need I say more?

We went to the Basotho cultural village where they gave us sorghum beer to drink... not so appetising I'm afraid.

We just got back from a camping trip at Golden Gate National Park - celebrating the end of the phase one year! What a beautiful spot.

We had a Christmas party at Church today, Father Christmas had a flat tyre somewhere between here and Botswana, so he gave me permision to borrow his suit and stand in... what fun - need to lose some weight to get down those chimneys though,

Holidays are coming!

Just so you know... If you see us somewhere in the bundu, or racing towards Cape Town in the next few weeks this is our loyal friend and travelling companion: Goldbug. A Peugeot Partner Grand Raid.

Holidays are coming and we're planning another exploration of South Africa, this time heading down the West Coast, via Augrabies falls, the Cedarberg and then on to see the family in Somerset West. I dream of vacations.... 

I love the Church!

HOS 3:1 The LORD said to me, "Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes."

Sometimes I just wanna be a Fundamentalist, Evangelical, sacred Raisin Cake Loving, Bible Believing, Holy Ghost Baptised, Thrice Baptised, Charismatic.

This is the chapel at John Wesley College in Pretoria, where I will be studying next year... beautiful i'nit?

the blurry end of year feeling

The idea of ‘end’ kind of blurrs.

The goal of this year has been my education… most of it practical ‘in the field’ I guess they call it.  Now – as the year draws to a close it is my task – job – calling – to reflect a bit on the lessons I’ve learned.

One significant and over riding factor this year has been my awareness of its brevity.  It all happened with an attitude of this too will pass.  A bit negative, but I am a soft and sentimental sort of person…  I have tried to keep myself from growing too close to those around me, but as I leave I find that I got close to them anyways.  

As I realise that I got close to them I realise that I missed the opportunity to invest in their friendships.

In my work I carried on with the attitude – ‘what difference can I make?  I’m only here for a year.’ But I realise that I have made some difference, I have done some thing… if I did it more intentionally would I have been more effective.

But, at the same time, I regret little.

Heather and I have had an almost honeymoon kind of year, our schedules have been quite flexible, although I have been away from home a lot we have managed to grow closer to each other; cementing our relationship, learning to understand one another…

Which reminds me… Its my turn to clean the toilets.

Peace

this is the end

bit macabre, makes me think of Jim Morrison's song... but no ones dying. Its the end of October - which brings November which means I have a grand total of 35 days left as a phase one minister!

Next year I will be a full time student at John Wesley college in Kilnerton. All things in order, I should have graduated and be studying for my honours in biblical studies...

way cool,
life passes too quickly

feels like we just arrived in Potchefstroom
peace

Today is my day off.

I went swimming

Tomorrow I will work

elephant dusting itself - Mlambane Road - S118

Baby Elephant Suckling.... aaaaawwww

"

This beautiful leopard appeared under the bridge when I said to Heather: "I need you to see a leopard now." We tried cheetah as well but it didn't work - shame a whole lot of tour vehicles came and asked what we were looking at when he had already disapeared behind a tree

Impala trying to move a big rock - idiot

Rock Monitor - mistook it for a cow pat and then it moved... nearly squished the poor thing

Surprise Leopard near James water hole

sleepy lion on night drive - 2 males, 3 females and 2 cubs - aaaw sweet

Hyeana Pups checking us out from the side of the road

Baby Elephant - almost no control of his limbs and trunk - running after his mothers and getting stuck in bushes... smiliest sighting in Kruger

Barn owl above the washing up area at Afsaal picnic site.

Giraffe... beautiful sexy creatures

check out the kruger park webcam http://www.sanparks.org/parks/kruger/webcams/ strange animals man...

Spring is sprunging!!!!


I's good to see some blossoms and Potchefstroom seems to be heating up a bit. Had a couple of hectic weeks and Heather is just finishing off her practical assignments tonight... I've got common assignments to finish up with and then its off to the Kruger National Park soon... yay~!

The things they have in the Kruger?

Got back from the phase one plunge last week.... me and most of the rest of the people at Kwa Mashu in Natal. (I'm at the back on the right)

Whats happening?

Hullo,

Lots of pictures and not much news recently, just came back from Kwa-Mashu in Natal where we, the 'Phase-One*' ministers had our 'plunge**.' We travelled there by train from Johannesburg... train was smelly (people tend to smoke in the compartments) and hot, the heater was stuck on and the guys I was sharing my cabin with insisted on closing all windows and doors and trying to cook us. Got off the train medium rare and feelling oh so woozy.

Kwa-Mashu is well known for all the political violence surrounding elections, strong allegiances to ANC and IFP in the township often get violent... The township is very beautiful. We went on visits to various houses in Kwa-Mashu to pray for the sick and shut in, very saddening at times. At one house, when we asked what was wrong with the sick person, the response was 'the usual.' (Meaning AIDS)

On the train back I upgraded my ticket to first class, was able to turn the heater off and open the window but still arrived home feeling woozy.

Anyways... I have sermons to write and a holiday to look forward to in September when we will be heading to the Kruger Park! Yay, I can't wait.

* First year minister in training at the Methodist Church
** A thingy where a bunch of us go somewhere to learn something by experience

my friend murray making a braai in London - shame. but soon he will be back in SA for a visit and then we will make him a proper braaai! Looking forward to seeing you in Potchefstroom Murr and Gina! :) Travel safely.

Dressed up again!

Heather and I are going out on the town today and I thought we should dress for the occasion!

PS. Thanks for loaning us the gear Murr.

And when we got home I dropped the mayonaise on the flaw

we saw our nephew and he was cute

We went on holiday and et pancakes in Bultfontein - they was good

went to the nature reserve today... this funny little creature came and asked the car for food. we were good - we gave him nothing

The eifel tower is nowhere near as big as we thought it was!?

This beautiful piece is a model of the monument near pretoria - it is a lampstand Evita Bezuidenhout, it is in Paris - I mean Parys. Come and get it...

Today - Saturday the 11th of June, Heather and I thought we'd have breakfast in Paris - I mean Parys... Saw some relics from the past including this old flag?!

my fuzzy congregation at the Potch Methodist Church - tons of teenagers! 

Just when we thought we weren't going to see anything this elephant appeared in the bush on our left. I don't know how many animals we must have driven passed who were hiding behind bushes.

MOst of the animals in the park were too shy to have their pictures taken, or too far away. This hippo hid under the water all the time. We saw both of our favourite animals - mine, the hippo and heather's the giraffe.

On arrival at the park we made our way to the campsite, but our journey was disturbed by a big elephant in the middle of the road - it looked upon our little clio with love, and we thought we best get out of the way.

I know we've had a good holiday when our car looks like this at the end of it all!? ;)

Holiday in the Pilanesberg!

the good news is we're finishing our assignments so we can go camping in the Pilanesberg!!!! - but on the way we're going to Lichtenberg to visit Jaco and Karen - no blogging for the next few days then!

click the map to enlarge it!

We'll hopefully send pictures of girraffes, lions and tigers later.........

now we've got to work and stuff so we can get our assingments done, so we can go on holiday tomorrow!!!!!

Heather doing assignements - yuck!

Where is Potchefstroom?

A map of Gauteng (Johanesburg) and the road to Potchefstroom, Soweto is just short of Johanesburg, above the N12.

Local Scenery - Near Potchefstroom

We went hunting around for some scenery today - there are some mountains round about here. A couple o' weeks ago we went to a nature reserve where we saw all sorts of four footed herbivirous (sp?) things.

Sorry we don't have any pictures of the deluge caused by the earth tremmor in these parts the other day. Heather was teaching at a school in Klerksdorp when it happened and I was driving in my car. Met some people from stilfontein the other day - they're still a bit shaken up. (duh)

Induction at Ikageng

Today we held our induction service at the Ikageng Church in Potchefstroom, from left to right: Rev. Sidwell Hadebe (our new superintendent), Bishop Paul Verryn (Bishop of the central district), Me (Rev. Angus Kelly), and Rev. Vuyelwa Cimela.


The Bishop preached an inspiring message on today's text (Matthew 17:1-9) encouraging the church to be a place of tranfiguration, where God's face comes close to the face of humanity and begins a process of transformation.

Most beautiful bride at beautiful wedding - I think I'm in love... which reminds me, leave the computer alone - you have a wife!

Heather and I happy in our neww home, especially when Murray and Gina came to visit!

Potchefstroom, Hier is ons

I have to apologise for not sending for so long... But as the saying goes, 'life happens.' Or something like that, I'm not sure.

Heather and I have been relocated to Potch, we live in a lovely manse that belongs to someone in the church - it’s a townhouse set in a garden of fruit trees... What an awesome place to spend our first year of marriage.

Phase one training takes me to Soweto once a week, which is about 105km away, the group of phase ones spends one night a week in the Jabavu training centre. We're made up of all races and cultures, Xhosa, Sotho, Tswana, Zulu, English and Afrikaans. Its awesome getting to know everyone.

The part of Soweto that we live in is very quiet, we go on house visits on Monday evenings to the neighbouring people - everyone is extremely hospitable, inviting us in, chatting to us, finding out where we're from etc. and appreciating our prayers and visits... It’s a far cry from grumpy
suburbia. The strange thing is, not seeing one white face wherever we go... Even the Southgate shopping mall is all black. It's a part of South Africa that I hadn't previously had the opportunity to experience.

My responsibility at the Potch church is mostly for the younger people, we have a huge service for the high school kids from the surrounding hostels in the morning - about 400 of them. I'm still getting used to preaching to them, I'm not such a youth guy, but we're getting along. (And I am learning something new.)

Heather got her UNISA books yesterday so she's got something to do at last, she has been busy writing thankyou notes to our wedding guests up until now. (Will post about the wedding too, soon I promise.)

God Bless
Gus