Back home...

So we've now been back home for about 3 weeks, the time has flown by. It has been so special to be catching up with family and friends. we've missed you all!

We realised that we never fully finished off our blog, so wanted to do it before we forgot....

Our last few weeks in Cape Town with andy's parents were amazing. It was great to have the opportunity to show them round, and we managed to fit lots in during the time we had.

We enjoyed driving around in the air conditioned car, traveling to cape point in the mist & looking out for baboons but didn't see any. we stopped off at Kalke Bay for some tasty fish&chips and watched an epic catching big fish from the sea session at Fish Hoek.

We thoroughly enjoyed driving back along the Garden Route. We stopped at Stellenbosch & were thankful for the swimming pool to keep us cool in the hot heat. Eating at Moyo was such a treat & mum&dad were able to try some more local foods which was fun. We had the oppotunity to revisit some of our favourite places like Storms River and Knysna-such stunning places. We had a delicious meal in Knysna, being treated like royalty whilst overlooking the river. We took a little boat trip to the Knynsa heads & then managed to scramble down to the stunning beach.

In Capetown Lui&mum were able to visit a Women's project which was very interesting. Mum is helping sell some of the jewellery that they make-so it was such a fantastic opportunity for her to see with her own eyes what's actually being done.

We had a great time visiting the original tea bag design company-a fantastic project that works in Imizamo Yethu township, empowering local people by creating beautiful art pieces from old, empty teabags! remarkable really, we all loved being shown the workshop and meeting the staff. One lady was proud to say that she has managed to build a house from the money she has earnt from used tea bags-amazing.

Taking mum&dad to ikhaya le themba was such a treat-showing them the wonderful project that we had been a small part of & introudcing them to the wonderful team&children.

We shall continue to pray&think about these places we have been to-stories of such faith&strength, pushing on even though the environment is so tough. The people investing & working in these projects are heros!

we loved having the opportunity to show mum&dad places that mean so much to us, what's really special is that lui's parents came out when she was last here-so this reminded us of the special connection our families have, that both our parents have stood on the same soil.

On our last evening we had the privalege of going up Table Mountain on the cable car. what an end to such a spectacular time. we had enough time to walk round the top of the mountain & then watch the sun set. watching the orange coloured sky was breath taking- a perfect end to a perfect trip!

Coming home has been lovely, re-connecting with family & friends who have faithfully supported us whilst we've been away has been priceless. We're in the process of exploring where God is leading us next....let us know if you want us to keep you updated.

So, as we close this blog, we want to end with a huge thanks- thanks to you who have been reading our blog, thank you for sending us messages, thank you for praying for us & thinking of us, thanks for welcoming us into your homes & lives, wherever you are in the world.

we love you & you are a big part of our story, thank you for the memories that we will treasure forever,

with love, andy&lui.

ikhaya le themba

apologies for the delay in news...what a fabulous, fun filled hectic couple of weeks we have had.

we've had a fantastic time with our last host family in an area called Constantia-it's on the other side of the mountain to Woodstock, so a whole new area of exploring.

we have had such a lovely time, spending our afternoons helping out at a wonderful after school project in a township called imizamo yethu, right by Hout Bay. the project is called ikhaya le themba-meaning home of hope. we have been surrounded by between 30-80 chilren from 2pm ish-6pm ish; playing on the jungle gyms, hulla hooping, skipping, listening to readers, teaching basic cooking skills, art&craft & singing. andy has done a great job at leading a few percussion lessons-which the kids loved!

as we have only been volunteering at ikhaya le themba in the afternoons it has meant we have had plenty of time to explore more of the beautiful area too.....

we have spent time chillaxing on the many white sandy beaches including fish hoek, muizenburg, llandudno, clifton beaches&camps bay, wandering around little shops in kalke bay&simons town, visiting hilarious african penguins at boulders bay.....jam packed.

we've had delicious picnics at rhodes memorial, chapmans peak drive, kirstenbosch gardens. our eyes are still marvelling at the magnificent mountains&beautiful beaches.

all this travelling has been made possible due to some very dear friends......thanks for the green mamba! what a blessing. our bright green car has meant we haven't wasted a moment doing nothing, but spent every moment exploring. it took us a fair few days to realise we had the independece of travelling round in our own vehicle-wuhu.

we had a great time visiting where lui used to live&the office where she volunteered 7 years ago in cape town. sadly, the host family weren't in, which is such a shame, but the memories still flooded back.

when in harare back in october, we met a dear lady who lives in cape town-so we were able to visit her for a cuppa&crustless sandwiches. this was such a special morning, connecting with zim memories&friends.

you won't believe it but we have somehow managed to see U2, not once but twice now.....this last time at green point stadium in cape town, one of the venues built for the world cup. it was another performance we shall never forget-being in a stadium with 80,000 people-wowee.
an added bonus was that our dear PE host family came down for the concert&to see family-this meant we got to see them again which was divine. they also kindly dropped off andy's zim drum which we didn't manage to travel on the bus with.

we're starting to think about home now, as it's not long till we come back.....we finished volunteering today. the children requested andy sing a goodbye solo-absolutely hilarious watching the standing ovation&applause.

as we type this up, mum&dad h are in the air, flying out to meet us for our last 10days. we can't wait to see them&look forward to showing them all the many lovely sights. we're leaving our lovely&generous host parents tomorrow morning&will be staying in b&b's & backpackers with mum&dad h. our first b&b is called luisa house....even spelt lui's way, what a treat!

not sure when we will next get on the internet, so will sign out for now, maybe even until we reach the uk....!

we're very much looking forward to seeing you family and friends again, sharing stories, & catching up on the last 6 months.

we can't describe how much our trip has impacted our lives...we have learnt so much about ourselves & God, & gained different perspectives on life.

we have been blessed in oh so many ways, and have been overwhelmed time and time again. Southern Africa is a such special place & it will remain on our hearts for the rest of our lives,

with lots of lovex

colourful&creative capetown

Since arriving in Cape Town (the last stop on this adventure) we've tried not to take a single moment for granted.....

It was quite an emotional feeling when we caught our first glimpse of Cape Town on Tuesday (1st Feb) evening...after a 7 hour journey from George. This was topped off by the fact that our bus driver pumped up the volume and played the song 'welcome to cape town, enjoy the party' over the sound system (a little on the cheesy side, but it kinda worked, hehe!). it was our last experience of the baz bus-a great&simple way to travel through SA&mingle with different travellers.

For the last week or so, we've been staying with some lovely friends again, in a beautiful house opposite a park in an area called Woodstock not too far from town.

we have been on our first ever red city tourist bus (the same ones you see in London) which was lots of fun. It was great at helping us get our bearings & to learn lots of interesting facts about the city. We stopped off at the District Six museum which was extremely interesting, wandered around different areas of the town & spent some time on the beach (particularly nice as the weather has been around 35o so a swim in the Atlantic Ocean has been well needed!)

Taking the ha;f an hour ferry across to Robben Island was a really worthwhile experience for us, as they describe life as a political prisoner there. You can see the mainland from the island, which must have made it so hard for them...being so close, but yet so far from civilisation. We were really challenged on the concept of forgiveness&striving for peace. Some of the ex-prisioners&guard have chosen to now live on the island, working in harmony together to show that reconciliation is possible-wow, what a challenge for us all! The boat trip was much more of a pleasant experience compared to the Zanzibar choppy ferry!

Since being in Cape Town, we have also spent a few days cycling around into&around the city (we were able to borrow some lovely bcycles from our friends) which was oh so much fun. We had to be very aware of the traffic though, often opting to cycle on the pavement, as nobody seems to know what to do when bicycles are on the road, however it meant we could get around the city much quicker and easier.
We visited the Jewish museum and Holocaust Centre - these were very interesting museums, deigned in a great way. We also spent time relaxing in the company gardens...beautiful gardens in the centre of town.

We have had such a wonderful time this last week, being surrounded with Woodstock Community Church & learning from how this very special bundle of people are doing life together-an awesome witness to God's grace&peace in quite a tough area of Cape Town.

For our next two weeks, we will be volunteering at Ikhaya le Themba, an after school club in a township in Hout Bay called Imizamo Yethu. We'll let you know more about this project in a short while.....

in the meantime, we send lots of love to you all, thinking of you&hoping whatever season you are in, you are hopeful for what this new day has in store,

with all our lovex

howzit?

As you may have heard, we have made it to cape town after a lovely week of traveling along the garden route. We stayed in some fantastic backpackers in Storms River, Knysna and Wilderness, then with friends in George.

Storms River was a stunning place, recommended to us by some special friends. we are so glad we stopped here, it's right near a national park with a beautiful coast line and suspension bridge-check out the photos when they're up because it really was nice, the only not-nice moment was when lui's faithful yellow sandals finally fell apart, right on the bridge, such a shame as they have lasted so well, shame.

After this we stopped in Knysna which is a small town on the Garden Route. It was very pretty, with lots of cafes and shops to look around. It also has a nice waterfront area...we went for a meal overlooking the waterfront which was lovely. We stayed in another sweet backpackers in a beautiful old building.The contrast between the rich&the poor was felt hugely here-so although a pretty place, it was disturbing at the same time.

Next on the agenda was Wilderness, a long stretch of beach with a village area next door to it. Wilderness has lots of rivers and forest areas to explore too which makes it interesting. The sea here is compltely crazy-with the current raging from every direction, this made it too dangerous for us to swim in. The view from our backpackers was a.m.a.z.i.n.g....we especially loved our beakfast watching the dolphins dancing in the ocean.

Our last stop before Cape Town was in George where we spent a few nights with friends from church-another overwhelming experience of being connected to God's wonderful family. Our hosts were so kind to us, taking to visit all the local sights including, strawberry picking which still happens to be one of lui's favourites activities, the Kangoo Caves which was so fun but such a tight squeeze at times, a lovely waterfall walk making new friends, the Wildlife centre in Oudtshoorn where we stood close to white pumas, baby cheetas, lions, snakes, penguins, crocodiles, mearkats&the prickly porcupine. We also enjoyed visiting the new George church plant, where we were so warmly welcomed. This was another really special time for us, having the chance to go for coffees together & to share a number of very tasty braai's.

So once again, a truely wonderful time together&with new found friends!

our wonderful week in the windy city...

what an action packed week we've had in Port Elizabeth, &such a fun time we've had.....

we had a great visit to the beach with new found friends, the waves were massive&by the evening we were exhausted-hadn't realised how tiring it was trying not to be sucked under. standing at the edge of the pier looking out at the clean ocean on the sunny day felt like a dream.

we had fun going along to an early morning cinema trip where we ate sour cream&cheese with salt&vinegar popcorn-actually alot nicer than us uk citizens would think!?

we had a heart-breaking visit to a children's home, where we met the incredible woman of the Lord who looks after abandoned children. Meeting this lady&hearing her story of how she was once homeless was an honour. She&her team are doing incredible things, serving these precious children every single day, giving them hope for a future. We were both so moved to play with the children&to see a beacon of light in a dark area.

we have enjoyed a night-time tour of PE-seeing a stunning sanddune, the beautiful world cup football stadium lit up, with the lights reflecting off onto the lake, seeing the cricket pitch (&due to the fact that south africa were playing india in PE the other day, we sat through most of the cricket match-with a very skilled tutor explaining the rules of cricket to us. we particularly like the idea of the tea break, how civilised).

believe it or not andy managed to get in a game of tennis, having waited since we have been in africa-such a treat. He has also managed another surf lesson-this time in water we were assured had no sharks in-seeing the dolphin sign on the edge of the beach was alot more reasurring!!

Going for an early morning walk at sardinia bay was breathtaking-with high sanddunes, an inspiring couple to learn from, a ginormous dog that made andy look small&a little dog that made lui look big! we were educated on the fierce sea creatures that are blue bottles&the clever little sucker things which name we have forgotten-they look like pointy snails....? andy was totally grossed out by the practical demonstration, lui laughed on in amusement.
we have shared a delicious chineese from the famous michael-who appears to supply most of PE with his take outs-keep up the good work michael.

going along to church again was as powerful as last week-such a refreshing time for us both. this last week we have been blown away by new found friendships&all the love that has been poured over us. it is again with a sad heart that we leave this beautiful place which feels like home, it has left a footprint on our hearts&the memories&things we have learnt shall last a lifetime,

thanks guys!

braii, biltong & jaaaa!

Since our last blog post, we have made it to Port Elizabeth. Our last day in Durban was spent walking around the neighbourhood where we were staying to get a better feel of the place. We managed to have a lovely cooked breakfast in a florist (quite random but cool) which only cost 2 pounds...we were chuffed to find such a good deal! we enjoyed a lovely walk round the botanical gardens & saw the most amazing flowers ever, also a hilarious looking bird which was flourescent orange & fluff - we must look up what type it is!

On Wednesday we caught the bus to a quiet beach town called Port St. Johns for a few nights - about half way between Durban and PE. It was so calm and peaceful - largely due to the fact that all the backpacker staff were totally high on weed & all other types of stuff, the majority of the time! So although we were in a stunning & tranquil place, we think we probably inhaled enough smoke for the whole of the uk-so watch us coming back extra chilled out still recovering from the after effects!
Andy had a surf lesson by local sufers who were so good, which was fun. lui enjoyed watching whilst riding the waves on the borrowed body board.
we did a hike (bare footed!) to a nearby waterfall...absolutely stunning. Jumping off the rocks into the pool was such a refreshing feeling after the very very hot hike.
We are so thankful to God for keeping us safe once again, because all round the beach there were signs saying 'beware of sharks'. We thought that it was a bit strange to have such signs & 6 full time life guards on site, but loads of people were swimming in the water anyway, and anyway if you spot a shark when you're in the water, it's probably gunna be too late? so we carried on surfing & bodyboarding, but today we found out that the day after we were surfing on the beach, a surfer tragically got killed by a shark - one of the friends of the guys we went surfing with. we can't quite believe it, as it happened on exactly the same stertch of beach we were on, and it shows just what a risk it was. crazy. the little community is mourning the young sufers life, which is just so tragic. it is only now we have discovered that this stretch of coast is notorious throughout the world for it's shark attacks, eesshhhh!

After Port St. Johns, we took an 8 hour bus journey to Port Elizabeth.
Since being here, we have been made to feel so welcome once again. It's been a very special time for lui, as she's been meeting the same amazing people from all the those 7 years back when she visited SA for the first time. Being welcomed back into the same family who hosted her then has been incredible & once again we feel overwhlemed by God's blessings.
We really enjoyed going to both church services on Sunday at Fountain Vineyard & loved the sense of family/community at that special church. we loved the service so much we're extending our time here just to go along to the church this sunday too! we had a lovely braii in the afternoon & experienced the famous PE windy wind!
we've been to another national park...addo....saw lots of elephants, buffalo (so so big!), tortoises (mavis' distance relatives we think), Kudu's, warthogs, ostrcihes, jackals, dung beetles which we weren't allowed to drive over?!...it was lots of fun.
we've shared lovely meals with such lovely & inspiring people & are looking forward to what the rest of our week in PE holds.....

love you allxx




(photo of Port Elizabeth)

Hi from SA

We've now been in SA for a week, and what a week it's been. We had a smooth journey to Pretoria last monday, spent a night in a Wendy House/ Shed and tried to sleep through a VERY big storm....then on tuesday we made our way to Jo'burg. We were so blessed, as we had planned to travel to South Africa on 3rd Jan by bus, but we were able to get a lift with some guys from Family Impact, as they needed to be in Pretoria on the 3rd too. It was so nice to travel with them, and made the journey so much quicker and easier.

In Jo'burg, we managed to hook up with a wonderful family who were so kind to us, showing us around the city and took us to visit the Apartheid Museum. If you're ever in Jo'burg, we recommend a visit, as it was so interesting to find out about the history of South Africa. We stayed in the most amazing house whilst in Jo'burg, and felt truely blessed once again. Andy especially enjoyed waking up on his birthday to be able to practice his serves on the tennis court and to have a delicious donut cake for tea. Whenever we think of Jo'burg, we'll remember our time with this lovely family.

We spent a few nights at a party pit in the drakensburg mountains....forgetting the foul language, over drinking and nakedness, it had amazing views and a fun if not boggy circular walk.

Having arrived in Durban last night, we've spent the day at the big water park/ marine world...so much fun! we enjoyed being typical tourists again. riding down the largest slide in Africa, watching the turtles, dolphins, seals, and penguins perform made it an action packed day.

the humidity has really hit us (reminds us of India), so we're thankful for the pool in the back yard of the hostel.

thinking of you all lots!x