A great two weeks!

My vacation time up to this point has been most excellent!  We have been housesitting for the mother’s sister, and her house is beautifully located on the seaside—what a view!  Last Thursday through to Sunday I was in Cape Town with friends for another of our friend’s wedding.  While in CT we visited Table Mountain, the beach, and Ratanga Junction (an amusement park which compares just below Disney World’s Animal Kingdom).  Overall my vacation has been very relaxing; a good recharge for the upcoming school year.  This past two weeks have been filled with so many blessings—the house, the trip to CT, great friends, and many other things as well-- including a package from home!

I am looking forward to experiencing a new way of celebrating Christmas in the next few days, among the differences will be no snow and 30*C weather… not to mention a whole new entourage of food (in which I will gladly “glory in excesses”).

End of the school year.

Now that it is December and school is coming to an end for another year, I think back to what I have come through up to this point. The focus of my thoughts is on school and how I had to learn the rule as I needed to implement them and how so much time in the past two months was spent on the year-end Prize-Giving show which took place yesterday, the 4th of Dec, and was a huge success due to the hard work of the students in their practicing.  There is still one week of school before the Christmas break starts, but I have a feeling it will fly by as the previous weeks have been.  During the break, I am looking forward to doing some traveling-- first to Cape Town with some friends and then after the 25th to Durban on my own to visit friends.  The time has been going by so fast and I miss everyone back home.  Love to all and may God bless you this Christmas season!

A Pause in the Fast-Forward of Life

  Well, it's hard to believe it has been almost two weeks since my last post. The day's are flying by so fast... yet on Sundays it feels like so long ago it was Sunday-- weird.  Anyway, I digress.  The school days have been packed with lots of work as well as vigorous practice for the year-end show/prize giving event.  Each day the last school hour is taken up with this practicing.
  Today was Remembrance Day in Canada; it is not a holiday here and I heard no mention of anything of the sort.  However, because I am proudly Canadian and I have a Bb trumpet with every capability of a bugle, I had a time of remembrance to honour the fallen... and just now I recited the poem "In Flanders Fields"-- by John McCray. (I would have earlier, but I did not think of it.)
  Goodbye until I remember to post again.

One Month in Port Elizabeth

It has been one month since I arrived in P.E.  The time has flown by with school, meeting new people, and sleeping.  I realized that I missed posting something last week due to me being sick last Saturday-- it was a 24hr flu-ish.  Things feel very normal now and with all the work that school demands I am kept very busy.  We have started working on a year-end/ Christmas presentation (the school year follows the calendar year) that we practice for every day.  These kids are so talented!!  The six children I am supervisor for are also improving well in their reading skills.  After one month, I now have some friends I met at a local church... and I bought a soccer ball, which has become my best friend!  I'm having fun and really loving what I am doing, please continue to pray for me!  Blessings.

First Week of School

This is the end of my first week working at Hi’s Place Mission School.  I am a supervisor in charge of helping six children who are doing grade 1-2 work.  There are roughly 30 kids in the school with four supervisors and three monitors spread out over four rooms.  The procedures of the school day are the same as S.C.A which are standard A.C.E. protocol.  Their lunch break, along with most or all of South Africa, is at 10:30.  Lunch is provided at the mission school for everyone.  This week Tuesday was rainy and cold... yes, cold in Africa.  P.E. is on the southern coat and almost always has some wind.  Tuesday night there was a tremendous thunder storm! The first clap woke me up and lasted for 10 seconds... it was so cool!  The thunder lasted until morning and the sky cleared in the afternoon.  Since then, the weather has been nice, it is spring time here, and the days are getting warmer.  I'm starting to settle into a routine, which is nice after a month of always changing surroundings.

At my new home.

Well, here I am sitting on my bed in my new home in Port Elisabeth.  This past week I was in Bloemfontein at the All Africa Student Convention (AASC).  I was part of the 24/7 team, which meant that whenever, for whatever, we were available.  I was paired with the logistics guy for the week, and we never stopped working!! it was exhaustive but a lot of fun.  The AASC is quite similar to ISC; the competitions are run the same though some of the events vary.  The caliber of speakers was the same-- in part to Dr. Greg Mutch being the main speaker.  The worship was like a youth rally, not like the conservative piano as is the norm for ISC.  The week was absolutely amazing!!  Classes at Hi's Place Mission (pronounced "his") no not start until next week-- they are in between the third and fourth term of the year with the 4th ending in December.  It will be a challenge working in the school not knowing Afrikaans.

A busy week.

This week has been very busy!  On Monday and Tuesday, I was at a Christian school doing monitor work to get acquainted with the A.C.E procedure of thing.  After that, I was back at the office working frantically to to pack up everything that was given to me for the All Africa Student Convention which starts this week.  This coming week will be all out, non-stop working to make the AASC run smoothly!  I'm looking forward to it very much!!

Day 2 in a foreign land.

Snip-its of South Africa

  Today was day 2 of my adventure!!  Yesterday and today I have been at the A.C.E. head office for South Africa, maybe all of Africa... can't remember.  I am staying with the Director of A.C.E SA and his family, they are really nice people and they have good food!  Yesterday I was shown the office, and today I worked in the warehouse seeing how they do things.... it's pretty sweet.     My plane rides were long, but uneventful, thanks for all the prayers.