An old year ends and another starts

A final post on my 2011 blog. I want to say a big thank you to all my supporters who have financed me, prayed for me and come to my updates as I have been travelling the country. It has been good to share my work with you, and also to meet so many of you in person. I have been blessed with continuing and new support from the Mid Trent Team of churches, St Philips in Westbrook and of course my home church of St John's in Harrogate, plus had opportunities to speak to other supporters of Hands at Work.

This blog is coming to an end, but you can follow my 2012 adventures (and I have some to share already!). See davidbentleyinsouthafrica2012.blogspot.com

I'll have a F for Freezing please Bob

Home again! We have come from the heat of an African summer to the cold of a damp British winter. The first day we were back, we went into town with mum and dad, and Sharon looked at me and said (and I quote) "I think my brain is freezing...." And she had a hat on. They bred us Yorkshire lads tough. We spent a few days with mum and dad, and some time with Kate and Daf, and are now in Harrogate. Then we go to London. Then the Lake District. Then Scotland... Sharon! This white stuff is snow

I'll have a U for...

U think they would know better! This police car came down our dirt road far too fast, fishtailing passed our gate ready to turn over and crash into ASM wall and gate down the road. It had bald front tyres too. Tsk Tsk Tsk.

Not long till I am back in England now, and it is getting hot here. A couple of weeks ago I went to Zambia in that red bakkie. Got there safe, but smoke coming up through the gear stick gaiter, and total brake failure with 190k to go made it an ....interesting drive. It was good to be there, but it was good to be back at hands in a real bed, clean and with real electricity.

I have spent today with Musa, with whom I spent my first weekend when I came out last year. There is no water in their township, and I had to drive nearly an hour with him to find anywhere with running water to put in a container. He has lived on his own since he was a young child, and is still full of hope and optimism. He has a radio alarm, hi fi, PA cab... but no electricity. He is a sharp dressed man!

The other picture is Musa with mum when mum and dad came out, and we went to visit him.

Not long now...

until I am back, although at the moment I am in Zambia. I have been working on one of their bakkis, and it needed a lot of things doing to it! New bearings and suspension parts, plus clutch and general fettling. It was a heavy vehicle to work on. Good job I am a strong lad.

The other picture shows an intruder we had earlier this week. We have had power cuts, following heavy rain. I was up at 05:00 working on the generators to power the fence, freezers, offices and accommodation blocks. The fence alarm elctronics got hit by lightening too, so I was glad I wasn't working on that.

A couple of days later the fence alarm went off, and I expected it to be a fault. And what did we find? One dead cobra! Don't know if he was trying to get in or out!

Thanks for all your continued support, and keep praying for us all please, not least for safe journeys over the next few weeks.

Not long now...

until I am back in England. I shall be back by 1 December, and Sharon is coming with me. I am really looking forward to seeing people back in England, and showing Sharon the sights. She has never seen snow, so it had better be a cold winter, otherwise I shall have to go and find some. This is a rare picture of me all dressed up, when I went with Sharon to her matric dance. They even had a red carper for us to walk down. How posh is that. The other picture is some of the lads cleaning out the water tank. Foot thick mud and leeches!

I'll have a W for why no pix Bob?

Call it a glitch. More to follow. Probably...

I'll have a V for visitors please Bob

I have had some visitors over the last few weeks; firstly Clare Turner from Warrington, and then my mum and dad. I am very pleased they were able to come out, as it is always difficult to really describe what it is like out here. I can tell tales and share pictures, but seeing it for yourself is different. All visitors welcome!

Mum and dad flew straight out to Swaziland, and I met them there. We had a few days holiday and then went to stay with Nomsa and her family. You may remember that I wrote about Nomsa, and shared a picture of her in van, which I had converted into a minibus by putting seats in.

Nomsa runs the Swaziland project, and supports a network of care workers in the community. Nomsa’s husband died 15 months ago, and she has been in formal mourning ever since. The few days we were there, she was preparing for a family and community weekend to mark the formal end of her mourning period, when they would burn her black clothes and dress her in colour.

They had prayers every evening, and mama was asked to give a “word from the Lord”. Singing was unaccompanied, and prayers enthusiastic. As more and more people turned up for the weekend, prayers were moved to the kitchen building, and was interrupted at one point by the children chasing the chicks to put them away in a box in the corner. God is very real for them.

We all helped with preparations, and mama planted some squash in the garden. They grow cabbage, onion, spinach, beetroot and a number of other green things.

We also visited in the community, and gardens and hens are very much a part of their life. One farmer showed us his 500 chickens, and was very amused when mum and dad said they had six. Swazi is much more rural and although beautiful, life is hard work for people. One of the ladies commented on the seats in the van, and said it was much more comfortable than sitting on the floor!

We spoke to man who had walked 11 kilometres to and from his primary school every day; try telling that to the traffic jam around school gates in this country!

Six days after we left Nomsa we heard that her eldest son had died suddenly, and it is another example of how hard life can be for them. He will be buried next to his father.

I then drove mum and dad back to White River. We had another trip to Kruger Park, and I saw more elephants in one place than I ever have before. We also went for a boat trip in Blyde canyon, and dad got stopped by the police on the way back. All part of the Africa experience. As is the big freezer in the supermarket full of frozen cows heads...

Dad helped me with some work in the village, which meant hanging on the back of a loaded buckie (pick up truck to you English folk), for the 6k off road drive up to the farm. He didn’t fall off, so that’s alright then.

Mum and dad also spent time in the community, and visited an old lady who is 2 years younger than granny. She wanted her photograph taken (with her medication) so that we could show the “English lady”.