Friday 4th August 2017 - Kruger Park

Friday 4th August

We all got up at 4am for our day out at Kruger park.  Lesley even managed to find the time to have a shower and blow dry her hair! We left at 4.30am, which started off with a drive to the Numbi gate in the neighbouring community of Masoyi.  The journey consisted of everybody asleep, Chris snoring apart from me who was driving. 

We entered the park after some waiting, form filling and passport checking and more waiting.  We entered the park, which resulted in some brilliant pictures of the sun rising over the African plains.  Our first sighting was a 'little bit' of a wait, with everyone very excited to see the big five.  Which are lion, elephant, water buffalo, rhino and leopard.






Our first big five sighting was of a male lion crossing the road and retreating up through the bush, this is a rare sight and a privilege to see. Our next animal was a line of Zebra, making their way across the plane, parallel to the road.

Breakfast was at 9am at the rest camp Afsaal.  Chris cooked us a great breakfast of bacon, egg and sausage which was eagerly ate by our selves. From here we carried on north and saw giraffe, and then our second big five sighting  of elephant.

We deviated from the main road and headed along one of the many dirt roads where we saw our 3rd big five animal, white rhino.  There was three of them wallowing in the mud at a water hole.

We then drove on to Mathekenyane which is a high igneous Rock, which Rosemary described in great detail to us with her geology background.  We were able to get out of the van and take panoramic pictures including some group shots. 

At 1pm we stopped for some lunch and a swim for those who braved the cold water at Sacuza day visitor centre. Back on the road we drove north again to Lake Panic which is a hide over looking a lake, we all tried to be very quiet watching hippos, birds and tortoise.  We also crossed a bridge and was able to see a Nile crocodile sunbathing in the low river.

As we started our way out of the park, we saw a collection of cars stopped by the road which is always a good sign of something worth stopping for. Indeed it was as on a bow of a tree was a Martial Eagle, the largest eagle in Africa, which was wrestling with a long snake. The girls squealed as they watched through the binoculars.

Throughout the day we saw many antelope, called kudu and many many Impala and Springbok, but also we saw a Steenbok, which was like a miniature version of antelope.

A highlight, was the water hole at Nyamundwa which was packed with excitement for us too see a herd of elephants and hippos having a confrontation with  each other.  The elephants won with the hippos running into the lake.

We left the park as the beautiful sun set came down onto the Blyde River Canyon mountains.

Blogged by DJ and Lesley

Thursday 3rd August 2017 - Day 9 - Siyathuthuka

Thursday 3rd August

Today was our last day in the community. We left the Hands Village full of excitement to spend time in the community but also with sadness that it would be "see you later" for a while! On arrival at the Care Point we were greeted warmly and the team set of to assist in the various chores; chopping, cooking, washing of dishes, shovelling sand and watering the vegetables.

Following on from yesterday, Ethan and Matthew arrived to collect money (40 rand) for their taxi ride to and from the clinic. We were pleased that they had remembered to go and prayed that they would be seen quickly and that the "lab" team will be back at work. A few hours later they returned with some good news. They had been seen and handed in their urine samples which had gone off to be tested. Matthew had also been given some anti-histamines as he had been feeling itchy. They needed to return next week for the outcome of their tests.

We had lots planned for our last day in the community. In the morning, we were going to encourage and pamper the Care Workers before hosting a children's afternoon. After our chores, we gathered inside the Care point for worship, praising God and a time of encouragement for the Care Workers. Lesley shared an encouragement around Psalm 121. The particular points that stood out to the Care Workers were;

 - To look up to the Lord in all that you do - especially looking to the South African Hills that surround the community

 - He will give you strength and power and be your constant guide

 - They particular liked Lesley's analogy of God being like the mother hen. She recalled that we have seen lots of hens with their chicks during our time in South Africa and how a mother hen collects her hens and keeps them safe under her wings and this is the same as Jesus wants for us.

After Lesley's encouragement we moved into a time of pampering for the Care Workers! We poured out cups of coke, picked our choice of lotion and begun to massage their feet and hands before painting them lots of different colours.  The ladies particularly enjoyed facials by Lesley! They had such an amazing time, they were full of joy and smiles and they were the happiest we have ever seen them! They were so very thankful that they sang and danced for us and got us all up and joining in, it was hilarious but so fantastic to see!

               

                             

Next up was a long wait for the children to arrive! In this time we had the most delicious lunch - rice, chicken pieces and beetroot, it was so good that all of our plates were empty. Finally the children arrived in the masses. It was children's day so we had lots of games planned. We played Impala, Impala, Lion and parachute games and several ball games.

Before the children had their lunch we handed out the friendship bracelets that the children from Edward Peake School had made for them. They were very thankful and enjoyed going around swapping and comparing the charms that they had. After lunch we played some ceilidh music for them to dance to - they absolutely loved it and went CRAZY! the addition of balloons just created mayhem! but everyone had fun and we were all really sad to say our goodbyes.

After our "see you laters", we set off for home via Tambo Hospital. Patricia and Dan popped into speak to someone about medicated the children at Siyathuthuka from the water borne disease we mentioned yesterday. Unfortunately the CEO was not in but Dan was able to obtain the number to give him a call. After dinner we walked up to Herman and Charissa for tea and pudding.

Blogged by Alice P and Claire  

Wednesday 2nd August 2017 - Day 8 - Siyathuthuka

Wednesday 2nd August

After a busy couple of days, we were able to have a bit of a lie in and meet for breakfast at 8.30 before setting off for Siyathuthuka at 9.30. We were joined by Audrey, Patricia and Nyiko. however our first stop was after only 50 yards to drop off a cup cake at the office for Melody, this was accompanied by a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday ( the English version). We weren't a full bus as DJ stayed behind to work on some of the Hands Cars. We were met at the care point by Care Worker, Sarah, who greeted us with gusto, also Bethwell from Hands had travelled by bus to the community. Following some food prep we split into 4 groups to go on some Holy home visits.

 

Rob and Lesley, visited with Audrey and Gloria, one of the care workers who was unable to come along to the care point today, the reason was quite straight forward as a large tanker of water was due this morning and she was able to collect 6 large containers of water to replenish her water supply.

 

Audrey and Gloria had a long conversation with her which we could just about understand about common problems that we had already heard about regarding ID and finances, however, there was a complication that we hadn't met before whereby another women was claiming a government grant for her child but was only passing on a third of the money and spending the rest on drink. A complicated situation that Audrey planned to make enquiries about. We were joined by another lady and her two pre-school children who had just finished collecting her water - 8 large containers. The visit ended with much jollity, discussing tomorrow's nail painting and pampering, which was clearly a must do.

Holly, Lisa and Rebecca visited the home of Sarah as she had not been to the care point for a while. Patricia discovered that the reason the child hadn't been attending was that her mother was not actually her mother but actually her Aunty and she was worried that the other children at the care point would tell the girl this fact and she didn't want her to know this just yet. When the team had returned to the care point they discussed this with Audrey. Audrey made it clear after the it would be their policy to always encourage parents to be fully truthful with their children, otherwise when inevitably the truth comes out it can cause mistrust between the child and their parent. Audrey said that she would follow it up with the lady and in a care giver session.

Chris and Rosemary went with Bethwell to visit the house of Chris. Chris lives in a house with his grandfather. Chris has his own room, with a door to outside. Bethwell needed to visit as he need to assess how to help Colin to be safe as the door to the outside did not fit properly. We discovered that Chris was not in but we could see the problem with the door, and Bethwell made a note of what he would need to effect a repair. We went on to another house where a window pain had been broken and again this needed repair to make the house secure for the children. While we were walking with Bethwell, we were able to talk to him about his story. Bethwell as a child had attended the first Care Point that Hands set up, in Massoi. After finishing school he trained as a carpenter and then joined hands on the maintenance team and helped to build many of the buildings at the hub.

Alice, Alice and Claire visited the home of Ethan and Matthew who we had taken to the clinic last week. They were suppose to go back to the clinic to be tested yesterday so Nyiko and Sophie (Care Worker) were checking in on how it had gone. Both boys had attended the clinic but unfortunately the workers in the lab were still on strike so they had bought home urine samples to take back with them after the strike. Nyiko called the clinic to confirm that the lab was shut and reported that they did not know when it would be up and running again but that they had the mum's number and would give her a call. Nyiko encouraged the mum to take them to the other clinic in the district of Clau Clau tomorrow. The mum reported that Ethan was feeling better but Matthew was getting sicker. We believe it to be some sort of water borne disease but are unsure. We also learnt that a change in law now meant that Ethan couldn't attend school due to not having any papers.

On returning to the Care Point Audrey asked all of the children at the Care Point who else had similar symptoms to that of Ethan and Matthew and nearly 30 children put their hands up. Bethwell took their names and there are going to be further discussions at the Hands Village about how to support and help this outbreak of disease amongst the community.  

When we returned from home visits, Chris had to take the minibus to fill up with fuel, and so a slightly reduced team entertained 50 plus children for an hour and a half with  games before singing and prayers.

We were very pleased to meet Father Moosey, whose church does similar work on the other side of the valley. We returned to the hub slightly later than usual, but in time to plan the evenings activity for after dinner.

Although we still have a couple of days, this was our last opportunity to share our experiences with the rest of the hands team and the other team from Woodlands church, who arrived on Sunday.

Holly, Rosemary and Rob gave their personal testimonies of how the visit had affected them, and it is safe to say that this reflected how we all felt. This was concluded by prayers from our hosts for safe travel and living the lessons we had learnt ( You will be able to read these testimonies in the September edition of the Parish Magazine).

The evening continued with a Ceilidh which was organised by St Andrew's as a thank you to our hosts. This was enjoyed by all at the hub.

Tuesday 1st August 2017 - Day 7 - Share

Tuesday 1st August

The first visitation of our day must have occurred before sunrise: a monkey[s!] had entered our minibus at the Wits University Residential Field Centre, enjoying a packet of mini Cheddars amongst other goodies! Before setting off for breakfast we saw a number of impala, guinea fowl and many energetic monkeys, including one which took up residence on the roof of the minibus, thankfully bounding into the trees eventually. After a leisurely, scrumptious breakfast – fruits, cereal, croissants, copious amounts of fresh yogurt, scrambled egg, grilled tomatoes and deli-style sausages accompanied by hot beverages and juice – we listened to Audrey’s ‘life story’.  Alice asked Audrey if she would share her story with us, this she willingly did and started by telling us about her time with Hands at Work, she actually began as a care worker within the community of Cork, doing all the things that we see the care workers doing, caring for the children in their community, cooking the children. She then spent her time teaching primary care to the  caregivers, especially encouraging them in how they disciplined their children. She then moved on to being part of the service centre team and now is the leader of the Hazieview and Osheok service centers and helps in a third! Audrey has 3 children, but also cares for two others following the death of someone close. Audrey is full of life and has a real passion to care for the many hundreds of children in her care. We jumped back on the minibus to travel back along the dusty roads for another day in Share.  The minibus came to a rapid halt within minutes when we spotted two giraffes strolling through the savannah just metres from the dirt track.

After a fairly uneventful journey to the care point at Share some of us set off to the store to collect pap meal, brown sugar, onions and tomatoes; provisions duly gathered, with the vast bucket of meal securely balanced on the head of a care worker, the store was completely bare. A poignant reminder of the scarcity of food in so many communities we are visiting. During the short return journey we met a mother with her two children; the day before they had been visited by one of our Holy Home Visit teams, and given the 5 year old boy was still visibly poorly DJ soon chauffeured them to the local clinic. Meanwhile, pap had been mixed, vegetables chopped and the chicken feet and heads prepared in readiness for the children’s lunch.

Audrey then continued the previous day’s Bible study as we discussed St Paul’s letter to the Ephesians: thankfully we had taken our directed homework fairly seriously but the care workers were reprimanded [tongue in cheek, we believe!] for their lack of preparation. After prayers and encouragement to join in the dancing, we split into groups for Holy Home Visits, support for the young leaders’ programme, cooking and playing with the children.

One group encountered their intended host, a great go-go, on the return journey from collecting water from the village Jo Jo; 2 fifty litre fertilizer containers perilously carried on a wheelbarrow. DJ gallantly went over to her and pushed the barrow for the last part of the journey home much to the amusement of the great go-go. After much laughter and good humour as a follow up to the Maranatha Week, the discussion concluded positively and then the great go go happily set off with her wheelbarrow to collect more water.

Another group visited a grandmother who had shared her succession of bereavements during the Maranatha sessions; Catherine was enthusiastically grinding maize in her garage with a huge paddle when we arrived, surrounded by 7 children. We learnt that family bereavements had included 2 of Catherine’s children, and more recently her husband and sister who had both died suddenly from unknown causes. Her other concern was the status of the youngest child present; 6 month old Surprise had been born to Catherine’s daughter’s friend but rejected by the family whilst still in hospital. Supported by care workers, Catherine had carried the baby home from hospital and introduced him to the rest of her family – 10 children and 15 grandchildren! Last month she had been given a hand-written note in an exercise book stating that Surprise’s family may now wish to link up with the child despite not seeing him since birth. Naturally, Catherine is distraught about the uncertainty of the future although she cares for all the children simply because of love with no financial reward. We left Catherine’s home with one of the children in her care accompanying us back to the care point for lunch, having first been able to assure C that for the time being baby Surprise would remain in her loving care.

Prior to the children’s lunch, we gathered together in the meeting room for prayers and a dramatic presentation of the Prodigal Son masterminded by Floyd. As we were departed the children were enthusiastically eating their food which we had served to them.

We quickly piled into the minibus aware that we had a long journey back to the hub, initially along very dusty and rutted tracks; you will not be surprised to know that mugs, teaspoons and out trusty metal teapot clattered in the trailer throughout the trek. After a welcome supper – beef stew, homemade fresh, hot rolls, salad and a treat of chocolate brownies kindly baked by Seline, a member of the Hands team, we had a debrief with Cat who had greatly enjoyed her visit to St Andrew’s in June when she accompanied George on his travels.

Blogged by Lisa and Rosemary

Monday 31st July 2017 - Day 6 - Share

Monday 31st July

Our day began with Monday Morning worship which included music and prayers in small groups about all of our family wherever they may be. The men's morning had started even earlier with Men's Prayer... We then set off with Audrey and Jimmy from Hands at Work and began the three hour journey to Share; a rural community serving 60 children. We arrived and started with worship and a short Bible study of Ephesians 6: 10-18. The care point at Share is fab for the amazing singing and the funky dancing led by the care workers. We then split into three home visits...

Lesley, Rosemary, Rob and Alice S went to visit the home of Rowenna. Following on from the wonderful Maranartha (Come Lord Jesus) workshop the week before, the care workers found out that Rowenna and her sister are being cared for by their uncle following the death of their parents. The visit was to assess whether the other children living at the property were also vulnerable and in need of extra support from the Care Point. At the home, we met Rowenna's aunt and her youngest daughter Isobel who is three. Rowenna's aunt looks after her own three children, a 17 year old son Michael, 14 year old daughter Susan and her baby, as well as Rowenna and her sister and her sister-in-law's child. In the small property, there are 5 adults and 6 children. Rowenna, although being 15, is only in Grade 6 at school and struggles academically. She loves going to church and is always helpful around the house with the jobs she's comfortable doing. It is increasingly difficult to provide Rowenna with the support she needs and this is something that is really worrying her aunt. Rowenna's difficulties are subtle but apparent, yet without diagnosis, the necessary support can't be given and adjusted to Rowenna. It was a heart-wrenching visit which highlighted the struggles faced by care givers but also their love and selflessness.

Rebecca, Lisa and Alice Parker went to visit a lady called Blessing who had recently lost her husband. We were greeted with a warm welcome and seated on the floor next to the lady. Audrey explained the situation which was that her husband had passed away a week ago after being ill in hospital. She is the mother of three boys who are all dealing with the situation in their own way. The eldest prefers to play football with his friends and not address the situation and the youngest has been crying a lot. Because the father was from Mozambique, he didn't have any papers so the family didn't have a lot of money especially due to him not working whilst being ill. Fortunately, due to the generosity of the community they managed to gather enough money to pay for the funeral. This truly represents how close the communities are here in South Africa. The care workers have been visiting Blessing on a regular basis and she also gets a lot of support from her local church and pastor who has supported her and her family through the whole tragedy. We shared some biblical words of encouragement and prayed for her and her family to find the strength to continue through this hard time. This meant a great deal to her and she was very happy we prayed for her. 

Holly, DJ, Claire and Chris visited Happiness's house. Happiness has 4 children aged 18,14,5 and 2. We met the two youngest at the house as we sat outside. The boy aged 5 was very unhappy looking and had been sent home from the crèche as he wasn't feeling well. DJ immediately connected with him and started playing with a paper aeroplane. He wasn't interested and started silently crying. It was so sad to see. Happiness told us how the oldest child of 18 was struggling in school and how he should be in grade 12 and ready to leave school, he's only in grade 8 and is mainly struggling with languages. We prayed for both the health of the young boy and the education of the older boy to improve and for God to help this family. The care worker told us the background story of this family and how the mother has had many partners and there was a period of time where she left the children. This has obviously effected all the children and they are all suffering in different ways. The care workers are keeping close tabs on this particular family as the two oldest go to the care point every day but there are two other youngsters to consider also. 

All the groups then met again at the Care Point where everyone all enjoyed playing with the children, and meeting those whose homes people had visited and seeing some familiar faces from the past couple of years. Hearing their stories, how they and their families a getting on and what their dreams are was really, really special. We left the Care Point and went to check in to our overnight accommodation in Wits Rural University Facility... we had a scrummy meal and shared our stories from the day, and then went to find where we were sleeping. This was made extra fun with loads of Impala and monkeys all around the huts!

By Alice S, Holly and Rebecca

Sunday 30th July 2017 - Weekend off - Kaapschehoop

Sunday 30th July

Up early again this morning with breakfast at 7.15 and then we were off to church at 8.30 ( the second Service of the day). We attended the Parish Church of White River where the deacon reminded us that following Christ is not about creating a cosy comfortable space around us, but rather about following a "Palestinian revolutionary" that continually challenges our comfort zone! She challenged us not to say our prayers off pat, because of familiarity, but rather to understand the depth and implication of what we were saying. Bronwyn used the example of the Lord's Prayer and in particular the bidding of "Your kingdom come" do we realise what we are actually asking for when we say this line? Bronwyn used the illustrations from the words of Jesus from about what the kingdom of heaven will be like, Matthew 13: 32, Jesus describes the kingdom of God to be like a mustard seed, the least of all seeds and yet grows into a massive bush or tree, its roots fill the earth, it causes chaos. Then in verse 33 Jesus refers to the kingdom as like the yeast in bread, again anyone who has made bread, without the aid of a machine, will know that yeast can be quite unpredictable, will it rise or not? The kingdom of heaven is something that will challenge, will not be something cosy, are we sure that we understand what we are asking for every time we say the Lord's Prayer. Then finally in verse 47 Jesus tells us that the kingdom of God is like a dragnet that is cast into the sea, again not a simple task that we see in pictures, nets full of bristling white wholesome fish ready for the pan but rather a heap of many many different types of fish which have to be unpicked and sorted, many being discarded or thrown back! When we are truly building the kingdom God we should be prepared for children, drug addicts, alcoholics. Are we ready for the kingdom of God, could we cope with what we are asking!

After church we drove to Kaapschehoop. It is a old prospect mining town, which when the gold mining was abandoned turned into a village.  Some of the group walked around the local African market whilst Chris, Alice P, Alice S and DJ walked down to a waterfall. This involves some steep scrambling down through a forest, up a river bed to the waterfall. The water fall was 60meters high, with crystal clear water. 

 

After our first walk the group met up again together for lunch at Koek-n-Pan. This is a pancake house so we had savoury and sweet pancakes. After lunch we went for another walk to the fire lookout building, the walk was along a igneous outcrop leading to a very impressive view.

Blogged by Chris and DJ