Hello's and goodbye's!

Hello all!

What a crazy few days! Friday marked another night of "The Event" a youth night full of worship, games, drama, prizes, photo booth, dances and lots of fun at our church, Vineyard Fellowship. The theme of the night was "Love your selfie." 275 young people where there and 50 decided to make a commitment to follow Jesus which is incredible! YFC did a skit on how the devil tempts you but how Jesus saves you. There was a mother with a young baby who ended up wanting to kill the baby; a teenager full of self-confidence but then feels unworthy and finally a student who is very into studying who ends up wanting to shoot herself. It linked in with the testimony of Mickey, a guy from our home cell who had a 19 year cocaine habit before he was saved. It was such a fun night and one that I will never forget! We did the monkey dance 3 times!! For those who don't know the monkey dance its from Hillsong and is just jumping around being crazy!



selfie with Pastor Steve, his wife Dee and Freddie

Unleashing my inner drama queen












We went back to Karatara on Saturday for a "Holland Special" - 9 Dutchies are here for 3 weeks and they introduced us to Dutch games and songs. It was so nice to be back and to see all the children again! It was basically the same structure as Holiday Club - worship, story, games, sports and not forgetting the food. We were playing netball and one of the Dutch guys started playing. He had never played netball before but he was so tall he was amazing! And he's probably the shortest one of them too!



Reliving our childhood!

On Saturday night we were invited to Pastor Felix & Maureen's house for supper. They are from Zimbabwe so it was a traditional meal of pap, vegetables and meat, all eaten with your hands!! You have to take a bit of pap, roll it into a ball, pick up some vegetables and eat it. Its very hard! Everyone else were such pros at it except Madie & I. It was definitely spot the white girls!! Their wee boy Kyle was my best friend that night and he is so funny! He is obsessed with Michael Jackson and gave us a performance of his moves!

Traditional Zimbabwean meal

 

Monday was a very sad day for us all, Madie left to go back to Germany. We got so close here, especially in the last two months when there were just 4 volunteers, the three girls and Ethan. We went on holiday together and shared so many stories and had so much fun together. She became my sister and I will miss her a lot, especially in my last three weeks here. But look out for her as she's coming to visit me sometime soon!

The countdown is on until I leave now - just over 2 weeks!

Until next time...

Love from Knysna xxx

Holiday club craziness!

Hello!!



Karatara Holiday Club crew

Our first holiday club was in Karatara, a small village outside of Knysna way into the forest. Karatara means "deepest darkness" and at first that's what I thought it was really like. The people living there are really forgotten about and there are many prejudices associated with them such as them being stupid because they're inbred. Up until a few years ago many hadn't been out of Karatara to George or Knysna. One thing that surprised me most was that the people living there were coloured and white. The way Karatara had been described, I thought it was a coloured community. There was no difference in poverty according the the skin colour of the children. There were some white children that you could see have a tougher life than the coloured children. The people there live in brick houses and there are 3 shops in the village. Alcohol, rape and drugs are so common, mostly due to the fact that there is nothing for them to do. There were many children there who were disabled and had physical and mental problems, more than I had ever seen before since I've been here but I was told that that's because of the inbreeding and the way the children have been living and brought up.

Piggy back race!

with my wee friend Joshua

The holiday club in Karatara was led by Theo and Jinke, missionaries from Holland. They are so lovely and have such a heart for the people of Karatara. We, as Youth for Christ were there to faciliate the games and sports. I was pleasantly surprised when doing the games and sports that the older group got so much more into them and enjoyed them much more than the other groups. The middle age group (grade 4 - 7) was not a nice age group for any of us to deal with, especially the girls as they had such an attitude and would refuse to do anything. When situations like this happen I find it particularly hard as my Afrikaans isnt good and many of them choose this time to pretend they can't speak or understand English. On Friday, we did a "messy assualt course" with apple dunking and searching for smarties in flour among other things. The Friday night was something very special - a prayer walk around Karatara with the kiddies. Music was blasting out from the van, we were singing and dancing and we walked with torches and flags. I was walking with two girls and it was lovely talking to them and building relationships with them. It was an incredible moment to look forward and see the torches, lights, flags and so many people! After the walk was a service and it was amazing seeing so many parents there. Even though many of the parents aren't the best role models for the children, them coming out in support and also knowing that they an interest in what their children are doing is so encouraging!

I enjoyed Karatara so much and felt sad that the week was over. I got so attached to many of the children there and fell in love with the people there - they are so open and friendly and all they want you to do is show them love, something so simple and easy. What an amazing and blessed week!!!

The week after was Knysna YFC Holiday Club. I was a group leader of the "red team" (grades 3&4) As a team leader I had to teach my team the memory verse each day and make sure they were well behaved which was a challenge especially for a few of them. A team of Cyara YFC came to help with the games, sports and crafts. At the start of the week I really didnt enjoy it as much as Karatara and I was a wee bit disappointed with the Ikageng team as they work on a camp site and do clubs every week so I was expecting some really good games from them. The children were also so naughty and badly behaved. Think I was just comparing everything to Karatara.

tug of war

Towards the end of the week, I really enjoyed myself and built relationships with the kids. There was a cheeky Xhosa boy who was the smallest but definately the naughtiest! I promised him sweets if he was good and he always flashed me a sweet, cheeky smile everytime I looked at him! There were a few of the kids from Immanuel Ministries there and at the start of the week they were reluctant to get involved in anything but at the end they were into everything and really enjoying themselves which was so good to see. We all became close to the Ikageng team and were sad for them to leave. They were all very funny and it was so nice to have them there with us!

In what would usually have been a day full of bands and parades, I spent my 12th July in the Knysna forest from 3am serving tea, coffee & hot chocolate to 6000 runners in the forest marathon. It was sooo cold and very busy! Everyone was so appreciative of us doing it and kept saying how wonderful we were - I agree!! We then had to collect the blankets and clothes that the runner throw off when they start to run.
It was quite gross sometimes because some of them were so wet and muddy. People from the township were waiting until the runner start as we were so they could get blankets and clothes too. They were so greedy and selfish taking everything they could. Even if they were told to move on they would get quite aggressive. One girl went to take stuff from the pile I had to watch and when I said "no" she gave me the scariest look! Security was very useless there, packing blankets away for themselves. It probably sounds awful that were didnt want them to take the blankets but they take so much stuff every year while the people who really need it get nothing. The blankets were taken to the Dutch Reformed church in town in bakkies, cars and a couple of big skips. The folding process started and continued again on Monday. I never want to fold another blanket!! Even though it was very hard work and very different to my usual 12th July, I had an amazing day doing God's work in Knysna!
Thanks to Mum and Auntie Mo for keepinh me up to date with pictures, videos and "twelfies"!! :D


We distributed the blankets on Monday after filling the trailer and corolla to the brim with blankets! Madie and I went with Uncle Reggie, we weren't sure where to but Uncle Reggie said the Holy Spirit would lead us. We went to Nekkies, to a community of wooden houses which was so far away from anything else. Reggie talked to them, heard their stories and ministered to them before giving them blankets and bananas. One woman had stomach cancer but now it had spread through her whole body - Reggie talked to her about death and we prayed for her. Uncle Reggie felt that we had to go to a creche and we found one in a very poor part of Nekkies. The woman at the creche was so thankful and kept praising Jesus. Throughout it all, God was definately working through us.

After a hectic two weeks, we were finally on holiday!! Road trip to Cape Town wooo!! :D We stayed the first night in an old train in Mossel Bay and made our way to Cape Town after Stellenbosch and Franshoek. It was so nice to be there again and it brought back to many memories of Namibia too. It was a lovely holiday to chill, have fun and do not the usual tourist things. It was so good to spend time with Madie, Ethan and Yvette as well and so many memories were made! On Saturday we went to a dance battle competition that Ethan's brother's dance group were hosting. It was so good!! They were all such amazing dancers and was like real-life Step-Up!! I came out of there with so much swag all I was missing was my snapback!!

What an amazing three weeks!! :D Sorry if its too long but I just had so much to say! School has started again this week so do many of our ministries - no rest while in Africa!!


Much love from Knysna xxx




beautiful sunset in Mossel Bay

Back at Smiley's with Jodan



 

 



Birthday in Knysna!

Hello!
I'm writing this on the 23rd June - exactly 3 months since I left home and exactly 2 months until I leave here. I can't belive how quickly time has gone and also how little there is left. I extended by 3 weeks, leaving the day my visa runs out - how is that for good timing?!

So many things have happened since I last wrote my blog - that will teach me for leaving it so long again!

In terms of projects, everything has been very quiet - schools are getting ready for the winter holidays so most things are winding down and there are often very few children at the creche because of the rain (they dont come if its raining as they have to walk.) Immanuel ministries is always on and I heard a heart breaking story of one of the boys who comes to the Kids Club after feeding on a Wednesday, Jay-Jay. It is quite obvious that he, as do a lot of the children here (particularly in Oupad where Immanuel Ministries is located) has the Infant Alcohol Syndrome. His brother was 2 months old and died as a result of his mother feeding him breastmilk full of alcohol. I was so shocked at this as he is such a happy boy and well behaved but you just never know the situation that he faces at home.

There is a boy at Smiley's Creche called Jodan. He is such a sweet boy and very cute. When I first arrived I was told that his father murdered his mother in January because he suspected her of cheating on his and this was done in front of his older brother. Now he and his brothers live with their grandmother who drinks a lot so his home situation is not pleasant. At first, you would never have known anything had happened but in recent weeks, we have noticed a change in him, he has become much more sensitive. He and another of the boys was hitting each other and when I said for him to say sorry he started crying and cried for most of the day. I think now he has realised that both his mum and dad are gone and they aren't coming back. They have a break at the creche and he never has anything in his bag and its very sad to see him look in it and then put it down again.

I am just back from the Youth Alpha weekend with the youth group from Hornlee. It was an amazing time getting to know them by name and building relationships with them. In the group discussions at Youth Alpha, they dont ever want to talk and are shy but we had some great conversations with them during this time and they really opened up to us. The Saturday night was so heart-warming for me. Shahida, who works for YFC and is also their youth leader, said to us before that many of these children are going through really hard things such as being from single parents, rape, bad education and no money. On the Saturday night, men and women from her church came to lead worship and to be there for them. They hugged and showed love to every single young person that was there. It was so nice to watch as the young people really hugged them back and you could see how much it meant to them.

I have a lot of animal related stories to tell. I have gone elephant riding - one of the most amazing experiences! I was so nervous beforehand but absolutely loved it! A random little thing which I never knew is that an elephant's skin isnt rough like you would imagine, its actually very soft and hairy!

As well as elephant riding, I went ostrich riding - wow! It was the strangest feeling, I thought I was going so fast but it was so slow. One of the girls got stuck on the ostrich and couldn't get off so that was definately the highlight of the day! An ostrich fact is that the egg contains as much as 26 chicken eggs. The shell is also so hard that you can stand on it!

A few weeks ago we had an unpleasant visitor - a baboon!! We have had them before in the garden eating the rubbish and throwing it around but this time it was in the house, in our bedroom in fact!! Partly our fault because the back door was open but I had been sitting in the kitchen all morning apart from these 10 minutes. I don't know what I would have done if it had came in while I was sitting there. Although many have said that I would have scared it of as soon as it saw my face...It ate a good bit of our fruit but thankfully that was it!

I had my birthday here last week which was very strange not to be at home with my friends and family. At the start of the day I felt sad because everyone was acting like it wasnt my birthday and nothing exciting was planned. I was taken out for a birthday coffee (place here does the best coffee and I'm not even much of a coffee lover!) and began to get quite suspicious as one of the girls stayed at home. When I got back home, the curtain was shut at the window beside the door which it never is and I had to open the door. I was met with a surprise party and all my Knysna family were there! It was so nice that they did that for me, I am very blessed with an amazing group of people, especially my two sisters. :)

The house has got smaller once again - two of the girls left and one came but it is just for 3 weeks. It has been quite challenging with Elena coming as she is very narrow minded and has come here with a lot of prejudices, often unwilling to get involved. It is unfortunate that she isnt here for longer as I think she would have changed dramatically and opened up much more to us as a group.

The next two weeks are holiday clubs - Karatura and Knysna. I shouldnt be complaining so much about having nothing on these past few weeks as we will be knackered after them! There are some problems with our house at the minute, everything seems to be breaking at the same time! Shower, toilet and the floor tiles which many have lifted and cracked and are all getting replaced with wooden floor. Unfortunately for us that means we have to move out for over a week and at the minute we are not sure where to, but it'll be grand.

I've made a wee video of recent photos and videos, but due to some "technical issues" I can't upload it so drop me an email (ruthy-i@Hotmail.co.uk) or a message on facebook and I'll pass it on! Or ask my dearest mother too :)

Love from Knysna xxx

 

 

 

TWO MONTHS!!

Ok so I’ve realised just how bad I’ve been at doing this blog – I knew this would happen! Anyway…I cannot believe I’ve hit the two month mark and nearly half way through my time! (although chances of me extending are VERY likely ;) )

A few changes since I last wrote – instead of Immanuel Ministries (feeding programme & kids club) on a Wednesday afternoon, I’m now going to the Provincial Hospital which is a state hospital meaning the majority of the patients are black or coloured. I go along with Auntie Lillian from Options (pregnancy centre of YFC) to the Maternity Unit. We talk to new mothers and meet their babies and then pray for them. I was surprised at how open and welcoming the mothers are to us and how they always say they feel even more amazing than they already do when we pray with them. It is just so incredible and I absolutely love it! I really could just take home every single one of the babies!

My Afrikaans is slowly improving – although my best conversations are between the children at Smiley’s crèche!

 

 

Options held a bake sale a few Fridays ago to raise money for a conference which they would like to attend. Myself and Ive decided to give a helping hand and raise some extra money by selling hugs for R5 (about 35p.) The reception we got was very varied – from people giving us weird looks, those who loved it and thought it was great and those who gave us money then went quickly away before we could hug them! The selling point of getting a German and an Irish hug won them over!

Our church here, Knysna Vineyard, just launched their new youth with “The Event” – a night of worship, dance groups and games. It was so much fun and there were 250 young people there! Myself and the other volunteers were on the “creative team” - we decorated the church and were in charge of the food. It was amazing to see so many young people there.

The house is getting much smaller – two girls are leaving this week and next week, leaving 3 volunteers and “mummy” Ghila, a YFC staff member who is actually very young but says we are her girls. A new German is coming in June for 3 weeks too.

One final note that I have eventually put up my Ulster flag above my bed – just in time for marching season! Although one of the Germans said “Oh you’re making the house Irish.” It’s impossible trying to explain anything to do with Northern Ireland and not Ireland! Unfortunately it won’t stay up and I’ve woken up with it around my face the past few nights.

 

Much love from a cold Knysna xxx

One Month!

Can't believe I've been here for one month now! Time has flown! It feels like I've been here forever and also that I've just arrived.

I'm getting much more settled into my projects now and having a set schedule is definitely easier. Three of the girls have now left, leaving five of us which I prefer as it was very hard to get to know so many people.

Just a few stories and things that I've done since the last time that I thought I'd share. We did an assembly in Plettenberg Bay. It was so early - school here starts around 8 so we had to leave Knysna at 7! Although we were just a little late... First we did a drama about giving back to others, sang some songs (many are new to me and very catchy!) and Jerome told a story about Easter.



Plett Assembly



 

On Tuedsay mornings I go to Knysna Christian School to help with reading, mainly just with one boy, Siseko. His reading is very poor although I have already seen improvement in the short time I've been there. I think this is because he is getting more comfortable with me and also I take time to make sure he says it right which does annoy him! The funny thing is when he says something in my accent!

I spent the Easter weekend in Cape Town with a girl who is volunteering with George YFC and it turns out that she lives in Newtownards as well! We went to Table Mountain, Hout Bay, Camps Bay and Signal Hill. It was great fun and we also went to Hillsong church twice on Sunday - definately an amazing experience!



Chilling on Table Mountain

I got some very nice Easter parcels in the post this week - lots of choclate & sweets from home! I have to admit my favourite thing were Tayto Cheese &Onion crisps - I have missed them!!

This week is school holidays so only one projects is on but I am looking forward to catching up on some sleep!

Much love from Knysna xxx

 

*I had for the first time ever uploaded this on time but it turns out I saved it as a draft instead. I'm now back in my projects after the school holidays *

Loving SA food!

 

Hello! I'm sitting writing this in 27 degree heat! :D

It was school holidays this week so many of our school ministries were not on. Immanuel Ministries was one of the projects that continued during the holidays. We took the children that usually go to club after feeding to the beach at Leisure Island on Monday. This was with children aged 10-13. It was so amazing to see how excited they were! Most of them don't have showers and had never been to the beach before. While there, we also played group games and had a sandcastle competition. I loved seeing how hard they worked and how much effort they out into their beautiful masterpieces!

The weather was not that nice for when we were meant to take the younger children to the beach so instead there were games at the Immanuel Ministries building. After this was the feeding at IM. Frans, a dutch man who founded IM, took us round the township with the leftovers to feed them to the dogs, cats & chickens. The stories which he told me about some of the situations there were heartbreaking.

This weekend I had potjie - a South African casserole-type dish of chicken, potatoes & vegetables cooked over a fire in a black cauldron! Very nice! On Sunday we went to a coloured church in the township which speaks Afrikaans. It was exactly what I expected it to be - lots of singing & dancing. The worship at the start lasted over an hour! I really enjoyed it but dont think I could go every week as I only understood the odd word that was said in English. We then went to the beach at Buffels Bay which was so beautiful & we managed to catch the start of the sunset too!

For those country bumpkins, I've seen some of the "township big 5." I couldnt believe it when I saw cows just dandering around all over the road! Apparently they know where their home is and they go back every night. I never seem to have my camera or phone near me when I see them but I'll get some photos of them soon!

Much love from Knysna xxx

 

First week of life in Knysna!

A big hello from South Africa!

I can't believe I've been in Knysna for over a week!

Anyone who was around me in the days before I left will know how worried I was about travelling and going through Joburg airport. I sat beside a man on the plane who was a South African living in England going back to see his dad. We got talking and it turns out his dad was born in Saintfield before moving to SA. After I told him how I was freaking out, he said he would stay with me the whole time until he got his plane as it was earlier than mine. This really just shows how God answers prayer and provides when we need it most!!

The projects are very exciting and I'm loving them! This week I was involved in after-school clubs, a soup kitchen and a creche. One thing which I didnt expect (even though I should have) is that all of the children speak afrikaans as their first language. I know two words so that's been something which has been hard but I'm determined to learn it!

We had the weekend off so went on a hike to Nature's Valley - in the middle was this beautiful beach which you could only get to by going on the hike. Some bits were hard such as climbing along the side of rocks with only the sea below but it was worth it!

Here's a quick video of my weekend, don't get too jealous of the views & the weather ;)

 

Well that's my first week in a bit of a big nutshell!

Much love from Knysna xxx