Mtubatuba - Part 2

Mtubatuba Methodist Church - Our recent home in Zululand

We were gearing up for Christmas and with that came the arrival of family from far and wide. First to arrive were Murray (Dylan's brother) and his girlfriend Maggie, who had flown to Durban from Joburg. They were followed a couple of days later by Graham and Liza (Dylan's parents) who had made the trip from Joburg by car, a long drive!

Next to join were my Uncle John and Aunty Carrol, along with my cousin Byron and Aunty Carrol's mother Mavis, making it 4 generations at the Christmas dinner table!

17 of us for Christmas dinner, minus Melissa behind the camera

Last but not least, albeit 24 hours later than planned were my brother Tim along with wife Cristyn and 4 month old baby Oliver. Their flight from the UK was delayed meaning they missed their connection in Dubai, however thankfully they arrived at 11pm on Christmas Eve, so we were able to all have Christmas together :)

Christmas was a huge family occasion which was thankfully not too hot. The temperature on Christmas Eve got up to 46 degrees so the mid twenties a day later felt positively almost chilly!

It was so nice to have time together, and especially to see my nephew Oliver who was just 10 days old when we left the UK. We both made sure we got our quota of cuddles in as he'll be close to a year old when we see him next.

"You will support Brighton & Hove Albion, You will..."

All smiles

A few days before Christmas we both had a chance to go with Dylan to hand out food parcels to families in the local township. This was both a sad and a happy experience.

Myself and Dylan with Maggie and Murray visiting one of the families

It was heartbreaking to see the plight of so many families in need, including a single mother looking after 8 of her own children and 2 of her sister's in a house no bigger than your average living room in the UK. The food, that had been generously donated by members of Dylan's Church, would go someway to ensuring the children didn't go hungry this Christmas. There were many families in similar situations, and from the outside it is easy to say 'well they should stop just having so many children' however when you go there and see things for yourself it's impossible not to have compassion for them. We were able to pray and sing with them, often in Zulu, and it was a privilege to be let into their homes and community. I tried to join in with a girls skipping game, to hilarious laughter from the entire audience, so I assume I wasn't particularly good at it.

I swear they moved the rope faster for me!

On Christmas Eve we both went to a carol service which Dylan was preaching at in his church in Hluhlue (the 'hl' is pronounced 'shl'). This was a very nice candlelit service in a small little church with a very close knit congregation. We were reminded of the Christmas message, bringing us back to what it is all about, as well as reminding ourselves that it was actually the night before Christmas, just without the usual cold and bleak weather that we are used to at this time of year.

Christmas Day was a typical feast of food and drink, presents and fun and games and the day passed by with constant grazing of chocolates and treats and playing with the mountain of toys that had been given to Jono and Abigail. It was so nice to have presents sent from home couriered by Tim and Cristyn and we are extremely grateful for what we received.

Jono & Abigail opening presents from Father Christmas

Abigail pleased with her food processor

Baby Oliver 'delighted' with his new clothes. (The terrible cap was a present from my younger brother and was promptly sent back to the UK)

Christmas Dinner feast

Boxing Day entailed a 5am wake up to head out on a safari drive at the nearby Hluhlue-Imfolozi game park. I'm not sure how appreciative the hire car company were that Tim, driving a completely brand new Toyota Corolla, took it for a drive through dusty, rocky bush land, but regardless we had a fantastic time, seeing a lot of rhino, elephant, buffalo, giraffe and many various buck and birds.

Baby Oliver didn't seem to fussed by it all, but there can't be many 4month olds who've been this close to such a beast.

Dylan proving men can multitask as he manages to burn toast and his hands at the same time

The next day the boys went to the second day of the first test match between South Africa and England at Kingsmead stadium, Durban. It was nice to see England scoring some runs and spend a day enjoying the Durban sun. We tried our hardest to get a message out to back home on TV but Melissa's "Hello Grandad David" banner didn't appear to make it into the live show.

I don't think they let you do this at Lords!

The girls spent a day in nearby St Lucia, drinking coffee and chatting, or whatever girls do these days.

Oliver putting on a brave face after being subjected to noisy female chitchat all day

A couple of days later we went to a nearby Cheetah and wild cat sanctuary where we were able to get up close to animals we never would be able to in the wild. This does raise the question of how right it is that a big wild animal is kept so tame and is there any quality of life for it in a small enclosure, one which I don't have an answer to, but certainly the cats here are all well looked after and the money raised is use for many positive purposes such as research and re-homing projects etc.

Melissa stroking one of the Cheetahs

The African Wildcat looks strikingly similar to a domestic one

Oliver was happy with his very own Cheetah

We took baby Oliver for his first trip to the beach, at the stunning Cape Vidal. There can't be too many beaches in the world that require you to drive through a game reserve just to get there. The beach offers amazing waves to bodysurf, beautiful sand and also great snorkeling.

We were sad to say goodbye to Tim, Cristyn and Oliver on New Year's Eve, but we first all had a lovely meal at Moyo, on Durban beachfront where we had our faces painted and enjoyed some traditional food from all over Africa. We made the drive back to Mtubatuba whilst they took a flight down to Cape Town to visit Cristyn's sister and family in Stellenbosch. We had a quiet New Year's celebrations with some of Dylan and Kristy's friends, and as we pondered the year ahead, listening to nearby fireworks (which are illegal in South Africa) we reflected on how faithful God has been to us this past year and became excited for all that lies ahead in 2016.

Our last few days in South Africa were spent packing after nearly 6 weeks out of our backpacks and preparing to get back on the road on our own again. There was still time to visit uShaka Marine World in Durban, a water park and aquarium on Kristy's birthday. This was a very fun day, which Jono and Abigail were very excited about, and were keen to show us each and every ride the park had available. Jono's grin as he came out of the Mamba flume is something I'll never forget, unfortunately nor is the tightly speedo clad lifeguard doing his stretches in front of me on our way in.

Watching the amazing Dolphin show

Some weird looking fish in this tank...

We took the Bazbus up from Durban to Joburg, which was a very hot and long journey before flying out to Harare, which will be our home for the next month.

We were so overwhelmed by the welcome and hospitality we have been shown by everyone everywhere we've been in Zululand. In a place that has many obvious needs of its own, such as efficient running water and reliable electricity, we were looked after so well and know that God has been with us every step of our journey. The verse from Romans Chapter 15 sums it up perfectly "Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God." I wonder how each of us can act upon that verse this year.

We certainly have a lot of favours to repay but we were are so grateful for all we have been blessed to receive during the last 6 weeks. We have had such a great time with family and friends and have been in a holiday mode but now as we arrive in Zimbabwe our focus is switched somewhat as we will begin a 3 week volunteering stint with a local charity here working with orphans and vulnerable children - stay tuned to our next blog post for more!

Thanks for reading!

Prayer requests:

• We are thankful to God for all he has done for us during our time with family.
• We are thankful for our safety, on all the driving journeys we have been on, and the safe family homes we have been welcomed in to. 
• We pray for Tim, Cristyn and Oliver that their continued stay in South Africa is safe and enjoyable, and for no further travel problems on their flights home.
• We pray that Dylan, Kristy, Jono and Abigail are blessed in the year ahead and thank God for their servant nature and generosity.
• We thank God for his guidance as we have begun to put together plans for the rest of our trip.
• We pray for our time volunteering in Zimbabwe that it would be a time that we are able to both bless others and be blessed. We ask that God would continue to show us the right way to go and thank him for this opportunity.
• We pray specifically for our time with the charity that we would be kept safe and remain well and be able to commit ourselves fully to them using the skills God has blessed us both with.
• We continue to thank friends and family for all the prayers, love and support we receive on an almost daily basis.