South Africa Trip

I havent blogged in ages. I am taking a City & Guilds online course in patchwork and quilting ( www.lindseytomsquilts.wordpress.com )  and that, together with my church work and travelling into London to look after Eugene on Mondays, just takes up my days.

But we have just returned from visiting our eldest daughter and family in South Africa and I would love to share our trip with you.

We hadnt seen our daughter for three years nor our son in law and grandsons for over five years and we hadnt met the youngest so a visit was well over due. 

They work as missionaries and have adopted their boys. They work with the homeless and sex workers in Durban. 

Our trip was amazing, so lovely to see them all and to get involved with the ministry that they are part of.

We arrived on the Wednesday afternoon and went straight into ministry work the following morning at 8.30am. The team meet on the sea front to rake and clean the beach. The purpose of this is to eventually employ homeless people to do this work and therefore help them out of the never ending circle of begging, receiving just enough for a night in the homeless shelter, or not, if they dont raise enough money and then begging again the following day.

Although our family have been in SA and working with orphans and homeless for nearly thirteen years, this ministry is in its early days. This work of cleaning the beach is attracting lots of attention and people are really encouraged with what the team are doing. The weather was hot, about 30 degrees and a number of homeless join the team a few mornings a week to carry this out.I will post more soon :)

Recent knits

I have recently been knitting, and made the little brown jacket that Eugene is wearing before he was born but now it fits him just right. 

The twins found patterns in a wool shop that they liked, I was pleased they chose different styles as I find it boring to have to repeat the same pattern just after finishing one. 

I was a little concerned when I saw the patterns but thankfully they weren't as complicated as they looked :) 

 

I don't have great photos of them wearing them. Here they are cuddling either Pom or Clouds, I'm not sure which

Hair brushing time :) 

Easter Break

I hope you all had a lovely Easter, our son, daughter in law and grandson Eugene came to stay Thursday to Saturday.  The sun shone and we sat in the garden, it's been a while since we did that!  I can't believe that Eugene will be one year old later this month. 

Our daughter in South Africa sent Eugene a voice message telling him how much she loves him, he loved hearing his name. I look forward to the time they all meet for real. 

As my husband is the church pastor we waited till after lunch on Easter Sunday before we headed over to Dove Cottage in Wales. We had planned on doing some work in the cottage and taking some trips out. 

We woke on the Monday to snow on the field and mountains opposite but had decided to head to the coast where the sun shone and we managed a picnic. I will post about that trip another time. 

We had taken a trailer with us of items for the cottage, we have oak and glass doors for when hubby builds his studio down the garden and new windows for the front of the cottage. These jobs will be done at a later date but we managed to lay new oak flooring in the kitchen and upstairs landing which is looking great. 

Molly loves to sit on the bedroom window sill looking out at the sheep and new born lambs :) 

What is God doing?

I think it was around March 1998 that our eldest daughter flew off to Brooklyn New York to take part on an internship program with www.metroworldchild.co.uk She stayed for the 4-5 month program and then returned home for a few months before being offered a place on staff at Metro Ministries as it was then called. She worked there for seven years, we visited on a number of occasions and could tell that this was the calling that God had on her life. A calling to work with the vulnerable and needy.

Metro is 'Based on the principle that it is better to build boys and girls today than to repair men and women tomorrow, Metro World Child reaches nearly 100,000 inner-city children and their families every week in New York and around the world.'

It was at Metro that Vashti met her husband, a fellow Brit, they returned at the end of the seven years to be married and then follow their call to work with orphans in South Africa. The main part of their three month honeymoon was sent working with Metro on the rubbish dumps in the Philippines and Thailand. They have spent the past 10-11 years working in the rural and urban areas of Durban and Kwa Zulu Natal. During this time they have also adopted two little boys and have been caring for a third baby who they also hope to adopt. They have also cared for a number of older children during their time in SA. They began a charity supporting orphans and mainly their grandmothers who are caring for them. This charity was put on hold a couple of years back, they knew at the time that they didnt have the financial support to run the charity as they felt God wanted them to. Vashti now works part time for their church as children's pastor and Martin has been home schooling their boys as well as keeping up contacts with those who live in the area where they carried out their ministry. Vashti has also worked into the homeless shelter in Durban supporting the girls who work the streets and their children. 
Before Christmas they had come to the place where they wondered if God still wanted them in SA, each month was a struggle to meet their bills and care for their family, they gave God an ultimatum, either He shows them what they are to be doing in SA or they begin to set about moving back to the UK. 
Well God spoke and just last week they took a trip to visit some friends who they met on their arrival in SA over ten years ago, God had been speaking to them too and if you would like to read more of what they believe God is saying, please visit my daughters blog
www.sheltermeblog.wordpress.com

Im always a little reluctant to step out and say this is what God is saying, maybe its not? But I do believe that if we don't act on what we believe we may miss out big time. I know their testimony is that they haven't always acted on what He has said and at times they have acted on things He definitely HASNT said. But what I also know is that He is their loving Father and will carry them through any mistakes they may make and I can never say they haven't taken huge steps of faith throughout their adult lives and that their hearts have always been to serve their Heavenly Father in loving those living in devastating circumstances.

Below is Vashti's IG post from last night

In 1991 a prophetic word was spoken over Vashti, it was a long word so I will just take a very small portion of what God said 

"....Dont lose anything that God has given into your hands for the Lord has blessed you and the Lord has called you and the Lord says 'I will use you if you give yourself seriously to Me, that joy will spring out more and more to everlasting life and you will be a blessing to all around you, for I have called you and I have put My name in your heart and I have put My name on your tongue....'"

cake

I am so proud of my daughter......I am of course proud of all my kids...my eldest daughter lives in South Africa doing missionary work.  Their house is basic to say the least, she does have an oven now thankfully, she was cooking on an open fire outside for some time, they don't have running hot water and they don't have a washing machine. BUT she does make amazing cakes.

I posted about Jesse's birthday, well today is her husband Martins birthday, next month is Joseph's birthday....I'm looking forward to seeing the cakes that she makes for him.

Jesse's cupcakes

Martin's Chocolate Mud Cake

Grandsons

I now have some photo's of my beautiful grandsons who live in South Africa. I'm uploading from my ipad so may be a bit blurred...still haven't figured this out yet.  As you can see filling your pot with frozen yogurt is a serious business 😀

                   

                             

 

                             

                           

boys in beanies

So here are my beautiful grandsons in the hats I made them...not sure what's with the funny faces :)

my grandsons

I don't get many photo's of my grandsons to share with you, just the occasional snap via whatsapp.

This one was taken by their Dad while they were fishing near by where they live in South Africa. 

For those of you who don't read my blog regularly, Joseph and Jesse were adopted. 

Joe was found when he was just born and placed in a lovely little orphanage where my daughter and son in law met him and adopted him at 2 months old. Jesse was also found the day he was born and placed in a foster family, they adopted Jesse when he was 5 months old. Joe is now 7 and Jesse 6. They are the most beautiful boys, we love and miss them very much.

self control

Today Joseph received 'Star of the Week' award at his new school, he got to go up to the stage in assembly and shake the head masters hand.....I would have loved to have been able to see that. And look what he received his award for...exercising self control! What a great gift to have :)

Jesse Benjamin

Jeremiah 1:5

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you

Psalm 139:13

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mothers womb'

So this little guy is 6 today, I cant believe that he has been in our lives for  five and a half years. His life didn't start out too well, being born in the ladies cloak room in the city court house...BUT God had huge plans for Jesse. He was found and placed in a foster home where he was introduced to our daughter and son in law who went on to adopt Jesse as their son and brother to Joseph. Here he is this morning ready for school and carrying the new back pack that Grandma and Grandpa bought him.

We thank God daily for Jesse, we know God had his life planned out before he was even born and we are privileged that God chose our family for Jesse to be a part of.  

And if you have time hop on over to http://littlefingersandfrosting.blogspot.co.uk/ and get his mummy's post 

 

 This is one of the first photo's we saw of Jesse, just hours after they had brought him home. he was a very sad little chap, suffering from reflux and a skin condition

 But in no time, after much care from his new parents, Jesse changed to a happy little boy, reflux and skin cleared up

 With big brother Joseph

 Helping mummy bake

 First birthday

Just recently...enjoying the South African wild life

Big School!

Its been a big week for this little chap....he started 'big school' on Tuesday. In South Africa pre school goes through until the child is 6 years old and then they go into grade 1. Joseph has been at a Montessori pre school where he has been so happy and for his Mum and Dad its been quite a time to try and find the right school for him. All education in SA needs to be paid for even the local state school. They had decided that they didn't want for Joe to go to that school, their had heard from their friends how their adopted child had been bullied because although he is Zulu he had white parents. 

The school that they eventually found for Joe is close to their home and very similar to the Montessori style of school. Lots of art, gardening and creative studies as well as the regular lessons. They have made a couple of visits as a family and Joe was very excited about starting this week. he was up before the sun on his first day (its summer in SA at the moment) ready and dressed before any one else. 

It has been quite a challenge, as I have said before they are missionaries and on a low income. They have been without a car this week and so relied on lifts from their neighbour, however on Friday he had to be elsewhere, we prayed and Joe and his daddy walked up to the road to get a lift with a Zulu taxi which are small mini buses. However each taxi that passed was full, and then an elderly man stopped and offered them a lift, he then arranged to come back later to pick up our son in law and drive him back to school to collect Joe. He said whenever they needed a lift he could help them!  

God is good!

Missing them

I do miss these two lovely little guys.....my daughter just messaged me and told me that Joe (on the right) has been talking about when they visited last June and he sat next to Gwumpa on the train and how 'cool it would be to go on the train with Gwumpa today' It certainly would...really hope they can come and visit again soon!

Hexagons and Grandsons

Years ago I inherited a dustbin bag and hat box FULL of hexagons already cut, sewn to templates and bagged in individual fabric designs. Over time I have used many of these hexies for quilting projects. I also taught an African lady who was visiting our church for a year, how to make a quilt from them, she returned to Africa with bags of them to carry on at home.

When my daughter and her husband were staying with us before moving out to South Africa I taught her how to join the hexies and she put together a number of blocks but they left before I got around to teaching her how to put them into a quilt.

So I have just got around to appliquéing them onto a sheet to then put into a quilt for her.

 Lets see how long this takes me !!

 I have just received the photo's below of my Grandsons so thought I would add those too

No Time!

Following on from my last post, the family in SA are still on the farm, I am not sure of all the details and neither are they but they didnt have to move out by Friday and we are continuing to pray that they wont have to move out at all. Thank you for your prayers too!

I have had such a busy week I havent had time to blog. I have just finished a quilt for a competition and now I cant email the photo in to the magazine....I am guessing everyone is sending their photos at the same time and the system is overloaded because it just keeps coming back and the competition ends tomorrow!!!

So I thought as I have nothing else to post about I would add some photo's of my beautiful grandson Gilby Skipp...pretty cute eh?

Jumpers

Even though South Africa is a warm country, during their winter season the weather can become a little chilly and so my daughter asked me if I would knit jumpers for the boys....here they are wearing them. The photos are taken with a Blackberry and then sent to me so they are not as clear as they would be taken with a camera. These two little chaps will be here on 8th June...very excited!