Timing, Nice Gift for Thsepo

We seem to be in the season of learning God's timing. We really experienced it when we first arrived-things/events would just fall into place. Then came a schedule or regular working and the timing issue would fall into the background except for the occasional event, like how quickly we got this house to live in. It's been a bit hard lately, as we haven't put any cob on the house for almost two months now. It was making progress so nicely over the winter, and now has stopped, except for the window frame making (which is necessary, but doesn't have the same feeling of accomplishment). We've wondered if we've done something wrong, or what?

Last week Tuesday our support money came into our account. It's not enough to start us building again, but covered most of the necessities. We felt a little flush (for our terms), so we told the children we'd got to pizza night at Rosa on Wednesday. When we arrived, Laurence (owner) stopped us and we had this long conversation before even sitting down. We'd heard about a couple getting married in Rosendal in February, and Rosa hosting the reception. He's from Europe, she's originally South African but living in Australia now, and instead of receiving gifts, the couple wanted the guest to contribute to a community project. Thsepo was mentioned, but we didn't know much else. This was a couple months ago. Well, Laurence told us the bride-to-be was in town with her parents, he had taken them by the church that morning (no one was there) to give them more of an idea about Tshepo, and might even come in that night. If they did, he would introduce us!

We had our delicious pizza, like always (we like the Meerkat or the Popeye), and nearly done when Laurence came over and introduced us to Laura, the bride-to-be! She was very excited to meet us. We were able to explain the vision, and she was able to put a face to the people she'd heard about. When we came home, I burned a DVD of a slideshow we have made of Thsepo and took it back to the them. We chatted some more, and it was all very encouraging. We didn't put much expectations when we first heard of the possibility, we've been learning there are lots of people that love what you are doing and say they will help one way or another, but then they never do. This time however, it looks like things will come together!

Two days later, we had less than $50 in our accounts again, and the thought of going to Rosa for dinner would have to take a back seat again. What we realized in hindsight, was that had we got our support money earlier, there would have been a good chance we would have missed meeting Laura. God knows what He's doing, and that has to be our comfort when things like the house just seem to be on hold for the moment.

Cinnabuns in Rosendal!

A lady here in town has some connection to Cinnabuns. In the past, we've received a couple zip-lock bags of frozen cinnamonrolls, just enough for each child to get a two-bite piece. Today, however, she brought a large amount, everyone got close to half a cinnabun! I was just thinking about the whole thing, and it's complex. . . the nearest Cinnabun shop is at least 3 hours away. I think these come from Jo'burg, so that's 4 hours. Most of these children don't travel much. Two of the ladies that help have never been further than Senekal or Ficksburg, both just a half hour away. The largest body of water they've seen is only 100 meters across. Never seen the ocean. Or a town with more than 5 stop lights. Anyways, these buns are something special. It's a pleasure just to watch them savor every bite. The thing is, I was also savoring every bite! It is nice to get a surprise like this. What I also realized is how temporal our problems are. Two days ago, we couldn't afford a Coke. Today, I was eating half a Cinnabun!

I had been working at de la Harpe and pulled a few carrots from our garden. They were in the back when we dropped off a couple people. A young girl, 1^st grade or so, asked to have one. I gave her and her friend each one, and was just thinking to myself that my own children won't eat the carrots we've grown, and here these children ask for them! Makes me a little crazy.

Corné planted acorns last Fall. Now we have a mini oak forrest. Quite chuffed with all the seedlings! I know they will take a long time to become a big, beautiful tree, but it will mark the time we moved here, and continue on down the generations!

Finished with Frames; a little Tshepo news

Today, Corné and I finished the last rough window frame! It took a little longer than I thought, but we did work at a slow pace. Last week I had some kind of virus, turns out other people in town had it too. Was feverish and chilly in the evening, and then the fever would break around 1 or 2 in the morning. Then I would be wide awake for an hour or two! Anyways, with my sleep interrupted, I was a bit tired and not feeling great till early afternoon. We usually got at least one frame done a day, so we still made progress. It was just the two of us, as we didn't have money to give to the guys. It's a little frustrating, because even though it's not that much, it puts food on their table. Without it, I don't know what they do.

All the windows for our house will
slide inside these frames when the house is done.

I did get to spend a bit more time at Tshepo last week, which was nice. We had a guest from Jo'burg. Penny was a speech therapist and developed a system of teaching sounds through drawings of face that showed the position of the lips and whether it was a vibrated sound or not. Apparently, it really helps young children learn a second language. So she came and did some training/demonstrations, and she was quite impressed with the children of Tshepo. I was a bit skeptical when I heard about it, but when I learned more about it, I changed my mind. Sotho has just 5 vowel sound, and English has around 11. What happens is that when someone not familiar with all the sounds of English comes to a sound they don't know, often they substitute a sound they do know. This program is suppose to eliminate that.

I've been reading The Essential Guide to Healing by Johnson and Clark, and am ready to see some things happen! Penny has Cerebral Palsy, as well as being in 2 car accidents in the last year that put her in a scooter. I really felt to pray for her, and was hoping we would see a miracle. When the opportunity came, Pastor John and I prayed for her there at Tshepo. She felt warmth (the Holy Spirit), and when John shared that he saw a river flowing from her, she said she also felt like she was in a rainbow river. So no major healing, but God was doing something. Just have to keep trying!!

Frames, More Healing, Fire, and More

Window Frames

Corné and I spent another week working on the frames for the windows. I gave the guys the week off as Corné and I wanted to work on the frames together (our idea was to build the house together, and it's been more of me and the guys), as well as we didn't really have cash to give them, for this past week or the week ahead. Feel the worst for Lerato, his wife hasn't been paid for two months and she's expecting. We were able to help last month with groceries, but not this time.

Another nice aspect of just the two of us working on the frames is that the pace is slower and we get to evaluate each step. We've changed the size of a couple windows, and then changed another back from a “medium” to a “large.” What has been on both of our minds is how light the house will be. We want it bright, but can't have windows everywhere, it is the cob holding up the walls and the roof! Cob homes supposedly have more “dramatic” light since the walls are thick and direct the light more than a thin wall. In the end, it should be light enough, and in the back of the house, if it's dark, we'll add a solar tube. We did drop one south window in the lounge (the darker side in the southern hemisphere), and added a smaller window to the west wall.

Not many princesses can handle a
circular saw.

More on Healing

Two weeks ago when we went to Bethlehem, I previously mentioned Corné's thumbs being healed. I didn't mention that I also got prayer. Since moving to town, I started struggling with anxiety when going to sleep. Before Daniel started praying for people, we spoke of things he believed God wanted to heal. He mentioned that there are people who are struggling with anxiousness, who have irrational thoughts that are keeping them from sleeping. That was definitely me! Since that night, I've slept normally! A couple nights ago, I couldn't sleep, but wasn't anxious, and I even could listen to music that previously would have made me melancholy (as mentioned in a previous post). Think God healed me more than I realized.

Fire on the Mountain

Living in town where we can see the Witteberg Mountains, we have seen the fire on the mountains drama this season. A couple weeks ago, one the mountains was on fire but didn't get a decent photo of it. This week, on the second night of the fire on the mountains, I went out to see it, and saw the glow in the sky! It was a bit frightening. In the photo, the glow is a bit brighter than it was in reality, but it was still an awesome sight. What wasn't helping was the crazy wind of the last few days.

Solar Panel Shed

While in Bethlehem the other week, I visited the Solar Guy. I asked him about security, theft is a problem here. He said some people put the panel in a shed and rolled them out. The more I've thought about it, the more I like the idea. We'll built a low cob shed and put the panels on a wheeled holder. Several advantages: 1. We can lock up the panels at night and when we are not home. 2. We'll be able to rotate the panels throughout the day. We saw the difference at Mosamane while living on one panel. It does boost the power quite a bit. Also, the way our house it facing-Northeast, in the summer the panels would get very little or no sun the last 3-4 hours of the day. 3. When there is a possibility of hail, we can wheel the panels in to safety. My mother-in-law is pretty good at predicting hail, you get a feel for it over time. When there is a storm, just to be on the safe side, we can put them away.

Reaping where we haven't sown

Several weeks ago I noticed grass growing beside the storeroom and thought I should maybe pull it out sometime.  Of course, it was low on the priority list, so it didn't get done.  Then about two weeks ago, notice grain heads forming!  I was wondering how in the world that happened.  Then I realized we used wheat straw bales to stand on while building, and there were plenty of grain heads in the straw.  Some got loose and into the soil and grew!  So now the storeroom is surrounded by a thin row of wheat.  Pretty cool.  Pray it is prophetic for us, and that we will reap where we haven't sown!

Burnin' the Backyard

The house we live in didn't have the lawn mowed for months, and we don't have a lawn mower. So, our best option was the tradition of burning the dry grass.  We watered down a perimeter and borrowed a fire swatter (looks like someone made a wig of a piece of car tire).  We lit a batch of thick grass, and it started to burn quickly!  In 20-30 seconds I could feel the heat on my face, and the amount of smoke was much more than I anticipated!  Was a bit concerned, as we didn't have a permit (I remembered Michael telling me after July a permit is needed, kinda remembered a bit late!), and the Municipality office is across the corner from us.  The cloud of smoke was huge for just a bit of grass, maybe 3-4 square meters!   We cut back our goal of 30 or so square meters to just burning under the laundry line.  Not that I didn't respect fire before, but I now have an even better healthy fear of field fires.  Found out a couple days later someone did see the smoke and called our neighbor, thinking her house was on fire!

Option number two is using animals.  At first we had a few cows stop by, and we even gave them water to encourage them to stay.   The last couple of days, we've had a visiting herd!  Lawn does look much better.  

Burning did help us find the septic tank, which I think I'm going to have to dig up, as our toilets are blocked up.  Can't just inform the landlady and expect her to fix it, as she's letting us stay for so little, and now we have brought a sewage/septic problem to light which would have remained unknown if she had just left the house empty till she sold the house.  The house is suppose to be connected to the sewer system, but I think it's still on the old septic system.

Window Frames!

The past week has been another week of variety. Monday we came home from Bethlehem after a fantastic weekend there. A guest speaker from Bethel Church in California was at Bethlehem Christian Center that ministered in a fresh, new way. Liked his Healing Meeting. He didn't pray for anyone, so it wasn't about getting prayed for by the special guest. He named off several issues, people raised their hands. Then he asked those people to stand, and the people seated to find someone to pray for! Then he asked the people requesting prayer to try something they couldn't do before. Four people got healed even before we prayed, including Corné! Anyways, got home half an hour before Tshepo, so quickly unloaded our shopping, and then took Corné over. I then went and got the Wii from storage, took it home and set it up. The children were very chuffed!! Sad thing is, the next day had to change the voltage transformer, I had to use it, and used an older, small one. It burnt out the power chord! So just after they got a taste of playing Wii again, it was gone. There is a happy ending- Andrea found a 220v Wii power chord in Bethlehem and our new friends, Jeremy and Linda, brought it with them on Saturday. It is very nice to have, especially because Micah and Shiloh play together on it so nicely.

Well, regarding the house, Tuesday we started on making frames. These are rough frames that are basically to hold the cob back and leave an opening into which later we can insert a finished window. I wish I had a carpenter here to help us. The smaller ones are easier to get right, but the larger ones are challenging. One reason is that my carpentry skills are just ok, not great. Another reason is that the boards aren't perfect. They are a little twisted or bowed. We do our best.

I visited a local builder for some tips on making these frames, and he was actually quite helpful. He lent me a tool that will hold two boards together at a right angle, so you can then nail or screw them together by yourself. He also lent me a draw knife (I think that's what it's called). It's a blade with two handles at each end that you pull toward yourself, as in to cut the bark off trees. Needed one of these! I actually had asked him about making one, he makes knifes, and he just offered it. Do like how people help each other out in a small community. On Thursday the guys trimmed all the bark off two large Popular logs I had cut at Mosamane. Will do the same to the boards going into the walls for the door frames.

Popular logs.  One will be used to hold up the loft at one end in the living room.

I tried making a larger frame myself on Thursday. It ended up very askew. Took it apart the next day and replaced a board, it looks better now. What I think is that with the rough frames being wood, and the windows also made of wood, if the window doesn't fit, we can sand one or the other to get it in there. Truthfully, this is another part of the building process that I'm not crazy about, but I do enjoy it much more than building the stem wall! It has to be done anyways. We don't have crusher dust at the moment, and until we can afford a load, we can't do any cobbing. So, we'll take our time making these frames and spend a little time getting the spring garden in. Actually, Thursday, Lerato and I got 4 beds ready. The last compost pile I made turned out pretty well, mixed that into the soil, should get decent results this summer!

Walking the Plank

Last weekend, winter gave us one last reminder that it's not summer yet.  We had radichicco cabbage going very nicely in the garden-it was all wiped out, with only a couple weeks to go.  Very sad.  Our root crops are alright, but also lost the sweet peas that were starting to bloom.

Monday morning was still cold, and windy, so we didn't work.  Tuesday however, I took Mtshbeshbe with me down to  Ficksburg.  Through one person leading me on to another, I finally got to Will, the operator of a mill on top of the mountain above Ficksburg.  We spoke a couple times on the phone, and I asked him this last time  if I couldn't go up to get the rejects.  He was fine, so that was the plan.

View from on top, looking at the township by Ficksburg

I had driven up the mountain once before, and it wasn't too fun.  It is a cement single road going up the mountain, with multiple steep switchbacks and only a railing here or there!  This was the drive my mother-in-law had to get out of the Landy!  The second time wasn't so bad, did seem easier, but knew coming down with a trailer of wood pushing us would be another challenge.  When we arrived there, a younger guy (the foreman wasn't there that day) showed us a nice pile of rejects where we could start.  The pieces are 3m long, about 20cm wide, and 10cm thick!  Very nice pieces for window lintels.  We got the best of those, found more longer, thinner pieces, and were loaded in an hour.  Took half an hour to get down the mountain.  Put it in low 2nd gear, and let the transmission let us down at a walking pace.  No problem.  Drove to de la Harpe, dropped them off, then went back.  The young guy said he talked to the boss, and we couldn't take anymore from the 2 piles we had been working!!  Bit bummed, but we climbed up on the piles(over 2m high) and started searching out pieces.  Took us much longer, but got another load.  Only got back to Rosendal at 5:30!  A long day with lots of driving, but well worth it!

First load, only R50!

Lumber yard.  We pulled rejects from the back piles.

We went back the next day for one last load.  Took most of the day since we had to scratch for every board.  Was climbing over the piles, feeling like a lumberjack!  Love the smell too of freshly cut wood. Got a nice coffee table piece, 1m long, almost 50cm wide, and 12 cm thick!  Also got many more thick, shorter lintel pieces, so think we have enough both to make the window frames, door frames, and lintels.  These aren't perfect pieces, but to buy the same wood from the co-op, I figure I would have spent R12-15000!  I paid R150 for the wood, and around R500 in diesel!  A real blessing.  I had a feeling we would get $1000 this past week.  We didn't get it in cash, but in wood and steaks!  A farming couple brought us a box full of meat, nicely done too (they use to own a butchery, so know how to do it right!)  They gave us a dozen T-bone steaks, beef sausage for 10 meals, and mince to make another 10 meals!  Truth is, we've only had steak once or twice since we've been here.  God knows what we were craving.  Learning at a conference this weekend that God loves to give us these things, and it's nothing we've done.  He just loves us.  Been a good week.

Beautiful, thick beams from the last load.