Hello again from the road! We’re enjoying our travelling ways these days, Mama D is enjoying her first taste of Africa, and the Bear is just being an all-around superstar, no matter where his head hits the pillow at night! Here’s the proof:
Can you believe he put that Wonder Pet Tuck the Turtle on his own head, and then went to sleep like that? Well he did!
I thought this Free-For-All Friday, you might enjoy a few posts I’d like to feature by my awesome sister (Dodi) and hilarious brother in law (Andy Konigsmark). Please don’t ask me to pronounce their last name for you. I’m still working on it. Well, I think I have it, but Hero Hubs says I’m not saying it right.
Then learn how to act right at a restaurant. Having also worked in the food service industry, I think this is an important skill.
Last, join Andy and Dodi (and me and my Mom) in having a good laugh at the best of the best of the things the Campers said at the Young Life camp they brought their youth group to a few weeks ago. I am just dying for some context on some of these, and to know how many of them were actually said by Andy! (By the way Andy — you should submit something to stuff Christians like!)
Well friends, we should be back in Gordon’s Bay and life as usual early next week. I may or may not have the internet access to post anything else between now and then…but perhaps the excitement at all the photos you’re going to enjoy when we get back will be enough to hold you over until then!
Are you on Twitter? It’s okay if you’re not, I’m just asking. In case you need an explanation, on Twitter you basically share news in 140 characters (not words) or less with anyone who is “following†you. You use hashtags “#†if you’re speaking about a particular subject that you think other people are likely to search for. It’s an interesting experiment in social networking. Anyway.
When I was waiting for my Mom to arrive at the airport last week, I wished I had internet access because there were so many things I wanted to tweet during my adventure up to Joburg and back. This is Africa and there wasn’t much wifi for the taking, unfortunately. So I wrote down a few tweets I thought you might enjoy in hindsight. Some might be more than 140 characters but since this isn’t twitter, who’s counting?
Oh great. I’m sitting in front of a loud talker/chair pusher. At least he’s not speaking English. It’s a lot easier to drown out.
Wow. Two gentleman were just about to fight in the aisle before exit. #Gentlemanisaloseterm
The convo ended w/ the very buff guy telling the overweight guy (who was definitely talking a ridiculous amount of smack) Shut up, Fat Man.
Why do potential fights give me that excited-butterfly-oh-no feeling? I’m not in high school anymore.
I just ordered a salad at Mugg & Bean. I’m pregnant and I ordered a salad. This is unbelievable.
I think that was 1 of the best salads I’ve ever had. Enjoy the healthy goodness, wee one on the way. Can’t promise it’ll happen again soon.
I just found an amazing bakery with a million things I want to try. #PregnantLadyinaCandyStore
I’m gonna have to be honest. That chocolate chip muffin needed more chocolate chips. #Dern.
My Mom’s going to land in a few minutes! Whoo-hoo! Time to find a potty and get my waitin face on!
My Mom is heeeeeeeeeeeereeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
My Mom is here and she has snacks! Chocolate covered pretzels, howzit? I’ve missed you!
Did I mention my Mom is here?
Thank you, South African airways for that tasty second supper. I didn’t even need that half a PBJ twenty minutes ago.
The rise of Jimmy Choos is being told and retold on TV on this flight. #SoRandom
A safe landing in Cape Town, my Mama in tow. #BestdayI’vehadinalongtime
Perhaps worth a few smiles and laughs? Maybe a retweet? 😉
xCC
P.S. Here’s a token of promise that great photos are on the way! (In case you’re wondering, that’s two handfuls of sand on the way.)
Last week HH and I were sitting in a meeting with volunteers and staff from a ministry we’ve been partnering with here in the Western Cape called Living Hope. A friend of ours is helping us evaluate our ministry’s effectiveness, and we were asking about the volunteers’ and staff’s experiences of the Shoes of Hope distributions we’d hosted together. Where could we stand to improve? What success stories were there? Have any kids been put in danger because they received shoes? We want to take the time to reflect on our work to make sure unintended consequences are avoided whenever possible, and to look at ways we can potentially improve our work.
We began to discuss positives from our recent distributions and one particular story came up, which is a story that needs to be told.
At our Shoes of Hope distributions, there is a special one-on-one moment, when a volunteer washes a child (or adult’s) feet and fits them with a new pair of shoes. We see that moment as an opportunity to connect with the person personally, and we usually ask two simple questions:
1. What’s the worst thing that has ever happened to you?
2. What is your greatest dream?
During our meeting, a volunteer shared that one little boy was impacted in that moment in a significant way. Usually the most disruptive of the kids in their after-school club, after he’d had his one-on-one moment with a volunteer who washed his feet, at least for a day, he was a completely different little boy.
Why?
When he was asked What’s the worst thing that has ever happened to you? he decided to open up and share, with a complete stranger who’d only been volunteering at Living Hope for a week. He shared the worst thing that had ever happened to him: he’d been raped.
I can scarcely imagine the horrible, soul-destroying, terrifying experience of being raped as an adult, and it brings me to tears and breaks my heart to know that it is a common part of the story of children in poverty. It’s estimated that the average young girl growing up in a township in South Africa has a better chance of being raped than of learning to read. Substance abuse, child abuse, and poverty seem to walk hand in hand.
But for a brief and shining moment, this boy was heard. He shared his pain, and it impacted him. The volunteers at Living Hope will follow up with him, in hopes of helping him work through the pain of his experience. They now have a better understanding of why he has been the most disruptive of the club’s participants all along.
In a perfect world, this would never, ever, ever happen to a child. The unfortunate truth is that in our world, it is happening every day.
As we train volunteers in preparation for a Shoes of Hope distribution, we try to make it a point of saying It’s not about the shoes. The truth is, these Shoes of Hope are shoes of opportunity. They create a moment for someone who is in need, who may be hurting, who might be crying out just to be heard, to be prayed for, to be honoured as a fellow human being, worthy of love and dignity.
Every person has a story. We just need to take the time to ask, and to listen.
xCC
*I’ve also shared this story today on the blog at Samaritan’s Feet South Africa. Many thanks to those of you who through prayer, giving, sharing and encouragement are helping make our work possible.
Well guys, the travels take you to the lovely Gordon’s Bay again this week! I am excited to share photos with you from our new place. Forgive me that the pictures are of our place, still empty. But if I take pictures of its current state, you’ll see that we’re living amidst boxes and using things for purposes other than the purpose for which we they were created. And let’s be honest, most of the time it’s best when things are used for the purpose for which they were created. Like people, and air compressors.
We are paying a fraction of what the landlords were hoping for in December last year, and they’ve done renovations, re-carpeted and re-painted since then. We can only point to the Lord with thanks, because we don’t know why we’re getting such an amazing deal! We’re still in the same neighbourhood as before, which is wonderful for walks (the Bear is still riding his car and a little nervous on his wee bike) and very secure and safe.
From the brick wall on the left to the end of the bricks on the right, that’s our new pad! Complete with a white picket fence and a wee bit of garden! 🙂 The new offices of Samaritan’s Feet South Africa are located in the newly finished loft up there on the third floor!
This is the first time we’ve ever lived in a place big enough to need a baby monitor. Look! A fireplace.
This is the dining room. We got a big khaki-coloured rug and a round table with five chairs at an auction the other night. Just use your imagination… I’m thinking of painting the table but haven’t decided what to do yet.
Would you like to head upstairs? (Or go potty?)
The view from the Master Bedroom. Draw in a lil’ queen size bed we picked up at a MAJORLY discounted price, just there on the right. And a ton of boxes and suitcases on the left.
That’s the view from the Bear’s room! Excuse the pigeon problem on the balcony. 🙂
Look at the unbelievable cupboard space! A shower and sink in the first loo, a full bathroom in the second…and Baby #2’s room at the end of the hall. (Or your room, if you come visit! 🙂 )
Did you notice this crazy flower in the first picture? These plants only flower once every twenty-seven years! My brother thought it was like something out of Alice and Wonderland. The flowers have now almost reached the tip. Amazing, hey?
So that’s our new place! What do you think? We’re really blessed to be here!
Hope your week is off to a great start! Enjoy your journey today…Happy Tuesday!
Hi guys and gals! I’m so excited to share some awesome news with you! Kristen of We Are THAT Family has chosen to make a shoe drive for Samaritan’s Feet South Africa the Back to School Do It For Others Project this month. She will be collecting new shoes back in the beautiful big state of Texas that will bless the feet of children and adults here in sub-Saharan Africa!
By the way, did you know South Africa is roughly twice the size of Texas? That’s a lot of feet!
Even though we were blessed with a big shipment of shoes from our parent organization Stateside to help with our World Cup initiative, we are already close to diminishing our supply of children’s shoes for Shoes of Hope distributions at local schools and churches in the weeks and months ahead. If you, dear friends and readers, have wanted to do something to get involved with the work of Samaritan’s Feet South Africa, this is an awesome opportunity. You can head over to We are THAT Family to find out more. And if you can’t send shoes, you can also find out how to make a donation that will make a difference!
In case you haven’t heard the story, the founder of Samaritan’s Feet is a testimony to the fact that a pair of shoes can change a life. (You can read his story here.)
We can’t wait to see how many lives will be changed by the generosity of you and the readers at We Are THAT Family!
Thank you, Kristen, for taking the initiative to help make a difference in the lives of kids in need in this part of the world. To a lot of those who give, it will just mean giving a pair of shoes. To the kids who receive these shoes, it sometimes means the world!
And an especially big thank you to everyone who gives!
xCC
P.S. If you’re new to carolinecollie.com and would like to see more photos from Shoes of Hope distributions, or find out what a distribution is like, choose the category “Shoe Stories” from the drop-down box in the right hand column or click here.
A few weeks ago, Hero Hubs spent a long and lunchless day in a sugar warehouse. Working through extreme tiredness, a busy and slightly stressful season, and a nice wee bout of Bronchitis, he was sorting shoes for Samaritan’s Feet South Africa’s Shoes of Hope distributions, which would be happening during the World Cup.
The other day, one of you asked what 15,000 pairs of shoes looks like. And it’s a little like this:
Or like this…
Mayhaps it’s more like this…
(Fortunately there were guys with forklifts around to take the top pallets off the bottom ones.)
Once you start digging in, it’s a bit like this:
And since this is the warehouse where most of the sugar in the Western Cape is stored, the floor is sticky and you can’t put a single pair of shoes onto the floor while you’re organizing. Hero Hubs did an amazing job. Maybe we should create a Facebook fan page for him or something.
Some of the distributions he was organizing shoes for were taking place in partnership with YWAM Rustenberg. The team there hosted some wonderfully successful Shoes of Hope distributions, and they created some great videos to document their efforts and share the joy with us.
So the good news is, a few thousand pairs of shoes also looks like this:
It also looks like this:
And this:
And thanks to the team at YWAM Rustenberg (and Hero Hub’s work behind the scenes) a few thousand pairs of shoes looks like this, too:
And that sure does make the bronchitis-ridden, slightly-rushed work behind the scenes completely worthwhile.
But I still think you should give HH a high-five and a big pat on the back next time you see him. 😉
I create resources to help people find deeper, more meaningful relationships with God through pursuing, pondering, and prayer. The "Shop" link above will take you to the home of many of the lovely resources I’ve created to help you keep walking one day deeper with Jesus.
I create resources to help people find deeper, more meaningful relationships with God through pursuing, pondering, and prayer. The "Shop" link above will take you to the home of many of the lovely resources I’ve created to help you keep walking one day deeper with Jesus.