Just about to hit the road...

Tomorrow, sometime before many of you will have even gone to bed today, I will be headed to Cape Town for Christmas. I would appreciate your prayers.

This won't be much of a post. Basically I wanted an excuse to try Blogger for iPod/iPhone. It's pretty cool.

But seriously, I would appreciate your prayers.

Merry Christmas!

The Great Trek...

Tucked into the mountains of the Camdeboo area of the Klein Karoo, like a jewel tucked safely away, is the town of Graaff-Reinet. Though perhaps a bit precariously placed below a large dam that was built with the help of mules and donkeys somewhere in the twenties, this placement gives it its jewel-like green quality in what is a semi-desert region not given to massive rainfalls.

A land with big mountains, empty spaces and wide skies. Something about it takes me back to the western United States, one of my great loves. It is all this and more. For the last year it has been the home to the beautiful Delani Smith. She is amazing. Incredibly intelligent and level-headed except in one regard, she agreed to marry me and move to where I work. So, my good friends S.W. and Jannes van der Merwe agreed to help me move her things. As soon as I left school that last Friday, we got into their Hilux pickup and embarked on a journey something akin to driving to Atlanta from Hobe Sound (time wise) with three guys over six foot in a pickup slightly larger than a Ford Ranger. It was a great time actually.

We arrived at Lootsberg Pass, at magic hour. I have driven through the pass at other times at sunset and have always been angry at myself later for not stopping for photos. This time I asked S.W. if he would stop. He did and you and I are glad that I did. It is breath-taking.

that night and just kind of visited and then Saturday it was bit of sightseeing. Neither S.W. nor Jannes had really been in the town and they enjoyed getting to see it. We went to some museums. The Reinet House, an impressive colonial Dutch style house, was the home of the Murrays for years. Dr. Andrew Murray's father was the Dutch Reformed Minister of the Graaff-Reinet parish and Andrew grew up in that house. It was pretty cool to walk those floors.

The back courtyard of the house.

There were a lot of interesting exhibits in the house. Things like clocks that were less than space conscious, recipes for medical cocktails, things to be thankful in dentistry technology, a giant boot, a gazelle skin slightly larger than a house cat (way to go, "mighty hunter") and a doll house made out of porcupine quills by someone who had way too much time in the 1800s.

One of the interesting things at the house was a Black Acorn grape vine planted by Charles Murray over a hundred years ago. It is the biggest vine in the world (according to the house) and it still produces fruit.

That evening, Jannes and SW and I went to the Valley of Desolation just outside of town. It is a place that, though on a smaller scale than things like the Grand Canyon, is no less captivating. The difference being it is far less crowded and supervised. It is quiet. You sit on the cliffs and hear nothing but the wind and the birds that come whistling through the canyon.

In the background of the second photo (above) is Graaff-Reinet.

This guy saw it in style.

Don't look down. This was a gap big enough to fall into and went down a good 100 feet before you hit your first rock.

Doing a little exploring, finding "faulty towers" that looked like they would crash on our heads, SW showing his immense strength and standing where we probably shouldn't have.

The panorama view is incredible.

Church on Sunday and then Monday was move time. We packed up the furniture and boxes and managed to fit almost everything in, much to the amazement of a skeptical Delani. First, we set off the alarm and no one knew the code, so I improvised.

On the road...

We stopped along the way to cruise around an English Blockhouse from the Anglo-Boer War. It used to protect the railroad there.

I think if you aren't proficient in English, perhaps you shouldn't name your business in English.

It was a great trip with good friends and God kept us safe all the way. I can't thank SW and Jannes and I enough for helping us out.

The last week...

Well, I promised a post...several actually and so this will be the first. It won't be long because it might just sound like a freshman talking about his class load. I don't want that. It has been busy, but it is busy for everyone, everywhere at this time of year and I don't want to bore you.

Those of you reading in the US may or may not know that school here works a little differently than in the States. The school year just ended for us; it runs January to December. So, that made for a lot of finishing up with scores, awards, transfers, etc. I fortunately didn't have the brunt of the paperwork side of it (that was Philip), but there was still plenty to do.

We were preparing for the end of the year program which had in it, three plays written by my class. There was a lot of practicing that needed to be done, etc.

But, before all of that could come to fruition, we had the end of the year field trip for all the students who finished enough work. Quite amazingly, they want to sleep over at the school for that. So, following the school day, the students who earned the privilege, simply stayed.

This included a "slippy-slide" made from the sides of a conference tent. This added an element of danger since there were rivets and rings to cut yourself on. There was a bit of blood, but nothing serious.

Marco, one of my students who lives in town, rode his horse to the school and gave the other students rides. The general consensus was, based upon the facial expression, joy and abject terror.

Some of the students have more coordination and movement in their toes than I have in my entire body.

We made a little fire for marshmallows and for added stress for the teachers. Every small boy is a firebug. The girls slept in one of the classrooms and we gentlemen, slept inside the conference tent on the ground. That was a lot more fun at 13 than it is 13 years later. Some had a little trouble waking up I think.

We had a lot of fun in the end. A few days later was the end of year program and awards. The students did incredibly well on their plays and I was very proud of them. The next day, we came back to the school to clean up and I headed home to continue the next adventure and next post...

If you would like to see more pictures, click here.

Checking for updates...

If that has been your story, I apologize for the wait. Updates are on the way. School is finished for the year! All the last minute things went well...more to come on that in the next post. I returned yesterday from Graaff-Reinet with my good friends and African brothers, SW and Jannes. We moved all of Delani's worldly possessions from the East Cape to the Free State. God gave us good travels and a nice weekend visit as well...more to come on that in the next, next post. Also, hopefully more leatherwork to hit the blog soon.

I spent the day or a good portion of it at the school today. I am building new dividers for the desks in my classroom that didn't have them in preparation for next year. Also, my classroom needs blinds and I need to build a desk for myself...so, if you have any desire to do any extra giving before the year ends and don't know where; email me and we can work something out with the HIM office to designate the funds for that. Thanks so much for your patience...lots of pictures coming soon.

Tape on my arm...

It is nearly Christmas time and for the first time since I moved, I'm missing my old home. I miss all the lights, all the fuss and the occasional cold front. I'm heading into a Free State summer on the skirts of a drought and wondering if it can get any warmer in my classroom in the afternoon.

I sometimes think I would love to take a turn around the Gardens Mall and buy a few gifts for my family. Stop off at Starbucks to sink my taste into a dark Americano; smelling strong in the cup. Walk the halls, hear the songs, watch the materialism and then go back home to mom and dad's to talk about the day. Yes, I am a little homesick now.

It's okay though. Somehow this will become the new norm. I will still miss my friends and family, facing pensive moments in the shadows of a late afternoon, staring through the burglar bars at the world bidding goodnight. I have always been with my family for Christmas. I have lived somewhat of a nomadic life, but through all the moves and all the change, there was always that foundation there and traditions; the same Christmas ornaments, CD's and decorations. I lived in Florida for the longest of any place in my life to this point. I will be away for the first Christmas season in 13 years.

Now I stand on the edge of a new family. My family. It's a strange feeling; like when you're reading a book and you have enjoyed the chapter you read so much, you're almost afraid to go on in case something else happens to change how you feel at that moment. I look forward to the change, but it's a little like ripping tape off your arm; it's nice when it's off, but the process is painful.

It will be nice having Christmas with Delani and her family (soon to be our family). I will still have my several people with me, in my thoughts and prayers. Namely: Dad, Mom, Jason, Tami, Drew, Tyler, Jamie, Brian, Megan, Katie, Jack, Jenny, Robert and all the friends who always came around. You know who you are, Cilla and Audrey. There are too many to name and I'm going to get myself in trouble. Just know, you are ALL missed.

PS Things are really crazy here right now, wrapping up the year. So, if you haven't heard from me or I haven't responded to your Facebook message or email, it is not intentional.