RAINBOW CELEBRATION ...

Hello after a long, long time ...

2012-01-17T11:45:00.006+03:00

Well, I have not updated this blog for the best part of 2years and you know how it goes ... after one has made a decision in one's mind to actually do something about it, one keeps on postponing as one knows for a fact that a huge gap has been left and that it is almost impossible to catch up again. Ha!! That is normally how vicious circles begin ...

Any way, I'm sitting here and write, aren't I :-) ... Let's hope it will happen more frequently. Well, being a mom of 6 kids as well as the Director of YASHA Ministry CAN become quite demanding and, since my hubby, Wilco, is working out of the country to help with our children's growing needs, things are definitely more challenging as I have to do his job as well. Ahhh, but he is doing a great job in Zambia and we do appreciate his input and contribution so much.

The kids are growing big ... Maki is 19 and helping us a lot in the Ministry these days for which we are so grateful. Joy, Stefanus and Thomas - our new 12yr old son - are very happy in their new school. They especially enjoy the sport and the competition. Timothy and Teday are back in our school, YASHA Mission Academy - exactly where they belong at the moment.

I'm struggling to upload photo's tonight ... Hope I can share a few pics soon. xxx

Our visit to Nessuit Forest - 14 August 2009

2009-08-16T21:26:00.003+03:00

We visited the forest with Bee and her mom, Christina, from England ... I took a few nice photo's of the kids while we were there.

Timothy ...
Teday with his 1 million dollar smile ...

Joy, Maki, Teday & Stefanus ...

All the kiddies - What a blessing they are!

GAL'S COFFEE DATE - 8 August 2009

2009-08-10T20:47:00.000+03:00

Maki had to stay 2 weeks during school holiday for tution, but we organized with her teacher that we pick her for this special occasion that was organized by our pastors wife, Pauline Maina. We picked Maki at around 08:30. We also carried some nice clothes for her to dress in for the day - Sorry I didn't take a photo of that :-( I then took them all out for breakfast as I know Maki was missing NICE FOOD soooooo much. The boys and I then dropped the girls at their destination. This photo was taken late in the afternoon as we took Maki back to school.

Back f.l.t.r. : Joy, Faith, Berryl, Mary and Maki

Front f.l.t.r. : Timothy, Stefanus & Jedidah

THE CRATER, NAKURU - 8th of August 2009

2009-08-10T19:45:00.003+03:00

I had the privilege to be with 2 of my boys (Teday was dropped at a friend's house) as well as the 2 boys of Ps Maina and them, while the girls had a "Gal's only Coffee Date" somewhere. It was great fun. These photo's were taken in the morning when we visited the Crater in Nakuru.

We managed to pick some rocks for the rock garden at the guest house. It was great fun!! This photo was taken along the way where we've met these lovely children carrying fire wood.

Stefanus, Governor and Victor with Timothy in the front. I love this sign board showing the distances of all the different destinations in the world.

Stefanus took this lovely photo of me and and 3 handsome guys.

Awesome ... isn't it.

This photo was taken while the boys were looking at some curios.

Mustard Seed School, Nakuru

2009-07-20T19:16:00.004+03:00

Maki got athlete's feet just a couple of weeks after she had joined the new school, so they allowed us to go and visit her.

Joy, Maki, Stefanus, Teday (in dreamland) and Timothy.
o o
~
Mum's Girl ...
:-)

Etresia's visit ...

2009-03-14T19:55:00.005+03:00

Maki, Joy, Etresia and Clemenciah ...
Teday as cute as can be ... :-)

A Few Pretty Pics of The KIDS ...

2009-01-24T07:04:00.004+03:00

Chess game on Gameknot : Lydia vs Rusky

2009-01-24T06:57:00.003+03:00

Play chess online!

YASHA AWARD CEREMONY - Sat, 22 Nov 2008

2009-01-05T06:07:00.011+03:00

A few pics of our kids' performance

Our 5-yr old, Timothy Kariuki Venter (left), playing a part in the Pre-School program - he was graduating, so obviously VERY EXCITED.

Graduation Ceremony of the Pre-School with Ace and Christi (Timothy is in the front, 2nd from the right)

Mom and Dad very proud of their 5-year old.

Joy & Maki with their little bro after getting his certificate

Maki doing a worship dance ...

Here Maki's Class, the Abbie Antelope Learning Centre, recited a poem called "From Clashes to Glory" - They were dressed in different tribes and Maki played the part of a Masai girl.

Joy and her friend, Julian (or "Double J" as they were called) doing a praise dance.

Stefanus with 3 of his class mates singing a song ... (I apologize for the poor focus)

Joy & Stefanus ... Joy is 11months older than Stefanus, but quite taller.

Joy receiving her certificate for participation in the ACE EA Student Convention 08.

Stefanus receive a certificate for the best overall progress in his class.

Maki and her class mates being congratulated.

Here Maki is also getting her certificate for participating in the ACE EA Student Convention 08.

Our family ...

SEASON GREETINGS ...

2008-12-21T11:52:00.003+03:00

Dear Friends ...

~~~~~
We want to wish you all a
BLESSED CHRISTMAS
and a
PROSPEROUS 2009
~~~~~

We also leave with you the following portion from The Message extracted from II Cor 13:

And that’s about it, friends. Be cheerful. Keep things in good repair. Keep your spirits up. Think in harmony. Be agreeable. Do all that, and the God of love and peace will be with you for sure. Greet one another with a holy embrace. All the brothers and sisters here say hello.

The amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ, the extravagant love of God, the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you.

Lots of love ...

Wilco, Lydia, Maki, Joy, Stefanus, Timothy & TD

PLEASE PRAY FOR THIS MAMA ...

2008-12-20T21:28:00.000+03:00

This mama always come to us for food and whatever we can give her. We feel so sorry for her as it seems her family has totally abandoned her. Please say a special prayer for her this festive season ... Pray that she will experience the love of Christ like never before.

KIDZ' CAKE BAKING PROJECT

2008-12-19T19:40:00.000+03:00

F U N ! ! F U N ! !

Last week our pastors kids, Victor and Governer, came to visit us. They thoroughly enjoyed baking a cake for the very first time in their lives.

Governer is looking very professional with the hot gloves on.
(Everyone is still in pajamas ... But it IS holiday!)

At the end they also decorated the cake and it really was lovely.

YARD SALE ...

2008-12-16T21:22:00.000+03:00

5th Annual Yard Sale

Because December is our most challenging month due to the many preperations for the New Year's student intake at school, our kids normally organize a Yard Sale for the community. It's great fun for everyone and it gives us an opportunity to catch up with everybody.

We also have quite alot of cabbages from our garden that were sold very cheaply (look under the tree).

Things went for as little as 1/= (8c); 5/= (40c); 10/= (80c), etc. with a few items that went for between 50/= (R6,40) and 160/= (R20,00).

Maki went on a CONGRESS World Breakthrough Network Youth Camp this holiday, and we were grateful that the profit of the Yard Sale could even pay for her transport (the camp was about 400km from where we are).

TRUE-DAVIS, the newest member of the Venter clan

2008-12-10T06:45:00.000+03:00

Hi to all my new friends ...

My name is True-Davis, but you can call me TD (pronounced “T-DAY”). I am approximately 8 months old, but nobody is 100% sure as I was thrown by my biological mother when I was very small. After I was found, I was taken to the police who then phoned the orphanage near Molo where I stayed until a week ago.

The Venter family visited me at the Home and – out of many other babies, toddlers and bigger children - they kind-of lost their hearts on me ... They resisted these feelings, as they went through some tough times at that point and didn’t want to commit themselves to more than they felt they could handle.

The Lord however kept pressing on their hearts the idea of them taking me as their own ... They on the other hand – like Moses – continued coming up with excuses why they couldn’t take me ... their full programmes, their financial position due to the low value of the SA Rand, their house that is already getting too small, the many end-term commitments, mom’s studies, etc, etc. But you know how God is ... He simply wouldn’t let go.

When they finally heard they could take me for the December holiday, they thought it to be a good opportunity to “hear” from God and to “see” if they can cope with me ... J Little did they know ...

I was supposed to be dropped at their place, but the vehicle of the orphanage broke down. Arrangements were made in a hurry – Dad will jump on his motorbike and rush to Nakuru town to buy me milk and porridge and mom will come to pick me from where we were stranded.

When Mom and Joy arrived it was already late afternoon. Mom said the minute they put me in her arms, she knew ... “Oh boy, it’s all over by the shouting!” On the way to my new home, mom stopped at a shop to buy me some baby soap and a few other necessary items. The owner of Sumkam is Grace Njeri and an old friend of Mom. When she saw me, she was so impressed with me that she blessed me with nappies, a set of clothes, etc. (Photo no. 1).

Photo no. 1
:-)

By the time we arrived home, Dad has not yet returned with my milk and porridge. Mom immediately introduced me to Rooibos tea, as I hear it is so healthy (photo no. 2).

Photo no. 2
:-)

I am so happy to have new brothers and sisters - Photos 3 and 4 can show you how blessed I am to be with them.
Photo no. 3
:-)

Photo no. 4
:-)
Then my dad ... (Photo no. 5) I do not have words to tell you how grateful I am of the prospects of not having to grow up without a father in my life. Millions of kids in Africa grow up without a male figure in their lives and the results of that is quite evident in their behaviour and the way they perceive life and even God.

Photo no. 5
:-)
Please pray for our family. I know the Venter family is making some sacrifices to take me ... I also know it was God’s doing, so all glory should go to Him. He obviously has His eye on me ... can’t wait to see what He has in store for my future.

We will all like to hear from you – may Father bless you as you seek Him during this season ... remembering that He gave us His all ... He gave us His Son.

Lots of love and hugs ... TD

Enjoy a few more photo's of "yours truly" ...

Me and Mom ...
:-)
The "men" in the house!
:-)
I use to HATE bathing ... now I simply LOVE it!!
:-)
Maki took this photo ... My mom says it's one of the cutest ones of me. What do you think?
:-)
My naughty sisters who wanted to embarress me ... :-) although I still look cute.

MOM'S DAY OFF ...

2008-12-09T07:11:00.000+03:00

Hiking Trip to Njoro ...

It started when my friend, Carol Wafula, and I decided last week to have a "hiking trip". Carol has not been well for a while and she felt she needed the outing. As for me : I get very little excercise these days and I have been missing hiking so much.

I recently sold 2 cakes for a graduation ceremony and had some extra money. Because TD has so little clothes, we then decided to WALK to Njoro (about 6km from where we are) where they have a second hand market (or "mutumba", as we call it in Kiswahili). I left home on the pikipiki (motorbike) at around 10:30 to pick her at her home. We then drove to the Egerton University's gate where we left the motorbike as we headed towards Njoro.

Here is a few photo's of our outing ...

Carol's daughter, Tabitha, took this photo before we took off ...
~~~~~
This was an interesting site as we were walking ...

It was very hot, so the sheep looked for shelter under this lorry.
~~~~~
Carol was looking for some nice sweaters.
~~~~~
I found quite a few pieces for Mr TD as well as something small for each of the other kids.
~~~~~

A well-deserved plate of chips in one of the local kiosks after a morning of "hard labor" ... lol
~~~~~

WEDDING OF JULIUS & ISABEL MWANGI - 29 Nov 2008

2008-12-01T16:28:00.000+03:00

C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S ! !

Mr Mwangi is one of our staff members at YASH Mission Academy - he is the Supervisor of the Abbie Antelope Learning Centre, the most senior class in our school.

As you can see from the photo's, it was a lovely wedding.

We wish them all the best for the future.

I was to bake the wedding cakes. On the Friday prior we had our staff celebration at our house which obviously involved a lot of preperations. At the same time TD was sick and by Friday evening I was also not feeling well. Baking the cakes was a challenge, but I thank God I could make it. At the end I didn't attend the wedding, but at least Wilco and the kids were there (although one of our pastors in the forest graduated from a local Bible School and Wilco also had to attend that function).
The cake stand.

This was the main cake with 2 side cakes and then 2 bigger cakes that were cut up for the guests.

Maki with Mary, her best friend and our head prefect, posing for the camera after the wedding ceremony. They realized afterwards they should have changed glasses.

VISIT TO ELDORET - 2-3 Nov 2008

2008-11-17T17:48:00.001+03:00

IMPORTANT NOTE : All of this info was actually supposed to be loaded on www.ventersinkenya.blogspot.com - One manages the blogs from the same place, and I must have somehow gotten confused. I will leave it on here, until it is again loaded on the other site, but it does take quite some time to load this amount of data. So, let's talk about the journey ...

We accidentally took the wrong road to Eldoret, and although it took as around 2 hours longer than it should, it had the most beautiful scenery ...

The photo's below should give you an idea of how the road is ...
Potatoes and carrots being sold along the way.
--o--
Arriving in Eldoret, past Sammy Gachengechi picked us from town and took us to their home where Judy, his wife, was waiting for us with tea and snacks. It was such a blessing to finally visit them after we've desired to do so for long. Past and Mrs Gachengechi are part of the core team of the CONGRESS World Breakthrough Network in Kenya.

Sunday evening they took us to Brother Patrick Chege and his wife, Ruth (photo below), who are running a children's home called "Care 4 Kids International". What a surprise when we walked into a house full of "wazungus" (white people) who had their weekly fellowship in their home. Patrick and Ruth currently are having around 25 kids and are doing a tremendous work.
Please contact them if you desire to know more about their ministry. Patrick's e-mail address is childmininter@yahoo.com (their website is still in the making). Their phone no. is (+254) 202175962.
This photo was taken with some of their lovely kids.
Below is Megan Mangum from the USA who came to assist them during her holiday.

--o--
Past. Gachengechi is the director of Emmanuel Complex Education Centre, which runs from pre-school to Form 4 level. They cater for normal children as well as orphaned and vulnerable children in Eldoret (one of the areas that were most affected by the post election violence early this year). They have several orphaned children in both the primary and secondary levels who are either fully or partially supported. We had the privilege to attend a chapel service of the Primary school and the students really blessed our hearts.

For more information on this great project, contact the following :
Sammy Gachengechi (Director) (+254) 724461828 / e-mail- sammy.gachengechi@congressmail.com
Judy Gachengechi (Assistant Director) (+254) 722877385 / e-mail : jugach54@yahoo.com

Peter Kabera (Primary School Head) : (+254) 720844403 / e-mail : ececente@gmail.com
James Mugambi (High School Head) : (+254) 721312906 / e-mail : jamesmugambi@yahoo.com

Above : Here Wilco and Judy are taken with the Baby Class of the Nursery School.

It was such a privilege spending this time with the Gachangechi's.

The moto of their school "Sophos Architekton" means "Wise Master Builders".
--o--
EAGLE ACADEMY

Eagle Academy is actually an 8-4-4 school. Great was our surprise when we walked into this ACE class with only 6 students in it.

Offices, Flags, the works ...

Eunice Athiambo and Elizabeth Ndirangu are doing a great job in making sure that the Learning Centre runs as it should.

Here Lydia is taken with some students of the rest of the school who is doing the government curriculum.
--o--

Patrick Chege is also working with the Leister family who have all these babies in foster care.

Little Brenda is a beautiful baby who was thrown in a pit-latrine. She still has the marks on her arms where the rats tried to eat her. Thank God for the Body of Christ that can make a difference in such children's lives. If we think of our own little Timothy who is now 5 years old and who's mother wanted to abort him ... And we see how handsome and bright he is, then one realizes that there is a lot of work still to be done on earth. Let's do it!! Let's make a difference.
--o--

EMMANUAL COMPLEX - HIGH SCHOOL

We just had a short visit with them, as Wilco at that time was not feeling all that well. This is still part of the project of Past and Mrs Gachengechi.

JUST A FEW NICE PICS ...

2008-10-27T12:03:00.000+03:00

One rainy morning on the way to school ...

Mr Timothy Kariuki ...
Maki ...

Joy ...

... and Stefanus.
^^^^

Like father like son ...

This is just such a lovely photo.
^^^^
Deep, deep, deeper ...

Wilco & Lydia ...
^^^^
One active morning at home ...

Joy doing monkey tricks ...
^^^^

Wilco & Lydia playing "tennis" over the washing line ... LOL
^^^^

GOLF IN THE BACK YARD ...

Let the pro show us ...
^^^^

Way to go, Joy ...
^^^^
Jedidah, Joy's friend, concentrating very hard ...
^^^^

Show us how it should be done, Son ...
^^^^

Mnashe, Timothy's friend, is also trying!
^^^^
Timothy doesn't look very happy, does he ...?
^^^^
Mom must also take a few shots.
^^^^
The day after Dad came back from Tanzania

MOMBASA - Aug/Sep 2008

2008-10-25T18:24:00.000+03:00

Very excited ...

We left Njoro at 3am to take on the 14-hour drive to our destination. This was to be the 1st REAL HOLIDAY in 7 years ... we couldn't wait.

We stopped in Nairobi for a cup of coffee and immediately took off again. This photo was taken just as we left Nairobi.
===== Look at the lovely light shining through the water from this burst pipe.
=====
Wilco just checking the oil ...
Our 2 handsome sons ... Stefanus & Timothy

Look at the tree with all the bird nests in it.
======
Boabab Tree ...
Commonly found on the way to Mombasa.

They say that Baobabs may be the oldest life forms on the African continent, and many of the specimens still standing today have certainly been around since the birth of Christ; others for far longer.
=====

Stopping along the way for lunch ...

=====
Ariving at Amani Acres on the South Coast

Just a few pics to show you how it looks there ... It really is a great place.

Very child friendly ...

=====
Look at this ...
The universe is like a safe to which there is a combination.

But the combination is locked up in the safe.

~Peter De Vries, Let Me Count the Ways, 1965 ~

Sometimes it's just nice to be alone with your own thoughts ...

... playing alone and minding ones own business ...

Being creative and discovering things by yourself ...

=====
We serve an incredible God !

Revelation 4:11
"You are worthy, O Lord
To receive glory and honor and power;
For You created all things,

And by Your will they exist and were created."

=====
Timothy burried alive ... LOL

This is a cute one ...
=====
Daddy and his kiddies ... It always makes a lovely picture, isn't it!

And Mom with her teenager ... We were constantly picking up shells.

And even buying a few interesting ones from this old "mzee"
======
~ A day out ~

In order for us to go to town or do some sight-seeing, one must go over the ferry.

Maki took this photo in Nakumat - a big shopping centre just over the ferry.

They had a special on Tuesdays ... Buy one hamburger and get one free.
=====
Playing golf with a view over the sea, is a privilege ...

"Slaat hom, Bokkie ..."

Dad showing Stefanus a few tricks of the trade.

Initially everyone enjoyed tagging along ...

... but then it became a tiresome game :-)

It was a great day out though ...
=====
Two beautiful girls ...

And two handsome boys ...

In the evenings there were enough books to read and toys to play with. We also did some homeschooling in order for our children not to fall behind too far. Our kids even attended one full day of school at Wima Complex, an ACE school in Mombasa. (Photo's of the school can be seen on http://www.ventersinkenya.blogspot.com/)

The Ondieki family : f.l.t.r. Past Kennedy and his wife, Anne, holding little Daniel between them, with Stephany and Ebenezer on the right. They are one of the KC's in the CONGRESS and we fellowshipped with them while being in Mombasa.

Timothy and Daniel really got along well ...

... and so did Stephany and Maki.
=====
After church they took us for lunch and some sight-seeing.

=====
We visited the market one day ...

... where this mama then made the staff members at YASHA some bracelets.
=====
Timothy took this perfect photo of our family.

=====
Although sometimes cloudy, the weather actually was awesome!

Playing in the water with Panda.
=====
Psalms 24:1
The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell therein
For He has founded it upon the seas,
And established it upon the waters.

=====
A new puppy at Amani Acres got alot of attention from all of us.

Martha, the manager of Amani Acres. She tries her best to make it a worthwhile holiday for all who's visiting.

All good things come to an end ...
On the way back we came across some Zebra's grazing at the side of the road.

====
And will it be a complete holiday without a little trouble somewhere ...??

The battery was giving us a hard time at some point, but we thank God that we've replaced it in the mean time.

Very happy to find a "Pick 'n Pay branch" on the way back home ... :-)
=====

VISIT TO SOUTH-AFRICA - JUL/AUG 08

2008-10-20T14:53:00.000+03:00

The BIG day has arrived - Wednesday, 23 July 2008
Lydia left for SA with her 2 sons, Stefanus & Timothy. This was the 1st time in 7 years for Stefanus to see his home country again. Timothy only wanted to see "Johannesburg" and "McDonalds". What an excitement for these 2.

This was taken at the Jomo Kenyatta Airport in Nairobi. Seeing the big airoplanes like that ... WOW!! Up to now all that Tim is drawing, are airoplanes.
``````
High in the sky ...

```````
Our first stay-over when arriving in SA, was at Lofdal with old friends of ours, (oom) Chris and (tannie) Isabeau Wessels. They are part of Africa Youth Evangelism in Pretoria out on the Cullinan Road.

Are they a handsome couple, or what???!!!
``````
It's a wide, open place with plenty of space for the boys to "explore".

This was taken at the main entrance of Lofdal.
``````

Aunty Isabeau with the boys.
``````

Sweet times a million ...
``````

``````

The neighbour has a game farm, so it's such a blessing to be able to see all these animals, how they come to feed them, etc.

The aloe tree is one of the most interesting plants in SA.

``````
DRAKENSBERGE

From there Lydia left the boys with Oupa and Ouma Wilson and their daughter, Driekie, to attend the Administrator's Convention in the Drakensberge - a first for her. You can see all the photo's of the Convention on http://www.ventersinkenya.blogspot.com/. It was a great event at a great place.

Lydia registered for the Annual Golf Day. Unfortunately she was the only lady playing that day, but still had an awesome time.
Below were her 2 team members.
Beautiful ...
``````
Lydia with her room mate, Sharon, who has now become a friend.
``````
On the way back to Johannesburg ...
Stopping at a candle factory
``````
A beautiful sunset on the way back

``````
BACK IN JOHANNESBURG ...

Amanda and Lydia went for a lovely breakfast on Lydia's Birthday. Afterwards Amanda took her for a shopping spree (spelling!).

```````
What a lovely photo below ...

Driekie is a Darling and looked very well after us while being there. Their home became like a base from where we travelled from.

Below : Driekie's son, Andre, and his girlfriend, Karlien.

Uncle Rowly and aunty Lucy's new vehicle. Congrats!

``````
One thing that was so evident, was all the lovely buildings that have come up since our last visit to SA ... and then they say the economy is bad?

``````
Kallie (photo below) is currently working with the Rift Valley Railway Project here in Kenya. He was also there when Lydia & the boys visited. Here he is on the phone with Wilco (by the way, he is one of Timothy's favorites.)
Here is his beautiful wife, Christine.

``````
Johan and Rina J van Rensburg is working in Tajikistan where he is running an attorney practice as a platform to bring the Good News to the people there. Diana, the little girl sitting between Tim and Stefan, is basically living with them and when they visited SA this time, they brought her with. She is just too wise for her size and our boys thoroughly enjoyed her. Johan's mother, aunty Wilma, boroughed us her vehicle - we were extremely grateful. Just before we left, Johan's sister, Melinda, got badly injured in a fire insident at their home. We praise God as He did a miracle in her life.
Please pray for Johan & Rina in Tajikistan.
``````
Lydia had some back problems while being in SA. Uncle Roly and them have this "vibrating chair" which Mr. Timothy enjoyed very much.
``````
A friend of Wilco, Jacques van Rensburg, and his lovely family that Lydia met at a home group meeting in Fochville.

Kentucky ... yummy, yummy ...

One evening after we've visited the AGS Church in Westonaria, we stopped for some Kentucky Fried Chicken. One more item to tick from our long list of "Things To Do" ... :-)
``````
Doug and his wife, Phyllis, are American missionaries in South Africa. We visited with at their home in Carletonville and the kids really enjoyed their puppet collection.
``````
Hein & Carol Stighling - we have known them now for so many years.

``````
Aunty Paula stayed with us for quite some time during the 90's. Great was our surprise when we met her again after so many years.
``````
Happy Birthday !!
On aunty Lucy's Birthday in August, we took her out to a Spur Restaurant in one of the suburbs of Johannesburg. Christine also went with us.
``````
Lydia and Timothy was taken here by Stefanus (the "famous photographer") in front of the President Hyper in Fochville.
``````
The boys simply loved every restaurent that had a play area, as there are not many of those where we live.The photo below was taken at McDonnalds in Potchefstroom (IF I remember correctly). ``````
Wilco's sister, Sarita, has really done alot to make our visit an enjoyable one. Too bad Lydia forgot to take a photo of the family. Here is Elanie ... on this photo she wasn't feeling all that well.

VISIT TO WELKOM

The photo below should have been the first photo in this post. This trip would not have been possible without Yvonne O'Neil from Kingdom Ministries in Welkom, who got the vision in raising the funds for us for a holiday. We then decided to send Lydia and the boys to SA for 3 weeks or so, and then, when they return, to all go to Mombasa for a family vacation ... the first decent one in 7 years. THANK YOU AGAIN, YVONNE!! MAY GOD RICHLY BLESS YOU.

``````
Uncle Dolf and aunty Rhoda Naude have been dear friends of ours for the past at least 13 years or so. We met them at one of the "Love Southern Africa" conferences that was held in Pretoria those years. The Lord actually connected us when praying together and after all these years, they - together with their daughter Corne who use to work for World Mission Centre - are very dear to us as a family. We stayed with them on Odendaalsrus when visiting Welkom. During this time Lydia had major back problems. They took her to the doctor, payed for the doctor's bill and treated her like a daughter ... THANK YOU dear friends. Hope you enjoy your new home.
Time to leave ... Uncle Roly and them borrowed us their little car as it is so light on fuel.

Giving back a clean car ...
The day before departure ... Lydia and the boys took the Skyline (at the back) for a good cleaning.
Our old Home Town ...
Below : Lydia had to take the boys to Glenharvie on a drive through "memory lane". She had to show them our old houses in Driekloof and Bainskloof Streets, Maki's old school, the Spar, etc.
``````
A quick stop at Westonaria ...
Willie & Mari Venter, dearest friends from Westonaria together with their son, Rudolph. We thank God for people like them who display the Father heart of God. Willie & Mari's children : Lise-Mari & Charl (above) and Rudolf & Jane on the photo below.
And then Randfontein ...
Gustav & Phyllis vd Merwe from Randfontein together with their daughter, Esmarie, as well as Ouma Rita who had an operation in her back. Was great to see them again.
And finally our last stop in Randburg before we leave for Kenya ...
Aletta, Amanda's right hand, was helping us with our luggage the morning of our departure.
A friend of ours Barbara, organized with a friend of hers, Bernard, to drop us at the airport. He apparently had to meet with someone that side, so it really was God's perfect arrangement. Thank you, friends. We really appreciated!

Finally ...
We also want to THANK CARIN, Lydia's friend from Grade 1 (Laerskool Jongspan, haai regtig!) for meeting her and the boys at the airport and for being their for them while being harrased about their weight. Well, not their weight, but you know what I mean ...
(Carin, skies ... ek't jou foudie gegaps op Facebook - Kannie glo hulle laat dit toe nie ...)
``````

This is all the luggage Lydia & the boys came home with ... only to find out when arriving in Nairobi that all 9 pieces are "somewhere". They finally got everything back, except one parcel that is missing up to this day. Well, we guess that's life sometimes!

THANK YOU LORD for making it all possible.
We also thank each and everyone who contributed in making it a trip to remember. May God richly bless you.