What a Sunday

I have just learned something: a mouse window does not work if you are wearing gloves. I haven't tried leather gloves, but these stretchy ones are confirmed useless on these mouse windows.

I'm sitting here wearing my beloved hot pink bathrobe, and my hot pink stretchy gloves even though I am indoors, fully dressed. We are having a small clash of cultures here. I am American and believe in the great American way of being warm indoors. I shut doors and windows, light a fire or turn on electric heat or something, and warm the space so I can sit and work in comfort. This is not the South African way!

The South African way is to dress really, really warm and then open all the doors and windows and freeze. It is fine if you're doing a job like waxing the floor or chopping wood, but blogging is not quite strenuous enough for open doors and windows. I can see my breath. The funny thing is, the delicate little birds outside the window look comfy. 

Other then the cold, we're having a good trip. The snow on the mountains around Oudtshoorn is gorgeous!

I'll paste an account of our memorable church experience yesterday:

Paul wrote--

Greetings from The Ostrich Capital. Last time we were here Evangel and Joshua rode an ostrich. (see May 2009)

We left home Monday for Plettenburg Bay where a church there put us up in The River Club, a very nice resort. A former principal scheduled me in four schools in those two days with appreciative principals and attentive, responsive kids. Then we had some good services in George. Now we're in Oudtshoorn. We've seen a lot of snow capped mountains, and it's been cold at night. In one of the schools the doors were wide open with the kids sitting on the floor at one degree above freezing. At another school it was pretty cold and windy as the students stood outdoors for the preaching.

Today I misunderstood the schedule that was emailed to me, and we arrived at the church 30 minutes early, we thought. But the service had already started. I walked down the side to the front, and the pastor asked what I was doing there. We discussed the situation while the congregation watched and listened! He was very gracious and scheduled me on the spot. It turns out I was not really scheduled anywhere. Afterward, different people said it was of the Lord; it was not a mistake. The pastor also scheduled us again for next Sunday night. The rest of our time here I'm scheduled in about a dozen schools.

Here's Vicki's version of the episode I copied from her letter to her mom:

I have to tell you our interesting church experience this morning. We got there 1/2 hour early, we thought, but there was already singing going on...not a good sign and the parking lot was full of cars...not good. So with fear and trepidation, we went in. Paul did not stop to talk to the guy at the door, but walked down the side aisle toward the front.

The pastor was speaking in Afrikaans, and what a gracious man! He stopped and asked what we were doing there, but very nicely. He knew he had not scheduled us. Turns out the schedule said we were supposed to be in another church of the same denomination on the other side of the Outeniqua Mountains! Oops.

Though later we found out we weren't actually scheduled there either, but it was on our schedule. Evangel never did come into the church, she was mortified over the whole thing. 14 is a difficult age for parents to make huge mistakes :-) I got the giggles, so Timmy and Josh were rather jolly too, and I had to keep poking Josh as he was rather too jolly!

So the pastor, under pressure from his wife and the audience, let Paul preach and then scheduled him for next Sunday evening again! And a lot of people assured Paul afterward that the Lord was in it, it was not a mistake, etc.

Personally, I think the audience enjoyed the drama of it all. They were expecting a regular Sunday, and in we walk, disrupting everything. Then Paul and the pastor discussed it right in front of everyone. It was tense for me, but probably just intriguing for the rest of them.

Love,

Paul for all

I hope Paul doesn't mind my sticking his letter in here. I'd better check with him before I do it.

In all this coldness, visions of Maine in August keep dancing in my head. My family writes of 90 degree weather while I'm shivering, and I want to be there!

One of my traveling challenges is getting the laundry done. The boys don't normally wear socks much, as they wear Crocs most of the time, but it's been so cold, that we're insisting they wear socks more now, so both of them ran out of clean socks, and then Timmy sprang a hole big enough for a teacup to fit through so it was time to do laundry.

Saturday evening, Paul read to the family, and I started washing out the socks in the kitchen sink. The problem is, I love doing hand washing, once I'm started, and I washed everything that was dirty, which was a lot.

Next problem, where to hang it?

I went outside and found some wash lines, but they were almost full. I was using a trash bucket for a laundry basket and put about 2 bucket loads out there. Now what?

Our windows in our little appt. had wooden cases over them, and they held 2 pairs of pants, a shirt, and some socks. The kitchen had about 5 hooks, and in the bathroom I hit the jackpot! There was a fold out rack which held Paul's long pants and about 5 shirts. I used the 3 hooks over Timmy's bed (living room couch) and hoped the undies wouldn't drip on him.

I thought I had our problem solved, but in the morning, nothing felt ANY drier. The socks could still wring out a lot of water. I'm not the greatest wringer. Evangel is a good wringer, but I'm a good laundry shepherd and Evangel is not.

After our embarrassing church episode, I whipped us up some whole wheat spaghetti for lunch (that's another whole story! Paul doesn't care for white flour as it sends him into a sugar low, but I love spaghetti so we were both happy when I recently discovered whole wheat noodles!) and then went in search of sun for our clothes.

I met a helpful maid, and she showed me a clothes-tree on wheels! How cool! It means you can chase the winter sun around with your clothes. It's the first time I've seen one of those. I filled it and left it.

I had to roll the whole tree away from the house several times to keep it in the sun. Clothes take a lot longer to dry when they're only wrung out by hand.

Finally we were at the shepherding stage. I couldn't roll that thing any further, but there was still some sun left on the bushes. I put our clothes in the bushes, which I know is a tacky thing to do in town like this, so I didn't dare go off and leave them. I got a book, and soaked in the lovely afternoon sun while I shepherded the clothes through the last hour of sunlight on the bush.

At one point, Josh wanted me to go throw a rugby ball with him down in a field. I gave Evangel the choice, did she want to shepherd the clothes for me, or go throw the ball with Josh for me? She made me laugh with her answer, "How could I tell my journal I was shepherding clothes?" She went to toss the ball, and I got to continue my peaceful interlude in the sun.

Finally I had to move the last few item back inside, where they are STILL damp after hanging over the curtains all night.

Such are the thrills of doing laundry.

Our Thanksgiving

What a relief! The big feast is over, and I must confess, I got nervous about cooking it this year. Gloria and I have been doing the cooking together for years, so to do it without her left was a little daunting. However, as you can see, I did have 3 assistants.

Spookie, Beulah, and Guylo watched my every move and were very eager to be taste testers. They were ready to chase every nut that fell to the floor, bat my skirt as I walked by, and endure being stepped on a lot, all for the sake of helping me. I'd rather have Gloria to help.

We are still in Vryheid, staying with Gerrie and Rika Ploos van Amstel, who are the parents of our wonderful scheduler, Lizelle. We decided to have a proper American Thanksgiving, and they were eager to have one, so we did the turkey, sweet potato casserole, pecan pies, and the gravy. It was the gravy that stressed me out! I'm not good at it, and haven't made any in years. Gloria does the gravy, and hers is delicious. I probably even lost sleep over that gravy. I considered a package mix, but that's a shame when you've got all those lovely drippings.

I'd like to say I conquered that gravy, but I caved in and yelled, "Darling!" when it wasn't thickening too well, and Paul came and added corn flour til it gelled nicely. Phew!

We had a nice time fellowshipping as we feasted, and everyone seemed to like everything. We went around telling what we are thankful for. Several people mentioned the pecan pie. No one mentioned the gravy. After that we took a long walk to settle the food.

I also don't want to forget a few other things, like the time I heard doors slamming and ran out into the hall yelling, "Joshua, I told not to slam the doors!" and it was Gerrie who can slam his own doors whenever he likes. Oops. One should really not shout at their host.

I've wondered if our GPS gets occasional bouts of demon possession. As Paul tried to get to one school, the GPS led him over dirt roads, grass trails, and through a remote Zulu village filled with staring, wondering people, but never did get him to the school. How do we punish a rebellious GPS? He did finally arrive, over 40 minutes late, and was still able to preach.

Tomorrow Paul is to preach twice more, and we have to pack, but today we're just thankful we don't have to move too much more.

Borrowing a screwdriver

Paul and I went to borrow a screwdriver from a seminary student while we were in Pretoria. We had screwdriver on the brain, to do a little repair job on our broken heater, but the Lord had a testimony to heat up our spirits, even though our heater was beyond repair.

Johan and Lourika were the seminary students who told us of how the Lord had brought from a careless, money loving lifestyle, to sacrifice their money and lifestyle to obey the Lord to have a fruitful life.

Johan is the son of a pastor, and the grandson of a pastor, but he had made his decision to be rich. He was doing a good job at it too, making million rand deals, from the sound of it, when his father in law, who was only in his 50's, died, and he was reminded of how short life is. He began to pray, and read the Bible to find out what the Lord wanted him to do.

First of all, he realized his corporate life could not be pleasing to the Lord, so he resigned.

That caused a few ripples at home! His mother in law was furious, and his wife was quite upset. And she soon discovered she was pregnant, just to add to the fun.

He was now in a high pressure situation, with no job, no plans, and expecting his fourth daughter. The Lord gave him peace, so he told his wife and mother in law that he was at peace, but they were not too impressed.

He continued to read his Bible, and came to Jonah. Jonah's story seemed over-familiar to him, but as he read, things popped out that he hadn't noticed before. He felt like it was his story--running from God, getting into trouble, and then seeking the Lord's will. He felt that the Lord was telling him to go to Nineveh too. He couldn't leave the country without a visa, so he figured "Nineveh" must refer to someplace in South Africa.

Pretoria is the city most like Nineveh. It's a government seat (that could be 3 cities in S.A. as we have 3 capitals, Pretoria, Cape Town, and Bloemfontein) a center of learning, and a center of sports and commerce. It also has a place called "Wonderboom".

You know that gourd that Jonah sits under? In English it's translated a gourd, but in Afrikaans it's called a "wonderboom" or a wonderful tree. In Pretoria there's a whole suburb named after a wonderboom, and Paul has preached in Wonderboom school, and everything.

And then Jonah went east of Nineveh, so Johan looked at what is east of Pretoria, and there was Betshan, the seminary! Now, for a man in his 30's to start over and go to seminary is daunting, to say the least. He told the Lord that he was willing, but he said that the Lord would have to show his wife.

He expected it would take months or even years for the Lord to get through to his wife, as she was not one to read or live by the Bible. He was surprised when she called him home from work (he had found a temporary job) one day to tell him the Lord had answered all her concerns.

Lourika was worried that:

--here was a the new baby coming
-- they had no medical aid (insurance)
--not enough income
-- soon would have to move

The Lord met her and answered her doubts through Proverbs 30:24-28, a passage Paul calls "The Four Little Wise Things". The ants, locusts, conies, and spider reminded her that God provides all our needs, even for little things. She was crying, amazed at direct answers to her concerns.

One more verse assured them when they read in Zecariah 1:1,7 and the 24th day of the 11th month corresponded with their interview with Betshan, to see if they were accepted, but they knew in advance they would be.

There was so much more to this testimony. I wish there could be a picture, but my batteries ran out, and Evangel's batteries were flat too so we have no pictures, but you can just picture a beautiful family, eager to see what God has next for them.
was reading in Proverbs about the four little wise things.

That creative urge

I think it is ironic, that I, who am undoubtedly the least artistic of our family, am the one with the passion for wall murals. Paul draws with chalk every day, so he can't be expected to start painting the walls for fun, but I would think that our children would catch the joy of painting on walls.

When I was little, I used to lie in bed and imagine painting different things on the window shades in my bedroom. Large blocks of white just call to me like that. Paul's been patient with this. Only once in 19 years of marriage has he whited out any of my creations, and in that case, I was just grateful. It was time to admit defeat and get rid of it.

I am always disappointed in my wall murals. As I mentioned, I'm not talented. In this latest attempt, I was inspired by an anniversary card, which I blew up on a video projector and focused on the wall when it was nice and dark (the neighbors thought we were really up to something!) So all I had to do was choose the lines I wanted on the wall, and trace them, then go back and paint in between the lines. Simple, right? Well, there is a lot that can go wrong.

Before the suspense overwhelms anyone, here's the card that inspired me:

and here is our wall. The kids did help, because they're obedient, and they did enjoy making the neighbors wonder, that night. My niece Ariel helped, because she's nice, and I think she might have a tiny passion for wall murals planted there. She did the hardest part, that tablecloth. I was about to admit defeat and color it all one color, but she was faithful to the little checks.

So I'm disappointed. It never comes out like I'd like it too, but I love it too, because I can see what I hoped it would be. And I suppose it's my creation. I have good memories of the making.

I wonder if this is how God looks at me. I know He loves me, because the Bible tells me so, "For God so loved the world..." But I know I've got to be a disappointment at times. I'm so thankful His son died for my sin. He paid for my escape from hell, for my entrance into Heaven, and for my robe of righteousness by His great sacrifice.

I'm thankful to my Creator!

Good Friday!

I love this picture of us Youngs with Anton and Edna Roos, the most gracious hosts who have arranged our 8 day stay and schedule in Port Shepstone. Anton had Paul speak to over 5000 in schools just in the first 4 days, and for that, we bless him. Edna is fun and kind. She invited us to do laundry in her house, and Evangel and I had such a fun visit with her.

But aren't we a funny little group, caught on camera when most of us weren't ready. It makes me smile.

This cutie little monkey was camera fodder on one of our rare stops on the long ride to Hibberdene.

I have had a birthday since I last wrote! I had to do the family tradition of modeling so that I could properly thank my Mom for the gifts, and this was the best of the pictures that came out of that. I am half way to 90, which is a thought provoking mark to have passed.

Evangel made me one of her little creations on a dessert fork...see it? It's a little brownie with whipped cream and a cherry on top. She and Paul found me this fictional biography of Jane Austen for a birthday present. I've never been a Jane Austen freak, not like the mother of Franklin Graham's wife who named their daughter Jane Austen, and calls her Jane Austen, but I was interested, and am growing more so as I read. Evangel bought the video Sense and Sensibility, and I am moved to see it again as I have read something of what went into its writing. Her life is encouraging me. I also would like to write more, but she went through years of no book writing when her life was unsettled.

And my boys blessed me with an unusual gift, guppies and an angel fish. OK, so they can ony be seen if you zoom way in, and the angel fish has already gone to his reward, but I like that my boys know what their mom likes!

Mrs. Ross dressed in purple is such a fun person. I put her testimony on here in December of 2009, and we've become good friends. I love to visit, and not just because she gives me millionaire bars. I should have put this on with the photo of Timothy on the slide in an earlier post, but that is where the kids went sledding in the mall.

We had an outing to the penguins and the Scratch Patch. See all the little rocks on the ground? They're semi precious stones you can collect...for a price.

Berdine and Michelle Frew visited us for a few days after the kids went to the Worldview Summit Camp. The 3 girls went up Table Mountain, while I had a peaceful, relaxing time waiting in the car. After awhile, I finished the work I had brought with me, and hopped over to a bench where I could see this beautiful view of Cape Town, marred only by this sign that makes a mom nervous when her daughter is tromping somewhere else on this same mountain.