The Monkeys Might Be Closer to Us than I Thought

from Elliott
Well, I have to admit I have always been a bit offended when people suggested we were closely related to monkeys. I may have to change my tune....

Word seems to have gotten out among the town monkeys. What before had been an infrequent occurrence of a monkey sneaking into our flat has become more frequent and more brazen. At first it was an older one who stole (or as they say here, pinched) bananas and a younger one that stole a piece of hard candy.

The other day we were attacked three times in just two days. The first one was older and he made off with a half a loaf of bread in a plastic bag. I saw him on the road gently opening the bag and taking out one piece and closing the bag. Then the next day, after the bread had been replaced by a trip to the market, a young came to the door but I stopped it and he ran off or so I thought. As soon as I turned my back he returned and to the kitchen counter he went - looked at the new loaf of bread and then turned the other way and grabbed two pieces of hard candy from the bowl and jumped over the door to the tree where he sat on a branch and unwrapped each piece of candy and put both in his mouth!

Maybe they are a lot like humans - the older, maybe wiser, monkey chose bananas and bread while the young one (impatient and undisciplined) when confronted with a choice choose the candy and even to the point of stuffing both pieces in his mouth at once! How humbling to witness!

Gaining Wisdom from Bananas

from Elliott
I saw a friend recently – he might be the most industrious individual I have met in our ministry area!  And he is always experimenting or trying to learn new things. He grows all types of fruit and veg and also has a woodworking shop where he crafts beautiful benches and tables. 

The tribal authority recently gave him the rights to use another couple of acres of land nearby. He described to me his plans to grow bananas on the land. He had met with a NGO a while back to learn more about banana farming. He said that they were telling him that he could sell bananas for R50 per stalk and he could plant 2000 bananas. Each banana tree will produce one stalk every 18 months.

He did the math in his head and thought that is more money than I will ever need! What would I do with it all?

Then he figured that there was a reason why he had been given the extra land and he had learned about growing bananas. He knew that meant that God wanted him to use the land and knowledge to benefit his neighbors especially those that were hungry. 

Most people would have gotten out their ‘mental wishlist’ to spend what they would see as a personal windfall. He on the other hand saw that there was a reason for this windfall – he sought God’s will and not his own personal desires to do the right thing. 

He gained wisdom from the bananas!

"I Just Wanted to Hear Your Voice"

from Katherine

Our family returned to South Africa on January 14^th after spending 5 weeks in the U.S. with family and friends. We had a great time and loved seeing so many old and new friends. Thanks for a tremendous time!

A few days after we returned my cell phone rang and when I answered I heard a familiar voice say “I just wanted to hear your voice.” Wow! Someone cares enough our relationship that the sound of my voice would satisfy their soul. I will try to tell you what that means to me although I am not sure words are enough.

I think almost everyone in South Africa has a cell phone. You don’t have to have air time to place a “please call me” request. Most often when our phones ring it is a request from someone to please call them back because they don’t have air time.  This time my friend used her own air time to call just because she wanted to hear me. To know for herself that I had indeed returned to her homeland, that I was well and that we would once again be together. My heart soared.  My friend was waiting for me to come home so that we could continue our friendship in person. I am loved.

Great day!

From Katherine

Today I was invited to speak at Mdatya Primary School’s prize giving (end of the year awards day). Mdatya is the school where I assist the Grade 3’s with literacy by reading in English each week.It is a very exciting time with lots of important people making long speeches. Lots of grade R (kindergarten) learners were asleep in their chairs. 

When it was time for prize giving the assistant principle started with academic excellence for grade R. a name was called and a little boy came forward followed by his great grandmother and grandmother. Greatgran walked almost completely bent over and using a walking stick (literally a stick). When the threesome made it to the front the child received his framed certificate and posed for a family photo. As soon as the picture was taken Greatgran stood perfectly erect and began to sing and dance. This went on for several minutes with the whole crowd singing and swaying, then Greatgran dances back to her seat standing tall.

The next prize for academic excellence was for a tiny girl in grade 1. Her grandfather walked with her to the front and after their photo was taken granddad smiling from ear to ear planted a big kiss on her cheek. So sweet!

The reason for the story… I rarely see African men show affection to their children or grans. It was a real treat for me to see this elder in the community forget about who was watching and let his girl know how proud he is of her.

Many of the older adults in the Mzamba community (and throughout Africa) were either unable to attend formal schooling or had a leave school at an early age. They are incredibly proud of their children and grandchildren for working hard at school. I am proud of them too. They learn in crowded classrooms with no electricity and very few supplies, and many of them speak 2 languages. Something I am still working on!   

An Uninvited Guest

from Katherine
Elliott and I were at home having lunch when an adult vervit monkey jumped on top of the lower section of our dutch door and ‘invited himself to lunch.’

Our neighbor Phil had brought a bunch of bananas to us just the other day. I was saving some to make banana bread so they were sitting on the counter about 3 meters from the door and out of sight. We have had lots of people tell us about their monkey encounters. Even though I think they are adorable, I don’t want them in my kitchen. Having been warned we were being careful, or so I thought. He leapt from the door to the sink then to the counter where he grabbed the bunch of bananas anf then made a run for it!

Cason and I have seen monkeys in the yard, but just passing through. Not this fellow, I guess he could smell the bananas and wanted them ALL! So glad he did not come after the bread was made then I would have been upset. Now I am just amused.

Walky Talky

from Elliott
I guess I have been somewhat of a 'chicken snob.' I think I found where all those chicken parts that Chik-fil-a doesn't use - my market in South Africa! It has been quite an education...

Most people buy their chicken either live (they actually fit nicely in a shoulder bag for the walk home) and whole or frozen in bulk.with a variety of parts included. I was looking at a 5kg bag today trying to determine what the parts were and the only thing that looked familiar was the drumsticks.

Then there was a different bag that upon close inspection was something that I recognized. The bag had the name of the farm and then in big letters - 'WALKY TALKY."  No it was not referring to the radios we used as children to mimic soldiers or police. It was a bag of chicken feet and heads. Just in case you are not following, the WALKY refers to chicken feet and the TALKY refers to the head. YUMMM!!!! Unfortunately, the bag did not offer any handy serving suggestions!

How did lunch measure up?

from Katherine
I arrived a little early to Sirhashini last week for our enrichment time. The children were still having their lunch. Two neighbor ladies prepare the rice and broth and deliver lunch to the school in the biggest pots you can imagine; on their heads of course!

The school does have plastic plates for the children but no forks or spoons. No water either so no hand washing. A few of the children bring a spoon, most eat with their fingers. One boy used his ruler! I was surprised that he had a ruler that kind of school supply is a luxury in this part of the world. It worked great as a shovel for rice. He got every bite and then cleaned his ruler very well!