Mr. Potato Head grumbled along the route from Pringle Bay back home, taking the climbs and descents in stride, weaving his way around the beautiful coastal road. The mountains on the right stretch up toward the clouds…green slopes…rock…fynbos undulating in turn beyond the driver side window.

She was clearly someone’s maid, just hoping for a ride home from work and it made me smile when she said she was going to Gordon’s Bay. We were too and I don’t believe in coincidence. A friend of hers was also trying to catch a ride just ten feet up the road, a fragile looking man — a skeleton with skin and a baseball cap. I wondered if she often helped him get rides because people are more comfortable picking up women than men. Did they do this every day?

He didn’t speak much English but he was grateful when I shared one of the cookies I was giving the Bear with him. He received it with both hands and ate it very slowly and it made me sad. I wanted him to have another but he didn’t. Since I had trouble understanding him and wasn’t certain he spoke much English my conversation turned towards her again. She was well-spoken.

The Bear chitter-chattered and grumbled about the heat and the wind coming through the windows, unsatisfied with the cookies and toys on offer and our conversation turned to children. She looked my age, maybe a little younger. From Zimbabwe, and she has a son. Four years old. She has twin sisters, too, younger. They are back in Zimbabwe and so is her son.

We usually take the route over the mountains instead of the coastal road when we’re coming back in this direction, so we’ve never gone this way before. It is strange how the change in perspective, taking the same road but going the opposite way, makes things look totally different. I sat still for a moment and faced forward, watching slopes, rock, fynbos pass by on the right, and occasionally getting glimpses on my left down the cliffs to the ocean that was at some points a good 200 feet below. Too far to hear the waves crashing with the windows open. The road was remarkably different traveling this way.

Her son’s name is Shinto, I think. I can’t remember for sure. He is still in Zimbabwe, and she hasn’t seen him for a year. I try hard to picture him in my mind. Every month she sends some of the money she makes back to her family there. I think about how the decision for her to come here came about and the narrative plays over the screen of my imagination and it’s sad.

The gentleman beside her looks like he could tell a million stories. I wish I could understand him well enough to listen to them.

I face forward again and am plunged into deep, heart-sore thoughts. I turn to tell her my sister is in America, and that’s where I am from. In my thoughts I marvel at how different our experiences as foreigners in South Africa must be. My sister is having a baby soon and I don’t know when I will get to meet him or her. We don’t know yet whether it will be a boy or a girl, but I hope it’s a girl. Back in my thoughts I feel certain I will at least meet the baby at Christmas, and see my family, and I remember how much I have to be thankful for, and what little reason for complaint.

Mr Potato Head finally arrives outside the gates of our complex. Mark announces that this is where we stop. Our passengers are grateful and quickly get out to head on their way. I stare at the skinny gentleman walking away. He is so thin and I want to do more for him than a ride and a cookie. I wonder if we might someday give away shoes in Zimbabwe. Perhaps this woman could come along and see her son.

We are driving in one direction but two strings in my heart are being pulled in another.

Hi guys and gals!  I am updating a few things, a’swirling and a’twirling a few things around, and hoping to in the end produce a nicer look and feel for you very soon. So if over the next day or two (or forgive me, maybe three) things look a little funky, strange or odd, please forgive me. All the content you’ve enjoyed from days gone by is still available! And there’s more great stuff to come! And hopefully it might mean I’ll be able to pocket some change at the same time which could support our ministry here — and wouldn’t that just be a win/win/win situation?  In the meantime, we’re

whilst hosting grandparents and juggling a now running toddler whoathathappenedfast
so please excuse the mess!

xCC

P.S. If while I’m at it, you have any requests, suggestions, preferences, etc., I would love to hear them! What do you like? What don’t you like? Please let me know!

Sometimes I think it takes traveling halfway around the world to recognise and appreciate the beauty that’s just a few miles down the road. When Hero Hubs and I were back in North Carolina raising ministry support and enjoying time with family, we used to take a quick drive down to Goose Creek State Park, which is right down the road from my delightful hometown, wee Washington. Ahem, the original Washington. I think I’d only been there once before on a school field trip as a child, even though it was like 15 minutes away.

Anyway, HH caught some lovely shots during some of our walks down there. We spent time sitting still and we spent time in prayer. It was really peaceful.

I thought this might be an encouragement to you that you don’t have to travel halfway around the world to find beauty. It might be on your back doorstep — you just need to look for it!

I miss North Carolina’s beautiful trees.

I was preggers with the Bear at this point, so I was in a lot of the pictures, and this one is one of my favourites:

As always, I’ve saved my favourite for last! Isn’t this little guy sweet?

Mark and I had just purchased our good camera in anticipation of the Bear’s arrival, and he was already taking some lovely shots, hey?

I hope you’re having a Happy Tuesday and enjoying the adventure in front of you today!

xCC

P.S. Did you hear I’m an aunt!?!

She’s here! After an induction that began at 8:00 am the day before, some complications and a caesarian…Baby K has finally arrived! I knew it was a girl! She’s a 7 lb 6 oz, 17 inch long sweetheart of a girl! Now Dodi & Andy just have to figure out what they want to name her!  I am overjoyed and looking forward to meeting my one and only niece! I’m an aunt! I hope I get to meet her soon!

Here she is!

What a blessing and gift from the Lord. Congratulations Dodi & Andy!!! Well done on hanging in there, sister! I’m so proud of you!

xoxoCC

To send congrats their way: Here’s Dodi’s blog. And here’s Andy’s. (But don’t forget Dodi did most of the work. )

I haven’t heard any news of the arrival yet, but my sister was induced a few hours ago! I’m so excited! I wrote this poem for her at this special time and I thought I would share it with you!

For Dodi, at the birth of Baby K

My sister, dear sister,
I’m thrilled, overjoyed
at the journey that’s starting for you.

At the memories to come,
all the things to be done,
and the start of so many things new.

I’m glad that we’ve stepped
out of spaces so rough
where we struggled to be side by side

Thanks for patience and grace,
I’m so glad to say
now in His blood and ours we are tied.

And in this sweet space
before, in between
at the bridge of three out of two

There’s a moment to look
at how far life has come,
at the glorious journey of you.

There are things that perhaps
you may soon forget:
flying solo, or being just two

How it felt to do just
what you wanted each day
or to spend time alone in the loo.

In exchange for the joys of
organized tupperware drawers
and much time to decide what to wear

I can’t wait to rejoice
at first smiles and first laughs
and a (finally) first cut of hair.

I can’t wait to sing praise
for the goodness of God
in this blessed little life within you

Coming out to change things
speak and rearrange things,
to become and to be and to do.

To my niece or my nephew,
little one, I must say,
God’s chosen great parents for you.

May they teach you His ways,
And may all of your days
be filled with His presence and truth.

My sister, dear sister,
I pray nights ahead
will be peaceful, sweet-tempered and good.

May you savour the grace
that you find for those days
when things don’t work as you hoped they would.

I can’t wait to celebrate
triumphs great and small,
like when diapers and braces are done.

The tough and good talks
the steps and the walks,
the days when the Pirates have won!

As the page turns over
and this new life begins,
after this last thought I’ll be through:

The road that we take
is the journey of a lifetime
and I’m so glad to share it with you.

With so much love, hno, Cecil

And now to share the joy of our second Christmas! If you don’t know what I’m talking about, please read this post right here. Along with the gift from my Mom (the one ‘heard round the world,’ where folks in Scotland and America offered to help it get through customs and I received encouragement from all over the place), my friend Amiee sent a gift, and Samaritan’s Feet sent a box, too. And they all arrived on the same day! Party at the Collie house!

This was our Santa:

These were our stockings:

Sorry I forgot to take pictures of Stocking #3.

Amiee sent her gift through the US Postal Service which took an extra two-ish weeks to arrive, and showed up on the same day as the gift heard round the world! Crazy! We didn’t have any trouble receiving that one because she declared the value quite low. Shew! Here are some highlights from the awesome and incredibly thoughtful gift she sent. Check out this presentation!

And what might you spot in here…?

You guessed it…Veggie Tales! New songs for me to memorize!

What does the Bear see?

Gerber Graduates Puffs!!!!! He is signing his fingers off…more, more MMMMORE!!!!

A few other highlights from Amiee’s awesome gift:

Thank you soooo much, Amiee!

ChristmasinMarchStocking #3 contained:

Some important documents for us to get our stuff together around here, and copies of our founder’s new book. Don’t worry, one copy is ours and the others are to share in this neck of the woods! We’re not so greedy.

And finally, the gift heard round the world! It was totally worth the wait…Christmas in a box!

Look at all the adorable gear G.C. sent the Bear! He is going to be set for the next growth spurt!

And these AWESOME fold-out books!

She’s a school teacher, so she has to send books. The books she sends inevitably become the Bear’s favourites, so I think she knows what she’s doing.

Look how dapper the bear is in his new PJ’s!

The top says “Bananas Over Mommy” but he was too busy enjoying Gerber Graduate Puffs and raisins to give us a proper modelling. And it was just a little too warm for the matching monkey PJ pants but dern they are cute. I’d wear em if they came in my size. But not right now… It’s hot around here!

I was spoiled with some cute new tops! And there’s another adorable comfy hoodie I forgot to take a picture of because I’m already wearing it! (Only in the evenings because…did I mention it’s hot around here?)

How my Mom is so good at sizes when we’re not around to try stuff on…it’s pretty awesome. Hero Hubs got a vest and a really cool t-shirt and a warm top but I just didn’t take enough pictures!

She also sent us Whoppers. A personal fave. We argue about whether Maltesers (a similar British candy) or Whoppers are better. I say whichever ones we’re eating at the time.

Here are a few more highlights from the gift heard round the world!

The card made me cry.

I love the blue t-shirt for the Bear because Adven- ture is one of my favourite words.

Whoppers…yum yum…that box has already been devoured. Man, it went fast. But we still have one box left. And that’s make up in that wee plastic bag. I <3 makeup. HH is handsome in his new stuff. I wish I’d taken more pictures! Weren’t we spoiled?

So that, dear friends, was the gift heard round the world! I don’t think I’ve ever fit so many pictures into one post before, but I hope you enjoyed it! Totally worth the wait and the bit of a faith challenge we experienced before its arrival. Thank you, Mom, for sending it! Thank you, brother for helping it get here! Thank you, friends, for the encouragement and prayers when I was discouraged! And thank you, Lord! Every good and perfect gift comes from you!

HH’s folks are visiting this week so I may be a little quiet on the scene for the next few days. Maybe they’ll be playing with the Bear and I’ll have a chance to write more! Either way I’ll be sure to update you when I hear the good news that the Bear’s first cousin has arrived!

xCC

I normally don’t have a post for you on Sundays (I think it’s good to take a blogging break!) but I do have a quick little thought to share with you. (Tomorrow I’ll have the post with pics of the great gifts from last week! Promise!) So.

This is my beautiful big sister, Dodi:
(it rhymes with Jody and does NOT sound like dotty)

(Photo credit: Lindsay Lee Hartsell)

This is her funny hubby, Andy:

(That photo was also by the talented Lindsay Lee Hartsell.)

Tomorrow, Dodi and Andy will have one of these:
(Photo by the talented Hero Hubby)

Unless she goes into labour today.

I am so excited to celebrate the arrival of this little one, Dodi and Andy’s first child, my first niece or nephew (I think niece) and the Bear’s first cousin! We don’t know whether it’s going to be a boy or a girl, which I love. Surprises are great! Especially good ones!

I just thought I’d write to quickly ask for prayers for them. If she doesn’t go into labour today she’ll be induced tomorrow. Please pray that everything will go smoothly, that they won’t get caught in a blizzard on the way to the hospital or anything, (they live in Telluride, Colorado ) and that she will have a safe and peaceful delivery of a healthy baby boy or girl who eats well, is smart and happy and obedient and sleeps through the night very soon. (Doesn’t hurt to ask!)

I hope to share photos and details once the little prince or princess arrives! Yay! Thanks for your prayers in the meantime!

xCC

As promised…I have a great story to share! Part of the reason it’s great is because of readers like you! Shall we get started?

So. My Mom sent a gift, a Happy 18 Months, Bear! slash we didn’t get to see each other at Christmas slash Happy Valentine’s sort of gift. She is great like that. And as I shared with you previously, there was drama surrounding the receiving of said gift, involving a very high customs and duties fee being demanded by South African Revenue Service (SARS). We were at the end of a tight month, really working to stay inside our budget, and five days away from payday, the thought of the gift being held ransom was rather discouraging. And I shared all that with you.

What I hadn’t shared yet was that over the course of those few days when we were discouraged and trying to figure out what to do, I was spending time reading the Bible (I like to do that, ya know) and I found myself in I Peter 2, which has a discussion of the importance of submitting to government. For a few days we’d been speaking with FedEx and their South African partners Supaswift, we’d been on the phone to SARS, and we’d been on the internet trying to discern whether we were actually being correctly charged for my Mom’s gift, since they were asking close to 70% of the gift’s declared value. At one point, FedEx made the suggestion that we could change the customs form to read ZAR 200.00 (meaning 200 South African Rand) instead of $200. And then no customs would be due. To say the least, this felt dodgy.  We also considered sending the package back to the US and having friends who are coming next month bring it over. But that didn’t seem much different.

So back to 1 Peter 2. This passage says, Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. It goes on to say Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the King. I flipped over to Romans 13 after reading this, to be reminded again that the Lord does indeed instruct us to submit to government. And then I remembered when Jesus and Peter were visiting the temple and they were asked to pay the temple tax. Even though Jesus was greater than the temple, being the Son of God and all, still he sent Peter to the lake to catch a fish, and the fish had a coin in its mouth which would pay the tax.

All of that combined to indicate to me that we should pay the fines, even though they seemed exorbitant and ridiculous. The prayer that followed this was: Lord, You provided the coin in the mouth of the fish for Peter to pay taxes, even though it didn’t seem right. Will you please provide for us to pay the taxes due for the gift from my mother? Help us to submit and properly obey the government here.

And so He did. Without seeing it in any way connected, I shared with you my discouragement about what was going on. Five minutes after this blog post hit the web, I received a Facebook message from a friend who said “Do you have a PayPal account? I’d like to send you some spendable encouragement.” Within twenty minutes we’d been blessed with a financial gift which was just $40 shy of what we needed for the taxes. ENCOURAGEMENT, HELLO OLD FRIEND! But the story doesn’t end there!

The next morning I received an email from other friends who said they wanted to pay for us to be able to receive the gift, and they asked how much we needed. I wrote them back and sad “We’ve already been blessed with this much, and we only need this much more, but really we can cover it ourselves. If you really want to give you can, but you don’t have to worry about it.” There was of course other dialogue and thank you’s but I don’t need to tell you that since you know how long winded I am. I had been encouraged by the gift the night before, and all your emails and comments and messages, and I was full of trust that it was going to come together fine.

AND THEN! The next day I had a voicemail from my Mom saying “Your big brother read your blog and heard about what happened with your gift and he was upset that you were discouraged! He is going to put thus and such in your bank account so don’t you worry! You’re going to get your present!” As you can imagine, this brought me to tears. I didn’t even know my brother read my blog! haha Seriously, I was just really, deeply blessed by this. It has been lonely at times being in a new country, far away from family, friends and familiarity, and this moment just made me feel so surrounded and in community, even if a lot of it is virtual community right now.

Hear me out on this: You might like to chalk this up to coincidence or serendipity, but I have experienced too much coincidence in my life to call it that any more. We told God we would trust Him and walk in His ways, and we asked for His help so that we could do so. And with exceeding abundance, He provided more than enough…in more ways than one!

On Tuesday, my Mom’s gift finally arrived…along with two others! My friend Amiee also sent us a gift, maybe two or three weeks before my Mom sent hers, and Samaritan’s Feet sent us some documents and copies of our founder’s new book…and all of it coincidentally arrived on Tuesday. We opened our gifts and were just so blessed by so much generosity at a time when things have been tight…it was like a second Christmas!

To me, all this is a demonstration of God’s blessing and provision for us when we choose to walk in His ways. Although submitting to the government and paying those fees seemed like a rubbish idea at first, yet the Lord did provide for us to do so, and allowed us to walk with Him through the process. And that, my friends, is the Sermon in a Nutshell.

Since this post has gotten a little long (no surprise there) I’m going to “to be continued” to fill another post with good cheer, happy photos and general prezzie merriment! To arrive in your browser or inbox or google reader very soon! Thank you for your prayers and encouragement. Again and again, thanks.

xCC

P.S. If you’re wondering why the Bear’s outfit changed from picture 1 to picture 2, it’s because we had a little accident that necessitated a gear change and we decided he should sport his new gear for the next set of photos!

If you are a regular reader of the Word of God, or even an occasional listener or peruser, you have probably had the opportunity to think about the ways of the children of Israel, and think that they were ninnymugginses. Seriously. God delivers them from slavery in Egypt and they complain and want to go back. He parts the Red Sea to deliver them from the Egyptians who are pursuing them, and demonstrates His care for them by providing food for them to eat every day, but they question Him and question Moses and complain and complain and complain and complain. And complain.

It’s easy to read their stories and think “I never would’ve been such a cotton-headed ninnymuggins. If God had delivered me from slavery like that — I would’ve been totally obedient and surrendered to Him.” I was reading another ninnymuggins story this morning. It seems to be shortly after the other ninnymuggins incident where the people are afraid and don’t want to enter the Promised Land and then they are remorseful when God tells them they’re going to wander in the desert 40 years. (And then they try to go into the land anyway, when it’s too late. Cotton-headed!)

Two chapters later we find the Sons of Kohath, some of Eliab’s sons, and a few other cats have gotten together to complain — this time about Moses and Aaron. The background you need to know on these guys is that God set them apart for a special work in the tabernacle — Numbers 4 will give you more details about their duties, but they basically had work to do related to the most holy things. They were supposed to pack up and transport the most holy articles of the tabernacle when it was time for Israel to journey. This was a pretty big deal — taking care of the stuff that represented the sacrifices and offerings to God for the sins of the people.

As I read it last time I thought … hmm, I wonder if that gets kind of monotonous. Apparently, it did. When they began questioning Moses and Aaron’s work and authority in the tabernacle, it was clear that the heart of the matter was that they weren’t happy with the duties they’d been assigned and they would prefer more ‘glorious’ work. It gets downright frustrating reading this kind of thing because we have a different perspective — God gave them work that actually kept them close to Him and His presence. They were set apart and chosen ministers of God! Why did they have to get so high on the horse??

I then realised that, rather than this being a ninnymuggins characteristic of the Israelites, it is more rightly recognised as a ninnymuggins characteristic of all of us. How many churches have we heard of where the congregation began questioning the pastor and eventually ousted him? How many junior ministers have downright led a rebellion against senior ministers in the church which has divided a congregation — literally split a church in two? And how many times in our own hearts do we question the decisions and actions of our pastors and stand in judgement over them?

Here’s where I want to make an important point of division: It is healthy, and good for you to not take every sermon your pastor preaches, every sentence he says as full gospel truth. He is human and falliable. Your decisions and your walk with God need to be based on the will of God, and the Word of God, as Paul commended one of the churches for searching the Scriptures to make sure what he was preaching was true. That being said, there is a difference between giving deep thought to the truth of a sermon, and questioning the placement and authority of a man God has placed over you. Do you see the difference?

Even when King Saul was hunting David down and trying to kill him, David refused to hurt Saul, to lay a hand on him, because he recognised God’s authority — God is the one who places people in authority. Even if you don’t think he’s the best orator, the most friendly guy, the most personable character, or whatever else, you would do well to trust that God has sovereignly placed your pastor as the leader of your church, and to respect him because of it.

It is easy to justify rebellion. We can easily find fault with anyone. And we will quickly find people to come to our side and join us in the rebellion, because we all have a sinful nature. But if you’re in a situation where you question the leadership that has been placed over your head — at church, at work, at home — don’t lead a rebellion. Bring this before God and allow Him to remind you of His sovereign authority — that He places kings on their thrones. That He could take President Robert Mugabe out at any moment if He so chooses.

We are called to fight the good fight of faith in the face of injustice in this world. There is a time to fight real injustice. I definitely believe there’s a time for revolution and reformation. But I believe it starts with prayer, with bringing every injustice, every concern to the throne of the God Who is, and Who is all-powerful and able to change every circumstance in a single moment. Your respect for the people around you, and especially for the people over you, is a demonstration of your respect and fear for the All – Mighty God. Like David said, “I will not touch the Lord’s anointed…” may we have the same attitude to the glory of God.

Let it be especially in the house of God as the writer of Hebrews instructed us: Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct. (They are going to have to give an account for their conduct before the Lord!)  He goes on to say Obey those who rule over you and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you. (Heb 13:17)

The Sermon in a Nutshell: Don’t be a cotton-headed ninnymuggins! Respect those placed in authority for you. Pray for them and thank them for their efforts. In doing so, you demonstrate respect and fear for the Lord.

At first I spelled that “Sneek Peak” and then stared at it and wondered why spell check didn’t agree with me. Anyway! When it rains it pours. And yesterday, the gift heard ’round the world arrived. And. We received not one, not two, but THREE packages from the States on the same day. Crazy, I know.

I have to make much ado about it and put together a big long post because #1 There’s a great testimony behind it. #2 Do you know how much it costs to send anything from the States to South Africa? #3 My Mom is awesome and you could probably create a whole other blog just about her. #4 My friend Amiee sent a surprise gift (three weeks earlier) which miraculously arrived on the same day and was also DELIGHTFUL. #5 Who doesn’t want to see pictures of a second Christmas, in March?

Now a post like that is gonna take some time to put together. I mean I have pictures of the Fed Ex delivery guys for you and everything. And you are probably aware that I’m not good at making a long story short. But in the meantime, I thought I’d give you a Sneak Peek (or a Sneek Peak if you rather) because this picture was just too darlin’ not to throw up on the internet asap.  So here’s your Sneek Peak!

Now you can get back to whatever it was you were up to before this came across your screen, and I’ll have some more Christmas-in-March-delights to share with you soon.

xCC