Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Signs of the times

The boys and I have been having fun pulling down signs for "safe" (???? doesn't one person get killed???) "painless" abortions that are plastered all over the towns where we have been. The problem is, it gets hard to pass one without ripping it down, so you never get anywhere in a hurry. But we let this sign stay up :-)



Thursday, September 17, 2009

I have meat to eat that you know not of

Paul has hypoglycemia, and normally has to eat high protein meals, frequently to feel good. Recently, he had 2 schools scheduled, and the first one went fine. At the second one, however, he got the dreaded "blank look." "Who scheduled you? For today?" and so forth. Not very encouraging. This one made a plan, though, and let him preach to an art class.




That was the start, from there the students got involved, and at their request, Paul ended up preaching 6 times at that school, only arriving back home around 3 o'clock. He should have been feeling ill and disoriented, but felt fine.

It reminds me of when Jesus was talking to the woman at the well, and told His disciples that He had meat to eat that they didn't know about.








OK, these are not pictures of that school, but of smaller kids. I'm not too good at getting pictures of ministry stuff.
Poor kids, getting sore necks.



A random school.





Friday, September 11, 2009

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Skogheim Christian Conference Center

What a place to have a family crisis! Evangel, 13, had her appendix burst, and she had surgery in the hospital in Port Shepstone, about 5 k's from Skogheim. Paul was sick too, so the wonderful friends and facilities at Skogheim were such a big help in this crisis. We're blessed, and I want to recommend this beautiful place to others looking for a conference site.


The Prayer Garden is a sweet, safe place to take a meditative walk (if you don't get distracted by a troop of monkeys). It is rare I can take such a walk alone and feel safe, but here it is all fenced in.
Both buildings and bushes blend beautifully.

Ants scurry along a hose highway, with a bright "billboard" on the side of their road.



Bright touches are on the sides of the paths as spring is springing.



Kids don't have to look for monkeys, they can act like monkeys.




A swing is a good place to hang out.




Jungle gyms



This part reminds me of an English garden.


The big pool is so gorgeous.




Beautiful little nooks just call out to passers-by to relax.






The dining room and tuck shop are central, in more ways then one.




City buses bring people who need a break in the country.






This rose bush supplies the vases in the dining room. An Italian king came and saw this kind of roses, and brought it home to Italy, but he had to build a greenhouse for it to survive.





The groups can focus on their meetings and teachings without bothering about meals because Skogheim's staff takes such good care of all those details.



Skogheim flowers from the bush to the vase.




OK, so maybe nobody but a traveling evangelist's wife would get this excited over the laundry area, but I'm thrilled with it. The facilities are wonderful, even when I'm doing oozy wound laundry, I can keep up!


The infant Prayer Garden is getting beautiful.



Bouganvilla brightens the borders.



There's that fence along the edge that makes me feel safe enough to walk alone.

Skogheim scenery.



Majestic palm trees are a treat for the eyes.




Did I go a little overboard with the plant and scenery pictures? I'd have added good bird shots too, but my camaras not fast enough. I've seen bright green, bright blue, and 3 hornbills.

A new outdoor eating area has been added since we were here last. It's romantic looking.
This red door is the start to the big hikes on Skogheim property.



Yep, I got carried away, but when do you see a tree with curly leaves like that?


A church group is served tea on the lawn. How elegant!



Skogheim has sugar cane fields around it. They burn the sugar cane before they harvest it to make it easier to harvest and the smell is delicious. It smells like chocolate chip cookies in the oven.

The people here have been so kind and generous and helpful to us in a time when we felt so weak, ill, and needy. The plants and flowers are fun to look at, but the people are the life of the place.
Sugar cane closer up.