Things I love about South Africa!

Beautiful Weather (Mostly 70 degrees year round)
Domestic Help/gardener
Fresh food that is not processed and not expensive (great Fresh Mango smoothies, unlimited avocados).
Great travel opportunities to the beach, mountains, game reserves, waterfalls, etc.
Wonderful sound proof home with lots of space, satilite TV with surround sound and guest room.
Friendly local people
Great church and bible studies
Lots of shopping
Great coffee shops, at every corner (no need for Starbucks here).
Outdoor barbecue, built-in to house, outdoors in backyard
Backyard pool, pond, plants, etc.
Great neighborhood with many large ponds/lakes.
Wonderful Bernina sewing store
Lots of fresh bread and cheese
Gas that is not too overpriced for cars.
Slow paced lifestyle.
Great school for kids with a bus that picks them up and drops them off at our front door.
Wonderful outdoor markets and lots of fountains.
More free time to pursue interests (not for Stan, who is working way too hard).
More time to study God's word.
Lots of organized Fun runs, bike rides, etc.
Movie theaters only a month behind U.S. releases.
Beautiful views whereever you go.

I am thank-ful for it all!!!

Machines, Manuals, Power, Oh No!

I cannot believe that we have been in South Africa for almost a month now. From the point that we walked in our home, directions awaited us. How to use the telephone, oven (Celsius, you know), microwave, Satellite/Surround Sound TV system, front loading washing machine, dryer, dishwasher, window a/c units, computer hook-ups, security system, Kyalami Estates pre-clearance for any visitors, find keys to mail box, and every door in the house (each has a separate key), etc. A large binder of manuals awaited us.

Once we semi-mastered the "binder", we obtained cell phones with directions for use, learned procedures for driving a car on the "other side of the road", learned how to get to the store to buy essentials, like food :). Not to mention the mound of paperwork from the school and the requirements of parents with students attending the American International School of Johannesburg. I just realized today, that I needed to download the school newsletter every Friday and that it would not automatically come to me. Oh well, I guess I was not as informed as I thought I was.

So assuming that I have all of this figured out and have taken the time to read up on all of these new devices, etc. (which I have not), I should be ready to use all of them, right? Well, not always. I realized that there are power outages here quite frequently and when that occurs, nothing works, except those things that can be charged up in advance. I should not be surprised, since that is the reason Stan is working here, and we are living here. Black and Veatch was hired by Eskom (the local utility here) to design and build a new power plant which was needed about 8 years ago.

Usually, I am O.K. with all of this, but this past Friday was a bit frustrating for me, because every time I tried to use something, it did not work correctly and during the afternoon, we had a 3 hour power outage. To lesson my frustration, and to better accept this common occurrence, I grabbed a book and read. I was soon a bit calmer and more relaxed. By the time Stan got home from work, he was able to get the power back up in our home. It turns out that this outage was caused by the rain (remember all of the rain that we get during the rainy season), which tripped our outdoor lighting causing the whole house to be without power.

Procedures, directions, manuals, etc. are starting to be absorbed finally and I continue to look for the blessings, like a Garmin in my car that I already knew how to use, since we owned a Garmin in Kansas. One less device to learn :). I am starting to cook in my own kitchen, now that I know how to operate all of the appliances. I do have to account for the high altitude when baking though. There are some things that are already starting to be automatic, if you can believe that. Routines are starting to be established, like attending a quilting class every Sat. morning and driving by myself there. Going grocery shopping on my own, attending a weekly bible study on my own, walking around the community, etc.

This 50 year old brain is sure getting a workout. So you can "teach an old dog new tricks".

"It's raining, it's pouring"/South Africa National Holidays

It is Wednesday morning here in South Africa and I am experiencing my first morning rain. We are currently at the end of our rainy season. Since I have been here, it seems to always rain in the afternoons, so a morning rain is quite nice. December-March is their rainy season. From April-November, it is dry and does not rain at all. When it does rain, it comes with lots of thunder and lightning. I was told by our relocation advisor, that the Gauteng province (where we live) has the most lightning strikes then anywhere in the world. This was not a comforting piece of information, although it is good to know, so that precautions can be taken when lightning occurs....

Yesterday, I ventured out for the 2nd time alone driving. All went well except for hitting a curb quite hard on my left hand side. No damage done, except for my ego :) :) I did take the highway for the first time on my own, which was a little scary, since I was going at a more faster pace , driving on the other side of the road. I seem to pray a lot more when I drive. I drove to BSF on my own and then to meet Stan for lunch near his work.

The girls both did a fun run at school for St. Patricks Day, yesterday. They all wore different colored "animal" T-shirts and competed against each other. Christina ran 3 miles and beat all of the 5th grade girls and some of the boys. I think all that ice skating has paid off and increased the strength in her legs. I am sure that her long legs also helped. Each child rec'd a nice metal on a red ribbon.

This Friday , March 20th the kids have off from school for "Human Rights Day weekend". For those that are interested in the South African holidays, see South African National Holidays below: You will notice that the dates are written differently here in South Africa, and in many other parts of the world. The month is always in the middle, the day on the left and the year on the right. Today's date would be written: 18 March 2009.

South African National Holidays

When Apartheid ended and the African National Congress under Nelson Mandela came into power in South Africa in 1994, the national holidays were changed to days that would be meaningful to all South Africans.

21 March: Human Rights Day On this day in 1960 the police killed 69 people at Sharpeville who were participating in a protest against the pass laws. Many were shot in the back. The carnage made world headlines. Four days later the government banned black political organizations, many leaders were arrested or went into exile. During the Apartheid era there were human rights abuses by all sides; Human Rights Day is but one step to ensure that the people of South Africa are aware of their human rights and to ensure that such abuses never again occur.
27 April: Freedom Day This was the day in 1994 when the first democratic election was held in South Africa, i.e. an election when all adults could vote irrespective of their race, and the day in 1997 when the new constitution took effect.

1 May: Worker's Day Many countries around the world commemorate the contribution made by workers to society on May Day (America doesn't celebrate this holiday because of its communist origins). It has traditionally been a day to protest for better wages and working conditions. Given the role that trade unions played in the fight for freedom, it is unsurprising that South Africa commemorates this day.

16 June: Youth Day On June 1976 students in Soweto rioted in protest against the introduction of Afrikaans as the language of instruction of half their school curriculum, sparking eight months of violent uprisings across the country. Youth Day is a national holiday in honour of all the young people who lost their lives in the struggle against Apartheid and Bantu Education.

9 August: National Women's Day On this day in 1956 some 20,000 women marched to the Union [government] Buildings in Pretoria to protest against a law requiring black women to carry passes. This day is celebrated as a reminder of the contribution made by women to society, the achievements that have been made for women's rights, and to acknowledge the difficulties and prejudices many women still face.

24 September: Heritage Day Nelson Mandela coined the phrase "rainbow nation" to describe South Africa's diverse cultures, customs, traditions, histories, and languages. This day is a celebration of that diversity.

16 December: Day of Reconciliation Afrikaners traditionally celebrated 16 December as the Day of the Vow, remembering the day in 1838 when a group of Voortrekkers defeated a Zulu army at the Battle of Blood River, while ANC activists commemorated it as the day in 1961 when the ANC started to arm its soldiers to overthrow Apartheid. In the new South Africa's it's a day of reconciliation, a day to focus on overcoming the conflicts of the past and building a new nation.

Last weekend I signed up for a quilting class at the Bernina sewing store. I am making a Colorwash, queen size "Trip around the World" quilt. A perfect pattern name, since I made a trip "almost" around the world to get here :) I have not made a quilt in 11 years since Christina was born. I used to be an intermediate quilter, and I am amazed at how much I remember. I will take a picture of it when I finish the quilt and include it on this blog.

Chiastic and Peripety

An unusual title for a blog entry, but significant to me. As I am studying the book of Esther (a going away gift from the Masons and Evans family), I cannot help but reflect on myself as I study Chapter 6 of Esther.

But first some background: The sixth chapter is "the hinge of the story of Esther." God appoints or allows circumstances (often crises) in our lives to redirect our paths. Today, I explored the unexpected pivot point of Esther, which was called, "The reversal of destiny" as well as, "the reversal of fortunes".

"Two literary devices are employed magnificently in the Book of Esther" as quoted by Beth Moore. These two literary devices are chiastic structure and peripety. In bible times, authors used different kinds of literacy structures for transition purposes.

Chiastic structure is a reversal of wording to emphasize an overarching point. It's also called "inverted parallelism", ie. "Eat to Live", and "Don't live to eat". "I am scared to fight" and "I fight because I am scared". The bible is full of chiastic structure, 2 Cor 5:21, 1 Pet. 2:10, Luke 15, etc. In the book of Esther, chiastic structure is illustrated in the repeated occurrences of feasts or banquets. A lot went on at these banquets!

Peripety is a sudden turn of events that reverses the expected or intended outcome particularly in a literary work.

Even though God is not mentioned in the book of Esther, His name is on it. In Esther 6:1, the king could not sleep (the Lord took sleep from the King). The King had his records read to him and realized that Mordecai had saved his life. This was a God ordained pivotal moment. The hinge in which the reversal changes/turns.

As Beth Moore puts it, "A peripeteria swiftly turns a routine sequence of events into a story worth telling"

Getting back to me and my life, chapter 6 of Esther makes me think back on those "reversals of destiny "in my life. Times when a routine sequence of events turned into something much bigger and worth remembering and learning from.

I look back on geographical moves that I have made and note the following:

Raised in N.Y until I was 19 years old and moved to San Diego, California (1977/78) after my parents divorced and lived in S.D. until 1991. God used my paremts' divorce to get me to San Diego to meet Stan, and marry him.

1991-1999, Moved to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia with Stan and lived there 8 years and had our first child, Christina there. God used an economic slow down to get Stan and I to Saudi Arabia where we both came to have a close and personal relationship with Jesus Christ as well as have our first child.

1999-2007, Moved to Cary, N.C. where we had our second child, Angela. God prompted us to move back to the U.S. and spend time with my family before I lost 4 family members, both my grandmothers, my step dad as well as my dear sister, Gina in a 3 year span. God also connected us up with a wonderful church family that helped us grow closer to Him. God used the deaths in my family to bring me even closer to Him.

2007-2008, Moved to Overland Park, Kansas to bring me "through the desert" and to help prepare me to lead a BSF bible study group as well as spend time with Stan's family. He needed me away from all of my 8 year relationships that I may of depended on too much.

Feb. 2008, Moved to Johannesburg, South Africa, due to another economy slow down and a wonderful opportunity to bring our family back overseas again. We are so excited about what God has for us here in SA and how He wants us to serve him and grow in our relationship with Him.

God has redirected my path and my family's paths so many times. As Beth Moore puts it in the study of Esther, "After all, without God on our side, where we're going is just the ugly side of where we've been". I choose to stay close to Him and have Him on my side.

Misc. Photos: 2/24/09-3/13/09 (not in date order)

Christina and Angela waiting for the bus in front of our house this morning. Today they are celebrating, "Peace Day" at school and are dressed with peace outfits.

Christina and Angela posing in their new bathing suit cover-ups from Nana Judy and Grandpa by our pool.

Christina at an ice skating party at the Northgate Mall with her friend, Lux.

Christina and her friend, Lux from the Netherlands. They are in the same class together at school.

Paulette out with Leeann for coffee (notice the size of the Latte). They drink a lot of coffee here and have Starbuck beat with a coffee shop at every corner.

Angela waiting for the bus one morning!

In the pool again!
Angela at the school's "Fun Day" walking on a rope structure!
Saying goodbyes to Christina the morning we left (6am).
More goodbyes!
Paulette with some 2nd grade Moms at Angela's friend, Alexandra's B-day party, who stayed to get to know some Moms.
Angela and her teacher, Ms. Clark who is from Georgia, U.S.A. Ms. Clark came to Alexandra's B-day party.
Angela after the magic show presentation from the B-day party. A real bunny was pulled out of a hat. Way cool!
Stan and Angela out to lunch together! Daddy's "not so" little girl!
Angela at school with some of her classmates!

Almost 2 weeks in South Africa now!

It is Monday morning here in South Africa! Another beautiful morning. We continue to enjoy our new home and life here. I remind myself daily, that, "It is not what happens to you in life, but how you respond". We have a wonderful opportunity to get to know the people here and different cultures and even though it may not always be comfortable, it is meaningful and life changing.

Stan continues to like his job here and will be hiring many additional people from the U.S. to help him. These people have been hand-picked by B&V's management. I look forward to their arrival and praying that some of them will move into our community.

Angela had a nice time at a birthday part with a magician, blow up thing, and swimming in the community pool at a classmate's community on Saturday. Christina went to an ice skating party the same day. She also went horseback riding. They are both meeting new friends and getting to know everybody. I stayed at the B-day party that Angela went to and got to know the Moms more. I took a picture with the Moms and will include it on another post.

We found a wonderful church called, Rosebank Union Church. It was Missions week and we had a visiting pastor from Canada speak. We bought the CD of his sermon, because it was so incredible.

We had a wonderful laid back day on Sunday after church. We decided not to go anywhere. I did take the car out on my own to the local grocery store that is close to our house. It is feeling more and more comfortable driving on the other side of the road. You just have to watch out for the taxi vans. They seem to have their own rules of the road.

I will include some more pictures soon and share some more fun facts from South Africa. Here are a fews: The trunk of the car is called, "The boot" and A traffic light is called, "A robot".

Being thankful, no complaints!

Yesterday, I drove by myself for the first time to Bible Study Fellowship (BSF). It was about 1/2 hour away. I got lost and it took me more than an hour to find it. Driving on the other side of the road is like looking at the world through a mirror. You see everything just fine, but it is not quite right in your brain. I have to admit that when I saw my teaching leader's husband, Daniel, standing at the church waving me in, I could of hugged him right there (Daniel is also a teaching BSF leader for the men's evening group).

I arrived too late to be part of a small group discussion, but was able to listen to the lecture on Num. 11-12. The lecture was just what I needed to hear that day (I love that about God's word). It was about complaining and how it can make God angry and discourage others. It is contagious and has serious consequences, and can breed jealousy and always results in some kind of loss.

The BSF notes about this subject say that we can get frustrated by our hardships, but often do not pray, but only complain, like the Israelites. Since God is sovereign, then everything that comes into our lives is from Him, is controlled by Him, and is intended by Him for our good (Romans 8:28). So, when we complain about anything, ultimately we are complaining about God. We are saying that God is wrong to have given us what we do not like or for failing to provide us with what we think we would like.

Why, do you ask, am I including this in my blog post today? It is more of a reminder for me and our family. The pictures in this post show the blessings of being together as a family, no matter where we are and being content. Yes, there are hardships here, but will we choose to focus on them, or will we focus on the blessings? I have asked my family to point out to me when I complain and now we are doing that for each other. I believe that it has helped us focus on all that God has provided for us and makes us more thankful. I know that I am thankful for each and everyone of you that take the time to read our blog. You are all in our lives for a reason, and we are grateful!

Note: The pictures above, were taken in front of the larger pond/lake in our community (we were walking around the lake that day). The other picture was taken at lunch near a fountain in Nelson Mendela Square. What a blessing to have those family times together!

First Day of School

This is a picture of the girls' first day of AISJ. It is required that hats be worn when outside and most of their day is spent outside whenever possible. The school is at an altitude of 6000 ft. and given that and the dry warm climate, hats are necessary.

They had a great first day of school. Christina tells me that at recess, they can go anywhere they want on the school grounds ie. library, outside, etc. They have 2 recesses a day, so they are excited about that. They even like the lunch food. C says that they have a lot more independence at school. Angela is going on a field trip to the Johannesburg Zoo this month. She will have a behind the scenes tour. They are studying animal habitats. They also started Girl Scouts after school yesterday and loved it.

I spent the day driving around with the relocation representative getting a tour of the area and shopping tips. I am glad that I had my notebook with me, because it was information overload. I will share more later about my day. My friend, LeeAnn is picking me up soon to take me to the butcher.

Hopefully this week we will get our cells phones and another car. Right now, Stan and I are sharing one. I am getting a little more used to driving on the other side of the road. Tomorrow, I go out on my own to BSF (Bible Study Fellowship). Keep me in your prayers and everyone else I drive by...:)