I'm coming home!

Hey everyone,

I hope this email finds you well & happy......

I am not too sure who knows now & who doesn’t so I wanted to write to everyone.......myself & Aaron have done a lot of praying & thinking over the last few months & we have reached a decision (along with several personal words from the Lord) to come home.
It all started back when Lyn & Dave got sick.......I started to feel restless & uncomfortable in my spirit, I was constantly feeling down & miserable but I just started to pray about it & put it down to a little homesickness....but it didn’t go away....the feeling only got worse.

About 5 weeks ago we listened to a sermon by Reg Kelly called 'Eagles'....he spoke from Deuteronomy 32 about the baby chick learning to fly & leaving the nest......he said that the mother Eagle picks away at the babies nest to make it leave the comfort of the nest (this spoke to me about all the restlessness I had been feeling) But the sermon spoke to Aaron more than me..... later on he spoke about the process of the baby chick learning to fly.......the first few times the baby just falls because it hasn’t learnt to open its wings.....but the father Eagle (God) hovers above waiting for the moment the baby cries out for him, & then he dive bombs & catches the baby & brings him back to the safety of the rock (Jesus) but the most amazing thing that spoke to Aaron was the fact that, no matter how fast the baby falls, the father can fly faster....amazing....he realised that it was time for him to leave the nest & learn to fly (because that’s what God desires us to do....to soar) & to make his own nest but not to be scared because even if he falls, God is constantly watching over him ready to catch him & bring him (&us) back to the safety of the rock & being under the shadow of his wing......Reg kelly also said that when a female is looking for a mate she drops a stick & if a male is interested, he will pick it up.....but he will only pick it up if he is ready to mate with this female for the rest of his life.....(don’t pick up the stick if you're not ready for marriage) Aaron felt the Lord telling him that he had picked up the stick by proposing to me & now had to take responsibility for that fact & start to prepare a 'nest' for us (sounds funny I know)lol.

Our second word came from Marg when she came to visit Ebyown in September.......she came to us & said she had been praying for us & had had a word from the Lord saying that Ebyown was not our calling & then to Aaron she said she believed the Lord was telling him to leave & cleave. We pondered these things in our hearts & prayed about them but didn’t really consider anything....& for me especially all of this just added to my emotional conflict......in my heart I wanted to come home & I knew I had already felt the Lord telling me my time here was coming to an end......but I kept pushing it to one side in my heart & kept thinking of all the reasons why I should stay......

Then it all reached a climax about a month & a half ago when I was sitting in church.....my head was great big mush of emotions & conflicts & thoughts going round & round.....it was so bad I couldn’t even listen to what salvi was saying in his sermon......looking back now I realise all of that going on inside me was because I was actually scared to make a decision.....but in the end I didn’t make it......while I was sitting there with all this going on all of a sudden I heard a voice in my head say as clear as anything 'Erin!.....go home.'.....it was so overwhelming that I went straight to my room & cried....I knew it was the Lord because he spoke the same way to me when he told me to be baptised......I spoke to Aaron & we both realised we had to make a decision........I personally had now had 3 different confirmations, one from the word, one from another Christian & one directly from the voice of God.

There was one thing that was worrying me......I was scarred that I was breaking my covenant with God because I had said I would come to Ebyown for 2 years (crazy I know to doubt God after he had spoke directly to me lol) but my problem was other people had said we were just running away & were breaking promises we had made with God.....so I prayed & sought advise from a very close friend whose spiritual opinion I greatly respect.

I came to realise I couldn’t be breaking a promise or covenant I had made with God because it had never been fulfilled in the first place......when I felt lead to come back to Ebyown, it was to work part time for the family & to study with the open university out here......neither of those things happened. UNISA never responded to any enquiries I made nor could I find the right application forms so I was unable to apply......looking back I now realise that was God's protection on me......if I had started to study I would never have passed anyway.
we have had no phone lines or internet for most of my stay......The cars have constantly broken down so I wouldn’t have even been able to get to Sue & Allen’s when I needed to.....Dave & Lyn have been away twice & then were seriously ill along with Aaron so as you can see there was no way I would have been able to study.......
The other thing as well as this is that when I came back here I was only dating Aaron, now I am engaged to him & it is now our priority to work towards out future together.
So why did the Lord bring me out here in the first place you may be asking?????????????????/

I have learnt so many valuable lessons out here that I would not have changed it for anything......I have learnt a lot of things about myself that I never knew....some of them bad & some of them good......the experience I have gained planning & teaching school with Paullina & Carlos will help me so much in the future when I come to study & hopefully go into early years education in the future. I have also had a lot more responsibility this time round.....not only with the schooling but also with the medicines while Lyn & Dave have been away.....I have not only given the kids their meds I have also had to order & pick up on specific days & also work out all of the meds for a month......all of it I found an amazing growing experience.
I have also been immensely privileged to have been an influence in Baden & Luke’s lives for almost a year......between 0&5 are the most important & precious years in a child's life & I feel so honoured to have been able to help them grow & learn & to have developed a close bond with them both.

so I think I have said everything.....lol.....I'm sorry if it is all a mish-mash,
We are returning to England on the 13th of December (well we'll land on the 14th). I will be moving back into my parents house, taking it easy over Christmas & then applying to a college in Ireland I have found that does small correspondence courses in early years education.....I hope to start studying with them in Feb....I will also be looking for any work I can get with children, maybe in a day care centre or something but I am trusting the Lord to open the right door for me there.....and of course we will both be getting the ball rolling on our wedding plans.....we hope to be married this time next year or rounds about......but it all depends on availability of places 7 also the Lords will of course.

Aaron is staying with my family over the Christmas period & then is maybe moving in with his brother in Wales come the New Year......he is however getting in contact with his old employer to see if his old job or any other is available to start work possibly as soon as we return & then look for accommodation in the area.....nothing is certain yet so we would really appreciate your prayers......if it is the Lords will for Aaron to stay in my local area that he will be able to find a place to live 7 that a good & suitable job will be available for him.....& also that if he moves in with Anthony that the Lord will guide him on what job to seek there & also if he is to study as well.

We have really appreciated all the love, prayers & support you have given both of us this year. It has been amazing to know that no matter what has happened, we knew there were people back home who love us & are always praying for us.

If you have any thoughts or advise for us we would really appreciate hearing from you.

thank you so much for reading this email
sending home all our love & prayers
Erin& Aaron
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p.s. some verses we have read in Proverbs which have really encouraged us:......Proverbs 19v21:'many are the plans in a mans heart but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails' Proverbs 20v24 'a man's steps are directed by the Lord, how then can anyone understand his own way?'
p.p.s. sorry if there are any silly spelling mistakes lol.

News Update from Ebyown

Hello everyone

I emailed last Thursday but I don’t think it went through......It was to say that Lyn & Dave arrived back on the 12th....& I was so glad to hand their children back over! lol just promise me that if I EVER think of having nine children all at once............please talk me out of it!
since then I have had a pretty relaxed week......I finally got chance to ring my mum, its been a month since we spoke, it was soooooo good to touch base with back home as I have been struggling terribly with really bad homesickness.
Lyn & Dave seem to be settling back in well......& They have made a few decisions regarding mine & Di's role in the main house with the family, Dave believes we should have more free time (amen!) so he has said that he will now do bath time with Lyn which means we will not have to work past 5pm (instead of finishing at 7-7.30pm) This has been such a blessing already!....having those extra few hours makes all the difference. Me & Aaron climbed up the jungle Gym last night & ate our dinner up there while the sun set & talked for about an hour & a half! we as at that time we used to be running round like mad people trying to get babies & children bathed & medicated b4 a certain time.

The weather here has been terrible!!!!!!!! we have had the worst rains & storms.......& when you think it hadn’t rained for months on end......the plot turned into a swamp! I didn’t even bother wearing shoes! I just waded round in the water bare-footed! with the rain came bad power cuts & when we did have power there wasn’t enough coming through for the fridges & washing machines......it was a big worry. We had no clean clothes as we couldn’t get anything dry! the food was all defrosting (& when you think we do a monthly shop for sometimes up to 20 ppl depending on visitors) so there was a lot of meat thawing........praise the Lord He always provides though......just as we were reaching crisis point the power returned & the rains did stop (ironically as Dave & Lyn returned so there was no signs of the ordeal we had suffered.......typical lol) & our tumble dryer did dangerous overtime the next few days!

Unfortunately mine & Di hut is leaking badly at the windows......& today we had a severe downpour......Di's curtains are dripping wet her floor is too&...........she walked into our bathroom to find it under 5inches of water!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! by the time I arrived after the storm it had drained away but the floor is covered in mud......I got out of the shower later & wondered why I had bothered lol.
Please pray that it can fixed soon as the damp can be a great risk to our health.........as poor Di has discovered....

On Sunday night at 2am Aaron woke me up to say Di has blackout in our bathroom......she had just managed to call for Pam (who was visiting us from Australia) b4 she fainted.......she was in such agony that she couldn’t speak.......I had to dress her & salvi had to carry her across the plot to the car, we took her to medical centre where she was given a very painful injection & a drip & antibiotics.......it seems like she has a virus in her gut which builds up over time & made her very sick.......she had had 4 major tummy bugs since Feb

The thing that worries me is that I have had three very bad tummy bugs since Feb as well & I'm worrying its only a matter of time b4 I get sick.. I ask for your prayers that I may be protected as I don’t have any medical insurance here. So with all the wet weather & damp in our house I am worried for both of us.

The children are doing reasonably well.......poor pru is having trouble with her teeth.....3 totally rotted while Lyn & Dave were away & just cracked & fell out of her mouth! amazingly she says it doesn’t hurt one bit! I don’t understand it but there we go.......little lukey has a rash over his body.......it started on his right foot & has spread now up his legs to his back & tummy......he is not sick with it though & he doesn’t have a temperature or anything so we don’t feel it is anything too serious but Lyn still plans to take him to the doctors next week. Paullina is still set to have her operation on her foot (I’m no too sure when though.....I must find out) but she has had a few small infected spots on her leg but they were not serious.

Devin is the biggest worry.....he's is the severely handicapped little boy.......he hasn’t eaten right for over a week now & has lost a shocking amount of weight....the infection seems to have cleared off his lungs.......but it seems like it may soon that he is fed by a tube going into his stomach......Me & Di really feel he needs 24 hour attention & I know Lyn & Dave feel the same.....please pray that they will seek the Lords guidance on what step to take next & that little Devin will be blessed & recover soon.

I hope you are all well.
I appreciate all your prayers so much....& think about you all often
Sending you all my love
Missing home so much
Lots of love
Erin
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Greeting from a very wet SA!!!!

Greeting from a very wet SA!!!! Yes finally the rains have arrived!

It poured down for two days solid so you can imagine what a swamp the plot turned into. But everything is already looking a lot greener.

Marg from Australia left us on Friday. Me, Di, Pru & Tombi all cried, we will miss her greatly. She was a great friend & brought a lot of encouragement, love & care.

Pam arrived last Wednesday.......she & Marg work together, running Moriel Australia. She will be with us until the 16th October. I have already been with Pam before at Ebyown. We both looked after the children last March when the family went to England for Ant & Liz's wedding.

Dave & Lyn are in Wales until the 12th October. I have been doing a housing project with the children. We have been looking at different kinds of houses & we designed what our dream house would look like. Funnily enough both S'phiwe's & Joe's had Spiderman climbing up the side of theirs lol.

On Thursday we celebrated the Jewish festival of Sukkoth. This is when the Jews remember the time the Israelites lived in the wilderness after coming out of Egypt. It is traditional to make a 'booth' outside & sleep under the stars but with all the rain there was no way that was going to happen (plus I had no idea how to make one or even where to begin!) So the kids all decorated their beds with pictures of fruit (this is what the Jews decorate their booths with) & we also made muffins for people over on Kwazenzele to show them how God provides......it went really well. We made a batch each for Patience, Lorraine & Victoria & for their families, one for Lorraine’s gogo (grandmother), and one for a lady, Diane knows who has 7 children all under 5 years of age!!!! & for a gogo who has her 8 grandchildren to bring up as their parents have died. We also put a tract in & colouring sheets for the children which Lorraine wrote a gospel message on in Zulu.

Pheonix the puppy is growing up very fast, she is only 6 months old & is already as big as rouge......& it is now becoming evident that she has some sort of hound in her........she has killed 2 of our ducks (the 2nd this morning) so we are having to keep a close eye on her.

We have had the joy of having some baby geese born last week too. There’s four of them so we have called them Matthew, Mark, Luke & John, lol. It is so funny to see the father & mother geese charge at anyone that goes near, they even gave Aaron a run round the chicken area when he tried to get a closer peek. hee hee!

The other thing is all of our mission vehicles broke down at the beginning of last week so we have had a hire car now for 6 days, its a little blue golf.......but because of cost only Di & Salv have been put on the insurance sniff sniff........I did get to drive it around our driveway the other day......its so small I was able to do a few loops before parking it lol.

All the children are doing well at the moment.......I thank you for your constant prayer, thoughts & support.......I have been very homesick lately & any contact has been very much appreciated.

I think that is all the news for now........oh I do have some wonderful news.......4 of the bezaleel children gave their life to the Lord last Sunday.......that is what these 2 Ministries are all about........showing these children that God loves them & wants to spend eternity with them if they will repent & let him come into their hearts forever & that one day they won't be sick anymore, they have HIV, they won't have hurt from their past lives before Ebyown or Bezaleel, they will be with Jesus in Heaven......there will be no more tears.

This reminds me of something I ask for a lot of prayer about............little Ruth at Bezaleel is now starting her last course of ARV treatment that the doctors can give her. I think she is eight & her & Alan are inseparable........please pray that this course of Meds will prolong her life as long as possible & that she will be protected against side affects such as Jaundice .

Paullina has been told by the doctors that they may not have to amputate her whole leg, they may just be able to remove the infected bone from her right foot.......this is such an answer to prayer as when it was severely infected the doctor feared the only course was the amputation of both legs.......please pray that her foot stays uninfected until the operation (which I think is next month sometime) & that this operation will be a success for her.

Soooo.....hot!

12th September 2007

Hello everyone,

I hope this email finds you well.

The weather here is soooooooooooooo hot! It is only just spring & already the temperature is in the high 20's (d.c.)

Jacobs’s conference went very well the other weekend, since then he & Chris have been to Port Elizabeth & Durban on tour. Jacob left for Ireland yesterday.

Last Friday Dr.Calvin Smith arrived from England. He lives in Kent & runs a bible college in the mid-lands. He also did a weekend conference at ALethia (our church). I enjoyed his teachings very much except I messed the one I wanted to hear most........it was on Israel & the churches relationship with her as a nation............but unfortunately I had the babies that session so I'm waiting for Chris to put it onto DVD.

Calvin is a great guy & has an amazing testimony. If can organise him to come & preach at your church sometime I highly recommend him.............he also has a really wicked sense of humor. Within minutes of meeting him he was saying how 'scouse' I was.....................he obviously hasn’t heard a proper Liverpool accent in some time because mine is a pitiful excuse of 1 lol!

Calvin leaves us to go home next Monday. Marg from Australia also arrived last Thursday. She is a fantastic lady & we are all getting on really well.

The babies have taken to her instantly!

Dave & Lyn leave for England next Wednesday. They are going to spend 3 weeks with Ant & Liz & see their new grandson, Levi.

I would ask if you could please pray for poor Diane, she has been sick all last night & today with either food poisoning or a tummy bug. As you know we have all had sickness like this a few times so I know she would really appreciate your prayers, thank you.

Must dash..................love & miss you all.............

God Bless

Erin

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1st September visit to Quazenzele

Hello everyone.

I have just got back from visiting Lorraine on the informal settlement, Quazenzele. I went with Di & Salvador to visit her on Thursday. She comes & works at Ebyown during the week with Patience & Victoria to help with house cleaning etc. She has not been very well. We feared it was pneumonia so we took her to the doctors on Thursday but she was told it was just a bad case of flu.

She is doing a lot better today & walked with us to see her gogo (grandma), cousin & children as they have been staying there while she has been sick.

Aaron came with me & Di & it was very special to share the experience with him. He has already been on the camp when he walked Lorraine’s gogo home from a prayer meeting she, Di & another gogo had here at Ebyown.

It is actually amazing how the Lord provides because poor Lorraine was in such pain & with having no car or money, she could not get to town to see the doctor or even to buy some painkiller. But that previous week my mum had sent me &Di lots of Ibuprofen & cold & flu drinks as we had all been sick too.......so we were able to give her some. & also drive her to the doctor.

I must tell you about the town......& that’s what it is really...it’s a proper little community. It’s AMAZING! My little sister was doing a geography project & asked me for some info on the settlement a few months back....I only wish she could have come with me these last few days & seen it for herself. You fall in love with the place immediately. I think it is because of the simplicity & yet beauty of the place. There is a main road with estates on both sides of it. Every house is made from pieces of metal hammered together. Half of the town has electricity & the other half does not. But everywhere has running water & communal toilets (when I say toilet....I mean a long drop) which are surprisingly well built & hygienic.

Lorraine lives quite far into the town, it’s about a 10minute walk. On the way everyone says hello & wave...of course its all in Zulu. I can say some basic words but I have no idea how to spell them yet (I am planning to join Di & Lorraine for Zulu lessons now!) The children are gorgeous!!!!!!! I also saw a supermarket which is in one of those HUGE metal cargo things you find on ships! How they got it there I do not know! We saw the shabene (illegal drinking house) with the music booming! & Di says they have two hair salons & a beauty parlour! I cannot tell you how amazing & cool it is there! All the houses have fences around them & some of the gardens are beautiful, with fruit trees & vegetable patches & flower gardens. They are so house proud!

Lorraine’s house does not have electricity. she & her neighbors live in temporary house because the land where they have built is too close to the railway& mining lands so the government has classed them as illegal. They have been given permission to move across the main road by us to another plot of land so Lorraine hopes to be moved & settled by the end of the year.

It will be an amazing process & I am actually looking forward to seeing it happen & help if I can.

Lorraine’s house is very small, with only one window & no electricity so when she was very sick last week we were all sitting in the dark! her living room/kitchen is one room & is about (I’m rubbish at measurements...but if I had to guess I would say....) 10ft by 20ft& then her bedroom is about 6ft by 15ft and she has one bed that she & all her children share. She has 3 children. Her youngest is three. We saw her today at her gogo's and she is so much like her mum!

I also met her cousin; she is very young & has a year old boy that has been across to Ebyown to play with our children.

The streets were so busy today because it is Saturday; it is usually so quiet during the week. But everyone was very friendly. After visiting her gogo, salvi met us in the combi & drove us home.

I cannot wait to return. It stirs up something in your heart & you just want to learn their language& get to know them more. I think what you feel is part of the love that Jesus has for them. They are beautiful people who live in a totally different world to us westerners but at heart they are just the same.......they are sinners & need Jesus.

I have been praying a lot lately that I would have more opportunity to witness more somehow....I know I always have the opportunity with our own children to speak about Jesus & his wonderful gift of salvation, but now I hope that with the grace of God my fearful tongue will be untied & I will step out in faith & tell these gorgeous people about our loving God, our Lord Jesus Christ who loves them & died that they might live with Him in eternity & know His love, joy, peace & grace in their hearts & lives.

I pray God gives you all a special blessing today.......I know he has blessed me tremendously through these people & I only hope & pray that today you feel the love & joy of the Lord in your hearts like I am feeling now

God bless & take care

All my love

Erin

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Illness and Mission

Wednesday 22 August

Hello everyone

Where shall I begin?

Well I think I let you all know that two weeks ago Lyn went into hospital with Pneumonia. She was in ICU for a week. Dave flew home early from his England tour to be with her. She came home on the 11th. Then on Wednesday the 15th Aaron started to feel unwell & I ended up being wake all that night with him. He was very sick with a violent fever, vomiting & headache. His sugars stayed steadying the whole night which I believe was the Lord protecting him. So the next morning I took him to the doctors & he was also admitted to ICU with pneumonia. Later that same afternoon (16th) Dave started with chest pains & thought he was having an anxiety attack with all the stress. Di took him to the doctors as I was on my way back from the hospital. I went asleep for a few hours & when I wake up the family was in chaos....Dave had been admitted to ICU! It seemed he had a blood clot near his lungs or heart. Then he was diagnosed with pneumonia & treated for that. Then on Sunday His blood pressure kept rocketing with visitors......so the docs now believe his illness & blood clot is stress-related. It was thought he had become a type 1 diabetic (he used to be type 2) & would have to go on insulin.

On Sunday I missed church to go &be with Aaron as the day b4 he had been very distressed & tearful. He had been moved to a ward & since then his sugars had gone up because the nurses didn’t know what to do with his insulin so he was worried he would never get the ok to come home. Praise God on the Sunday morning his sugars had stayed between 5&7 so while I was there he got the ok to come home.

Then on Monday morning Dave got discharged too. and since then his sugars have stabilized with taking insulin & both men are feeling a lot better & are watching their sugars carefully.

It is lovely to have evry1 back

Apparently pneumonia & bronchitis have been rife this winter so it wasn’t a surprise to the docs that so many of the family got it.

I do believe that God has protected me & Di as we do not have South African medical aid so we would not be able to get private care or afford the medical bills. God is so merciful & full of love. I saw the way he carried Lyn, Dave & Aaron while they were in hospital. I am now praying that any message the Lord may have been trying to tell them through all this, that they hear His voice & respond.

The weather here has got very very hot already. We are in the high 20's & it not even summer yet! Myself & Di are wondering how we are going to cope come October December!

Salvador lands tonight back from the UK, and so does Jacob Prasch with him.

Jacob will be with us for a week & will be doing a conference at Sue &Alans over the weekend. I have been out with Sue this morning to get refreshments & I have been put in charge of sandwiches! I really am looking forward to it.

It is like being back at Brookfield’s! Aaron is going to help me to. We are expecting around 100 people each day....so it’s going to be a busy weekend.

The next month or so is going to be busy as well. We have another preacher called Calvin smith arriving in the next few weeks. And then Pam & Marg who run Moriel in Australia will be coming to visit. Pam helped me look after the children last year when the family went over for Ant & Liz's wedding. I get on really well with her & am looking forward to seeing her again & meeting Marg.

Lyn & Dave go to England next month for 3 weeks, Dave was meant to be touring but has cancelled it because of his health. They have arranged to stay with ant & Liz and just have some time away to relax & seek the lord.

Liz is due for her baby anytime now. We are all very excited & Aaron is looking forward to being an uncle!

I had better go now.

I hope you are all well back home

Take care & God Bless

Erin

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22 July 2007

Hello everyone,

I hope this email finds you all well. I am currently sitting in the living room. It is a gorgeous Saturday afternoon & is surprisingly hot outside.

Lyn has a decorating program on while Pru is chasing the 2 babies round & round the coffee table & they are screaming with delight!

I was spoilt rotten this morning. Aaron brought me breakfast in bed….it was the most delicious English breakfast I’d ever had! He is getting so good at cooking! & then later on he gave me a big bunch of red roses & he’s taking me out to dinner tonight.

The biggest news I have is that Baden’s mum is ringing up social services everyday, demanding to have him back. I think I mentioned it on another email that they have already recommended he goes back to be with his birth mother.

Well the social worker rang on Monday asking to have a meeting this Wednesday (18th) to discuss the matter. The meeting was later cancelled till Friday 20th, but then they never showed up & when Lyn rang it turned out a baby had been abandoned & they had to place him quick. Lyn almost told them to just bring them with & leave them here but she decided against it…….’just for now anyway’ she said lol! however, just from talking on the phone, Lyn has discovered that Baden’s mum has not told the social workers half of Baden’s conditions and illnesses…………………they didn’t even know he was HIV positive!

Lyn has come up with 19 points that they do not know, saying why it is not best for him to go back.

The main ones being, his medicines alone cost more than she earns in a month & her earnings provide not only for herself, but for her Gran and little sister also! Lyn has been given the girls budget for the month & it turns out she has R600 left each month to use as she pleases………………..she hasn’t visited her baby since last Dec, and b4 that it was March………….Baden does not know her nor she him. We don’t know if she has electricity for his nebuliser & meds.

This same thing happened last year when his mum found out she could get a government grant for his meds. She made such a fuss about getting him back because the extra cash could pay for her drugs. What she doesn’t realise is, most of Badens meds are not on the roll out program from the government because they are too expensive. His Ziagen (ARV) is R1000 a month alone, & he takes 5 different ARV’s all together.

So this meeting needs a lot of prayer. I know Lyn & the family would really appreciate it. Poor Dave is hating being away when all this is happening.

The meeting has now been re-scheduled for Monday morning at 10am.

Lol Pru is now playing Ringa-Ringa Roses with the babes………….they fall down & shout yay! As they jump up again & fling their arms in the air…………they are

such a delight at the moment! Yesterday they both followed me to my

house…..I went to the bathroom & when I came out both boys were in my room!

Luke was jumping on the bed & Baden had emptied the contents of my makeup bag & smeared lipstick all over his face!!!!!!!!! I just laughed and cuddled them both.

The children all got Disney character outfits from Australia & Paullina has an Ariel 1 (little mermaid) well Baden LOVES the bright orange wig! I’ve attached a pic for you to see………..he was squealing and running all over the house like a little munchkin from the Wizard of OZ!

Becca & Suzie left on Tuesday & I have to say it seems so quiet with out them. They were so chatty & bubbly. Di is missing them. They called her mummy Di lol.

We have finished another school term here so next week is holidays. There’s lots else going on thought & I’m looking forward to working in the garden & maybe going across to the camp with Di to play netball. Diane is loving her work with Quazenzele. She goes almost everyday, taking food & blankets for the needy. She plays netball twice a week with the girls there & has just started a prayer meeting once a week with 2 Gogo’s (old ladies) they walk a 4mile round trip to come & pray & they’re both in their late 80’s! 1 of them has 8 grandchildren to care for as her daughter died of AIDS. Aaron sometimes walks home with them when they have food or blankets to carry & he says they’re inspiring & it’s an honour to walk them home.

The ground for the new church building has been prepared & the foundations will be laid in the next few weeks. Yesterday Jon & Kuz (workers) emptied the old stables………you should have seen the sight! I never thought to take a photo! I couldn’t believe the stuff that was in there. The greatest discovery was Anthony’s snooker table! And it looked brand new! So I think Chris & Aaron are racking their brains for a place to put it up. But the funniest thing was 2 rats came running out of there & Lyn screamed and ran for her life! Bear got both of them! The children were rolling about laughing, but I have to admit I was just as bad with all the spiders!

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr just shivering at the memory! &last night I saw a huge rat run from under mine & Di’s house euuuuuuw! They’re everywhere this time of year.

(Baden is tapping me on the arm & pointing at the computer over & over)…………..oh he’s walked off now.

I have started looking at Correspondence courses in child care. I’ve enquired at a college in Ireland. They have a lot of interesting courses & if I need to I can return to England & continue studying with it being in Ireland & not SA.& the other good thing is they’ve had lots of students from all over the world so I feel reassured that they have a good system. But I haven’t had a reply yet so we’ll see.

I think that is all for now. The poor pup is going from bad to worse she still has her cast on its looks like she’s got a mite or something in her skin as she got bald batches of dry skin! The vet has given her a few injections for it.

Please let me know what you’ve all got planned for the summer. It still mid winter here but the day is already in the 20’s (degrees C) by midday! I think I’ll be passing out by October! Lol

Anyway………..take care

Lots of love & God Bless

Erin

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6th July 2007

Hello Everyone!

I think my emails are just becoming a monthly thing! lol! I text my friend the other night apologising for hardly emailing but by the time 7pm arrives and I'm finally free, I flop down somewhere for rest........and don’t get up for the rest of the night! lol!

Well I don’t even think I've emailed since Dave's dad got ill. Dave had to fly to the UK on the 19th June (I think it was the 19th anyway-I have lost track of the weeks!) because he had received news that his dad was seriously ill. His Dad's name is Baden and he'd seemed to have a blocked bowel and doctors had to remove the whole of his large intestine. It was a miracle that he pulled through the operation as his health is quite frail anyway. Praise the Lord, Baden is now home and is recovering well.

Dave was meant to fly to the UK on the 9th of this month and then fly to the U.S on the 12th; He is still going so please remember him in your prayers as he tours America. With the extended visit because of his Father's illness, Dave will now not be back at Ebyown until the 8th August and he is terribly homesick. He rings almost everyday and Lyn has the ministries mobile constantly in her hand texting.

Then on the 22nd, Paulina, thanks to a lot of prayer and donations......................got a wheelchair!!!!!!!!!! it is a beautiful black and pink one and it is better than we could have ever imagined! I went with Lyn, Aaron & Di to collect it and we all got very emotional seeing her ride in it for the first time..........her life has already been drastically changed by it......she has gained a whole new level of independence and her self confidence is growing by the day! she no longer has to crawl on the floor to get anywhere. however we have had some screams with her driving........and it doesn’t help when she doesn’t know her left from her right! lol!

I hear you have all been having bizarre weather the last few weeks...........well so have we. last Tuesday night we had a terrible lightening storm and howling winds, then at 1.15am(well I suppose that would mean it was early Wednesday) I get a text off Roxanne Wells (friend) telling me 'not to kill her cos its so late but to look out my window cos its snowing!' well as you can imagine at that time I was not with it so I pulled back my curtain and could only see the silhouette of a tree blowing in the wind so I went 'huhhhhhhhh????' and then collapsed back asleep. (I should also point out I wasn’t sleeping well that night because I was starting with a bad cold and throat). so I was awake at 3.30am when Diane's phone started to ring, when she didn’t answer I got up and woke her in case it was home calling her..........the missed call was off Alen Wells (Roxy's dad......goes to our church)..........so while we're both terribly confused and our sleepy brain are struggling to think, I go to the bathroom and on coming out I glance out of our front door and what do I see...............................SNOW! AND LOTS OF IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. so i run into Di saying it’s snowed, Roxy had text me.....that must have been what Alen was ringing for......................"what there's snow?????" "yes Di"(pause)"what..........here right now" "yes Di there's snow quick come and see!!(pause)"are you joking???....you telling me there’s snow outside our door?..here.....in South Africa?" "Di...............GET UP AND SEE!"

Well we had so much fun running round at 3.45am taking pics of everything!, I got Aaron up and we had a little snow fight. At 4.15am we thought we'd better go back to bed.

When I woke in the morning I was feeling a little ruff, but not too bad..............and the snow was still there! We played allllllllll morning in it until it melted, and then we back in T-shirts by the afternoon! it was so crazy! that afternoon I took all the =ive kids for their blood tests. It was a 45 minute drive there and back and the tests took over an hour so by the time we got back in the evening I felt TERRIBLE! and was in bed the next day.

I am still trying to get over it and still have the sniffles! lol! but the whole household has got a cold so I'm not the only one.

Then poor Polly got a very bad infection in her bad foot on Tuesday and I had to take her and Lyn to the doctors. Her foot was like a baseball and the doctor asked why she hadn’t been seen by the hosp yet (if you remember, she has a cyst on her bone and was meant to go the hosp for special treatment) when Lyn said we were still waiting for an appointment the doctor was shocked so hopefully they will get thing moving now. Polly had to have an injection of antibiotics right into her leg, it was that bad an infection and she had to go back yesterday and today for two more injections. Me Lyn and Aaron have also been out every morning doing the monthly shopping so I am so tired from driving, I don’t thing I’ve ever driven so much!

Another sad story is poor phoenix the puppy.

Rouge had broken her front right leg at the top joint. She had had it in plaster for 2 weeks. Last week the plaster was removed and she was just starting to put weight on her leg and use it again when Rouge attacked her again yesterday evening for chewing on Rouge's bone. it was the same leg as well and this time........there was blood poring out of her wound. & she was howling with the pain......we had to immediately take her to the vet again. We rang today and apparently it looked worse than it was but her leg is back in plaster. We may not be able to keep her if Rouge doesn’t take to her soon which I would be so gutted about because she has kind of become mine and Aaron’s and she is very attached to us and sleeps next to Aarons bed at night.

After reading all of that I guess you can imagine that schooling has kind taken a step back the last few weeks.........so we have taken the opportunity to start making the new calendars for next year. We make them every year and send them to all of Ebyown's supporters. we usually make around 200 and the children help too.

I think that is all the major news.........oh another thing.......S'phiwe has got a new hobby...........hiding in the boot of the combi when Salvador goes out! he's done it twice now and we've had to go pick him at various places in Gauteng and Salvi travels far and wide! it’s almost like he's on a secret mission and is a stow-away!

anyway i will sign off now........I promise I shall email a little sooner next time, and I hope you are all well.

Take care and God Bless

Love Erin

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14th June 2007

Hello everyone! :o)
Wow it’s been a few weeks (again!) since I have emailed. I am very sorry but to be honest I have no idea where the last fortnight has gone!

Sue Lim arrived on the 30th of May from Singapore. She is 37 years old and is here for a month. She is living with my self and Diane in the new family house. She is very quiet and is helping Lyn with teaching.
Susie has started teaching S’phewi on a one-to-one basis as his concentration levels drop by the day. He finds it very hard to block out the surrounding noise of the school room and gets very frustrated at times.
Please remember S’phewi in your prayers. His dementia is also getting worse and he is showing signs of autism as well. Well he gets upset with you he calls by a comic book villain’s name like Lex Luther (that was my name for 2 days straight!) He is also suffering very bad headaches……..we feel all of this is a part of his deterioration process and it is very hard for Lyn &Dave to watch.

Last Tuesday we had an incredible storm at 2.30am. Our little wooden house was shaking with the thunder and lightening and the rain was deafening. Lyn &Dave where still in Australia at this point so Chris was sleeping in the lounge on the couch. At 3am he heard yelping and barking from outside…….It seemed Rouge had attacked the pup again. She yelped and wailed all night with the pain & the next day we took her to the vet……..she has broken her front right leg, at the joint…….it was snapped in half! So the poor little thing is now hopping around with her leg in plaster. The vet is worried it may never set as it’s a really bad break, we are taking her for a check-up tomorrow. So poor Dave arrived home to a lovely vet bill!

Lyn&Dave had a wonderful time away and we all enjoyed looking at the pictures they took. Life is now plodding on as normal. School is back on, and Pol and carlos now seem to be grasping the idea that if they work well, they get a reward (sweet)…….I have NEVER done so much work with them as I have this week!!!!! Its so funny to see them when I say to go for a break; ‘No! we want to do more school!’…….so now we have a star chart…….when they get 5 stars they get a treat. Lol!

Diane opened Bethesda on Monday but no one has come yet. So she, salve & Lorraine (who lives on the camp) have been going over to the squatter camp to get to know some of the mums. Yesterday all of the workers children came over to play……all of our kids were so excited to play with new children and even the babies went crazy when they saw other black babies their age! It was cute and funny to watch them. Lukey constantly went round tapping the babies on the head and going ‘uhhhh????’

Me&Aaron now meet every morning for a quiet time and our relationship is blossoming because of it. We feel like a new couple starting out, because we have made a fresh start…..with God in the centre. It’s fantastic! Aaron has also asked if he can take over full time in the kitchen when Becca & Susie go Home as Suz makes the lunches at the moment.

So generally things are rather happy at the moment. A lady from the Big Shoes foundation came round on Monday. The org. looks after children or helps support kids who have stopped responding to HIV treatment. She is also sending me, D&L on a four-day paediatric course and I’m really looking forward to it!

It was Paulinas 8th birthday on Sunday and on Saturday Dave took her to get her very own, brand new wheelchair! She was so excited and apparently when she test drive it she went straight into the cashier desk and sent
EVERYTHING crashing to the floor!........thats our Pol! :o) it should
arrive next week sometime.
We are waking up to frost every morning now…..its bizarre to see SA with frost! I’ve never seen so many cups of hot chocolate being made everyday!
Lol!

I had better go as I am writing this before going to soccer training……we have no phone line again ( another reason for not emailing) so I will send this from Sue&Alan’s house.

I hope you are all well.
Sending you allllllllllllllllllllllllll my love and prayers Erin XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

24 May 2007 20:25

Hello every1 I hope this email finds you all safe and well.

I have finally got round to attaching some photographs. There's a bit of a mixture. But you get to see the house I'm living in.....and the one I will be living in when Sue-Lym(no idea on spelling) arrives on the 30th.

I thought it would be nice to share a little about what I've been reading and what I feel the Lord has been speaking to me about these last few weeks.

Salve gave me a book for my birthday, by Francine Rivers. It was called the Atonement Child.....it was a very upsetting story; a girl at bible college in the US is raped and gets pregnant. her engagement falls apart, she loses her place at college etc etc as a result, but what struck me was that every Christian in her life who she depended on, all tried to persuade her to get an abortion. B4 she got raped they had been totally anti-abortion but all of a sudden it seemed the best way to get rid of her problem........it showed me that no matter how strong you think you're beliefs are on certain subjects.....you can't rest on your morals until you have actually experienced what you 'believe'.........and this got me thinking about all the poor girls in SA and the rest of the world who get pregnant as a result of rape and have abortions.......we only see them as a statistic...and immediately without realizing we condemn them.....and then I thought of Di who is setting up Bethesda for such a cause.....to help women in a similar situation, and I was suddenly filled with compassion for them....I guess what I’m saying is, this book helped these statistics I read about, become real women who do have real problem and tragedies.

The story had a happy ending......the girl stayed faithful to God no matter how hard it was and when her baby was born, she loved her so much.....and she fell in love again and got married.

Since then, my quiet times have led me to read about spiritual gifts and love. we all have something to offer to bless someone else's life (as well as to Bless and Glorify God) no matter how small, whether it is helping, caring, loving, being a listening ear for someone.....they are all gifts from God that he has given us to help others and show them His love.

Now.........on Friday night I was sick again in the night, but it only lasted 24hours so I think it was just a bug....but unfortunately on Monday, Di Bec and Suzie all started with it. Di was terribly sick and had lost a lot of weight. They are all better now thought and are starting to 'fatten up' again lol (Di's words not mine) also the weather has taken a chilly turn....a VERY chilly turn!!!!!!!!!

Monday night the wind was terrible and the temperature reached -5 degrees!

and as you all know our house is just a wooden hut........I know sleep with a vest, several pj's a jumper, blankets, duvet and a hot water bottle.....and I still wake up shivering!!!! The days haven't been warm either. I text my mum yesterday saying I'm in South Africa, on a Sunny, cloudless day.......wearing several layer, a coat, scarf and gloves!

Suw Well’s kindly bought us a heater for our house and we have been budgeted for 2 more. Our washing was frozen solidly. Di was throwing our socks at us and they were just blocks of ice!!!!!

Lyn left for Australia on Tuesday and we have had word that she has arrived safely, she has joined Dave for a 2 week holiday for their 25th Anniversary.

So I've been getting up b4 6am (shivering my butt off!!!!!!) to get over to the house for 6.30am to do medicines and gets the babies ready.

Poor Luke, Baden and Paullina have had bad errrrrm, how can I put this.....toilet problem. Lol Aaron had to change Luke this morning and I think it has scarred him in some psychological way!

Anyway I’d better go.

Hope you like the pics

Take care and god Bless

Erin

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1st e-mail

22 April 2007

I don'tknow if that's how you spell it but that's how you say yes! in Zulu!

Anyway, I had a wandeful birthday guys. Thanks for all the cards.
Unfortunately some still haven't arrived yet. We'd had Sue Well's children stay over on Wednesday night so I had eighteen kids bring me breakfast in bed on Thurs with hand made cards. Roxanne (Sue's daughter) ad stayed over too. Then later on a couple from the Baptist church and Lorna and Maggie came to see me and everyone sang me happy birthday. They'd bought two massive cream cakes! I felt so overwhelmed and spoilt. It was so nice!

Then I was taken outby Aaron for the afternoon/evening. We went to East Rand Mall and had a nose in some of the shops and then we went to see Ice Age 2 at the cinema. Then we went to an Italien called Mimmos for dinner.
It was the nicest day I could have had.

Lyn finally fired one of the staff yesterday. It was anekeal who worked in the kitchen. Food has been going missing and she just generally hasn't been doing her job.

I was ill this morning but am feeling better now. I started with stomach ache last night and Dave said it was probably Anekeal's cooking as it was her last meal before she went. i laughed it off but then when I was sick this morning I started to wander myself!!! lol!

For the past week or so we've been reading the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe with the kids and they watched the film today. I was in bed at the time so me and Aaron are going to watch it tonight.

I'm going out shopping again on Wednesday and then we're having a farewell Briaar (BBQ) for me on Thursday and then me and Aaron are spending our last day together on Friday, I don't know what we're doing yet. My flight is at 20.50pm on Friday. Its gone so fast i can't believe it.

Ihope you are all well and I'm really looking forward to seeing you all next week!

Lots of love Erin xxxxxxxxx

Settling Down

Major communication problems , as the telephone link to Ebyown and the surrounding area has been stolen!!! Telephone engineers are busy relaying the cables, but it could take a while.
Meanwhile Mum is anxious at not being able to speak to her daughter and the only form of communication is via text messages.
Erin is settling down and has realised how hard the work and total experience will be, but we know that she will do more than just cope, she will be amazing!
Please pray for the communication link to be repaired and for Erin's readjustment to South Africa.

Erin flies out

Erin and Aaron have left for Ebyown this Monday, flying from Manchester airport. The plane was 20 mins late in take off, but this should be no problem. We haven't heard yet, but they should both be settling down ready for the hard work ahead of them, but I'm sure that there will be plenty of hugs and kisses as the children remember them both.

Erin going back to Ebyown

Erin will shortly be going back to Ebyown in South Africa, to work with children with severe health problems and AID's.
We hope to have regular updates from her, so watch this space