Cluster Map

I am feeling very pleased with myself as I have set up what is known as a 'cluster map' of visitors to this site - and I did it without intervention from Andy!

You should be able to see it on the right. It shows the locations of the people who read this blog - You! Thank you for frequenting my site - I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.

Snow in Cape Town!

The recent cold front has brought snow onto the Hottentots Holland Mountains, which are on the far side of the plain which makes up the vast residential area of Cape Town.


Today is the first sunny day after the wind and rain of the last few days and I noticed the snow on the tops of the mountains, when I went out for a run. It is the first time I have seen snow at the end of June!

Pear Melon

These are pear melons, which we bought at the fruit and veg market recently. Hopefully the apple shows you the size of them. The flesh is yellow, like a honeydew melon, but firmer, more like a pear. There are lots of tiny seeds in the centre, just like a melon, but we felt they made the taste a little bitter. The motley yellow skin peels easily and we chopped them up to put in a fruit salad. The taste, although similar to a cross between a melon and a pear, is a bit odd.

Longest Day - Shortest Day

I have always been fascinated by the seasons which are a result of the tilt of the Earth and its rotation around the Sun.

Today is the longest 'day' in northern hemisphere and the shortest 'day' in the southern hemisphere. Of course the day is still 24 hours, but there are the greatest and least number of daylight hours respectively on this date. Simultaneously, there are the least and the greatest number of darkness! They are known as the Summer Solstice and Winter Solstice, and are reversed on December 21st each year.


On the Equator there are always 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness and that number begins to increase or decrease the further away from the Equator you go. So, at the imaginary line of latitude called the Arctic Circle (66.5 degrees north of the Equator), tonight there will be 24 hours of daylight, and at the same time there will be 24 hours of darkness at the Antarctic Circle (66.5 degrees south of the Equator). However, the Poles have been either in total light or total darkness for the past six weeks and will not see any darkness/daylight until into August.


In England, the Summer Solstice is always a news feature, due to the fascinating structure known as Stonehenge; a circle of huge stones erected several thousand years ago and believed to be a place of ancient Pagan worship connected with the 'Sun' god. The Sun will rise at just before 5am and set just before 21.30, giving more than 16 hours of daylight. However, summer temperatures are currently quite low, due to recent heavy rainfall.


Here in Cape Town, although today is the Winter Solstice, the temperatures are a balmy 26 degrees with clear blue skies. The sun rose at 7.50 this morning and will set at 17.45, giving just under 10 hours of daylight. The nights, however, are very cold especially with no cloud cover, but it rarely reaches freezing point and only then on high ground. I have been told that on the occasions when there has been snow on Table Mountain, people rush to the top to experience this rare phenomenon.


This sunset photo was taken last month, when my mum came to visit us. I think it was colder that day than it is today.

Radio Christian Voice, new site in Lusaka

Here are some photos of the construction site for the relocation of Radio Christian Voice into Lusaka.


This is the main entrance with the two pillars forming a covered portico for vehicles to enter and exit through.


This is part of the front of the building, with the coloured facing bricks just starting to be laid on the outside.

The ground floor of three two-storey residential blocks for some staff to live on site. These will be two bedroom apartments.
The foundations of the second residential block behind the studios. There will also be three bungalows for senior staff.

Mount Zion and Sanje Hill

One of the highest points on the Christian Vision Farm is Mount Zion. I posted a photo of the steps leading up to the transmission tower on 'May Day in Zambia'. Recently, Andy managed to get hold of the keys to enter, so that I could take in the views from the top.

I don't know why the name 'Mount Zion' was given to this elevated point to the north of the site. Perhaps it resembles the temple mount in Jerusalem, which was known by the same name in the time of King David.

There are hymns about 'going up to Mount Zion', which are usually talking about the New Jerusalem in St John's vision given in Revelation, in the Bible. Perhaps those who laid the hundreds of crazy paving steps to the transmitter, sang songs about climbing up to Mount Zion and so it was named.

Whatever the reason, I think it is quite fitting, and the views right across the farm and out towards Lusaka are wonderful; miles and miles of uncultivated bush, making you feel very small indeed.

I took this photo of Andy standing on Mount Zion that day. It was approaching sunset and the western sky was already changing colour. If you look closely you will see a little blip on the horizon - that is Sanje Hill, a few miles away.

Andy left for UK on Saturday, so on Sunday I invited John and Antonio to climb Sanje Hill with me. Antonio declined, preferring to rest after an extra long week, but John was rather glad of a change of scene and the challenge of a climb.

Andy and I had climbed Sanje Hill in 1994 but I couldn't remember exactly how to approach it, so we drove towards the mound, parking the car nearby. There wasn't a direct path, but the bush was scorched, as though there had been a recent fire. We thought that perhaps local people set fire to the scrub to make charcoal for their fires at home. The undergrowth was not dense and quite easy to walk through. We both carried a stick to help us with the climb, and to move infront of us - just in case there was anything on the path.

As we started to climb we suddenly came across a man lying under a rocky area. He was a bit startled, but we introduced ourselves and said why we were there, asking if he knew the best way to the top. His name was Patrick and he proceeded to show us the path and then took us right to the top. It wasn't far, and although a bit steep in places, only took us about 30 minutes to reach the summit. I'm sure it would have taken us much longer if we hadn't had Patrick to help us.

Sanje Hill is an outcrop of a mineral containing significant iron ore. It is very heavy and I recently found out that it may soon be mined. A factory is being built for the processing of the iron ore and discussions have already taken place to discuss the effects on the environment and to those living nearby. It will mean blasting with its resultant dust, together with frequent heavy vehicles using the local roads.




The view from the top was wonderful, as I remembered, and we picked out the various sites around the farm. The road out to the Sable Sugar Plantation and factory towards the Kafuwe river was very clear and the thin blue line of river in the distance was just visible to us, but is difficult to pick out in a photograph.

Patrick is Nyanja, but spoke quite good English, and had been living on the hill for about a month, consulting with spirits. We asked him lots of questions trying to understand why he was on the hill and came to conclusion that he was training to be a witch doctor.

We asked him whether he had heard of Jesus Christ and what his understanding of God was. He was open to listening to us, but we are not sure he understood our explanations. He asked if we had brought him food from the farm. Unfortunately we didn't have any food with us, except a sweet, but shared our water with him, wondering where he could possibly get water from on this barren hill. When asked about food he said that local people brought him food and he traded with them. We asked what he traded and he said he cast out demons!

We told him about Christian Vision, that people who could speak Nyanja would be able to communicate with him better than us and would help him. He allowed me to take photos of him and wasn't afraid of the camera. He came from a village to the west, where Nyanja-speaking people lived but he didn't have a family. I would have liked to have talked for much longer and learnt more about him, but I was conscious of the time, now 3pm and thought we should be heading back.

Patrick took us down Sanje Hill, via an easier route and pointed out another road we could have taken. He was very open to us going back to see him, but I would like to take a Nyanja-speaking Zambian and some food to give him. I felt this was a real opportunity and made us realize how much work is still to be done to connect meaningfully with the local people near the farm.

Church on the farm

Ever since Christian Vision started working in the farm in 1994, there has been a church on the site. In the early days farm workers, their families and CV staff gathered in one of the barns to worship and pray together regularly. A church; a community of believers, who were reaching out to their neighbours with the love of Christ, was born.

Over the years some staff have chosen to travel into town and join established churches there, but there has always been a core group meeting on the farm to meet with local people. The venue has changed many times and since the development of the bible college, which is called Christian Vocation Training College, or CVTC for short, a purpose-built chapel is well used right throughout the week.

When we are in Zambia, we usually meet with this church on Sundays. Now it is run by the college students, which gives them a training opportunity to experience some the demands of running a church. The college staff do not get involved, except to visit occasionally.

Many local people are part of the church and this is the 'Praise Team' who help to lead the worship. Most of them are teenagers and they share the singing and playing of instruments (out of photo).

Usually the songs are in the Bemba language and sung with great enthusiasm and dancing. There are no hymn books or words reproduced on an overhead projector. As a visitor, I just clap and move along to the rythym. There is plenty of scope to praise God in your own language, as the volume is quite loud.

The service starts with an interactive Bible Study before the worship time, then the children go to their own groups, whilst the adults listen to a sermon, by one of the students. This is always translated into English or Bemba, depending on those present.

Here the children are being prayed for before leaving for their groups. It always makes me smile when they pray against 'a spirit of naughtiness', so that they behave in their classes!

I took this just as they turned to leave, so you could see their beautiful faces and 'Sunday best' outfits. When you meet them playing in the road such clothes are never seen, in fact they look like urchins, with dirty torn T-shirts and often not wearing shoes. The brown sandy soil quickly ruins clothes, so children wear their oldest, scruffiest garments to play in and do their chores. They also have a school uniform, which is also quickly removed upon reaching home. It is easy to form an uncomplete picture of life for these families, which although tough, is not without the basics. They don't have much but they are happy and largely stress-free.

Marula and Baobab trees

There are many different trees on the site in Zambia. The radio station is build in a mango orchard and there are papaya, avocado and citrus trees growing around the bungalows.

This is one of three marula trees growing beside the road. The marula fruit has just ripened and fallen from the trees.

It is yellow when ripe, about the size of a small plum, but the flesh remains firm with a large stone in the centre. Elephants love marula fruit. When they find a marula tree with fruit, they gorge themselves on the fruit, even destroying the tree to get to the fruit on the highest branches. The story goes that the marula fruit ferments in the elephant's stomach causing it to become drunk, sway and stagger around. The fruit is also harvested for use in a liqueur called Amarula, the makers capitalize on this bit of folk lore.

There are no elephants on the farm, but the fruit does not go to waste; locals collect and eat it. Betty, John's wife, has been busy making marula jam. She gave me a small pot before she left on Friday. It has a high pectin content, as it has set really well and is delicious on toast.

This is the baobab tree, more commonly known as the upside down tree, which I talked about in an earlier post, when visiting Cape Town's Kirstenbosch Botanical gardens.

I noticed it a short distance off the approach road to the residential area, so I took a photo when I was out walking at the weekend. As it doesn't have any leaves at present, it was easy to identify and it looks more like it's name than the example at Kirstenbosch. The trunk is large and stumpy; this one is about 6-7 metres in circumference, but I couldn't estimate it very well due to the dense undergrowth.

Cement shortages

There is a shortage of building cement across the whole of southern Africa. Zambia is a major producer, but Zambian companies are struggling to meet their own demands.


This is the queue of cars leading down to the cement works. Day and night the cars line up waiting to buy cement. Cars are left there overnight, marking their place. There is obviously no order system, just 'first come, first served'.

This slightly blurred photo shows the throng of people at the main doors. On another trip into town I saw several women carrying a bag of cement of their heads. I couldn't carry one in my arms, let alone on my head! It is an amazing sight to see African women carrying huge loads on their head and a baby on their back.

I understand that young girls need to start carrying loads on their heads from a early age, to be able to carry heavier loads as an adult. It is too late to start once the backbone is fully formed. The carrying of loads on the head, builds strength into the spine, enabling them to increase the load as they grow. I have rarely seen a man carrying a load on his head. Like many places in rural Africa it is the Zambian women who do the majority of the heavy work; lifting, carrying, cooking, cleaning, child bearing and rearing. The rural men are often found sitting watching the world go by!

Giant machines

The installation of a new transmitter to broadcast into northern Africa has been taking place on the farm site for several months. Although not directly part of Andy's remit, he has close connections with that project and follows the progress with interest.

This is the new transmitter - it is huge! The metal grilling is one of the many safety features being installed by John from Australia, Antonio from Chile and a team of Zambians.

John is a retired engineer, who has been a consultant with Christian Vision for a few years. He and his wife Betty came to the 2003 conference in Zambia, never dreaming that they would be back here installing this great beast. John is now into his 11th month of this project; a large chunk of that time being spent in Zambia. Betty has visited him a few times. She is a lovely lady with a big heart to allow him to be away from her and their large family for so long. Betty is prepared to help with almost anything. She was working down at the primary school last week, helping in the reception class (4/5 yrs). She has now returned to Australia.

To the left of this photo is an equally large set of metal cabinets which contain all the dials and switches for the workings of the transmitter.

This is a switching device for transferring power between the transmitters. Enormous copper pipes carry the power to the various parts.

This is a heat exchanger for cooling the transmitter. The old one is not functioning very well at present. This one is twice the size and should be able to cope with the cooling of up to three transmitters.

Harvest Thanksgiving

June seems an odd month to have a harvest thankgiving service, but then I forget I am living in the southern hemisphere. This attractive display was in the entrance area where we normally have our coffee and snacks before the service at the church we have decided to join while we are in Cape Town. It is called Generations Church International with a modern worship style and leadership. We feel comfortable and 'at home' there already.

Last Sunday was a special day of thanksgiving recognising all that God has done in many lives over the past year. We watched a powerpoint presentation of photos of people who had particular reasons to be thankful and then heard some of those amazing stories from the people themselves. It was very encouraging and especially helpful to us, being new to the church. After the meeting we shared a simple meal of soup and bread, breaking open the interesting nutty and seedy loaves displayed.

The Sunday service is held in a school hall but the church meets in various small groups, in homes throughout the week. I went to a ladies group one morning, which was an opportunity to meet new friends. There were only five of us that day, so I was able to share a little of our story easily and get to know them better. All the ladies groups have been working their way through a book, written by Elizabeth George about developing the Fruit of the Spirit in your life. Last week they were looking at 'gentleness'. I found it really challenging and helpful, and so in keeping with a banner I made for our Vineyard community in Halesowen, just before we left for Cape Town.

You can just make out the wording on the banner from the two photos, taken at a group gathering just before I returned to Africa, last month. It reads "Jesus said, you will be known by your fruits" with the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit as given in Ephesians chapter 5 verses 22-23, making up the branches of the vine. These represent our core goals in meeting together and reaching out to our family, friends and neighbours - our circle of influence.

Rosenpark

As I had some free time last week, I decided to explore more of the area near to the apartment.
I was pleasantly surprised to discover this pond surrounded by large expanses of rough grassland and trees.



This side of Tyger Vallei is known as Rosenpark and popular with dog walkers, joggers and a gaggle of geese who fly over the apartment every morning, 'honking' loudly. Many of them perch on the roof and I was curious to know where they were going or had come from. Now I know. One day I was trying to pass along the path, which was filled with geese. I expected them to move, but these large fearsome birds did not like to be disturbed. I ended up backing into a rather spiky bush to try to avoid being attacked.

Guinea fowl also peck in the grass. They are very nervous birds, scattering quickly when approached. They are larger than a chicken, but smaller than a turkey, with beautiful white spotted feathers and blue faces.

I have gathered several of their feathers from off the grass. Usually, only the smaller ones come loose, but the other day I saw several bigger ones and could have a closer look at the pattern of the white spots on them.

Cape Town Apartment

The other day I was asked to take some photos of the apartment so that the 'before and after' can be seen by Christian Vision. I don't have the 'before' photos, but here are some of the 'afters'.

My mum is standing on the land next to the studio, in front of the apartment. The lounge/dining/kitchen areas are the two large windows with small ones on either side, on the first floor. The bedrooms are on the ground floor and there is a small yard with a gate onto the grass. Upstairs, on the second floor is another apartment.

The lounge is simply furnished with wooden blinds and African pictures and colours. The previous occupier had heavy curtains which covered the whole of the outside wall, not allowing any light into the room. The open area feels much lighter now, despite some dark furniture.

The kitchen is fresh and clean and well equipped. A large breakfast bar in the front of the photo is very useful as an office area for the computers, meals eaten alone and for the general clutter which accumulates near to the entrance.

This is the guest room, which has been kept as light as possible. Again, wooden blinds keep out the afternoon sun. There are patio doors onto the yard, but outside the guest room a huge cactus plant has grown over one of the glass panels, making it difficult to use the door. This cactus will be moved when the garden area next to the studio is planted.

Scripture Union - 140 years old

Some of you will have heard of an organisation called Scripture Union, which is a resource for strengthening and adding believers to the Church. They publish lots of different kinds of daily Bible reading aids and Christian books for all ages. They provide all types of resources for churches to use and have a schools and colleges division supporting christian teachers, pupils and students. They run beach missions at popular seaside towns, organise children's and young people holidays and also sponsor international events.

On Saturday 2nd June (tomorrow) the organisation will be 140 years old. I received an email from someone I used to work with at the Scripture Union office in Birmingham, many years ago, inviting us to set our timers, watches or other devices for 8pm on Saturday to remember the first SU meeting (formerly known as CSSM - Children's Special Service Mission) which started in Islington, North London.

We are being invited 'to pause and praise God for Josiah Spiers, Thomas Hughes, Robert Westall and the like who had an even bigger dream than Andrew Lloyd Webber!' (for those outside the UK, Saturday at 8pm is prime time TV for a show to find a new lead character for the musical 'Joseph'.)

More importantly, it is an opportunity to thank God for the way He has touched the lives of so many millions of children and young people around the world since that humble start.