comes in and out of the city at will. Furthermore, they have an island jail in their bay, a large gay community, and wine region. Home away from home!


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Cape Town
Geography: Cape Town is the second largest city in South Africa and is the capital of the Western Cape Province, as well as being the legislative capital of South Africa (the Houses of Parliament are here but the capital is Pretoria). It is located in the south-west corner of the country near the Cape of Good Hope, at the base of Table Mountain and is the most southern city in Africa.


History: The Western Cape was originally inhabited by the Strandloper (an ancestor of Kalahari Bushmen). Cape Town's European history began in 1652, when the dutch set up a trading post (origin of the Afrikaans people). Following the Dutch were some French fleeing from religious persecution and the English. Cape Town was the launching point in which the Europeans being exploring and settling southern Africa.


Interesting Fact: The first human heart transplant was performed on the 3rd December 1967 by Dr. Christiaan Barnard at the Groote Schuur hospital in Cape Town.
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I flew down after work on Thursday and enjoyed an amazing weekend. On Thursday morning Harriet and I (Nic went to work) woke up and went for a hike up Lion's Head. Table Mountain is the icon of Cape Town and has a amazing gondola that takes you right to the top... which is exactly why we didn't go there.

View of Table Mountain from Lion's Head
View over downtown Cape Town and Robben Island
View from Lion's Head south toward Camps Bay
Flowers on Lion's Head
Tree on Lion's Head hike with Table Mountain in background

Dad? Suzanne? Kyle? I am not putting plants on my website for my own good... what the heck are they?


After the hike we drove south along the coast to the southern tip of Africa. The coastline has some very impressive cliffs and quaint bay communities. We even saw a whale! The afternoon's plan was to head out to Robben Island (where Nelson Mandela was jailed for 27 years) but it got too late.


Friday night we hit the town and I watched my first cricket match on TV. Let me tell you, it was a real nail bitter!!! South Africa went 274 for 6 in 49.6 overs while Pakistan 275 for 9 in 49.5 overs and won by 1 wicket! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT??


On Saturday morning we were recovering from a long night and had a refreshing swim and big brunch. Go America!


Capitan America
Nandos cooking brunch


Around mid-day we headed out to the wine region called Stellenbosch where Nando's brother is at University. We met up with a bunch of their friends at a wine farm and enjoyed the afternoon.


Waterford Winery
Wine tasting
Nandos (Nic) and Prawn (Sean)
After the winery we went back to Nic's brother's place for a BBQ. On Sunday we headed back to Cape Town for a relaxing day...pretending to be in college again is not so easy on the body. Nic and I went to his dad's club for a quick gym and sauna. In the afternoon we attended a potjie (everything in the pot) type of cookout with a few families and there were oxtail, lamb, and seafood stews.


On Sunday night I jumped a plane back to Joburg.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Written last night (we manage to get internet each morning at the moment)

Wow what a mixed day!!!

We started the day with breakfast overlooking the amazing scenery of Swaziland. Met all the staff at the Potters Wheel Church and then prayed together. Then we were taken to visit a traditional Swazi culture village which was fascinating that the Swazi people used to live and some still do in some rural villages (Lloyd said it was like Swaziland equivalent to the Black Country Museum!)  We then  went back and had lunch with Pastor Kevin Ward whose paretns own a very palacel hotel in Swaziland's capital Mbabane. What fantastic food and views we enjoyed together.  We were then taken to the Teen Challenge Farm in Hawane, were shown round, met lots of staff and young people. We met a young boy of 11 who looked more 5-6 who came to Teen Challenge after been found abandoned living with the dogs in his community. This was the result because he suffered from Cerebral Palsy. This actually made national news. His body was very deformed with the disease, suffering from malnutrician, unable to stand up and unable to talk. But thanks to the amazing love and compassion of Teen Challenge and God's grace he has developed into a much stronger young boy who loves playing with the children.  When we met him he was beaming from ear to ear, jumping up and down constantly saying 'Abba' (apparently his favourite music!). You would say he was a different child.

We then settled into new accomodation in the Teen Challenge visitors lodge.  During the evening we witnessed a fantastic thunder storm which lasted for hours!! During this time we visited one of the local home groups and had a great time with them.  We've just been planning tomorrows lesson for some of the orphans.  We are so looking forward to a good nights sleep XX
(sorry but photos won't upload :(

Please pray for Jip's feet which remain swollen from the flight and are attracting the local mosquito population!

Monday, November 22, 2010

Arrived!

This was written last night but couldn't send it:
So we've arrived. 11 hour flight to JoBurg then 1 hour flight to Manzini in Swaziland. Met at the airport at 1pm today by Helen Ward who gave us a wonderful tour of Mbabane & Elusitweni, showing us the INCREDIBLE amount of work that Teen Challenge are involved in, from orphan homes to argricultural programs, to life skills schools, leadership training, to drug rehab. Helen and her husband Kevin  (who pastors Potters Wheel church) have pioneered and overseen this work for 14 years.  Excited about tomorrow as we get to meet some of the youngsters who are benefitting from Teen Challenges support.

Weather is SO hot, bit sticky too. We have a lovely room at Helen & Kevin's but will be staying in one of the cabins on the village tomorrow. We spent this evening chatting with Kevin about the work & the issues within Swaziland, which was fascinating.

Missing you all, especially you Naomi, Kieran and Maddi XXXX  But know that you're all in safe hands. We really appreciate our amazing families for everything they do for us xxxxxx

On Kimono Sunset and Praying Hands

I have reached a level of comfort in Japan that has taken time to develop, but that has enabled me to learn much along the way about this most unusual of western-eastern cultures. Each time I come here I learn more, and the more I learn the more I seek to explore further.

It is an axiom of good tour design that each day brings something new to the traveler. Even when visiting many shrines or numerous temples, there must be something different and extra each time.

My past tour of Japan was different from all the others in that it was significantly longer than the usual tours I lead and as such it gave me time to explore more and go pretty far off the beaten track to seek out special locations for my travelers.

One such location was the Itchiku Kubota Museum of Art, a stone's throw away from Lake Kawaguchi on the road from Hakone to Matsomoto, gateway to the Japanese Alps. Just so my biases are up front, I love Japanese art in almost any form – but I was not prepared for the surprising reaction I had to what I was to see in this museum.


The late Itchiku Kubota, who died in 2003, was a kimono artist who created the most amazing art using a tie-dye art form known as Tsujigahana. It involves a myriad of tiny knots tied into hand-woven cotton cloth that creates bubble-like indentations in the cloth, which are then individually colored using a variety of natural colors and dyes. But it wasn't the art form that grabbed hold of my attention. It was a short video describing his work which was shown as we entered the museum. In it, Itchiku Kubota describes how, as a Japanese prisoner-of-war in Siberia during World War II, he witnessed a sunset that captured his imagination. While I don't speak Japanese, the video had English subtitles. Now, subtitles often cannot transmit the emotion of the language being spoken, but in this case the subtitles weren't necessary. Kubota describes in rapturous adjectives the overwhelming beauty of the sunset he witnessed, and here he ensnared my heart completely. My military service in general and wartime experiences in particular have had a great effect on my life. My late father had been a prisoner of war and spent time on the run in the snowy plains of Russia and the Ukraine. I remember wartime sunsets in the desert and the overwhelming spiritual feelings they evoked in me. And here was this talented man who was describing to an audience of art students how that Siberian sunset had moved him to create what would be his primary ad foremost work of art, his Siberian Sunset Kimono. The emotion with which he described this life-changing vision moved me to tears. I stood behind my travelers with tears rolling down my cheeks, completely enthralled by the description this man was telling his audience of his great vision.
A few minutes later, I stood before this Kimono detailing the Siberian Sunset. And once again, completely overwhelmed by the incredible beauty of Kubota's work, I wept again.

Kubota was the first living artist ever to be exhibited at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC. That display was of a set of 30 Kimono (out of a series of 80, called "Grandeur of the Universe") on which the artist has created a massive artwork describing a landscape that changes over the seasons. To say that it is spectacularly breathtaking is like saying the Grand Canyon is a ditch. I have never seen art of this sort in my life. Even now, three weeks after the visit there, I don't have – I cannot find – the appropriate adjectives to describe what I saw or to express how it made me feel. Awe might be a good word, but insufficient.

A second place that was truly far, far off the beaten track was the village of Shirakawa-go, way up in the lofty valleys of the Japanese Alps. A somewhat similar village is portrayed in the movie "The Last Samurai" (which was filmed, to my great disappointment, in New Zealand). The thing about this place is that the village is a living museum. Many of the houses are traditional tall, A-framed Gassho Zukuri homes, with thick thatched roofs and steep sloping sides. It was drizzling when we arrived, which made for an even more mysterious mood as we strolled through the village and made our way into one of the houses. Gassho Zukuri means "Praying Hands" in Japanese, the way hands are held in many faiths in the east when people pray. Thus, the steep A-shape is reminiscent of praying hands, leading to that name being given to the architectural style of the homes. Wandering among the rice paddies, the streamlets and the pathways between the homes in the village, I felt like I was a character in some illustrated fairy-tale. This is an area that gets locked in once the snows arrive to the Alps.


Originally populated by the defeated Taira clan, who retired there in the 11th century to seek solace and privacy, the area has survived as a site of traditional Japanese culture and is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.

These two additional sites have added immensely to my understanding and appreciation of things Japanese. Off the beaten track, yes, but definitely worth beating a track to get there.


Sunday, November 21, 2010

At the Airport

Well here we are just about to board our plane to South Africa and then Swaziland. We are so excited and yet nervous at the same time. Unsure of what to expect out there and after all this is my first time in Africa! Were looking forward to sleeping on the plane and enjoy the wonderful food that it serves up. Thank you for your interest in following us. We will do all we can to update as often as we can. Well catch you soon! Lloyd x

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Not what I wanted but what I needed

I came across this short thought as I was reading a Voice of the Martyrs book. It is so true

I asked for strength
And God gave me difficulties to make me strong

I asked for wisdom
And God gave me problems to solve

I asked for prosperity
And God gave me brain and brawn to work

I asked for courage
And God gave me dangers to overcome

I asked for love
And God gave me opportunities

I received nothing I wanted
I received everything i needed

My prayer has been answered

From the family of Michael Job an Indian martyr


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Not long now

Hi it's Jip. Hope this blog works ok and HELLO if you've found it!!  Thanks for checking in with us.  If we can get internet access in Swaziland then we'll be sharing our stories (& hopefully photos) each night.

For now, everything's packed - miracles!  Doesn't really feel like we're going tomorrow. I'm really excited for Lloyd now though - he's tucked up in bed probably with a belly full of excitement :-)
Will speak soon, love Jip

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

TIA

T.I.A. - "This is Africa"


TIA is a saying you hear a lot over here. I suppose it is a way to adjust your expectations to the African way of life. More accurately, I think it is the only explanation to the peculiarities and frustrations of this pseudo first-world city. Here are a few lessons learned:
  1. Accounts Receivables is not a generally accepted practice here. Utilities are pre-paid! Power was inadvertently turned off
  2. I am getting all sorts of grief claiming the Giants are the champions of the world, I mean, they won the World Series right!?
  3. Ryan Seacrest is exclusively 'On Air' every night from 7:00-10:00pm... really Africa.
  4. They drive on the left... I get into the passenger seat almost every time I go somewhere.
  5. They call stop lights "robots" (yep, they are so far behind in technology to think that traffic lights are mechanical wonders) and you can do pretty much all your shopping from peddlers while waiting. Hey, you never know when you might need the day's paper, or a hammock, or a mirror.
  6. "Now now" can refer to a time in the past or the future and "just now" refers to sometime in the near future but not necessarily immediate. So accomplishing a task now now means that it might already be done, or that you are going to get to it this afternoon, but potentially will not get to it until next month.
  7. If you look around you would think the World Cup was starting next week. IT'S OVER, Spain won (Note: actual world champions).
  8. The typical affirmative response here is, "Is it?"..... yes, it is, that's why I said it the first time!
  9. Bribing cops is always appropriate. One could be piss drunk, smoking dope, not wearing a seat belt, while driving 150kph on the right side of the road and running robots...... that would be about $20.
    (I have yet to have a conversation on the topic where the word "safety" was used)
  10. China is slang for friend, boytjie is slang for china, bru is slang for boytjie, and all these people are okes. Something bad is cock, something good is lekker, someone that is lekker is probably hundreds (100 percent).... and if you don't care about my vocabulary lesson then you give rocks (indifferent).
  11. If someone says, "Africa time," then its probably not going to happen.
The Giants are the World Champions, it says so on the cover of The San Francisco Chronicle.