Sunday 10th Feb

Woken up at 3.30am by our first major thunderstorm in Africa which lasted until around 8.30am (some 5 hours).  Jean Padbury said that it was the worst storm that she could remember! Met Tim on the way up to breakfast who told us that he had been up most of the night looking admiringly at the storm - awesome!!  We went to Christ Church Waterfall, where Natalie spoke brilliantly, on behalf of the team,  thanking everyone who had helped us and for the warm welcome and hospitality we had received.  We said our sad goodbyes with lots of photo taking.  After spending a relaxing afternoon around the pool we went to the evening service where Dorian (the Pastor)  challenged us about our faith and  we said our goodbyes again .

Monday 11th

Our team devotion was again on the theme of Taking steps of Faith, we looked at the story of Joshua and the Israelites crossing the Jordan River.  Today was preparation day for Forest View Primary School for the visit to the Mangrove Swamps in Durban (not Mangoes as one team member kept calling them!).  In the afternoon we visited Waterfall College to have a look around and met the Principal- the team were very eager to see the school as they had worked with the majority of the school during the month.  It was interesting to see the students in their normal environment and meet the teachers again.

Tuesday 12th

Another early start as we were on the road by 6.45am to go to the Mangrove Swamps.  Team had a great time exploring the boardwalk, learning about the Eco system of the Mangroves and the three different types- Red, White and Black. Adam also taught us about the Red Mangrove Swamp Crab  and Fiddler Crab which live in the area. The team led warm up activities for the grade 4's from Forest View School, before the students went with Adam and David to learn about the different parts of the reserve (half to the Mangroves, other half to the estuary, then swapped) and to do some clearing up of the pollution left by humans!  Watching the Red Mangrove crab was fascinating- when a leaf dropped from the tree, crabs from the surrounding holes raced up to fight over it to store back in their hole as food. Dave also caught an enormous crab which intrigued both the students and us!  The day finished on a high with Pancakes made by Natalie and Jo..well it was Shrove Tuesday!

Wednesday 13th-

Left at 7 to go to Alverstone Wildlife Park which was only a short drive away. When the grade 5's from Forest View arrived the team led the day programme with minimum input from Adam, utilising skills gained from previous programmes.  Although they were very eager to take part, it's fair to say they were a little noisier and chaotic  than some of the older students we had previously worked with. Natalie and Jo led a devotion with the 48 students which went well.  The day was very hot and we all suffered from the heat, having to reapply the suncream at every opportunity! In the afternoon Nan (a friend of Jeans) came and gave us a talk on HIV and AIDs in South Africa which was very informative and is sure to serve us well in the upcoming 5 months.

Thursday 14th

Relaxing final day in South Africa. Everyone in the house woke up to a Valentines heart from Natalie. We went for a not so early "jog" as a team seeing as we will be doing them on a much more regular basis in Zambia! After breakfast we had a team devotion, packed our cases (some quicker than others!) before relaxing by the family  pool.  Just before lunch we visited the Tshinga students and said our goodbyes-  they had all made a goodbye collage thanking us for taking them to Injuisthi.  In the evening we said our goodbyes to the Padbury family, with a final meal prepared by the wonderful Jean. We also celebrated our personal achievements, Valentine's day and Meg and Adams last evening at the family home also. Meg and Adam move into their first marital home this weekend and are very excited about having their own place and own space- definitely something to celebrate! The girls decorated the table with origami heart napkins, red table cloth, champagne flutes, Lindt chocolates and candles- very apt for the occasion!

Friday 15th

4.30am depart for airport.  Both flights were on time and we arrived early in Ndola to be met by Peter (last year's team leader) and thankful that all our luggage had arrived safely.  Peter treated us all to an ice cream at Jacaranda Mall, where he explained - in the nicest possible way - that only one of the guest houses was habitable, and our first project would be to help complete the second house.  He then drove us to Mechanics for Africa (MFA in future) where we began to settle in - Tim is sleeping on the couch, and we have nowhere to store clothes at the moment.  They have given us two weeks (African time) for the completion of the second house and for storage furniture to arrive.  Sharonne and Charlie Watt were very welcoming and showed us around the plot of MFA.  Sharonne provided our evening meal and they prayed and anointed the house seeing as we are the first people to stay, sleep and eat in the new houses.

Saturday 16th

Started the day with a jog led by Peter who had prepared the route with Shaun.  After breakfast we visited our first ministry, Isubilo where we met Hettie and Andy Patching.  Isubilo is serving the local community running health projects to support  people who are  suffering  from HIV/AID's and Poverty. They are also working with approx 150 single/double orphans  to help improve their education and life-skills.  We will be helping there every Wednesday afternoon and Saturday morning when in Ndola and hope to bless the children and the leaders there. The onsite medical clinic is already proving an interest to Jo!

Peter took us on orientation of Ndola and we did some food shopping.  After lunch Peter showed us how to erect the tents we will be using when away from Ndola on excursion.  Our challenge is to beat Peter's time of 5 minutes for dismantling and putting tent away..watch this space!  Evening finished off with team time chilling out and watching a DVD.

Prayer points

Thanks for safe arrival

Pray for Charlie and Sharonne Watts (our hosts) and their need for a suitable, safe, working car

Pray for the work at Isubilo and for more volunteers to help with teaching the children.