Gardening Bits

Following a difficult week it's lovely to be able to lay the current mess aside and enjoy a beautiful Cape winter's Saturday.

It's also great to have Michael back again working his magic in the garden. Michael is feeling much better after his recent heart attack and everybody including Rosie the dog is delighted to see him again.

Friends In Pain

I'm really saddened to have to say that Peter died over the weekend while we were away. He'd been battling throat cancer for a long time now, but that doesn't make it any easier.

Peter was a great guy who rarely asked for anything and on the few occasions when he did you knew he was desperate. Peter was part of my men's bible study group in the community and together we spent many many hours trekking around in a vain attempt to obtain his ID book.

Scar!

I finally got the all clear to start driving again. Hooray!

The 'cast' is off and now I have to wear a splint for driving etc. but otherwise the Doc wants me to keep exercising and moving the wrist.

So now I have an impressive souvenir that has left my boys speechless which is a very rare thing!

It's great to feel free again even if it feels a little vulnerable.

Weekend

After a bit of silence on the blog we've just popped by to say that we're off for a couple of nights. This break couldn't have come at a better time given some of the recent events.

Praise God for his faithfulness and mercy!

Something For The Weekend Sir?

Locally this pic has no comedy value so this one is for our friends outside of South Africa. I guess it's a bit like Spotted Dick, we Brits see nothing funny about it but the Yanks find it highly amusing!

Dean + Ice Skating = Trouble

For those of you not in Facebook you might not know about my latest escapade.

On Wednesday I joined Eli's class as a helping/responsible parent on their ice skating trip to Grand West ice rink. We had a great time and a lot of fun was had by all. Eli took to the ice like the proverbial duck to water and was very pleased with himself. I on the other hand didn't have such a good time of it and came home with a rather splendid souvenir!

Don't Look Back

On Sunday we heard a great word from a young guy, all of 23 years old, but he spoke with great authority and wisdom for his age. We felt God really used him to speak to us, this has been happening quite a bit lately, and we felt very blessed and motivated afterwards.

His main passage was Luke 9: 59-62 "He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family." Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.""

International Day Of The African Child

Today is the International Day of the African Child and this year marks the 35th anniversary since the brutal murder of over 100 children and thousand more injured in Soweto by the apartheid regime in South Africa.

The children were protesting against being forced to learn in Afrikaans, demanding instead (and not unreasonably so) to be educated in their own languages.

Father's Day

This morning I had the pleasure of attending the Father's Day celebrations at the boys school.

The school had gone to town in making the hall look great with muffins, coffee and chocolates galore for the dads. The children performed a great array of pieces from songs and poems to dances and jokes.

All the children did really well but I was particularly proud of my boys!

World Blood Donor Day

I give blood for a very simple reason.

When my younger brother was dying from Leukaemia he was often asked "What can I do for you?" His response was always the same "Give blood!"

Blood was literally my brother's lifeline.

To not give is simply selfish! To not give because you're scared of needles or some other rubbish is simply pathetic!

Ask yourself one question. When I'm sick or hurt and need blood, who's going to give it to me?

Miles 4 Smiles Assembly

Dean had the privilege of attending the Miles 4 Smiles assembly at the boys school this morning.

We love how good the school is at getting involved in stuff but the way they get involved in this particular charity is quite amazing. Between the children in this picture they raised just over R34,000 (£3100) which will be used by Operation Smile for corrective surgery for children with cleft palates.