Jodi's blog

Life is sweet! The above photos are of a morning tea break during the week. The kids pleaded to go to a big granddaddy boab on the HCJB property. It really is massive! When we got there and the kids had explored the cave in the trunk, they asked if they could climb it. Of course I immediately agreed and sat back to watch the fun! I couldn't have set up a better team building exercise if I'd tried, and as I laughed out loud at their bouyant enthusiasm in the face of an impossible task, distant memories came back to me. Like the time my parents offered me a year's pocket money if I could climb the face of Wave Rock. Or the promise of 50cents if Rebecca or I managed to catch a squirrel at the zoo. (I think we must have been very young to be tempted by such an meagre reward)

Anyway, the kids had a lot of fun and I had fun watching them.

Homeschool is getting into full swing now. The first week or so had me tearing my hair out and wondering seriously if God really wanted me to do this!! But we have put a few systems in place that seem to be working very nicely. Our day is divided into learning with mum (direct teaching), learning near Mum (mostly independent but I am available to help) and independent study. Once the kids have finished their work they are free for the rest of the day. They have caught on, and Ben has been getting up early to complete his independent study before breakfast, to make his school day shorter. It's wonderful to see his initiative and taking responsibility for his time. He has been praying about his attitude and seeing God's help which is wonderful to see.



We are still enjoying the wildlife here! It's hard to keep the kids inside at night because the whole place comes alive with grasshoppers, other insects of every description and of course the green tree frogs. I have explained to the children that the insects come for the light, the frogs come for the insects, and sooner or late a snake will come for the frogs! But with the noise the kids make, they will probably be pretty safe. Mind you, there's no guarantees that you are safe inside anyway - Peter and Gwyneth had a snake in their pantry a week or so ago.


We have a pet catapillar which as you can see is massive. He is enjoying being part of our family (so I tell myself) and we are looking forward to watch him go through his life cycle.



I got up the other morning at 5.30am to go for a walk with my friend Wendy. It was so beautiful, walking down a track which was surrounded by grass which towered over our heads, a storm of grasshoppers in front of us, and sometimes looking up to find ourself surrounded with butterflies. The downside was that even at that time of the day, it was hot and sweaty, and I ended up snoring on the lounge again by 9am!



Our other friends, Daniel and Rachel, are leaving soon to visit churches to raise support for their time here. Please pray that they will be provided for generously and quickly, so they can get back here soon. Their two sons, Sadok and Nicholas, have become very good friends with all of our kids, especially Lex and Jasmine, and I will really miss Rachel.



There is something really special about living in this community. When the kids have free time, they just run next door (or next door's kids come here) and they have such a great time together. Our back yard is HUGE (ie the whole property!!) and there is so much to see and explore. It is also fantastic that Don is always only a short distance away, home for lunch everyday, and free of external commitments. He has even been going grocery shopping with us.



Don is busy renovating staff accomodation, among other things, and Ben spent some time helping him with that. He really enjoys doing things with Don. Don has also taken Ben and Kira at different times to see what he does in the TX room (the broadcasting room).





We miss everyone back home but also feel so happy here. We still have lots of thankyou letters to write to everyone who has supported us in various ways - we haven't forgotten, far from it. We continue to be humbled and very grateful for the kindness shown to us.

Don is going to post some feedback from various communities around the world who recieve HCJB radio, to give you all an idea of the impact it's making. It is such a worthwhile mission and it's exciting to be a part of it.