How did we get to January 19th?

This sunshiny morning I woke up as an auntie for the fifth time! Now before you rush off to find one of my beautiful sister’s and marvel at how the first time in recent history word travelled faster to the African continent then to your home facebook page, read on. 

We have been sending many a prayer in this last few months to have our 72 hr crisis centre, which was previously a vacant government owned house granted to us freely, to be used to its fullest potential for as long or short as it will be bestowed on us. So after receiving a late night emergency phone call from the police, our very first niece has blessed us with her absolutely courageous and most beautiful presence.  And in only the first few hours she’s learnt that if she doesn’t spoon out her own portions at the dinner table, Auntie Charlene’s secret mission to “make her very fat” will shortly be a success! I would love to tell you all about this gift from God to us, for obvious security reasons Im unable, but as you hear many mothers recount, all of the discomfort, fear and pain over this last while has been washed away at the sight of this new life, the worthwhile fruit of our labour. To have the chance of looking into these stunning eyes that carry such a horrendous story of this survivor is a complete privilege. I can’t understand how she or Christ trusts me enough to care for her, it’s so humbling.

Now then, or should I say “now now”, as would be culturally correct here, lets jump all the way back to pre-Christmas as I really took a holiday indeed from updating my story here. I still cant believe I had the honour of hosting “Mother Theresa of Kenya”, as I like to call her, my dear friend Lucy, mother to 300 orphans and counting. Thanks be to the generosity of my church and family in Grunthal, she was able to take a well deserved break from Hope Community Center and fly down to Capetown into my arms for a week of laughter, rest and rejuvenating prayer. Of course my whole house-hold of roomates all became her adoring sisters by the end of the week as this woman is so filled with the steadfast love of Christ. Like African flies to freshly fried chicken, everyone wants a piece of the beautiful picture of Christ painted through her. 

Lucy, along with anyone else we knew who didn’t have anywhere else to spend Christmas day, came over for a huge Braai in our backyard where as apparently tradition goes world wide, the food over load was so severe I went to bed with the classic groans of holiday gluttony. I did get to skype with my family as well and I have to admit as I had been doing fine so far about this whole being away from home over Christmas thing, watching my neice and nephews proudly play carols on the piano for me, this Auntie had to find some tissue post call asap. 

The longer this blog is growing, the more Im reminded how leaving this for a month was a really bad idea as I still have so much I want to talk your ear off about. So how about a few harmless bullet point highlights to save some space and your generous time:

1.       Jeff and Janet are now a Muizenberg household name as they sent all alone in a parcel this ancient tree topper of theirs that they know I think is the most hideous beady eyed dove imagined. It brought the last thing from “peace” as it sat ontop of my mini tree staring us all down, making our visitors ask if “all Canadian birds look that disturbing?” 

2.       New years was spent with six crazy German girls, revolutionizing my mind as they ingeniously combined my two loves…pizza and chocolate…know as chocolate pizza, seriously Germans ingenuity at its finest! We danced and ate and laughed and prayed and watched fireworks from their balcony to beckon this new year in together. 

3.       I met this lovely women yesterday who was from St. Anne, Manitoba!

4.       Wildflowers, basil, purple petunias (just for you mom) and a somewhat still hopeful avocado plant are alive and sorta well in my back yard…still trying to figure out how to befriend the African sun’s scorch.

5.       Lesson learnt the hard way as I was recommended by a friend to take the easy way down off of Table Mountain with the slow group and instead obstinately took the hard way on my own, got lost, and with my sheepy tail had to apologize for my stubbornness at days end. It was something about the way my friend conveyed his advice that brought me back to feeling like eight year old Charlene who wanted to go against her big brothers instruction just to prove that she could…ah when will I ever win with those boys?!

Alright well faithful ones, its been a pleasure for me and hopefully not a test in perseverance for you, but if so, count it all joy when you meet trials of many kinds for you know the developing of steadfastness makes you complete, understanding how indeed you are not lacking in a thing as your faith expands more than ever…hows that for James 1:2-4 Charlene version?!