catching up in general

The last while has certainly been a time of emotional rollercoaster riding!
We had an amazing time in India and are so grateful for the experience. We returned, spent a week away while doing some sending cell training and general resting to have our young Micaela die. What a ride that was... we were sad that what we imagined would be was no longer possible, and yet we were so at peace because she is at rest now. Then came the end of the year's activities... lots of maintenance work and such. Christmas day being a day as any other, the only difference being that the guys came in for egg and Bacon sandwiches for lunch then went right back to work again I was playing Catch Up in the office with the bookkeeping and other admin tasks that are supposed to keep me out of mischief.
We did however spend a lovely afternoon with friends and family on Jean-Pierre's birthday.
It was wonderful to catch up with friendship ties.
Jordan, sadly worked like a mad thing on his birthday. Dorianne finally got paid for a job that she had worked very hard and long  on and now things seems to be settling down to a subtle rush.
Rita would love to get her butt off to gym again, but somehow the energy and inclination in that direction seems to be missing...
Summer is turning out to be rather cool at the moment, with much needed rain to keep the gardens in bloom and the lawn/grasses growing at a sickening pace.
Nothing seems to happen slowly here.

December Data

May the New Year bring you ever closer to God
and His purpose for your life.
My you find your rest in the shadow of His wings.

A round up in the ministry:
The beginning of the year saw some travelling and then some direction for the training which we do.
Midyear was a time of great change in the lives of the people that are coached on a regular basis.
More travel in an outreach JP led to India. An exposure trip that changed lives.
All in all a slower but very successful year was had. We are grateful to God for His guiding hand in all we do. His protection while ‘out there’ and for all who stay behind. The fellowship went on each week regardless whether Jean-Pierre was there or not, this is huge! Displaying the fact that it is not about the man, but about the purpose of God and the calling on each one of us and our response to that.
The video dept has a fulltime member of the team taking care of it.
There is always room however for more people to get involved in other projects within the Kingdom Encounters portfolio…

And in the family:
The College and university days are now officially over in the home. Both Dorianne and Jordan have completed their studies – no we do not have actual results yet!
Jean-Pierre has wonderful peace with where God is taking the ministry.
Rita has been challenged to study languages so -ja -well -no –fine, as we say here in South Africa…

Then there were four:
Sadly, we said a final goodbye to Micaela who slipped off to be with Jesus on the 29th November. There will be a hole in our hearts in the shape of Micaela, her life has touched many hearts. Peace and pain dance intimately to the rhythm of our broken hearts, it’s up to us who takes the lead.



Please continue to pray for us as a family during this time. We are planning our activities for the new season. We are excited to see what God has in store for us. Please pray that we will hear His voice in each step we take. That He might be glorified in all we put our hands and hearts to.
Till next time…

on and off!

Some things are universal!

Electrical supply is sporadic at best.  The sun seems to be playing the same game at this junction. No more sunset or sunrise picture taking either. Riding in the evenings on the scooter has changed from squinching up our eyes to avoid the midges, to scrunching up our eyes to keep out the rain drops. Though one thing that changes not… the people are still great. 

We have moved to a new rented room... it has AC when the power is working, so that means we left our chordless kettle at Evershine, this is the first time my can opener has been larger than my kettle - not that we own such a large tin opener...

We are able to get amazing granadillas here.

They are just like one can get at home only nothing like that all     *--*    

 I know, bit confusing but hey… hubalookmadam (as they say at the markets in Thailand)

 So so yummy!

bikes, church and stuff

We have hired a motorcycle. It’s the closest thing we are going to get to an aircon at this stage. At least while driving around we get to feel the stifling hot air move! It’s a great way to get around as we have experienced before.

The bike wala who hired out his bike was very friendly, didn’t ask for any papers or proof of where we were staying, nothing, nada, rien, and happily handed us the keys and directed us to the nearest (only ) petrol station to fill the tank. Go figure. Try that back in Sunny South Africa, mate and you’ll be looking for a new bike.

There are Catholic churches/chapels all over the place, in different states of disrepair and always locked. Sunday evening we saw people placing candles on the windowsills outside the doors and standing praying in front of the church. They are spotted like shrines around the area , sometimes crosses are adorned with faded garlands.
I don’t understand.

 

moving the way the locals would

unplugged

This is the view from our current place of residence - the crows wake us in the mornings....




The south of India is so different to where we have been so far. It seems more relaxed and slower paced. Old hippies congregate at the cafes and bars. Lost souls searching for who knows what in a place that sells all sorts and what not. From the good hashish, the kind from Afghanistan, not the Chinese rubbish I’m told, to Opium, the real good stuff –also hearsay. The whole of Goa used to be a Portuguese Colony, therefore for the most, it’s a catholic area. Sadly, the rest of India regards the druggies and dopers, drinkers and smokers as ‘Christian’. And have no reason to change their opinion.

Quite something.

This is our room, we don't have a television but we do have a huge kitchen clock to watch if we so choose...

Then there is beauty. Beauty in the simplicity of the people. The lady running the guest house, has been very good in supplying us with hot water for chai. We looked around to buy our own kettle only to discover that they were rather pricey in the local supermarket, mentioned it to our host who said she has one that previous guests left behind. When she brought us the chordless kettle, she was a little confused, saying that she thought it was coming apart, but maybe we would be able to figure out how to use it.

Well it dawned on me that she was boiling water in a pot on the stove for us, not sure yet whether the stove is electric or fire or gas…. But she had no idea on how to make use of the electric kettle….. now for a cup of chai!

 Some more unusual sights to be found in this area.... did I mention on the way down this way I saw a cart being pulled by a CAMEL?   The cows, dogs and goats seem to get preference on the roads... I figure the elephant would too, probably just due to its size....

 

This is a beach town, and sunset happens over the water...

South ...

The sun bakes as we make our way South toward Goa

The train a mere shadow of its former glory

The staff bow and scrape, as in colonial times,

But my heart breaks knowing they have nothing.

Westerners come to this place to get lost-

escape from the pressures of life in the Real World.

The world of education and responsibility

A world we have adopted as our own - time.

Time is what is needed, and here there is plenty

Time to get to know their names, what makes them smile

Where they come from, and where they are headed

Time to show them The Way, this is what we have here.

captions captured

a corpse

waiting to go down to the water

for cremation

bracelet on ankle early morning in Varanasi

Young girl on roof

off to dinner at Sandoz

drink offering to mother ganga

Ansie checking out job options in Agra

Death - fish food on the River.

The hotel we stayed in while in Benaris, was a pure eye opener. The air we breathed could be classified as a solid rather than a gas... the ash from the pyres swirled around us as we moved in our rooms. Breakfast was had to the accompaniment of bells - to waken the gods - and smoke drifting in off the river bank - to flavour the meal.... what an amazing experience. Being Burned on the Ganga River and Ashes fed to the Mother River, is a sure way to to stop the Cycle of birth and rebirth to these people. The destination of choice is Varanasi to those who are dying, old or infirm and fortunate enough to have the money to travel... Gratefully, we camp on grace.
Few people escape the fires... babies - innocent.
people with leprosy - they are deemed pure, the reasoning is that they cannot do harm, as they are unable to steal and run away - go figure.
And then there are those who die from snake bites - these are supposed to already be purified by the poison of the snake, which is a god too...
Then there are those who have already died to self. Renunciates too avoid the flames, as they went through a rtualistic version of the fires... they get tied to a flat stone, loosely tied mind you and get taken out to the river and dropped into it - fish food, honestly.

I just pass on what I learned, I don't claim to believe or understand this at all.

dungdollops and red spit

Work team finally got themselves into gear….. no not true, we have all been pretty busy. We just somehow feel as if we need to perform more, but we seem to tend to forget that God is doing His own work… in us! Ji ji ji, we know this with our heads, but the heart is another matter completely. 

When any operation takes place, in a surgery for example, there is going to be some pain, but in the long run, things get fixed and are better….  Right now, some of us are under the knife in the surgeon’s hand, and pain is, well as pain is.  To say that God is at work in and among us would be an understatement.

We are at real peace here in the Ashram though, and sometimes we forget that we are in Varanasi and as soon as we step out from under this wing, it hits us – hard! There is an incredible amount of peace around us, and a sincerity and gentleness in the people.

The view gets interrupted by death regularly. Corpses burn upon the smoking pyres outside our hotel day and night. Smoke sometimes stings our eyes, as we focus on the amount of love God has for these people. Dollops of dung decorate the streets as do bells on young girls’ ankles. 

Chocolate eyes ringed in kohl, stare at us from babies faces. Red spit on the cobbles marks the time spent with friends, betel-nut is abundant. And in all this colour abounds. Singing prevails in the early morning air, while mothers dip their babies in the chunky waters of the River. Fathers lead their sons in ceremony as the sun rises above the Great Mother.

The train will be our mode of transport to return to Delhi…another “interesting” experience.Chai wallas and more sprinkle their wares along the compartments, the aroma of  Tikka Mirche Alloo garam teases us from the passing platforms and all this breathes India.

home on the Ganga

Amazing!

The natives speak Hindi so well!  All around me they spout off and with absolutely no effort at all!  My vocab is increasing, sure, but I am no where even close to the youngest speaker in this country! A three year old speaks better than I do, sigh…

Diwali was spent at the Ashram with SwamiJi, and it was something to behold. Very interesting indeed. We needed to get outfits for the occasion, we were told the night before, and thought we would get something cheap and off the peg for the event, only to discover cheap and off the peg was not an option for these westerners. Our size has a lot to do with it!

 

Eventually, after a lot of running around, fabric seduction – silk which we graciously declined- we were measured and  ready to go home….Home is a place on the Ganga River… where the ashes off the cremation pyres drift in through our windows, where monkeys fight with you on your balcony, where the neighbours sleep on their rooftops accompanied by goats and chickens… where firebomb crackers split the air at irregular intervals… and where the people are friendly…

Teamwise, there are some interesting dynamics taking place. We are able o see the hand of God at work. We are thrilled to be experiencing this country, even though the poverty and filth is so in our faces. What scares me the most is because there is simply so much poverty and filth and spiritual death around us, we could start to take it as the way things should be. The task being so huge that to change anything of real significance would be an utter waste of time, so then we might try to accept more easily what we see as being right…. Hmmmm, I wonder if this makes any sense at all.

Till next connection….and thank you for your prayers.

sjoe.... we are privileged

the view from our rooftop

It is with joy that I write from home the of Biryani and chai, mango lassi and tandoori chicken, colour and dust. The contrasts in the space of two seconds is breath taking, not necessarily in a good way either. Open urinals litter alternate street corners, while a chai vendor shares one of those littered walls. Dogs lay around all day, their senses non existent, numbed by the hustle and constant noise. Cows own the roads, 'roads', like the word ‘hotel’ is freely thrown around. And has absolutely nothing in common with what you would imagine.

Spiritually we see the poverty, punctuated with the physical proof. The life here is ‘in your face’, one is unable to be unaffected by it. When beggars start tugging at you, asking for ‘one rupee – for rice’ or blocking your way as you pray whilst walking the streets, one is strangely human and shakes them off, trying to forget they are there, and thereby wondering who are you really here for? Who am I praying for? What am I doing here in the first place?

Deflated I start praying some more, praying that God would raise up honorable men, honorable fathers and leaders in their households.

landed!

...at 03h35...
yawn!  What a trip, plane not too full from JHB to Doha....then we got what it feels like to be a sardine for the next four hours! India welcomed us with open arms, I could tell, as she hasm't used deoderant in a while....
Early morning as it was, the bustle had already begun for the day. the air already chewable and the assault om our ears relentless...
....
....
....
Woke up and went for dinner, missed the final train of the night - tuk tuk amd nore sleep...