Back In Grahamstown again
Well I'm (Gareth) back in Grahamstown.
After the move I flew back to Springs. This was orginally to work out my notice period but African Independent decided that they wanted to keep me on despite the move. So I am now (pending the completion of an ADSL installatio) set up in an office in Grahamstown.
New office space is very nice except for 1 little factor that I've become accustomed to; there is no air conditioner. :(
I left later than intended from Springs on saturday, but arrived safely at 8:30pm. Katherine had a lovely suprise waiting for me.
As you will see in the photos below, there was a really nice candle lit dinner waiting. This consisted of:
- A sun dried tomato soup for starters
- Cranberry and postachio chicken, with lots of my favourite veggies for mains.
- Freshly, home baked Apple Pie and ice-cream as dessert.
Yum Yum.
You can also see Katherine's great handy work in the bedroom. In her spare moments before we made the move, she made the canopy hanging above the bed. She also made the little cushions and the bolster cushions which are awesome for reading. I think it all looks amazing.
The room is much more peaceful and comfortable than our last flat.
That's enough news for now.
Who needs the Kruger Park?
Yesterday was our anniversary. So we went out to the Sandbar, a floating restaurant in
Bushman's (3 minutes away from Kenton on Sea). After some great sea food and live entertainment we went to the beach (forgot to take photos) in Kenton. We swam out to a large sand bank in the middle of the lagoon where we played around in the sand like 5 year
olds. On the drive back however something very unexpected happened...
We saw an elephant, promptly stopped and took some photos. You can judge it's size by the off road tracks where it is walking.
We then climbed back in the car and
zooted off again into the sun set. Barely a few
km's down the road I spotted one of my favourite animals in the peripheral vision. Promptly slammed on breaks, reversed and took some more photos. You can see the baby suckling the mother Giraffe.
So in summary, why pay a fortune to go to the Kruger when you can live nearby so much game in a town with 2 beach towns very nearby?
A New Year - New Adventures
Hey everyone... this
Sunday will mark our 1st year of marriage, an occasion we are looking forward to celebrating. Our first year has been peaceful and
blissful and we're happier than we've ever been.
2008 is starting off with a bang and the adventures are hunting us down this year. I chose to keep our first year as a year where we
predominately focused on each other (scripture says a man should spend his first year doing nothing except pleasing his wife). The end of last year we began seeking God for some direction and vision. The result of this is us moving down to
Grahamstown.
We also have a new addition to the family.
Radaph is a little ginger kitten (as you will see) whose
Hebrew name means "To hunt or pursue with hostile intent". This great little word is translated as "follow" in psalm 23 where it says "goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life".
Radaph amazingly meowed for the entire 11 hours trip to
Grahamstown. This has left him a little "thunder struck", very hoarse and he now sounds like the lead singer from AC/DC
And of course here are some photos:
We were sent flowers by Katherine's mom
The entrance to our new little 1 bedroom flat.
Our drive way
Our swimming pool
Our removal truck arrived later than planed, so we had no choice but..... to go to the beach which at 45 minutes away is really close when you're from the East Rand or
Jhb.
The truck did
eventually arrive and now we're faced with the challenge of "where do you unpack 76 boxes from a 2 bedroom flat into a 1 bedroom flat???"
This was one of the 10 minutes during our 11 hour drive where
Radaph wasn't meowing.
Radaph and I (Gareth) making friends (I'm allergic to cats and as a result a little scared of them)
Radaph exploring our garden
Radaph confused about whether he is a parrot or a cat.
That's plenty of photos for now, we'll post something up once the flat looks a little nicer.
4 weeks hooray
Ok... so I know that many of you are eager for photos and info about the wedding. My sources (my wonderful Litchi) tell me that the photos from the wedding are ready for pickup. So she will be getting them tomorrow.
In the mean time though I woke Katherine up yesterday with breakfast to celebrate 4 weeks of marriage (poached eggs on toast... her favorite). While looking around for flowers to pick I discovered that our street has no flowers in it. So instead I had to resort to my painful drawing skills!!! (fortunately backed up by my greater imagination).
Hope you enjoy!!!
Pictures
So we are finally down to under 10 days left. But instead of boring the planet with my excitement of getting married to the most amazing girl... I thought I would post some pictures.
This picture is of me feeding a giraffe. It was pretty cool. I don't think I had ever seen one up close before. They have really long tongues.
This next one is of a lion cub. They were pretty sleepy and didn't want to play. Really big kittens.
If you're American then contrary to popular American belief we do not have lions roaming around Africa like we see you guys having bears roaming around your back yards on national geographic. This was in fact the first time in my 25 years in Africa that I had seen a Lion. What you can't tell by this clever shot is that I am actually in a game vehicle aiming the camera between the bars.
This next ridiculous picture was taken at the end of October. At my company there is this tradition that has developed over the years. October is the "Mustache Club" month. All the man (those that are able to) grow hideous mustaches. You can call me "Brutal Billy Bob"
The next 3 photos are all from a photoshoot that Katherine and I did with the lady that's going to be doing our wedding photos.
And thats a wrap.... 233 hours and 3 minutes to go!!!
Under 20 days
Approximately 35 minutes ago the 20 days barrier was officially broken!!! :) :)
19 days 23 hours 25 minutes 30 seconds +- left
:) :) :)
Counting the hours
Tomorrow will be 3 weeks till we're married.
In the mean time (thanks to some nifty excel functions) I can keep an eye on the following:
Time till married is 22 days 2 hours 14 minutes (and seconds that change to fast)
Or 555 hours
Or 33,318 minutes
or (I don't care if you think I'm getting carried away) it is worthing noting that we are getting married in less than 2 million seconds.
1,998,936 seconds (before I started my spelling check)
Yay!!!!!!!!
Into the last month!!!
Yay!
yesterday was the 20 December. Incidentally that is 1 month before the 20 January. The 20 January will be the day that Katherine becomes my wife and I become her husband.
Can't wait
The biggest liar
There is someone I've come to know over the years. He is the biggest liar. He will try get you to believe anything, as long as it's a lie. Big, small you name it. His very good at it too. He has had centuries of practice.
Most recent lie I had been sold:
"It's all great and well that you want to be a History maker and all. But you're not a student any more. It was much easier back then being consumed by Jesus because you didn't have to worry about real responsibilities like life insurance, death benefits and whether or not you can afford medical insurance for your wife."
So I began to nod along, agree and be consumed by fear. Not a paranoid or paralyzing fear, but a fear that the whole world is consumed by. I'm sorry but I do not wish to bow down to those idols.
Being a husband/protector/provider/cultivated/servant/leader is going to be about a whole lot more than material resources.
TRUTH be told... This is no different from being a student. Its just a different package and the world tells you its different.
As a single student I faithed for far more:
- That I would make it fed and clothed through the final year of my degree.
- That giving up dating wasn't a stupid idea when I became a Christian
- That my older brother would be reconciled to the family
- That my parents would become Christians.
- That after my degree God wanted me back in Grahamstown to disciple people even though my parents were against it and I had no job or source of income going back.
- That I had to sell up my business that had just started turning over a profit. It was raking in R4000 a month (about 300 pounds or 680 US$) before all my business and personal expenses... talk about living on the bread line. HAHA!
- That I then had to move up to Gauteng with:
a) No certainty of where to live (or money to pay a deposit for rent)
b) No job to go into
c) Only enough money for the petrol to get me to gauteng... afterwhich my car would be due for a service.
- That upon leaving Grahamstown God was somehow going to bring Katherine back not only into the same country as me, but the same area (even though I had had no contact with her for 2 years) and that she would be my wife.
- That I had to put down a deposit for a flat knowing that my income was too low to get approved.... the building of which is still not complete and now my income is enough.
At the end and beginning of the everyday its still the same question as it was back then... will I die and live for Christ today. Will I seek first the Kingdom?
Back in Grahamstown it was not worrying about next weeks meals that got me fed. I didn't think about it. I didn't worry about it. I was consumed by some simple things:
- whose life can I change.
- how much money can I give away to people who need food tomorrow because I'm still good for another 5 days.
- how can I love Jesus more.
- What is the Kingdom of God.
God promises us that when we seek his Kingdom first he adds everything else we need into our lives. And guess what... he delivers.
Being used by God is the most rewarding thing.
So I'll end off with the words of Job.. Though God slay me, I will praise him. (or something like that)
http://meetmyjesus.blogspot.com/2006/10/deux-ans-demain.html
Check out that link.... It's by one of Katherine's friends (who will be one of the bridesmaids). Amber is to Katherine who John Walters is to me. A spiritual son/daughter that brings us much joy... even though we did such simple little things in their lives. They will always hold us in such high esteem and respect. All because of Christ in us... our hope of glory.
Time to lay it down
Gareth
Big News!!!
I'm feeling rather proud of myself. I'm engaged to the most incredible woman on the planet.
It's been quite an incredible time. Some of it surreal, others parts a little backwards, but all of it exciting.
I went and spoke to Katherine's dad on 25 September. Was only planning to do it in the first week of October, but the prospect of having the day of asking her dad "the dreaded" question slowly sneak up on me was causing too much anxiety. How it would happen was the only thing consuming my thoughts. So on the public holiday I knew that both of Katherine's parents would be home. So I phoned up and let them know that I would like to come by and chat to them.
When I arrived we sat down for some tea and crumpets in their sun room. I had a sip of my rooibos and decided to jump straight into it. I turned towards Mr. Becker and said "Actually Mr. Becker I am here to speak specifically to you". At this point he simply smiled and laughed, obviously knowing what I was about to ask.
I then realised I had no idea how to phrase the question, but had no time to pause and think how to ask it. I opened my mouth, and said something. Not sure what, but it must have been in English and obviously made sense because Mr. Becker replied yes.
So it's a done deal!!! A wedding date has been set. 20 January. It will be a glorious day. And time has flown... 92 sleepies left if I'm not mistaken :) :)
I couldn't be more excited, Katherine's family seems to like me a lot. So not only will I be getting an amazing wife, but some great in-laws. The things that I am most excited about are:
- My bride to be.
- Katherine
- My future wife
- Birthing our destiny together
- Having a home and not just a house.
- No more abstinence :)
- Having Kids (1 little 2 little 3 little Henry's, 4 little 5 little 6 little Henry's)
Woohoooo!!!!!!
