Many people are familiar with the concept of children moving out of familial homes and embarking on their journeys into the new wide world. There’s a bittersweet feeling as parents acknowledge that their little boy or girl has grown up and must forge their own path; must make their own decisions, separate from those their parents would choose to make for them; and create their own ideas of the world, not through the lens of their family, context or culture….
We have been back in South Africa now for three weeks following our longer than expected trip back to Scotland. What a wonderful time we had in Glasgow, firstly being there for the birth of Freya our first grandchild, and catching up with family and friends. It was a busy time for us but we were so blessed by many peoples’ generosity including accommodation, use of a car, invites to lunch, dinner, parties (it would have been rude not to !!!) and…
The brief six months we have spent in Cape Town so far have changed for ever what we think of as ‘home’. Being in South Africa we would be forgiven for thinking of home as the familiarity of: Scotland, nearness of family, friends, the security of our own house, safety…comfort. A place that somehow will always exist for us and can be returned to at any time. However, we see all around us in parts of Cape Town people in…
Meet Jimmy. He is our 15-year-old bakkie which cost the price of a small new car at home. We may speak the same language and drive on the same side of the road but that is probably where the similarities end. New and used cars are very expensive here, traffic lights go from green to red then red to green with no amber warning, stopping at the red light can sometimes be optional, undertaking on the inside on all roads (even…
Up until now, much of the ramblings here have been concerned with the transition of our move to South Africa. The uncomfortable truth that we were yet to understand fully why God brought us here was kept slightly to one side, even as we struggled to begin the process of building contacts and reinforcing those already made. We tried to tell ourselves that we were aware of the issues here, and the painful history behind them: that through the filter…
At last, we got the keys to our apartment on the 1st March and moved in. We have 2 second hand couches, 4 dining room chairs, a borrowed bed and a few kitchen essentials. Our shipment has just docked in Cape Town (finally) but the goods have not reached the depot yet. We are desperate to have some of our personal belongings with us again. It will be like Christmas when we get to open the boxes. What we have learned…
This is a phrase we’ve heard again and again from locals as we’ve commenced life in Cape Town. We’ve struggled to understand aspects of life here, not least the pace of things and our need to slow down and resist the frustration of not getting started, whatever that meant, right away. We were dealing with administrative processes well outwith our usual experience and also hearing different perspectives on the complexity of the social issues that exist here in this beautiful…
Hello from sunny Cape Town. We have arrived… at last. After all the time sharing, praying, packing, unpacking and talking incessantly about South Africa, we are finally here. A big thank you to all our family and friends for being so patient with us during the last 2 years of preparation. We knew it was going to be hard leaving our loved ones but we were completely overwhelmed by the sense of loss and sadness. Tears, tears and more tears. Despite…
A very Happy New Year to everyone! As the calendar turns over to another year (2017). Most people start thinking about what they did or didn’t do in the past year and what they would like the New Year to bring. What a difference a year makes! At the beginning of 2016 we were both holding down full-time jobs, living in our self-built home and enjoying our comfortable lifestyle. By the end of 2016 we no longer have jobs, are…
So here we are! It seems like the culmination of a lot of ‘stepping out’, passionate waiting, and anticipation…..and now, at last, they’ve arrived….the Visas! The one thing left which felt like it had serious potential to hold us back, but another light on the path has come on! At each step forward over the last months, a new obstacle to be negotiated has confronted us. There has always been a need for us to be single-minded and determined in…