Our first colored Christmas

In my last blog post I noted how our Christmas deserved it own post, maybe because I was hoping that the words would eventually come to me about what had just happened?!?  Either way, this was a unique Christmas for which I still don't exactly have words for!  I hope the pictures can help you get the picture. 

A white-Christmas: NOT
So we're here, half way across the world,  and all I can think of is "when is it going to snow?"  This whole warm Christmas is so confusing to our Canadian brains, we are still battling the thought that Christmas came and went.  We tried so hard: we played music (let it snow, let it snow, let it snow), we decorated...

My $2.50 tree...  not bad eh?

On Christmas's Eve I even made snow!  After all, it's not Christmas unless there is snow.

Snow cones?

Snow cold...

Christmas morning
On Christmas morning we read the Christmas story.

ok we read it after posing for this picture

Vincent was insistent on "seeing", but there wasn't pictures...

Then we opened presents

Dinos are a big hit right now

Some of us could use some help with wrapping

WHAT?!?  A dino car?

We also gave presents 

Our friend Mawande Mani actually clapped opening his Bible :)

New shoes for the beautiful Claudia

Then we opened our packages from home

Green tea excitement

And we ate chocolate

Braii time
Christmas day we also hosted the braii of the century (South African word for BBQ)!!!  We cooked, baked and BBQ for hours...  And all together had a wonderful feast with our African brothers and sisters.  

Our friends who have a pool let us use their house (they were not home during the holidays).  A pool party on Christmas.  I'm telling you, we tried... but it didn't really feel like Christmas to us.  

Martin

looking good :)

Some of the Xhosa people we invited said it was their best Christmas ever, and it was very cool for us to have been able to do this for them.

Pastor preaching it

Our kids really enjoyed it too, even tho they were really tired after. 

I also have hilarious footage of the whole thing, do let me know if you want to see it.  So there, you have it.  Our first colored Christmas.  

How about a little picture review?

AIYAYAYAYAI (insert African high pitch noise) it is hard to believe that we have already been here almost 8 months and are HALF WAY through our first term here!  What a ride these last months in South Africa have been.  

How bout a having a little highlights and pictures review?

After a long journey to get here (4 flights)... 

I was prepared for long travel with lots of games and toys...

We arrived to South Africa both exhausted and excited to let the adventure begin --->

The first month was mostly spent settling in, as we had to start from scratch to settle our new "home" (we only brought clothes and kraft dinner along). 
   

We first had to get a car:

 

We stopped a few times 4 cool photos of our new homeland while car shopping!

Can you believe we found a French town???

Proud new owner of our car :)

And then we had to find a NEW APARTMENT to rent as our first place was temporary (this was the most hectic part!).  Hallelujah we found a great place.

Our apartment is on the far right

We are really suffering from the view we get too... ;)

I resorted to some creative clothes drying methods... 

We also had to get furniture, dishes and everything else.  This was a crazy thing to do in a city we had never been in before, on roads we didn’t know, and with people we couldn’t have conversations on the phone with, because we just couldn’t understand their accent!  It was a good way to explore the country though.

In parking lot while shopping for a mattress, not bad huh?

We were also facing culture shock and wrestling with many things, especially in this "shopping phase" of our time here.  Seeing our wealth versus the poverty of the people we came here to help was so hard.   

I’m happy to say we are now feeling settled, a different kind of settled than we had in Canada, but that’s ok, eh?

I found some hockey fabric for Raph's bed and grandma sent a Thomas the train pillow case!!!

Our second month was spent learning all about Hope Africa Collective, their ministries and also Xhosa culture. 

We enjoyed having some of the staff over, getting to know them and their culture. 

Mike also acted as a student in the Life Skill 3-week class and learned so much from that.

Of course this isn’t a “one time thing” and we continue to be student of the people here.  Their culture is so rich and vast; I doubt we will ever completely grasp the difference between the ways we live and the way they live.

We also had a visitor, and got to do a few tourist things with her!  

Pet a monkey anyone??

Simon's Town harbor, 15 minutes away :)

In our third month, Mike began seminar preparation and teaching for a new partnership with the local Bishop.  This partnership has since grown so much.  

  Terry (the director) & Mike have done 11 sessions and are planning to do more in the next year.  

That’s also when I became more involved with the local mom’s groups, inviting them to our home for brunch and doing various group activities (like going to the park, beach, ...)

We also settled on what church we would be attending and joined a small group that meets weekly in our community. 

The people from Joshua Generation Church are wonderful, and the view doesn't hurt either

Our new small group

In our fourth month, Mike started a Jesus discovery class, as a follow-up to students doing a Bible-overview class.  This was a optional class during lunch hour.  He learned a lot about the culture during those classes, the rituals the men go through (I’ll spare you the details), ...  

I our fifth month we hosted someone in our home for 3 weeks, again using that opportunity to be learning so much more about the Xhosa people.  

Our kids are obsessed with their new friend Mawande

Our kids really enjoy when we have people over, and regularly growl and attack our friends.   

I don't think our friends mind much...  Our kids are THAT cute.

That’s also when I started getting sick, so Mike had to miss a lot of work to take care of the boys and I while I got better (and was in the hospital).  None the less, we got to experience the African prayers over our house and the pouring of the oil (on me) a few times. 

Raph getting a wheelchair ride with mom

During our sixth month, Mike began working on new curriculum for Faith Discovery group that will start in February.  It will be a one week class the student will take during their 9 weeks with us at Hope Africa.

Mike and his co-workers are really excited about the outline for this course...

Our seventh month  was the most random by far.  We witnessed a "random" baptism from our window!!!

Found a tree for $2.50 at the second hand shop.

Hope you had a Merry Christmas!

And we started to prepare for the most-warmest-Christmas-time-ever.  Our brains refused to accept the fact that Christmas came and went.  We tried so hard.  That alone requires it's own blog post, so stay tune to hear how this Canadian family celebrated Christmas and New Year.  

Until then;
Cheers

Something is smelling sweet

So I have a very sensitive nose.  It's both a blessing and a curse.  Smells trigger a lot of memories for me, and I'm a tad "scent driven" you could say.  Smells are important to me, hence why I put lemon extract in ice cubes for the kids to draw with in the bath...  and eat!

And scent should be important to us as Christians too, but in a spiritual way.

The Bible says: "For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing."  2 Corinthians 2:15

Did you ever stop and think that as Christians we have an aroma?!?   The Bible says we have a pleasing aroma, and it's surely not by ourselves that we got there (remember those corrupt hearts of ours?) but by the grace of God, we were given the sweet smell of Christ!  

In the Old Testament, the priests under the law would get anointed with oil, which was poured upon their heads, ran down upon their beards, and descended to the skirts of their garments, so that they were all over a perfume, a sweet smell!!!  A pleasing aroma.  (John Gill's exposition of the Bible).

As we do life with people, they ought to be smelling something different, something sweet.  And that's exactly what we hope to do at Hope Africa.  We hope that through our Life Skills program, where we give them tools to help them go through life and hopefully get a job, we hope they will smell something sweet.  We hope that their curiosity will be peeked in our Bible overview class, and that they will smell something sweet on all our staff, ultimately bringing them to a place where they want to know more about the origin of that smell.

And guess what???  The students ARE smelling it and wanting more.  Praise the Lord. So Mike started a Jesus discovery class that happens over the lunch hour for those students with particularly sensitive spiritual noses who wanted to know more about Jesus Christ.  Those meetings have been incredible and powerful.  The students get to wrestle with some really difficult things in a safe place, with Christians who care and love them.  And it all started with a sweet smelling from our precious Jesus.

Continue to pray for the students who are still seeking, the ones who have made the decision to commit to our sweet Jesus, and the ones who have a major case of blocked nostrils!!!

Thanks for reading.

Flying ain't so bad

Isaiah 30:41 "but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

I've always wished I could fly.  I mean what kid hasn't tried to jump off their dresser to see if maybe (just maybe), they had super powers and they could fly?  Ok, maybe you didn't, but I did.  Turns out I CANNOT fly and I'm thankful my dresser wasn't too high.  

But there is something about flying that is so cool, so free, so amazing!!!  Just soaring.  Turns out my wishes came true, only in a better way than I had imagine as a child standing on top of her dresser.  I FLEW my friends!!!!  Off course I was a passenger, but I got a little ride on the wings on the Almighty.  I boarded the most amazing flight I have ever been on and went up to new heights, all the while my physical body hit an "all time low".  As you might have heard, I was sick, and very much so.  I was so sick I required help to do all the basic things.  I had to stay in bed and get better.  I say "had to", as if I would have been able to get out...  

If you are anything like me, that's about the toughest thing ever.  I am a pretty energetic and lively person.  I don't really do well with idleness.  I thrive on business, I define myself with what I accomplish.  I find purpose in doing things I can quantify and it's so very hard for me to sit still.  In fact I don't do still.  Except this time I had to, because I had nothing else left in me.  That's when He flew in, picked me up on His wings, and gave me a ride.  And I soared.  I felt more joy, more peace and more strength then when I was healthy.  My spirit was at peace (most of the time), my Savior was holding me tight, and there was nothing for me to do.  Just let Him take me for a ride!!!  

I don't think I really remember a time where nothing was expected of me, but this time there was NO expectation.  Except getting better and taking like 100 pills.  No one expected me to cook, clean, walk, look a certain way,...  Oh and the people of God, they rallied, formed an army around our family and prayed!  And cooked!  And cleaned!  All the while I soared.  

And did my hair!!!

And I thanked my Almighty pilot, my Comforter, my Everything.  Because for a while I hardly had any earthly concerns and just soared.  Just waited on Him who is Good.  I had no strength to read His Word yet He made His words alive in my heart.  Isn't He wonderful???  He was and is my everything.

When I was weak, He was strong.  And that helped me to never lose heart (at least not too often)!! Maybe outwardly I was sick, yet inwardly I was being renewed day by day for eternal glory that far outweighs the sickness. I still refuse to look with human eyes at this experience, but instead let us fix our eyes on what is unseen and eternal. This was far more a spiritual battle than physical.  When so many people unite and pray for someone, things are going to happen.  And I felt the prayers, so much so that praises where always on my lips in a way I have never experienced.  I could hardly sleep from excitement the night NCF held a prayer meeting for me!!!  Did I miraculously get new lungs?  No.  Yes I was disappointed (this is me being brutally honest), but I'm learning to trust God and to wait on Him.  And I am still waiting for the lungs :)

I found  laughter in what could have been complete sorrow.  I found joy in the darkness of night.  And that's when I realized joy is much more spiritual than we think.  Joy is a choice, joy is a mindset, joy is what we must claim: TODAY.  Because He won.  Off course He won many years ago so knowing the outcome is helpful!  He is the winner and we're on His team.  Yeah for winning!!!  Let's start the celebration TODAY, why wait for heaven?

Joyfully,

Marie-Eve