Izulu orphan party

Have you ever been in the situtation where you feel truly honored to just be there to witness and see?

Well, that is what the izulu orphan christmas party was like. I was overwhelmed...it seemed almost surreal that all these little children were orphaned, and that this was the most exciting day of the year where they would receive a present each, something to eat and drink and to have some fun with balloons and face painting.

There was close to a thousand children with their go-gos (care takers) there (each day, as this was on both a saturday and a sunday)...waiting their turn to be escorted to get their gifts and to ensure they are registered and their school results recorded.

There were songs being sung in Zulu. We had a grand time, jumping and clapping with the kids and seeing the smiles on their faces and taking some beautiful pictures of them.

They were so fascinated to see the pictures of themsleves after you had taken them of them. I am still at a loss of what to say. To express what an honor it has been to even meet them. To say thank you for still striving each day to live life to the fullest. I pray so much that they will get the support they need to live a good life. To get an education. If one of these children does not have a uniform, they don't get to go to school. They don't have so many of the privileges that we have in North America.

Some of them have over 12 children in one small place where they live together with their go-go.

When i was there, I was exhausted with very little sleep, and volunteering the whole day (on both days)...but I wouldn't have wanted to be any other place...because it really makes you realize how important human life is and that we shouldn't take it for granted.

Please take a moment and say a prayer for them. And in some small way...if you can make a difference in someone's life take that time to reach out. Say hello. Donate. Just do something that will make a difference and brighten up their day.

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True Heroes - The lovely staff of ikhaya

After meeting with the wonderful staff of Ikhaya (Tholie, Patience, Happy, Thembi, Glory), it made me think truly of who those heroes we have in our lives. These women are exactly that...ones with servant hearts to work with the orphans at Ikhaya, and are my heroes.

They may not know it, but they are so very special and do amazing work with the children. At the staff party that Wendy, Janet and Debbie arranged...it was so heart warming when they broke out in song and sang "Thank you Jesus"

Their voices came from deep within their hearts...lilting in the air with such sweetness, humbleness and beauty. It was such a moving moment...and I was so honored to be there to witness it. Their gratefulness for a simple Christmas staff lunch. For their smiles. For their gentleness and humbleness.

I was so honored to be at their table and to serve in some small way. To see the glory of God through these amazing women. May God increase His love in them bountifully.

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A darling boy

What a lovley and sweet boy. I couldn't resist but to take a picture of him as he was fascinated with what was on the little tv showing winnie the pooh and tigger.

He truly is a gift from God. He has his moments when his face can be lit with such joy, but then there are moments when he doesn't realize that anyone is watching and his face is filled with such sadness and sorrow. It makes my heart ache, because a little boy only the age of 3 years old should not have to feel that pain and sadness.

I feel so blessed to be in his presence and to go seek new adventures with him hand in hand. Sometimes he throws his little tantrums when he wants a sweetie...but it makes it all the more precious because he is just a little boy, like any other normal little kid...and he has a chance at new life which i'm so thankful for.

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Church Family Day filled with so much fun

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Today was a sunny and fun filled day..the kids loved it! (young and old alike!!) There is so much love in this church. Everyone is warm and friendly. The day started off with the little kids climbing on top of Anne and I on the trampoline....but then we got them dressed in their swimming costumes. there was a water slide that they were tentative at first but then went full speed ahead on their little bums down the slide. and yes....ahem we did join in on the fun and got very wet in the process.... there even was a photo session which u can see above with the gang....so much fun!! there was a braai ..yum!! then of course folks headed off to watch the rugby game and u could here the cheers when they had a good play. awesome memories!!!

Trampoline time with Jabu!

Had a blast on the trampoline with Jabu!

Boy did she ever get me to work out my abs lifting our legs up and down. Thankfully we decided to rest and look at the sky and take a little break when we took this picture together!

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The children's nativity play to find the true meaning of christmas

We went nearby to watch the local children's school nativity play.


They went through all the children's stories:
Goldilocks
Snow white and the seven dwarfs
Cinderella
Three little pigs
Little red riding good
Santa and his reindeer
Itsy bitsy spider

They kept searching and searching to look into their hearts to find the Christmas story

They sang a song: Christmas is the time for love.

And then they went through the nativity play with the angels and wise men offering gifts to the baby Jesus.

Then they sang silent night....with baby Jesus.

They finally found the Christmas story!!!!

Merry Christmas to all!

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Unless you become like a child, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven

The first time I really heard God speak to me was with the verse: Luke 18:16.

I was being stubborn and sitting in my university chapel where I told God that I refused to leave until He spoke to me. He spoke to other people...or so they told me...:).... and thus I decided that God loved me just as much and so He should also speak to me.

So I sat my little bum down in front of the alter in St. Jeromes and waited. And just closed my eyes and said Im not leaving until you speak to me.

Well - what happened when i closed my eyes was that i saw words in my mind's eye...that were floating into my ear: Luke 18:16.

I had no idea what verse that was and so i looked it up in the bible sitting next to me:

Unless you become like a child, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

And so I start today's blog with this, because it is so apparent during me first 3 days here at iKhaya that God is teaching me again....

What it is like to be a child again and to love like a child.

I see this love everywhere.

I see it in Wendy

I see it in the staff

I see it in the volunteers

And so much so in the orphans that are so sweet and little darlings.

I didn't realize that I had forgotten what that purity and innocent love felt like until I arrived here. There was a rowdy bunch of lovely people who welcomed me with wide smiles and even bigger hugs and their love just flowed. I thought to myself...WOW. There is nothing to worry about here...this is going to an amazing experience.

So here I am in iKhaya LikaBaba....staying in the little volunteer house filled with young adults ranging from 18-22 years old... and wow, i had forgotten how awesome it is to be around light hearted young adults just starting out and have so much passion and love in their hearts.

It reminded me of how overly bubbly and happy I was all the time when I was back in university

Then there are the beautiful children...that truly...when they take a hold of your hand and start walking with you...or ask you to play or pick them up....you think to yourself...How beautiful are these children.

It tears a little bit at your heart to think that anyone could abandon them. And you think to yourself...why is it a that I have been so blessed, yet these children were left alone with no one and nothing.

I'm so thankful and honored to even be here and see how hard everyone works here. From the staff, to Wendy to the volunteers that are here from international places, to the local volunteers who come in multiple times a week out of their busy schedule to help out.

There is so much paper work in order to get the children properly registered and court hearings. There is so much behind the scenes that you never really realize goes on when you sit on the other side of the world.

I am truly blessed to be apart of this experience and to have this opportunity.

It opens your eyes. It makes you realize that there is so much more out there than what we are used to in our usual routine. Especially when you come from a culture where you are taught to live to work your life away instead of just enjoying the small things.

JABU AND LULU!!

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After a very interesting night trying to sleep....(there were thunderstorms and lightening and the next door neighbour's rooster was crowing along with the thunder all night long)....I awoke to a mild south African day. I have a wonderful roommate Anne from Germany and there are two other German volunteers Ty and timone who are also awesome! Ty is a nickname since his name is timone also. so for today I will speak of two sweet little girls I met today. in the light blue is JABU. And the little one sleeping is LULU. they were quiet at first....and a little bit tentative since I was new...but they warmed up. they are both 3 years old. I'm so amazed at how smart and sweet they are. little JABU liked my hair and kept wanting to touch it. she kept asking about my sister and mom and dad. in comparison to some little kids from north America..these little girls are so well behaved. they know to put away their plates after they eat. how to say please and thank you. how to wash up and clean their hands. To put their toys away after they play. they were just happy with simple toys and going out to play in the sand and the jungle gym. no need for tv or video games. just good old fashion fun! :) we did a few puzzles after dinner and they counted the pieces. then it was time for bedtime....and I read Mulan to JABU since my hair looked like Mulan. she also said that Mushu the little guardian dragon was aunty Wendy and then giggled. :) wow. so after all these weeks I did get a little work out. I have a feeling I will have stronger biceps from lifting the little ones :) Thank you Jesus for a beautiful day and reminding us of what purity of love is through these children. May you strengthen them and fill their days with joy and build upon the love they are receiving. Truly God you are awesome. Bless all those who have a heart for your orphans ...more and more...each day.

What a wonderful welcome to ikhaya likababa!

Wow. What an amazing welcome. As I walked towards the small entry to Richards bay airport, I saw a mini sea of red shirts that said McAfee volunteer! there were about 9 wonderful ppl who greeted me with hugs and smiles. what a wonderful surprise and loving welcome!! let's see if I can remember everyone's names.... Wendy Andrew t Ty timone nikky Anne helga swan (short form) then they swept me off to meet new friends: leah Jane anita Ryan Brett eleanor dwayne

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Vulture restaurant at oribi loop in the golden gate national park in south Africa

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on our last day by the Golden gate national park...we went and drove around the road called oribi loop. one of the famous stops is called te vulture restaurant. silly me. I had thought there was a real restaurant there but instead we saw a sign with skulls in the middle of the hills and grass. As we looked closer at the sign we saw a picture of a little hiking man. so we looked for a pathway and up Clinton and I went to see if we could see anything. As we ascended the hillside which was about 10 minutes...there was a lot of buck dung. when we reached the top, in the far distance we saw some carcasses and a black vulture. so we began our descent to get a closer look. in the picture you will see one of the carcasses and there were many flies and skulls and bones trailing everywhere. the vulture flew away when it heard us approaching.

Horse back riding near kiara lodge

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What a beautiful horse ride! The scenery was amazing with fresh mountian air. We went around the back of kiara lodge into the mountainous area. Our guide's name was Lucky. Clinton's horse was named Copper. My horse was named Lemon and most of the time I thought he was a real lemon since he always fell behind the other horses. But I realized instead of being old that he was lazy. When we started back home he started to try to gallop fast. Hehe. Was fun though and was cool to ride a horse at a light gallop/trot.

View of the valley and the drakensburg once we reached the viewpoint

Absolutely stunning!!

We only went to the view point since we did not have enough time to go to the summit which was another 1.5 hours up each way. It also started raining and was quite windy the closer to the top we climbed.

Truly a day to be in awe of God's wondrous creation!!

It took about 1.5 hours to drive to the sentinel car park from kiara lodge. A lot of winding roads and the closer up to the pass it was very very rocky.

We drove through the town called qwa qwa which means whiter than white for the sandstone hill there.

Also we saw 3 cows at different times walking in the middle of the streets. A nice little adventure!

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The sentinel hiking site where you can see the drakensburg

Clinton, my cousin and I, hiked up the side of the maluti mountains. Where it took 45 minutes each way up a pretty good hike. Definitely need to be fit and have careful footing with small loose rocks.

There were some clouds which was very nice with the combination of the cool fresh mountain air.

Thankfully we are still young enough to hike ;)

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Yosemite -The Meadows, Ahwahnee Hotel & Chapel

Wow - the meadows was gorgeous...we went for an easy 45 minute walk around and just admired everything around us. Susie even saw another deer jumping up amongst the longer grass.

If you look closely you will see a man enjoying the rays and tanning it up!

Close by is a cute chapel where a wedding was taking place...

We also had the chance to drop in by the Ahwahnee hotel where apparently the queen of England stayed. I bet it's expensive there! :) Here is a pic of the famous dining room with 30 ft ceilings!

Next stop: glacier point

In a word... Wow

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Time to go on the day tour of yosemite national park.. First stop: Mariposa Grove

.. here is Susie on the bus! very nice 20 seated bus that drove us all around the winding roads of the park.

First stop was to mariposa grove to see the huge sequoia trees! They are sooooo big. They drink up to 1000 gallons of water a day! Some can go to 4000 years old. They don't die from old age but rather from being top heavy and fall over. The oldest one we saw was the grizzly giant which was about a one mile hike uphill. The old grizzly was around 1800 years old.

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Tenaya lodge outdoor pool

There is a beautiful outdoor pool at this lodge. With a hot tub. The indoor pool is huge! There are two hot tubs by the indoor pool also:) very very friendly staff and a great stay

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Tenaya lodge room

Comfy beds. Remember not to leave any food in ur car otherwise the black bears will come and jump on ur car until the Windows pop out or rip your car door open !

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yosemite tenaya lodge

Beautiful lobby area and quiet, cozy lodge.

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Sushi Zone in San francisco - BEST sushi EVER!!!

Brent my friend, introduced me into the best sushi place ever! A little hole in the wall in San Francisco. There are only 2 tables, and the rest are seats around a small bar. The wait times can be long and you put your name on a board as you wait., BUT TOTALLY worth it.

The Appetizer with the sea bass is To die for! :) - MELT in your MOUTH goodness!

They have all different kinds of rolls - with macademia nuts and mango!

Hotel Los Gatos - Superb!

Just had a wonderful stay at the Hotel Los Gatos!

The rooms are each unique with a fire place and the coziest beds! The beds were so comfortable and just made you want to sink under the covers after a long day of meetings.
There were even little mint chocolates left on your pillow tops. In the bathroom - the soaps smelled divine like we were in a spa with a touch of lemongrass.

We had a conference there fore 3 days, and they served breakfast and lunch...and let's just say - We did NOT go Hungry!! wow the food was delicious! - Breakfast had french toast, bacon, potatoes, bagels, fresh fruit....and lunch was even better!! :)))

Also the restaurant had some awesome SIDECAR - Martinis!

Here are some pics for ya!

Chimney Rock Winery - Silverado Trail, Napa Valley

As I was driving along Silverado Trail, the white building caught my eye and thus I decided to stop in for some wine tasting. It is really beautiful and the buildings were of dutch architecture. The original owner who built the winery was South African :)

I was helped by a very friendly man - Jim - who told me all about their different wines. They had mostly cabernet sauvignon and one white wine, but the one that stole the show was the 2005 Elevage.

Here is a picture of Jim! He was so friendly and helpful. Made my day.


Here is the Wine Enthusiast review of the favourite wine which became my dad's Father's day present:

2005 Chimney Rock "Elevage" Stags Leap District Bordeaux Blend

92 points and a Cellar Selection, Wine Enthusiast: "It has obviously deep and impressive currant and blackberry flavors, but the tannins are significant. Hold until at least 2010." (12/08) According to Wine Spectator: "Elegant, supple and well-focused, with cherry and sage aromas and bright plum and toasty spice flavors that linger toward a layered finish. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot." (10/08)

Here is a picture of the winery. I asked why it was called Chimney Rock and apparently there is a rock that is rectangular and looks exactly like a chimney. Thus the naming!

Sino at Santana Row - Chicken Lettuce Wraps and Sea Bass!

I recently visited Sino in Santana Row, San Jose and it was a really tasty feast!!

I got the chicken lettuce wraps for a starter which are always delicious! (The chicken lollipops are also really good too!!

See below for the lettuce wraps:




And then for the main course which was MELT IN YOUR MOUTH Good.
I asked the waitress, what the best seafood course is and she said the "sea bass".
I was a little tentative as I had tried the sea bass at Straits on Santana Row before and wasn't that impressed. I love Prawns/Shrimp, but she convinced me to try the sea bass.

Boy - was I ever glad I did!! It was soft tender, with a bit of sweetness. Absolutely amazing. Definitely recommend it!