A family Update

By South African standards, there has been much progress here at the farm in the 2.5 weeks that we’ve lived here.  We have worked hard to make our little cottage homey by hanging curtains and creating some shelving for the kids’ books.  The communal areas around us are now somewhat functional, so that we no longer have to share our kitchen and bathroom with the other volunteers!  When I say functional, I mean that the basic amenities work “most” of the time.  The communal kitchen and bathroom still have no floor or counters, few windows, and most of the new pipe connections leak.  But, there is a stove with a real oven, and even a washing machine!  We have already used the oven to bake a cake, and it has also expanded our menu options for meals so that not everything has to be boiled or fried.  In general, this continues to be like one long camping trip!  Life in Calgary now seems like a remote memory, as we are totally used to making do without a TV, stereo, clothes dryer, microwave, walk-in closet, and all the other luxuries that we take for granted.  I’m sure many of you would pay to have seen me herding 11 cows off my porch with a big stick this morning as I hung my laundry out to dry!

 

There is a family of wild cats that live in one of the sheds here.  The mother cat is a skinny little grey thing, and the three kittens are about 5-6 weeks old.  They have not had any human contact previously, but I’ve always been a sucker for cats, and have begun to make friends with them by bringing them food.  At first, they would only gobble the food that I threw to them if I kept more than 10 feet away, but I have progressed to the point where I can pet the mother cat and two of the kittens while they eat.  My goal is to tame one or two of them enough to make pets out of them.  We need some rodent control up at our accommodations.  Jess and Micayla dearly hope that we will get a cuddly kitten out of the deal, but I’m not sure if their wild tendencies will ever really be tamed. 

 

Last week I was touched when Dan came home and told me that he had booked a one hour massage for me with a massage therapist!  There is an American woman staying at GGA for 2 weeks to offer her expertise to the volunteers, and there just happened to be one spot left on the sign up list.  So there I was on Friday afternoon on a makeshift massage table in a little hut, with the warm African breeze blowing over me while Mary worked her magic!  What an awesome thing to use her talent to treat the volunteers to such a luxury!  She was also able to work daily with a little boy at GGA who is confined to a wheelchair because of Cerebral Palsy.  His stiff limbs relaxed noticeably after each treatment.

 

Many of you ask often about how Jessica and Micayla are doing.  Thank you for keeping their safety, health, and well-being in your prayers as they face many different experiences.  So many people have told them what an amazing opportunity this is for them, and how it will change them forever, and we continue to be amazed at how adaptable they are and how life here has just become “normal” to them.  Home schooling has been an adjustment for all of us, but all four of us are enjoying the experience.  We do some pretty intensive learning for about 3.5 hours per day, and then the girls work on art projects, research projects, or read while Dan and I go about our work duties.  We have them studying the animals and culture of South Africa, and reading some great books that they would not otherwise have the chance to study.  Jessica has had the opportunity to work alongside the Zulu women in GGA’s “Craft Project”.  The women come to the outreach center 2 days a week to sew, bead, and make traditional crafts to sell in order to generate income for themselves, and to learn the basics of small business management.  Jess recently completed a beaded coaster of Nelson Mandela (?!).   Jess has also taken several dance classes alongside the GGA kids.  The classes are completely in Zulu, and obviously, it’s not the ballet that Jess is used to, but she tries hard to “dance like a Zulu warrior”!   Out of the four of us, Jessica has had the hardest time adjusting to South Africa.  This is partly due to her personality, which does not particularly enjoy change, and is partly due to her age.  She will turn 13 in just a few weeks, and finds it hard at times to be without her friends, and living in VERY close quarters with her sister and parents.  She is a private person by nature, and our circumstances afford her very little privacy.  However, Jess is feeling much more settled now that we are living at the farm, and really enjoys the other volunteers here.  After our “braii” this week (which was once again attended by the volunteers and various farm workers), Jess mentioned that it will be sad to leave here in 4 months.  We took this statement as a sign that she must be enjoying some aspects of life here!

 

Since our move to the farm, Micayla has been somewhat lonely for her new friends at GGA.  In her perfect world, there would be little friends to play with 24/7 like there was at GGA.  But, Micayla is such a positive little soul and seems to make the best of most situations.  Since she loves to talk…all the time…to anyone, we all have to take a bit more time to let her chat so that she can use up some of that social energy.  Lilith (one of the Dutch volunteers here) really enjoys our girls, so Micayla often hangs out with her.  Lilith is a Drama Therapist, so she has tons of interesting songs and games for Micayla.  She is also great at getting the girls to open up to her and process their feelings and experiences.  Micayla’s passion is helping at the preschool!  She gets to go with Dan one or two mornings per week, and is quite in her element there.  The level of action and activity of 60 preschoolers is just her speed.  The mornings when she is at the preschool, I enjoy one-on-one time with Jessica, and the days when Jess helps out at preschool give Micayla and I the chance to do school alone together.

 

Dan is working with both girls on the “Excellence in Writing” course which he teaches back home in Calgary.  He usually does this late afternoons on a blanket in the shade, and the girls love this “daddy time”.  He has them memorizing poetry and playing word games in order to improve their vocabulary and writing skills.  This is a unique opportunity for all 3 of them, and Jess and Micayla look forward to this time as the best part of their schooling.

 

Enough for today.  I cannot help but add that it is beautifully hot here again today.  We are told that rainy season is over, fall is approaching, and that we will have some of our nicest weather over the next several weeks.  Better go and lay in the hammock with my book for a few minutes before it gets dark!  Thank you all for the email we receive from you!  It encourages us, makes us smile, and connects us to home. 

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Note from Dan:  it is now the Friday morning, and I’m finally getting around to sending this email.  Cathy’s optimism about the end rainy season was dashed, as we were pounded with heavy rains & winds most of the night!