That Was The Week That Was...

After a weeks break we're back to 'blogging'. Dean had a mixed week in Pretoria. The content of the workshop was top notch, with some excellent speakers and people that ordinarily we mortals don't get to speak to. Dean also got to visit the UNAIDS library which was excellent and enabled him to fill up on loads of resources from the UN. However, the timekeeping, communication and general organisation (or lack of it) was quite appalling at times and a source of frustration for Dean!

On a more positive note, Dean stayed with a really nice couple (Dwayne & Heather) and their 2 daughters. As a family they were so welcoming and hospitable, he really couldn't have asked for anything better! Pretoria was much colder than Cape Town and Dean was glad to get home to warm up. Paula had the shock of her life as Dean managed to arrive home 24 hours early and whilst Paula was out with some friends celebrating her Birthday, Dean left a note on her wardrobe saying: "Your Birthday Surprise Is In Here" and then hid in the wardrobe just as Paula returned home. Imagine her surprise when she opened the wardrobe to see Dean in there (scary)!!!!

Paula had a good (but long) week on her own with Joel. They spent 2 nights away in Franshoek with a friend (Nikki) and her 2 kids, which was a bit of a lifeline for Paula & Joel! Paula will probably write a Blog in the next day or so.

We had a phone call from the Hospice this morning informing us that Lorraine had died during the night. Although this is sad, we were really pleased to have been able to involve the hospice which allowed Lorraine to die with dignity. She was admitted to Hottentots hospital on Monday and transferred to the hospice on Thursday and was doing well, but her illness was obviously too far gone. We praise God that she was born again!! Please pray for her daughter Devideen as her future is a little uncertain at the moment.

One of the highlights for Dean in Pretoria was a motivational speaker at lunch on Saturday called Solly Mathibela. He basically preached a Christian sermon to 30 Masters students and was incredibly entertaining. However, one of his key points was that we shouldn't refer to people as PWA's (People With AIDS) but rather as VIP's (Virally Infected Persons) which Dean thought was far better and less discriminatory that PWA's & the host of other acronyms given to VIP's. Dean will be using the term VIP in his papers which will no doubt cause some controversy with his lecturers - Excellent!!

Dean can't wait to get into CNP on Monday afternoon to see his friends again, hopefully Michael will have the kettle on when he gets there.