Skottel, Field Hockey, Lion's Head and More...

Friday night, 16 April...I walked from my place at the Johnsons' home to the Southpoint Church office which is the home of the Attic and InsideOut. This interactive program is held once a month and is used to bring the young people of Southpoint together for an hour or two. It starts out a lot like a normal service with two or three worship songs from the band followed by a message / sermon; this evening Matt Hastings delivered the message, and he talked about sin. He used some nice visual aids to reinforce his point, and delivered the message in a way that young people could understand and relate to. There was a very strong response from the crowd at the end, and you knew that they got the point; the band then closed out the group time with one last song...they rock by the way! From there, the older group leaders assembled up front, and their group members joined them so that they could break up and have small group time for the next half hour or so. I think InsideOut is a really nice way to give the kids some time to themselves apart from the Sunday morning service so they can be among their peers as they grow in their relationship with Christ. Saturday morning I slept in a bit and went out for a jog along the canal...nice views of Table Mountain and it's right in the middle of Pinelands. After grabbing some groceries, I walked back to the Pad to read the paper and study some Spanish. That afternoon I had a potjie dinner with the Johnsons...that's a pot you sit down in the grill after getting the fire nice and hot to the side. You then proceed to make kind of a stew...tonight's potjie would consist of curry, lamb and potatoes, and it was delicious! Then it was off to bed to get up early and catch a ride to old Mutual to set up for church.

I have never been a big fan of getting up when it is still dark, but once I get moving and remember that we're about to work hard to make the service and everything that goes along with it a success, it is really fun. I have been working with the Host Team lately, and I really love being one of the greeters out front; I managed to land that position again this Sunday morning. It's great since now I know so many people...I get to see everyone on their way in and see all the families and kids who are excited to be at Southpoint. As is customary most Sundays after the service, Glenn joined his folks and myself at the Pad for lunch, and today I was introduced to the skottel. I love seeing the different cooking methods over here, and I am truly tempted to buy a skottel and ship it back to the states...very cool. It's a giant wok that is mounted on a gas burner and elevated to about waist height. We started with grape seed oil and added onion and bacon to start. While that cooked down, I put on the customary chef's apron and manned the skottel; that way they could blame it on me if the meal did not turn out as planned. Next Carla added mushrooms and they soaked up the juices from the bacon nicely; then she poured canned tomatoes around the edge as everything else cooked nicely in the middle over the heat. Once the pasta came out, we poured it on top and gave everything a good mix...it came together very nicely, and the fun was doing it outside on a mild, autumn Cape Town Sunday afternoon. That meal after an early morning called for a nap, and I felt no shame in indulging. Once I was rested, I got up and read and prepared for the week ahead. We have two holidays coming up on the 26th and 27th, so I need to try and get some things lined up.

Monday morning was tough as we realized as soon as we entered that the Camp Sunshine classroom had been broken into again, and a computer was missing besides the back window being broken out. After carrying on with the day working with Grade 2 and Grade 1 kids, I was allowed to sit in on a meeting with all of the teachers at Maitland Garden School plus Alison and Liz. It was interesting to see how they all communicate and to hear about the issues and how everyone is planning to deal with them. After school and after care I went for a jog, hit the Pick N Pay and made note cards to study for my Spanish quiz...gotta get serious with the studying; it's been a while since I had to memorize and study like the old days, but I'm confident these classes will help me improve a great deal. The Johnsons have some good friends coming in town on Friday and they have booked the Pad, so I need to get ready to move our for a week or so...gotta find a place quick!! I worked at Camp Sonshine all day Tuesday and we played field hockey in the afternoon with the boys. This is a tough game, and you really need to watch out for your feet...the ball can not touch any player's foot or they stop play. You have to stay low as well since the face of the stick is very small and a sweeping motion using the face and neck is most effective. The boys caught on quickly for their first time, and it's a good thing since matches start up soon. That afternoon, Alison dropped me off at Rachel's for Spanish and we all made some good progress; class will be cancelled for the next few weeks though, as a group of folks are heading to the states and Rachel is part of that group. Tuesday was another full day with the kids and the boys had their first field hockey match in the afternoon. They played really well and could have easily won; it ended in a 4 - 4 tie. Tomorrow will be interesting as we are taking the entire school to Seaport so they can swim in the pools by the sea. This trip was supposed to take place the day my GlobalX team visited Camp Sonshine, so we are all hopeful that everything will go according to plan...fingers crossed!

Well it's my Dad's birthday today, so I emailed him back in the states. I forgot to adjust my cell phone to international calling, so I can not dial out; would have been nice to speak with him, but we'll celebrate when I return. Over at the school we loaded up all the kids on to three double decker buses for a swimming trip to Seapoint. The kids had a blast and had a nice hot dog lunch served outside by the pools. We actually made it back in one piece and with all the kids so it was definitely a success. I got off the bus and suddenly realized there were several hockey matches slated for the afternoon. We had great weather and Janet Senior was there to cheer on her kids' school whom we were pitted against that day. I believe the first match was a scoreless tie, the second we won and the third we lost to some really talented girls. That night I rode with Glenn to Nicole's parents' house for the Thursday night braai, and the usual suspects were there. They always offer me food and wine...thank goodness since Pinelands is dry, and I have not made it to the bottle store yet...shame! They have a really nice covered braai area with a great built-in fire pit...love the braai! We had a great visit and Glenn dropped me back at the Pad for a good night's sleep. Friday was gorgeous as so many of the days here in Cape Town have been...sunny and mild. We worked with the Grade 2 kids and Alison picked me up at 11 to take me to my new home for the next week or so. The owners are good friends with Alison's parents, so I am very lucky to have had her on my side to make the connection. This lovely home is in the old part of Pinelands, and it has an incredible guest suite complete with separate sitting room off the bathroom...very nice. I dropped my things, got the 411 on the alarm, garage and gate situation and then it was back to school to finish the day. Earlier in the week we passed out fliers to all the kids about a Day of Fun on Saturday, and there was a good buzz going around about it. We'll come early in the morning to prepare and see how it goes.

Alison and Liz fetched me at 8:30 outside my new home, and we sped over to the school to prepare for who knew what size crowd. We really hoped the kids would bring their parents and Grannies to the Day of Fun, so we planned for a big crowd by organizing several games to play outside as well as a batch of songs to sing inside before and after. I'll be honest and say that we hoped for more people than actually came, but by the end we had a very nice crowd and they truly enjoyed the music and games. We caught a break as well as a person from the area came forward with some specific information about the recent break-ins at the school and possibly the whereabouts of some of the stolen goods. It would be nice if there was some sort of closure to the situation, and the community needs to know that the school is there to help...stealing from it is only stealing from themselves in the end. That night I hung out with my new hosts' daughter and some of her friends at their home where I am staying. Funny enough, they were dressing for an 80's birthday party that night, and it was nice to meet and talk to more people my age for a few hours. I finally scored some red wine as well, so we all kicked back and had a couple of glasses before they left for their party. I had to be up early for road crew in the morning at church, so I regretfully turned down an invitation to join them and hit the sack.

Pam fetched me around 6 am Sunday morning and we headed to Old Mutual for set up. I know the system now and really feel like I am helping these folks as they work hard each and every Sunday morning to prepare for a service...it is actually a lot of fun. We wrapped up the series 'At Work' and I think the South Africans really liked the message as well as the way Jeff Henderson goes about his business on stage. He is a really good speaker and gets just emotional enough sometimes to let you know that he truly cares so much about his message and the people that it hopefully reaches. I came back to East Way and read for a while out by the pool; check out 'Blood River' by Tim Butcher if you are interested in reading about old and new exploration of western Africa along the Congo River...great book! Tuesday is a holiday and the school is closed on Monday as well; hopefully something fun will pop up. Monday morning I got up and started a much needed load of laundry. I had breakfast and headed out for a run through Pinelands which gave me some time to think about some upcoming life decisions I need to make. Later that afternoon I was treated to a drive down to Camp's Bay; sushi and cold Castle beer as we sat outside across from the beach and watched the afternoon go by. That night I chilled out at the house and prepared for Tuesday's hike up Lion's Head...the smaller peak that keeps showing up throughout all of my pictures. Tuesday morning Becky picked me up and we rode through the city to the beginning of the trail. We were a six-some as Glenn, Brendon, Michael and Leah rounded out the group, and all of these folks have been up this hike on more than one occasion; all I knew was that it was child's play compared to India Venster. This hike was a ton of fun, and from my pictures you will see a few spots that require you to pull up on chains and do a bit of climbing. Overall it's pretty basic but really gets you sweating; I was huffing and puffing nicely by the time we reached the top. After a snack and some pictures we headed back down and you can really build up speed after passing the chains and ladders and run down most of it...what a blast!! The hiking is one of my favorite things to do here, and I hope I can squeeze in a few more before I go. Tomorrow it's back to work at the school and with Liz out of town, I'll be helping one of the veteran teachers who will be handling our kids for the rest of the week. I hope I can pick up on a few of her methods as she has been teaching for many years, and I have witnessed how she teaches and controls a class full of kids.