Finally!

Here are some pictures of reasons I'm glad to be home! :)


Lots of time to hang out with the coolest almost-10-yr-old in the world!!!


"3-generations" get togethers. Here I'm with my Grandmother and my Mom for dinner at Springmoor, the extremely nice "retirement village" where my Grandparents live. Wish I could live there too! haha :)


A WHOLE day of shopping with Shannon, my best friend since the 6th grade. Wow...the 6th grade. I can hardly believe we've known each other that long. She knows everything about me, and she STILL wants to be my friend. ;) What a blessing she is to me! I've also loved seeing her precious baby girl, Savannah, who is about 1 1/2 years old now.




Babysitting Lauryn and having a ball. I'm so thankful I am able to be here to see this stage of her life!! She's so much fun, and such a sweet baby.



















Here she is all ready for game day! Go panthers!! Daddy's training her right from the beginning. Poor girl doesn't stand a chance. ;)















Thanksgiving day: Mom and Dad working together to get the cooked Turkey to the carving platter. My first Thanksgiving at home in three years!!










Cheryl and I putting the lights on the Christmas tree. Notice I am wearing a sweat
shirt. That's because it's COLD outside... as it SHOULD be at Christmas. No more hot Christmas like last year. Hooray!




Hope you all enjoyed this as much as me. :) Goodnight.
Bonnie B.

Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

adjusting...

Well... since last time I updated a few things have happened. This past Thursday was Thanksgiving. I hadn't been able to be with my family the last 2 years at Thanksgiving, so it was nice to be with everyone this year. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to enjoy all the amazing food that everyone prepared! As of Wednesday of last week I was still feeling fluish and I was really praying to feel better on Thursday... I would've been so upset if after 2 years of missing Thanksgiving I still wasn't able to enjoy it! But, all was well, and though I couldn't handle very much food, I was able to at least taste everyone's culinary creations! :) Maybe it was good that I wasn't feeling 100%... that way I didn't overeat like everyone always does on Thanksgiving! It was so awesome to be with my family though. It's times like that that I am glad to be home.

Tonight we put our Christmas tree up in the house. That was also something I'd missed out on the last 2 years. Though I was home for Christmas 2 years ago, I was away at training until right before Christmas, so I missed all of the preparations. Again I say, it these things that makes me happy to be here.

Overall though... it's really weird to be here, and to be staying here. This would all be absolutely wonderful if this were a vacation... even if it were a long vacation! I could settle my nerves more if I knew I could enjoy this time, and then go back to Jo'burg. But I'm set to teach here for 2 years. 2 years... I wasn't even in Jo'burg a whole 2 years and my life was changed by the time I left. Anything could happen here in 2 years. Who knows what that will be? In all honesty, it freaks me out to be applying and interviewing for a full-time job. It's exciting - it really is! And I look forward to having my own classroom again and being in one place. But at the same time I feel like I don't know where I'm going half the time. I mean, I don't have a goal in mind. In school you always have a destination - graduation. College is the same... After I graduated college I knew I had to work for about 5 months and then I'd be off to training and then to South Africa. When I was in SA, I knew I had 2 years there. But now I don't know what's next. I was chatting with a friend of mine here who is a couple years older than me and she said she went through the same thing when she finished seminary last year. She gave me some good advice. She said she'd always trusted God with the segments of her life, but that she now had to learn to trust Him with the whole picture. So that's what I'm trying to learn and do now... trust Him with my life... my whole life. It's so hard to explain what I'm feeling right now, and if you're reading this and somehow understand what I'm trying to say, I'd love to hear your comments. Anyone out there felt like this before? I guess I'm just in the midst of a big transition point right now. It has its good points and its bad points. I'll try to post some photos soon to show you some of the good points! :) I'd better be going to bed soon...

Cheers,
Bonnie

PS - today at my parent's church a lady whom I adore came up to me and said that she had just met a guy from Johannesburg who in in Harnett county (a neighbouring county). He's here teaching through an international faculty program. Her husband is going to call me with his phone number. I may have found a South African friend. Hooray! :)

Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

in recovery...

Sorry it's been a few days since I last updated... I'm getting slack! Actually though, I have a bit of an excuse. Sunday after church I finally got to go out to lunch at a Mexican restaurant with some friends. It's the first time since I've been back. I was so excited. Well, about an hour after lunch I started feeling bad. So, no problemo... I laid down, thinking I'd be fine after a nap. Well, after about an hour of no sleeping, I got up... walked around my room a bit in a daze, and proceded to... umm... get sick. Now, I haven't really been sick is YEARS! I literally can't remember the last time I was sick. Well, Mom rushed to the rescue to take care of me and I downed some Pepto Bismol right away. It didn't help any though... I was up till 12:30 going through a process of stomach cramp, stomach purge, stomach feeling great, stomach cramp... you get the picture. Pepto became my drink of choice, that's for sure... don't know how much good it did though. I couldn't sleep Sunday night because I was so sick... well, I think I slept 2 hours... On Monday I was extremely exhausted from lack of sleep and no food being in my system. I was supposed to have an interview on Monday, but that obviously did NOT happen! I could hardly even manage to drink some dilluted gatorade and eat a few saltine crackers. Ugh - it is NOT fun being sick!!! I've been pretty much ok today, though my stomach's felt a little "iffy" at times. We had stir-fry for dinner tonight and that was definately a mistake. Needless to say, the Pepto came back out. Blah... I'm going to bed!!

On a positive note, I did manage to go to my interview today and I think it went fairly well. I'll let you know soon!

Cheers!!
Bonnie

Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

The search begins (well... kinda)

I'm about to seriously start looking for a job, and I'd really appreciate people's prayers. I'm really nervous about the whole process. I'm trying to remain calm and trust God though! Knowing and trusting that He already has my job picked out for me does help. The whole finding it part isn't so fun though! I haven't done a real interview in a long time. I also haven't taught in a real classroom in a long time. It'll be nice though... to have my own classroom again, and to spend time really getting to know my students. That's something I missed in SA... I LOVED my students, and got to know a few, but getting to know over 400 kids is quite difficult when you only see them once a week at best. :) I found my official State teaching license tonight... *big sigh of relief* Now I just have to tweak my resume and start sending it out... fun fun. Hopefully soon I'll be posting that I have a new job! (if I don't, the evil scholarship people may start harping on me again, and that's no fun). Well, it's almost 1am here and time for me to go to bed. It's crazy for me to think that if I were in SA I'd probably be waking up now! So... goodnight America and good morning South Africa. :)

Bonnie B.

Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

Going to get my luggage!

Tuesday morning, early, my Mom and I are driving up to Washington, DC to get my final 2 pieces of luggage. It will be so nice to finally have everything in one place... my cats, me, and all 4 pieces of luggage.

I've finally got a cell phone that can send and receive messages to and from South Africa! So... South Africans, send me a note and let me know how much you miss me!! :) To sms me, you'd dial 09-1-919-721-1591

This past weekend was my friend, Candace's, wedding. It's crazy... the people I grew up with are all getting married! My Mom and I babysat Lauryn all day on Saturday. I'm sure some people there probably thought Lauryn was mine, but that's ok. She's adorable, so I'd claim her any day! I did earn a new appreciation for mothers though... I'm great with toddlers and preschoolers... but infants are another story! I'm sure it will be different when I have one of my own, but it's hard work taking care of a baby... and Lauryn's a GOOD baby - I'd hate to have a bad one! :)

Well, I'd better go to bed since I have to wake up early and I don't want to be too sleepy for the driving. I'll put some pictures online soon...

<><>

The long awaited visit...

I finally got to go to Starbucks Coffee today!!! I ordered a Grande Peppermint Mocha Frappachino. It was all I was hoping it would be. I visited with my Grandmother today and we did a little shopping and before we went home, she treated me to my first Starbucks since being back in the States... mmm mmm good!




Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

Why I came home...

Today for the first time I got a little sad... I was driving home from a great lunch with my friend Chris and for some reason I just started being sad about not being in South Africa. Well, tonight was the kids events and choirs at my parents' church and my nephews finished their activities before the adults get out of choir. They usually have to wait for their Dad to finish choir, but since I was free, I picked them up and brought them back to the house. We enjoyed some ice cream and then I got to do something I haven't done in 2 years. I got to read to them!! I am a kids-book-aholic. So, we picked out some classics and had some good old fashioned fun. Ahh... this is why I came back. :)

Zachary

Brian, Jr.

Reading to the boys!!!


Aunt Bonnie and the boys! :)

Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

Catching up...

For those of you still reading... :)

I've spent these first few days trying to see old friends and catch up with them. On Sunday all of my local family came over for dinner after church and then Sunday night my best friend, Shannon, came over with her little girl, Savannah. Savannah was born only a few months after I arrived in South Africa, so she's already toddling around and getting into trouble! She's adorable though. It's so strange to see my best friend, whom I've known since the 6th grade, as a Mom!

Monday my Dad was brave enough to ride in the car with me as I practiced and relearned to drive on thr left side of the car on the right side of the road. My car here's automatic too, so I kept wanting to change gears! But I think I did pretty well. No catastophes. :) The hardest part is turning because I still have a tendancy to want to turn into the left side of the road. But I had the same problem in South Africa when I started driving, so I'm sure it'll get easier as I drive more. Today I'll drive to Durham by myself, so pray all goes well!!

Yesterday (Tuesday) my friend Candace picked me up and I rode with her go to pick up flowers for her wedding on Saturday. Then we came back to Sanford and processes flowers ALL day long! (meaning we took the leaves off, de-thorned them, and cut the bottoms off). It was a new experience and it was great to catch up with Candace and see her new house!

Today I'm going to Durham to have lunch with Chris and Amber. That'll be fun. Haven't seen them in a while (although they both came to South Africa at different times during my time there).

My kitties are doing well. Oreo is the braver of the two and ventures out of my room on occaion. Bud (my old 17 year old cat) isn't real fond of her, but he has no claws and no teeth, so he just tries to intimidate her by hissing. She stands her ground though! They'll get used to each other eventually. Wallace hangs out in my room 99% of the time. He at least comes out from under the bed now! Right now they're both sitting beside me on my bed. Sweet kitties. :) Even though I'm flat broke now (more so than I EVER was in SA), they were worth every penny.

Well, better go get this day started!! Thanks for checking in on me. :)

Cheers,
Bonnie

Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

Back in NC

Well... I'm back! It's pretty crazy when I really think about it. Sometimes I feel like it was just a wierd dream that I just woke up from. Then I realize that it wasn't a dream and that I'm really here. I am very sleepy right now... I really should be in bed, but I just wanted to update here and let you all know that I'm home. I had quite an ordeal in DC where they canceled my flight and put me on a 10pm flight. There was an earlier flight with another airline, but they wouldn't switch it to that one. And if I'd taken the 10pm flight, most of my family wouldn't have been able to stay up and come to the airport. So, I paid $150 out of my own little pocket to book the earlier flight! Then my luggage came through with the late flight! So my wonderful Dad went back to the airport that night to fetch my luggage. Crazy... the whole time I was in DC, I never got to sit down (literally) because I was going from terminal to terminal trying to figure out what was going on. When I finally bought the ticket for the 7:50 flight, it was about 7:00. Then as I was going through the check-point, they "randomly selected" me for a more thorough security check. It was all I could do not to cry (I think I was actually pretty teary-eyed). I'd already been through so much already that if I'd missed the flight I would've just lost it!! After getting through the check point I had to ride a little bus to get to the right terminal, and then when I got to the terminal, my gate was literally the farthest away!! The feeling that I had once I sat down on that airplane was so indescribably wonderful. I knew that in less than an hour I'd see my family! Well, not much later I finally got to NC and got to see my family!!!! It was so incredible to see them all. A few of my friends from the Summit also surprised me at the airport. :) So nice! Well, before I fall alseep at the computer, here are some photos from my arrival... Enjoy.

Waiting for me to arrive...

Me coming down the escalator to the baggage claim area where my family was waiting!
My nephew, Brian :)

Meeting my baby niece, Lauryn for the first time!!



Some of my friends from the Summit came to say hello too!
Well, I have a lot more pictures, but I'm having trouble getting them online. These will have to do for now! Enjoy... I'm going to bed!! :)

Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

Happy Birthday to you...

Well, it's the 3rd here in South Africa, but in NC it's still the 2nd and that means it's my Dad's birthday!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! Incase you don't know, my Dad's awesome... he's going all the way to DC just to get my ktties for me on Friday!! Hooray for Dad. :)

Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

and the wacked out sleep schedule begins...

Well, I can't sleep. My stomach's in knots. *sigh* I figure I'll just go ahead and get up and hang out with Jesus for longer than normal this morning. :) I'll even get to see the sun rise, so that'll be nice. Maybe I'll be able to take a nap later this afternoon after college. Tonight some friends are coming over to hang out and say final goodbyes. I could really use everyone's prayers. Final goodbyes are not my forte... especially on little sleep. I'm pretty sure I won't sleep much tonight (Thursday night) either... too much to think about for Friday. And of course after that I'll be flying and dealing with jet lag! Any bets as to the next night I'll actually have a solid night's rest?? As for now... let's get this day started. :)

Cheers,
Bonnie
Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

Try things for yourself...

This is the lesson I've just learnt. When I first came to SA, my roommate told me that rooibos tea is gross. I believed her. Did I ever try it? Nope... not until last night when I randomly bought some and decided to try it. Who would've thunk it... I like the stuff. Shame I'm leaving SA!! I'll have to take it back with me. :)

On another note, my kitties are airborne now! They're on their way to Amsterdam and then to Washington, DC. I promise those boxes are bigger than they look! Happy travels kitties...

Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

Last Bible study at Northcliff :(

Well, tonight was my last Northcliff Young Adult Bible study. Sad night! But you know what? I didn't cry! God is so good. He's giving me more peace everyday about going home. South Africans, don't get me wrong... I am VERY sad about leaving, and I'm sure I'll have plenty of cry moments in the States, but I was reminded tonight that God has placed me back in America for such a time as this. And who am I to argue with God?! Anyway, I'm sleepy now. Here are a couple pictures from tonight. (Chris, does my nose ring still look like mole?? Better not!)

Meet Pastor Dan...

Go ahead and say it... we look hot. It's ok... We know it. ;)

You all should know Eric by now. :)

Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

singleness... oh joy... :)

Remember me mentioning that I was asked to be an adult table leader for the Chrysalis Flight weekend this coming January?  At the time I was asked to lead the talk on prayer.  That’s very cool… I’m a big fan of prayer. :)  I’ve seen so obviously the results of people praying all over the world.  But this morning I awoke to find a new challenge presented to me.  I was emailed and asked if instead of the prayer talk, I could do the talk on singleness.  My first reaction?? I’ll be honest.  It was something along the lines of… “ouch, it’s beginning… the lovely life of singleness and assuring those younger than me that ‘it’ll be ok’.”  But once I prayed about it and really thought  it through, I consider it an honour to be able to talk to these girls and share a real part of my life with them.  Not that prayer isn’t a real part of my life, but I have no choice but to be single right now.  So I think it will be a challenge to prepare and to give this talk, but I know it’s God’s way of assuring me that I am walking in His path right now. :)  I sure do hope I’m not giving this talk for all the years to come though!

<><Bonnie

nice quote

I just watched the movie, "Shall we Dance"... and this quote from it is quite profound. :) Just thought I'd share...

Why is it that people get married?
Because we need a witness to our lives.
There’s a billion people on the planet.
What does any one life really mean?
But in a marriage, you’re promising to care about everything…
The good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things,
All of it… all the time, every day.
You’re saying “Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it.
Your life will not go unwitnessed - because I will be your witness.”
Mrs. Clark, "Shall We Dance?" 2004


Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

cleaning

I don't have all that much to update on right now. Last night I went to a real Southern Baptist pot-luck (so maybe there are some good things about going home! haha). All the missionaries from around Johannesburg got together to have a farewell dinner for the Bryants (who are going to Kenya) and the Lechners (who are going to Mozambique). I didn't know this, but they also included me! (who's going to America... man, those people need Jesus! hehe --- just kiddin' --- sort of ---) Anyway, I thought that was really sweet of them, and I didn't even know about it. I tell you what though, a lot of people used their American ingredients to make some of the dishes, and it was so wonderful! I mean, South Africa definitely has plenty of it's own awesome stuff, and I don't really miss much from the States, but when you have something you haven't had in a while, it's quite nice. :) So anyway, that was fun. And Melissa came too, which was also really nice. Glad to be hanging out with her a little more before I go back to NC.

I'm about to go pick up a friend of mine who's going to help me clean up my flat. It's pretty much empty now, but it needs one last good cleaning before the landlord comes to check it out. It still needs to be cleaned up from the flood a few weeks ago. My kitties are still living in there with a few pillows and blankets. Poor lonely kitties. Still don't have a solution for them. I'm working on bringing them home though! (the 2 little ones) I'm still waiting on a price for what that will cost... check out this cute website... http://www.globalpaws.co.za/travel.htm That's the one company that at least has contacted me (but still not with a price!). I so hope I can afford to get them home!! I might not be as sad if I knew I'd have my African kitties with me! haha Oh well... I'd better go get to cleaning.

Tonight's my last Friday night in Joburg - how very crazy is that!? And I don't even have plans... now THAT is sad. I'm sure something will come up before too long. :)

Cheers,
Bonnie B.

Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

Mom

Tonight my Mom called me right before Bible study. It was perfect timing. She gave me some much needed and highly appreciated advice. Moms are good for that. But what’s funny is that for a long time I wasn’t sure if we held the same views on the subject we were discussing. But for once she gave me the advice that I knew I needed to follow. God’s teaching us both – He’s cool like that. Sorry I can’t elaborate more on here, but hey, mother-daughter talks aren’t always meant for public display. ;) The important thing here is that my Mom is the coolest, and I can honestly say that I am looking forward to living under her (and dad’s) roof again and learning more from her. God is good! Amen :)

Hello from the Holiday House

I’m in the Holiday’s house now. It’s nice, but very quiet and I miss my kitties very much. The DLS has been acting up today for some reason, so I couldn’t really enjoy it much, but that’s ok… I have it now and it’s SO nice not to be in a big hurry while I’m online.

This morning I realized that there was no bread in the house… I don’t eat bread all that often, but for some reason this morning I was sad that I didn’t have any! (not like really sad, but more like, “man… wish I had some bread…”) :) So… I made some! Granted, it would’ve been much faster to just go buy some, but hey, I wanted the experience. So now I have learned how to make bread. And it’s pretty yummy if I do say so myself! Looks good, don’t you think? I also baked brownies for Bible study tonight. That was fun.

Oh, my tooth seems to be fine now. Apparently, the whole area around my tooth was “traumatized” by the root canal and that was what was hurting. Interesting… well, I think I’m off to bed soon. Thanks for checking in on me!

Cheers-
Bonnie

I'm a mess!

So, it's 3:30am, and I am awake. Why am I awake when I should be asleep!? Well, the way I figure, there are many factors in this equation: 1)the movers are coming in the morning and I am anxious about that 2)I have a cold, and a really sore throat right now and 3)my tooth still hurts. Now, the first 2 are normal, but my Mom assured me last night that the 3rd is not normal. And she has to be right. I think I'm going to call my dentist in the morning and say something to the effect of, "umm... if you deadened the root, then HOW is it still hurting!?" I mean really... common sense tells me that it shouldn't hurt enough to wake me up, and I am pretty sure that the tooth is what actually woke me up since I tend to grind my teeth when I sleep (my bad). The sad thing is, I originally had a dentist appointment for tomorrow but I had to move it because of the movers coming - dang! Bad timing! Oh well... so I've probably just ODed on ibuprofren and I'm just waiting for it to take effect. I'm hoping it will help my sore throat too. I really am a mess!! So while I wait for the meds to take effect, I thought I'd put a few pictures here for you of my last day yesterday at Rand Leases. I'll write more soon about how it went, but for now visuals will have to do. :) I'm too tired to write much more than this!! :)

(singing with the kids at Rand Leases)

(Momo - pronounced "moo moo" - when I first started coming to Rand Leases back in February, Momo was so scared of us. If I tried to hold her or even get too close she'd cringe and run away as soon as possible. Now she's the life of the party! It's been awesome to see the change in this little girl!!)
(Momo is Gareth's little pride and joy. They're inseperable at Rand Leases. It really is quite cute!)
(This is Hope, Nurse's baby sister. She also used to be scared of me! But now I think we're cool. ;))
(I will write more about this next time I write, but these are 2 young guys from the Braamfischerville church who are now helping Nurse teach Sunday School! What an answer to prayer these guys are!!!!!)

Link to pictures: http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

more fun with the Allens

The Allens (missionary family from Swaziland) came into Jo'burg to pick up Steve's parents from the airport. They invited me to come for dinner and they treated me! Lovely... :) Isn't this an adorable picture of their daughter, Lacie? She's such a wonderful baby! I hope I can be so lucky as to have a little girl like her some day!!

My mood has much improved since my last post. But please keep praying for me. I know that these next 2 weeks are going to be an emotional roller coaster for me, but I also know that God's wonderful grace will bring me through! Yesterday I read Psalm 145 and one particular verse really stood out to me...

"The Lord is good to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works." Psalm 145:9

Eph. 2:10 (which is very special to me on many levels... it was the first verse that I ever chose to memorize, and I learned it the same weekend I gave my life to Christ) reminds me that I am His workmanship... His masterpiece... His art work. So, therefore, His tender mercies are over ME! I am so glad to know that the God we serve is tender. Sometimes when I'm feeling emotionally drained and don't even want to talk to God, it's awesome to know that He's tender, and His mercies are still here for me. God is good!

On another note, PRAY FOR ME tomorrow! I'm going in the morning to have a root canal. OUCH! I've never had one before, but I have a feeling it's going to be painful. I'm still taking tylenol for the work the dentist did on my tooth on Tuesday! He might need to prescribe something strong for me this time. Yikes!

Oh... and just so you know... I just killed the 3rd parktown prawn of THIS WEEK! I am so ready to be out of this flat and rid of these stinkin' (literally) bugs!

And on that note... goodnight! :)
Bonnie B.

Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

A day in the life of the moody Bonnie

I went to the dentist today. After he drilled for what seemed like forever, he finally finished. But to my dismay, he told me I have to come back to have a root canal done!! Yikes! So now my mouth hurts and I can anticipate more pain. Ouch. I found out today that my old roommate can't take the kittens like we thought she might be able to. It's not her fault, but I'm still really really sad about it. I have less than 2 weeks to be out of this flat and to find them homes. And things aren't looking good. I love my kitties. You might laugh or joke about that, but go ahead. I'm really sad. So ja... I've not been the typical happy Bonnie today/tonight. I went to Bible study, and everyone could tell something wasn't right. I feel like I should be happy. I'm a missionary... a strong Christian, and I totally believe in God's sovereignty. So why do I let things bother me? Aye... the heart of a girl is a confusing thing. I feel bad for my friends who saw me tonight. I felt like a burden to them... being all sad and stuff. Perhaps I should've just stayed home, but then again, my friends love me, and they want to be there when I am hurting. Man, my friends are the coolest. What would I do without them? So here's proof ladies and gentlemen - missionaries are not perfect! We get confused, and sad and our hearts sometimes get the best of us. Hooray! We're human too! haha So just pray for us (and for me) ok? Thanks. :)
Cheers -
Bonnie

Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

Parktown Prawns

This one was in my bathroom today. SEE why I don't like them!!!!!


Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

Recent pictures

I've finally updated my webshots photo albums with some pictures of my Northcliff friends and with some pictures of my farewell party/braai last Saturday night. Please have a look! :) The braai was absolutely amazing. I couldn't have asked for a better time, and despite the horrible weather that we had Friday night (see my last post), Saturday was absolutely gorgeous. God was looking out for me. Lots of people came... it was the biggest party I've ever had - literally! Which is interesting because I've only been here for a year and 9 months, and yet God has so richly blessed me in that short time. So many of my friends were there... from friends I met my first few days, to friends I've only met a few weeks ago! Good food... great friends... awesome memories. All in all, it was more than a success! Oh, and Rog... if my video camera were digital, I'd find a way to put your message online, but alas, it is old and I have no clue how to get something like that online. But yes, you DO win the prize for the most creative message!!! I laughed soooo much, which was great, because your message was right after a kinda serious one. Perfecto!

Love you guys!
Bonnie

Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

So I thought I liked storms...

Last night I was about to go to bed... I was quite peaceful... there was a great big storm outside, I was nice and warm in my bed, and I was thinking about my party that's today! Then, all of a sudden I noticed water coming into my room on the floor. I thought the toilet was overflowing, and jumped up to go fix it (and move the couple of boxes that are near the bathroom). Well, much to my surprise and fright, the water was not coming from the bathroom, but from both of my front doors, and it was pouring in!! I didn't know what to do. My entire floor was covered in at least 2 inches of water. Let me remind you that I have been packing, and there are lots of cardboard boxes all over the place! So I started running around like a crazy woman treying to move the boxes to a higher place so they wouldn't get wet. Oh, and periodically the lights would go off, so I'd have to put the box down, and go flick the switch so I could see again. I also noticed that some of my electrical cords are on the floor, so I quickly switched off the power source for them and got them somewhere dry. I was mildly shocked by my lamp in the process, but nothing seriously thankfully!! Needless to say, I was crying and saying "what do I do?" to absolultey no one (except my cats). It's in these moments that I hate living alone. There wasn't much I could do about it until the rain slowed down, allowing the water from in front of my flat to drain some. Once it lowered, I began sweeping the water (I felt like I was rowing a boat!) out the front door. I did that for about an hour and a half until I just couldn't take it anymore, and the bulk of the water was gone. Talk about exhausted in more ways than one. The water wasn't nice, clean rain water either... we're talking water plus all the dirt and plant life that had come loose in the storm. By the time I gave up, I was cold and felt disgusting (for a lot of the time my feet were actually under water)! Every single towel (except one I saved for this morning) is soaking wet (and I don't have a dryer to dry them!). So... here I am about 9 hours later, and thankfully, most of the left over water has dried. The carpets are still wet, but hopefully they're air out. Thank the Lord I was able to talk to a friend of mine before I went to bed... he definitely helped me calm down and take my mind off the calamity! (Thanks, Eric!) Poor guy also got an earful though when I realized that another parktown prawn was right beside my bed!!!! Yes, I freaked, but I was able to get it into a cup and I took it outside. Talk about a crazy night. I didn't sleep well at all... every little noise woke me up. I was worried that more rain would come and then my flat would flood again, or that there were more parktown prawns in my room. Not a good way to spend the night before my big party! I'll be so tired!! I'm sure I'll wake up though when people are there and I'm in the moment. ;) Anyway... I'd better get my last minute stuff done before I go to Durban Deep this morning and then to Casey's to get ready for the party!! Yay for parties. :)

Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

It's raining, it's pouring...

HOORAY! I'm in the middle of the first big storm that I've seen this season so far. It's tried to rain a couple times before and threatened to be a storm, but now it's really thundering and lightening and raining. And I couldn't be more happy! I love storms when I can enjoy them from inside. BUT I do hope it doesn't storm like this tomorrow for my farewell braai!!!!

Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

another sappy story

I know I am always referring you back to this blog, but I can't help it! It's a girl blogger's best friend. hehe Check out this cool story on http://girltalk.blogs.com It's such an interesting story. Just proves that when God wants 2 people together, even THEY can't thwart His plan. :-)

Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

Hooray for Ministry opps in the States!

How very exciting! I just got an email from a lady from the church I grew up in. She is leading something called a Chrysalis Flight. I doubt you guys have heard of that, but it's kind of like a Spiritual Renewal retreat for highschool girls. I went when I was in Grade 10, and it radically changed my life! It made me get real with God - very cool. Anyway, Grade 10 was a while ago... but this lady (Cindy) emailed me about a flight that is happening in January and she asked me to be an Adult Table leader. Wow! I'm an adult now!! hehe Really though, I'm so excited to have this opportunity to be with these girls for the weekend and be there for them as they experience an awesome time with each other and with God. It really is an honour for me to be asked to do this! I'll also have to give a talk (a devotion), which makes me nervous, but I'll work it out by then. :) Anyway, I'm glad to have something else to look forward to in the States. God's timing is impecable! :)

Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

the quiet life...

Well... for those few of you who read this, not much is going on around here lately. I mean, stuff's happening, but not much that you would want to read about (or that I would want to post about!). I just went to a terrible movie called "Sin City." I know... I should've known by the title, but I didn't do the choosing. Let's just say that it's the first movie that I'd ever walked out in the middle of!! Thankfully I was busy SMSing a friend of mine most of the time we were in there, so I wasn't focused on the movie anyway. :) So... I'm still working on packing... it's crazy how much stuff one can accumulate in less than 2 years! I'm trying to sell some of my books so that I won't have to carry them all back with me; they're quite heavy! Well, this Saturday is my farewell party! How crazy is that?? It still doesn't feel real most of the time... I'm leaving. It's like I can't really fathom not being here, even though I know it's going to happen - and soon! Crazy, I tell ya. Sorry I don't have much to write about right now... Such is the quiet life! :) I'll write when something interesting happens.
Cheers,
Bonnie

Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

More recommended reading for the ladies...

This short post is quite good and something that I've found myself thinking about a lot lately. Funny how God does that... He seems to always show me things in themes. And right when I start wondering about things, He puts things in my path (people, books, articles, sermons, songs...) that seem the speak to my situation! Crazy that God of ours is... in a good way of course. ;)

Goonight all!
Bonnie B.

Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

Hooray for people who pray!

Hey folks...
Like I mentioned in my last post, I had a cruddy day on Wednesday... just being emotionally drained from packing and trying to process stuff. I asked a few select friends of mine to pray for me, and I truely believe that they did! I've had an amazing past couple of days. :) on Thursday I went to college to sit in on a Worship and Music Basics class at ICBM, and it turns out that my lecturer is my pastor's dad! Small world. After that, Melissa came to my flat and hung out for a while. She eventually invited me to come back and spend the night at her and Heather's flat, so I agreed and I also took with us some American Pepperoni that I had saved in my freezer and we made pizza from scratch! Fun times... very reminiscent of old times. :) Some other girls came over for pizza and then we watched a movie. Then Melissa, Heather and I stayed up too late chatting about girl stuff. Man, I was SO needing girl time! Thank you, Lord. :) So... I slept there and then got up and went with Heather to the Baptist Theological College just to visit. That was fun, and it was funny to see how many people I knew there. After that, Heather brought me home and I turned around and went to Casey's house to help a girl with some missions fund raising thing. Later we went to the mall, then back to Casey's house. She invited me to stay for dinner (yay for a home cooked meal!) and then later some other friends came over and we all watched a movie and hung out. Ahhh... such great times with awesome friends!!! I am so blessed... may I never forget that! Praise the Lord for answered prayers!
Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

I hate parktown prawns!!!!!!!!

Ok, as sad as I am about leaving Jo'burg, one thing that I will NOT miss, not even a little, is the parktown prawn. Check it out...
I have had so many of them in my flat lately and they're really starting to make me angry. I was woken up by one jumping around in a box in my room at 4am this morning. I went to the kitchen to get my big shoe (it was there b/c I'd previously killed one there - which is no easy task!). Well, when I came back it wasn't in the box anymore, which means it is in my room somewhere. Do you think I can go back to sleep NOW? No way... guess I'll get an early start today! Stupid bugs :( yay for no parktownn prawns in NC!!


Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

Every rose has it's thorn...

Come on, sing it with me!
"just like every cowboy sings a sad, sad song...."
Oh well... never mind. ;)

My friend Casey gave me roses tonight at church. I was having a somewhat icky day today emotionally, so I smsed about 5 of my friends here who I know care about me and who I also knew would actually pray for me. Then two of the gals persuaded me to go to a dinner/meeting thingy at church (I didn't think I should go to a "vision" meeting when I'm leaving in 5 weeks!). But I'm glad I went. It got me out of the flat, where I've been packing and going through memories of my past 2 years. That's emotionally draining stuff. Anywho... I supposed I can't expect everything to be roses all the time, hey? gotta have a few thorns every once in a while. My friends here are definitely all roses though! God truely has blessed me. Well, I'm off to bed. Goodnight all!
Cheers,
Bonnie B.

Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

A blog of note :)

I know I have a link to this blog on the side of my blog, but I wanted to give it some special attention right now. I’ve been keeping up with the Girl Talk blog, and lately they’re talking about courtship, a topic that I enjoy reading about. Many believe that nobody today still believes in courtship, but these ladies are living proof that they believe it, and that it works. :) I'm just praying that there are still guys who agree with the principles as well!! So ladies (and hey, guys… you could learn a bit too!) check it out!!

http://www.girltalk.blogs.com/

I don't wanna go home :(

It's nothing personal Mom! It just seems that more and more things keep happening that make this place feel like home. Tonight the pastor and his wife (see picture below) invited the young adults to come over for dessert (which they called apple pie... but it wasn't... but it's all good;)). Northcliff Union really feels like "my church." A few of you know that my biggest anxiety about going home is wondering where I'm going to go to church... whether or not I'll still want to be part of the Summit, and if not, where I'll end up. Being part of a church family is a really big deal to me. I really have no clue right now, and it breaks my heart to think about not being at Northcliff. I feel like these people are family away from family. They've become my big brothers and sisters... I don't mean that they could ever replace my REAL family, but I just mean that I feel like I have a place here. Maybe it'll still be here when I finish teaching in the States, and maybe I can come back... but only God knows that! Nights like tonight are so odd for me when I come home and process (because I always process everything!). On one hand I'm excited because I've just had an awesome time with my church and with my awesome friends whom I know God has given me!! But on the other hand is that looming, "in less than 5 weeks this will all be ripped away from me" feeling. Ugh... I don't like it! Please pray for me over the next 5 weeks. They're going to be great, but also very sad and difficult for me. Everyone says that I'm just entering into the next chapter of my life. But I can't imagine a chapter better than this one right now... But I know God's plan is best and will work out in the end!! Here are some nice pictures from tonight. :) Yeah... lots of pictures lately!

This is Pastor Gavin and his wife Joss.


Eric and I ...

Patrick and I (Patrick is dating Stephanie, who also works at Rand Leases... he comes out with us to RL now too)

Dan and Eric... taking the picture themselves, obviously!!


Eric said we were taking "artsy" pictures tonight... here are a few. :)



Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

Pictures from Swaziland :)

Meet the Allens... this is the family I stayed with while I was in Swaziland. They are also IMB missionaries, and Steve is actually from North Carolina! Lacie is 15 months old, and such a joy to be around!! She's very intelligent for 15 months old. Whoever said that MKs develope slower is out of his mind. Lacie's ahead of the game in my book! I spent most of my time with Monica and Lacie. We did a good deal of shopping, and Monica took me out to the rural area, which is something I'd never been able to see before in my 2 times there before. It was quite an experience. Maria is their language tutor and translator. I am pretty lucky that most people here speak English, but in Swaziland there are many people who don't speak English. They speak Swati, so Maria is quite a help!! She's also just a great lady and she's a lot of fun to be around. :) I love these pictures of Lacie... is she beautiful or what!?! Enjoy! :)






These three pictures are from the preschool (or creche) that I visited in the a rural area called Peace. They meet in a small metal building that is also the church building. Sweet kids!!!





Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

home sweet home

I’m back from Swaziland, and it was such a great trip!!  It was definitely too short, but I enjoyed it while it lasted.  This was the first time I got to go into the rural area with Monica.  She took me to a tiny little preschool that has just recently been started in the rural area.  Cute kids!!  I’ll put a few pictures online tomorrow, but now I’m tired from being in the car for 5 hours.  Too bad my neighbours are having a party… their music is VERY loud, so my chances of going to bed at a reasonable hour are slim, but we’ll see. :)  I’m going to Kaleo again in the morning… Jason is preaching!!  

Cheers…
Bonnie B.

Swaziland - here I come!

I'm waking up really early in the morning to drive to Swaziland!! I am so excited about seeing the Allens again and spending some time in the beautiful country. I love Johannesburg now (it's home after all!!) but it's oh so nice to get away from the rush and the smog. And I can't wait to play with the Allen's little girl, Lacie. Yay - babies - you gotta love 'em. Well, since I plan to be awake in 5 hours, I'd better be going to bed!
Goodnight friends. :)
Bonnie B.

Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

Who's praying for the ME?!

(I realize that if you read this with an air of seriousness, you may think I have issues, so please read with a smile!! :))

Tonight after church Dan said that some nice lady told him at church that she's praying for the pastors, and him, and for him to get a wife. hehe It's funny that people seem to think that you just have to pray for those nice young pastor men to get a nice young wife. I mean, I'm sure they want a nice young wife. :) But here's my qualm. Why does no one ever say to the nice young missionary girl "I'm praying for you to get a husband"? I mean, I know I can't have one now as a journeygirl, but I'd like one someday! And finding a man in ministry (who is still single!!) is no easy task for a nice young missionary girl! The older I get (and by no means am I saying I'm old!), the more married the guys in full time ministry are. Grr! Oh well, I'M praying for me to get a husband... even if no nice old ladies are! haha :) If you're a nice old lady, will you pray for me to get a husband?! ;)

:)
Bonnie B.

Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

Is your but in the wrong place?

I went to church this morning at Kaleo (the church were my friend Jason is a pastor). Justin, the lead pastor, preached on putting your but in the right place. A simple concept, but one I’d never thought of before. He talked about how we so often mess up with this one simple word. Let me give you some examples…

“I know God wants a relationship with me, but I just don’t have much spare time.”
“I know I should be in church, but Christians are hypocrites.”
“The Bible says I can trust God, but this is a really tough situation.”
“God is telling me to go, but that place is really scary!”

See what I mean? Justin said that we oftentimes make our buts bigger than God. By not doing what we know we should be doing because of whatever our “but” is, we’re making that circumstance bigger than him. If I know I’m supposed to do something or go somewhere “but I’m scared” and I don’t go… that fear has become bigger than God. And in reality, nothing is bigger than God. Rather, he said we must strive to put our buts in the right place, like David does in Psalm 31. Have a look…

For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away. Because of all my adversaries I have become a reproach, especially to my neighbors, and an object of dread to my acquaintances; those who see me in the street flee from me. I have been forgotten like one who is dead; I have become like a broken vessel. For I hear the whispering of many-- terror on every side!-- as they scheme together against me, as they plot to take my life. But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, "You are my God." My times are in your hand; rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors!
(Psa 31:10-15)

Now, David was having some rough times… being chased down by King Saul and running from just about everyone. He could have very easily said, “God I know I’m not supposed to kill Saul, but he’s trying to kill me, it’s self defense!” Or, “I know you’ve called me to be King, but this is too much for me!” But David didn’t say that! Yes, he has plenty of reason to complain, but he chose rather to make God bigger than the situation. Likewise, we must do the same. Let me show you what I mean by using the same examples I used above…

“I don’t have much spare time, but I know God wants a relationship with me.”
“Some Christians are hypocrites, but I know I should be in church.”
“This is a really tough situation, but the Bible says I can trust God.”
“That place is really scary, but God is telling me to go.”

You see, in these sentences, you’re acknowledging that something is wrong or difficult, BUT you’re recognizing that God is over these circumstances. So I’m trying to focus on my speaking and thinking and when I say the word, “but” I’m trying to make sure I am putting it in the right place! For example, here’s my thought for today, “I love being in South Africa and God has blessed me and used me incredibly and I am sad to leave, but I know God has a plan for my life in the States and I am trusting Him!!

I encourage you to do the same with your thinking this week! God bless!!

Cleaning...

Tonight I was hanging out with Rachel and Laura (the journeygirls at BIMS) and I thought, "hey, I should invite people over tomorrow night so that Rachel and Laura can spend some time with some other young adults for once!" Then my next thought wasn't as fun. It was something along the lines of, "oh, crud... my apartment is really messy!!!" So now I've been cleaning for the past few hours, and I think I'm too tired to finish the rest tonight. I'll leave the rest for tomorrow. I guess I still have a lot to work on in the area of keeping house. Hey, Rome wasn't built in a day! I've been learning to cook, and take care of kids... let's take one step at a time. ;)

Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

Thank God for Moms :)

I talked to my Mom on the phone this afternoon and she has been doing some “behind the scenes” work for me, without me even knowing!! In case you don’t know, when I go back to the States I’ll be looking for a preschool (pre-primary) teaching job. In North Carolina there’s a programme called “More at Four” which target underprivileged children. In Lee County (where my parents live) there are 4 of these programmes, and they seem to have a large focus on the Spanish speaking community. Also in case you don’t know… I have a love for the Spanish language. God has gifted me with the love, as well as the ability. I know I’ve lost a lot of it since I’ve been in South Africa, but I know it will come back as soon as I have the chance to use it again! The first time I ever lead someone in the prayer of salvation was in Spanish. I’ll never forget that! I am really hoping that God will give me opportunities to use Spanish again once I get back to NC. So… back to where I started… my Mom has been in contact with a lady who has something to do with these More at Four programmes in Lee County. She said they’re often looking for people, and that it is required that they have people with an actual B-K (birth to kindergarten) degree on staff. That’s the degree I have!! I’m excited that there’s at least a chance for me there! It’s something to look forward to for sure. Now… if only I’d packed my English/Spanish dictionary with me when I came I could start reviewing. Guess I figured I wouldn’t have too much use for it here (and I was right!). Oh well… the Spanish music I brought with me will have to suffice for now. :) So… THANKS MOM! I’m a pretty blessed gal to have a Mom who’s always looking out for me, even across an ocean! I love ya Mom!!
G’night all…
Bonnie B.