Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Home Sweet Home
We're Back!
The 25 hours of travel are over and we landed in Raleigh Saturday morning.
It's really great to be home and we're both enjoying catching up on some much needed sleep.
Thanks to everyone who read this blog over the past couple of months. We hope that you were able to get a taste of what our summer has been like.
Now we're enjoying sharing our experiences with friends and family.
We both feel that that God brought us to Hope Farm and to South Africa this summer so that we could spread the word here at home about what Andrew and Rae are doing on the farm and what they need.
We look forward to sharing stories and pictures with you!
We might have come home to our comfortable North Raleigh lives, but Andrew, Rae, and the 15 other kids on the farm are still there and they still need our prayers and support.
In Christ,
Andrew and Ben
The 25 hours of travel are over and we landed in Raleigh Saturday morning.
It's really great to be home and we're both enjoying catching up on some much needed sleep.
Thanks to everyone who read this blog over the past couple of months. We hope that you were able to get a taste of what our summer has been like.
Now we're enjoying sharing our experiences with friends and family.
We both feel that that God brought us to Hope Farm and to South Africa this summer so that we could spread the word here at home about what Andrew and Rae are doing on the farm and what they need.
We look forward to sharing stories and pictures with you!
We might have come home to our comfortable North Raleigh lives, but Andrew, Rae, and the 15 other kids on the farm are still there and they still need our prayers and support.
In Christ,
Andrew and Ben
Saturday, July 5, 2008
WOW!
The past two weeks have been HECTIC!
We know it's been a while since we've gotten around to updating the blog, but you wouldn't believe what we've been up to.
First of all, it sounds like the California Fire Department could use our help fighting forest fires because the two of us have been fighting some fires of our own here on the farm and on the surrounding land.
A couple days ago we looked out across the valley and saw some intense fires burning along a mountain ridge. As the night went on the fires began to approach our land, some of the fires spanning many hundreds of yards (in our case meters).
Before we knew it we could see fires approaching from all sides of the farm, and we quickly prepared to prevent them from getting close enough to melt down our electric fence.
Luckily none of the fence was burnt, but it definitely made for a crazy night.
We didn't have to fight any of the fires that night, but the next day we set out to burn fire breaks to prevent future fires from getting onto the farm. With only one match lit a huge patch of bushland almost immediately caught ablaze and we ran around smothering it with blankets to put it out. Needless to say we have no more arm hair!
The next day we were working on finishing the cottage, which we are thrilled to say is almost completed, and we looked across the valley to see a group of men with hunting dogs. In South Africa it is illegal to hunt any type of buck, so Andrew and Rae called the police to report that we had poachers on our land. The police arrived and Andrew (Wartnaby) hopped into the police truck and drove with them to chase the poachers down and arrest them. It was pretty cool because the two of us just sat on the side of the hill with binoculars and reported to the police and Andrew where the men were running to. Unluckily the men all got away.
In one week we have turned into Firefighters and Vigilantes.
But thats not all.
We also have a future in big game hunting.
No we didn't hunt any big game, but we definitely found some.
Last weekend the two of us went with Rae's brother, also named Andrew, to the Hluhluwe/Imfolozi Game Reserve. There are way to many Andrew's in South Africa.
If we could relate our experience in the game reserve to any popular film, without a doubt it would be Jurassic Park. Enough said.
What we're really excited about is was happened this past Tuesday. Now we've told you about the village that we've been building on the farm, and how it will be used for family to stay there while we can teach them how to collect rain water, use solar power, raise and use chickens, use proper hygeine, etc... Well on Tuesday we found that family.
The family consists of an elderly man and woman, a daughter of about 30 years old, and four school children, all living in the conditions of literally the 1400's. The family lives in three round houses with no running water, electricity, or any type of basic modern technology. We met the family at Thembisa after they had walked at least two miles through mountainous terrain because they had heard that we could feed them. These people literally had no where else to turn. Amazingly, when we drove them back to their house to check out where they were living and if we could help them, it was the first time that they had EVER ridden in a car. They didn't know how to open the doors to get out of the car. HECTIC!
Only two weeks left here in Africa, and we're feeling awesomely blessed to have met the family that we've worked all summer in preparation for.
Can't wait to see you all when we get back, but we're definitely enjoying these last few days!
Cheers!
Andrew and Ben
We know it's been a while since we've gotten around to updating the blog, but you wouldn't believe what we've been up to.
First of all, it sounds like the California Fire Department could use our help fighting forest fires because the two of us have been fighting some fires of our own here on the farm and on the surrounding land.
A couple days ago we looked out across the valley and saw some intense fires burning along a mountain ridge. As the night went on the fires began to approach our land, some of the fires spanning many hundreds of yards (in our case meters).
Before we knew it we could see fires approaching from all sides of the farm, and we quickly prepared to prevent them from getting close enough to melt down our electric fence.
Luckily none of the fence was burnt, but it definitely made for a crazy night.
We didn't have to fight any of the fires that night, but the next day we set out to burn fire breaks to prevent future fires from getting onto the farm. With only one match lit a huge patch of bushland almost immediately caught ablaze and we ran around smothering it with blankets to put it out. Needless to say we have no more arm hair!
The next day we were working on finishing the cottage, which we are thrilled to say is almost completed, and we looked across the valley to see a group of men with hunting dogs. In South Africa it is illegal to hunt any type of buck, so Andrew and Rae called the police to report that we had poachers on our land. The police arrived and Andrew (Wartnaby) hopped into the police truck and drove with them to chase the poachers down and arrest them. It was pretty cool because the two of us just sat on the side of the hill with binoculars and reported to the police and Andrew where the men were running to. Unluckily the men all got away.
In one week we have turned into Firefighters and Vigilantes.
But thats not all.
We also have a future in big game hunting.
No we didn't hunt any big game, but we definitely found some.
Last weekend the two of us went with Rae's brother, also named Andrew, to the Hluhluwe/Imfolozi Game Reserve. There are way to many Andrew's in South Africa.
If we could relate our experience in the game reserve to any popular film, without a doubt it would be Jurassic Park. Enough said.
What we're really excited about is was happened this past Tuesday. Now we've told you about the village that we've been building on the farm, and how it will be used for family to stay there while we can teach them how to collect rain water, use solar power, raise and use chickens, use proper hygeine, etc... Well on Tuesday we found that family.
The family consists of an elderly man and woman, a daughter of about 30 years old, and four school children, all living in the conditions of literally the 1400's. The family lives in three round houses with no running water, electricity, or any type of basic modern technology. We met the family at Thembisa after they had walked at least two miles through mountainous terrain because they had heard that we could feed them. These people literally had no where else to turn. Amazingly, when we drove them back to their house to check out where they were living and if we could help them, it was the first time that they had EVER ridden in a car. They didn't know how to open the doors to get out of the car. HECTIC!
Only two weeks left here in Africa, and we're feeling awesomely blessed to have met the family that we've worked all summer in preparation for.
Can't wait to see you all when we get back, but we're definitely enjoying these last few days!
Cheers!
Andrew and Ben
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Half-way
Hello again,
This has been a most interesting week. On Monday 50 people from Grace Church, a local church, and a group of people from Canada came to the farm to help. They moved rocks, since the landscape is covered in rocks and mixed concrete for the floor of the cottage. They only stayed until 12:30 but the amount of work they did would have taken us a month to do. The last thing the group did was to place a cross on the top of hill overlooking Killarney Valley.
On Tuesday, Andrew Wartnaby and Ben traveled about an hour up the North coast to fetch a huge donation of food for Thembisa. A food distributor donated over one and a half metric tons of soup mix and corn meal, enough to feed an enormous amount of grannies. The Pajero, the equivalent of a Mitsubishi Montero, was literally filled to the roof with soup mix, and so was the trailer that we towed. The donation was definitely an awesome gift, but unfortunately we literally crushed Andrew’s left index finger in the trailer hitch. (Not Andrew Fletcher) Later that night, the family circled up and prayed for Andrew’s injury. We were sure that it was broken, but the next day the finger was found in much better condition! Praise God!
We finally got started on the roof on Wednesday but it is not exactly level so we have added a luxurious rooftop swimming pool. We only have to add one more roof sheet and make the roof level in order to be finished with the cottage.
Thursday and Friday we finished the stone wall in the front yard. We don’t mean to sound proud but we must say it rivals the Great Wall of China.
Cheers!
Andrew and Ben
P.S. We are having trouble dealing with the fact that we are so removed from American Sports. All we’ve heard is that Tiger won the U.S. open with a busted knee, but we are very grateful that our tar heel trio will be returning to us next year.
Prayer Requests:
1. Continued prayers for Andrew and Rae. That they will follow God’s will for the Farm and Thembisa and that God provides them with regular financial support.
2. The area where we are building the cottage is called Legacy of Love and Andrew and Rae hope to have four more structures built for other grannies, volunteers like us and for Pastors to take a Sabbatical. The soon to be village is called Legacy of Love because Andrew and Rae have had people love them throughout their lives and they would like to continue that legacy of love to those who come to Hope Farm.
3. Josh. He is a 15 year old boy who was staying here on the farm. From what we know, Josh came from a very broken home which ultimately threw him out on the streets. Andrew and Rae heard about his past and offered him a place to stay and to provide for his education while he stayed with them. Unfortunately he had been causing problems since he came here and became much worse the past couple of weeks. He told Andrew and Rae that he was uncomfortable staying here and would like to leave. Against all of our efforts to convince him to stay because he had no where to go he still wanted to leave. Because his family would not take him back Andrew and Rae had to take him to the welfare office which didn’t want to take him either. We are unsure where he is now, either a Children’s Home, on the streets again or at A Place of Safety (which in reality it is not because it houses teenage criminals). We hope that he is safe and that God’s hope and love have reached him while staying here.
This has been a most interesting week. On Monday 50 people from Grace Church, a local church, and a group of people from Canada came to the farm to help. They moved rocks, since the landscape is covered in rocks and mixed concrete for the floor of the cottage. They only stayed until 12:30 but the amount of work they did would have taken us a month to do. The last thing the group did was to place a cross on the top of hill overlooking Killarney Valley.
On Tuesday, Andrew Wartnaby and Ben traveled about an hour up the North coast to fetch a huge donation of food for Thembisa. A food distributor donated over one and a half metric tons of soup mix and corn meal, enough to feed an enormous amount of grannies. The Pajero, the equivalent of a Mitsubishi Montero, was literally filled to the roof with soup mix, and so was the trailer that we towed. The donation was definitely an awesome gift, but unfortunately we literally crushed Andrew’s left index finger in the trailer hitch. (Not Andrew Fletcher) Later that night, the family circled up and prayed for Andrew’s injury. We were sure that it was broken, but the next day the finger was found in much better condition! Praise God!
We finally got started on the roof on Wednesday but it is not exactly level so we have added a luxurious rooftop swimming pool. We only have to add one more roof sheet and make the roof level in order to be finished with the cottage.
Thursday and Friday we finished the stone wall in the front yard. We don’t mean to sound proud but we must say it rivals the Great Wall of China.
Cheers!
Andrew and Ben
P.S. We are having trouble dealing with the fact that we are so removed from American Sports. All we’ve heard is that Tiger won the U.S. open with a busted knee, but we are very grateful that our tar heel trio will be returning to us next year.
Prayer Requests:
1. Continued prayers for Andrew and Rae. That they will follow God’s will for the Farm and Thembisa and that God provides them with regular financial support.
2. The area where we are building the cottage is called Legacy of Love and Andrew and Rae hope to have four more structures built for other grannies, volunteers like us and for Pastors to take a Sabbatical. The soon to be village is called Legacy of Love because Andrew and Rae have had people love them throughout their lives and they would like to continue that legacy of love to those who come to Hope Farm.
3. Josh. He is a 15 year old boy who was staying here on the farm. From what we know, Josh came from a very broken home which ultimately threw him out on the streets. Andrew and Rae heard about his past and offered him a place to stay and to provide for his education while he stayed with them. Unfortunately he had been causing problems since he came here and became much worse the past couple of weeks. He told Andrew and Rae that he was uncomfortable staying here and would like to leave. Against all of our efforts to convince him to stay because he had no where to go he still wanted to leave. Because his family would not take him back Andrew and Rae had to take him to the welfare office which didn’t want to take him either. We are unsure where he is now, either a Children’s Home, on the streets again or at A Place of Safety (which in reality it is not because it houses teenage criminals). We hope that he is safe and that God’s hope and love have reached him while staying here.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Greetings from the other side of the ocean
Hello to all,
I hope everyone is staying cool back home, its rather chilly here. Earlier in the week the temperature was in the 40's in the afternoon and at night, but it is very nice during the day. We have finished the walls of the cottage we are building, and on monday 50 people from a local church are coming to work for a day. They will be pouring the concrete slab for the floor (thankfully) and doing other jobs around the farm. Orginally we were expecting 20 people, so these 30 extra are definitely a blessing.
We have begun building a wall in the front yard, and we would encourage everyone to read Nehemiah 4 and Isaiah 58. Hopefully we will be building more walls in the future.
The driving here is fun! Adjusting to driving on the wrong side of the road didn't take as long as we thought it would and we actually kind of like the left side of the road.
Tomorrow the comrades marathon will be run from Pietermariztburg to Durban which is like 80 or 90 kilometers. Cato Ridge is the midway point and we will be able to go see some 11,000 people running.
Next week the plan is to finish the roof on the cottage but God changes our plans here very often.
Thanks for your prayers.
Andrew & Ben
Prayer Requests:
1. Andrew and Rae: God has blessed the ministry of Thembisa and the things that Andrew and Rae are doing for the people around them in huge ways, but they need more financial support to help feed the children that they have taken in. Pray for Support.
2. The country of South Africa: Much like the issues with Mexican Immigrants in the U.S., Zimbabwean people in South Africa are becoming the victims of discrimination and Xenophobic attacks in this country. Pray for Peace.
3. The Children: 3 Million orphans live in South Africa, and the country's infrastructure is unable to place all of these children in the care of stable families or orphanages. We live with 8 of the three million. Pray that the 8 that we live with here on the farm will find comfort and safety here. Many of them are extremely broken and are facing giants. Pray for Care and Comfort.
P.S.
Andrew is feeling much better today so we think his blood is back to normal.
I hope everyone is staying cool back home, its rather chilly here. Earlier in the week the temperature was in the 40's in the afternoon and at night, but it is very nice during the day. We have finished the walls of the cottage we are building, and on monday 50 people from a local church are coming to work for a day. They will be pouring the concrete slab for the floor (thankfully) and doing other jobs around the farm. Orginally we were expecting 20 people, so these 30 extra are definitely a blessing.
We have begun building a wall in the front yard, and we would encourage everyone to read Nehemiah 4 and Isaiah 58. Hopefully we will be building more walls in the future.
The driving here is fun! Adjusting to driving on the wrong side of the road didn't take as long as we thought it would and we actually kind of like the left side of the road.
Tomorrow the comrades marathon will be run from Pietermariztburg to Durban which is like 80 or 90 kilometers. Cato Ridge is the midway point and we will be able to go see some 11,000 people running.
Next week the plan is to finish the roof on the cottage but God changes our plans here very often.
Thanks for your prayers.
Andrew & Ben
Prayer Requests:
1. Andrew and Rae: God has blessed the ministry of Thembisa and the things that Andrew and Rae are doing for the people around them in huge ways, but they need more financial support to help feed the children that they have taken in. Pray for Support.
2. The country of South Africa: Much like the issues with Mexican Immigrants in the U.S., Zimbabwean people in South Africa are becoming the victims of discrimination and Xenophobic attacks in this country. Pray for Peace.
3. The Children: 3 Million orphans live in South Africa, and the country's infrastructure is unable to place all of these children in the care of stable families or orphanages. We live with 8 of the three million. Pray that the 8 that we live with here on the farm will find comfort and safety here. Many of them are extremely broken and are facing giants. Pray for Care and Comfort.
P.S.
Andrew is feeling much better today so we think his blood is back to normal.
Monday, June 9, 2008
We're Here!
How's it everyone?
We're here in the luxurious Cato Ridge Internet Cafe, and needless to say it is not equipped with DSL Broadband Internet.
Haha we're sorry we haven't kept you guys up to date, but the internet is hard to catch in South Africa.
We've been having an amazing time here these past two weeks. Andrew and Rae are amazing people, and so far these past two weeks we've been at work building a cottage in a village that is on the farm property. The vision for village is that soon we will be able to bring a grannie and her grandchildren from the Valley of 1000 Hills to live on the farm and teach them how to cook, clean, keep up personal hygiene, and improve their quality of living while their house is being built in the Valley.
We're really excited about what God is doing here, and it's really awesome to be a part of it.
South Africa is a beautiful country but is the Devil is very visible here as well.
We're living here on the farm with Andrew and Rae's family of 7, plus 8 orphans.
Dinner time is a lot more exciting here with 17 mouths to feed at one table!
It's really amazing to see the way that God provides for Andrew and Rae on a daily basis. Their entire lives are focused on this ministry, and we have come to learn that the luxuries of missionary life are very different from the luxuries of our home.
Thank you to everyone who has prayed and supported us! Every dollar that we have brought is either put to construction projects, or it goes to feed the 17 people here on the farm. It's great to see your donations going directly to the people who need it most.
If you would like to donate, please go to the Hope Farm web address. The link is located at the bottom of this blog.
Cheers!
Andrew and Ben
P.S. Andrew is doing much better after his bout with blood poisoning last week. Thanks for the prayers!
We're here in the luxurious Cato Ridge Internet Cafe, and needless to say it is not equipped with DSL Broadband Internet.
Haha we're sorry we haven't kept you guys up to date, but the internet is hard to catch in South Africa.
We've been having an amazing time here these past two weeks. Andrew and Rae are amazing people, and so far these past two weeks we've been at work building a cottage in a village that is on the farm property. The vision for village is that soon we will be able to bring a grannie and her grandchildren from the Valley of 1000 Hills to live on the farm and teach them how to cook, clean, keep up personal hygiene, and improve their quality of living while their house is being built in the Valley.
We're really excited about what God is doing here, and it's really awesome to be a part of it.
South Africa is a beautiful country but is the Devil is very visible here as well.
We're living here on the farm with Andrew and Rae's family of 7, plus 8 orphans.
Dinner time is a lot more exciting here with 17 mouths to feed at one table!
It's really amazing to see the way that God provides for Andrew and Rae on a daily basis. Their entire lives are focused on this ministry, and we have come to learn that the luxuries of missionary life are very different from the luxuries of our home.
Thank you to everyone who has prayed and supported us! Every dollar that we have brought is either put to construction projects, or it goes to feed the 17 people here on the farm. It's great to see your donations going directly to the people who need it most.
If you would like to donate, please go to the Hope Farm web address. The link is located at the bottom of this blog.
Cheers!
Andrew and Ben
P.S. Andrew is doing much better after his bout with blood poisoning last week. Thanks for the prayers!
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Setting Forth!
Alright guys the day is finally here! Tomorrow we'll be boarding the plane in Raleigh for a looooong day and a few extra hours of travel, but we couldn't be more excited about what is in store for us these next two months. Again, thank you to everyone who has supported us in every way! We've got all the bags packed and we're ready to go! Continue to keep us in your prayers that God will keep us safe in His hands, and pray that God will use us for His glory in South Africa this summer.
Thanks!
Ben and Andrew
Thanks!
Ben and Andrew
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