Hello Friends and Family,
Where to begin, I have been blogging in the evenings in my
room since I arrived and saving them to my computer with intentions of
uploading them when I got the chance to go on the internet. I have the internet
now and I am going to upload them all for you to read, just bear in mind the
fact that these are from when I first arrived, so a lot of it is old and some
irrelevant. Just wanted you guys to be able to read it and see some of the
stuff we have been up to. It’s nothing to deep or insightful, I mainly wrote
down what we did each day so I wouldn’t forget. There will be more to come as I
have the chance to sit down and really reflect about my time here so far.
Thanks everybody,
We love you and miss you.
Carly Honeybunn
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Date: Unknown
We are
currently sitting in the furthest most point in Munich Airport. What a journey it has been thus far.
Yesterday?:
We packed up our bags and headed to
the airport. When we got there to check
in we were met by an angel in an Air Canada uniform. All of our suitcases were VERY over weight
and we were facing some hefty baggage fees.
That is when our angel with the red lipstick and blue eye-liner stepped
in and said “you do realize you each have 2 free check bags…” Needless to say we
didn’t pay a cent, yet. Carleigh’s
parents bought us a suitcase to share and we quickly began to rearrange our
suitcases in the middle of the airport.
Clothes were flying and things were left behind L After teary goodbyes we were off to T-dot.
The flight
to Toronto was quick and painless. We
enjoyed our in flight entertainment and were still excited to be on a
plane. In the airport we had our last
taste of Tim Horton’s and waited for a short time in our gate. There we met our first friend – Nameless. He was an older man on his way to Munich to
do some business. We chatted about many
things from linguistics to romance.
Before we
knew it we were on our way to Munich.
The flight was just over 8 hours but it felt like a lifetime. It is amazing how big those seats can make
you feel and how uncomfortable you can be.
Between the 2 of us we got a combined 4 hours sleep.
Never underestimate the power of jetlag.
Today: Munich
We arrived
in Munich around 11am while our friends back home were warm and safe in their
beds. Our entire bodies ached. We told each other it was ok to whine for
now. With our heads a blur we tried to navigate
the huge airport. Due to the whether
conditions we were unable to explore Munich this time around. After making our decision to stay inside we
wandered aimlessly from one area to the next.
It is a shame there wasn’t a camera crew following us around because
that footage would have been blackmail-able.
It was an emotional rollercoaster.
We would sit in one place for an hour; agree on a plan only to end up on
some other bench for another 2 hours. We
recognized our inability to make good decisions, so we decided to take a
nap. We found an empty row of chairs,
snuggled up to our belongings and dreamt of home, missing our flights and much
more. We finally washed up in the
bathroom, and walked all the way to our gate.
We read that Munich airport was one of the coolest in the world, but we
couldn’t find anything that we read about due to our condition. We may not have found the golf course or the
lookout tower, but we did have a few cases of the giggles; example: Marveled at
a huge airplane that pulled up outside the airport. Stating “That’s actually
the biggest airplane I have ever seen!” Only minutes later an airplane 3x the
size slowly crept into our peripheral vision. We laughed until we cried. NEVER
UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF JETLAG.
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Feb 11th
Wow.
I am not sure how to communicate my thoughts and feeling
adequately with you guys back at home. Partially, because I am overwhelmed, and
partially because I am in an intense state of jet lag.
Is it too early to
say I can already tell I want to come back?
Carleigh and I left Munich yesterday and arrived at Johannesburg
around lunch time.
Our plane ride was 10
hours and we actually managed to get a few hours of sleep in. Then we landed
and our baggage came, (such a relief.) After that however, we made our first
rookie mistake. We had our bags on a trolley and were searching for the check
in and our gate. We tried our best to look as though we were on a mission, it
must have failed because a porter swept in out of nowhere and started pushing
our bags. Carleigh looked back at me and we realized we would have to tip him.
He tried to get us to pay through the nose but we held our ground, he did end
up helping us out a lot. At Johannesburg we met up with Mel Neilands, a fellow
Canadian arriving in our same intake (who is, as it turns out, my roommate!)
She is very sweet and we have already said it feels like we have known each
other forever. (She loves tea, specifically “Forever Nut”…My favorite tea!)
We then flew from Johannesburg to Nelspruit (only a 45 min
plane ride, which felt like 10min to us). We met up with Jen at that airport
and she drove us... On the wrong side of the road! It was very nerve racking.
This Province is Beautiful, Rolling hills and valleys. Carleigh and I pinched
each other a couple times. It’s very humid and sticky, no air conditioning in
our rooms or in the kitchen, we may be sweating for the next 3 months straight.
Today the temperature was +42 degrees Celsius with humidity.
Quick version of what happened for the rest of the day:
-looked around our rooms (which had welcome chocolates and a
fresh vase of yellow roses)
-Met the other girl who is here and is Carleigh’s roommate.
Her name is Emily and she came here right after she graduated high school, by
herself! She seems like an absolutely amazing and beautiful human being! I
already feel like I have known these girls for a long time.
-unpacked my suitcase and accidently fell asleep
-went up the path to Jen and Dan’s house for “curry night”.
Jen and Dan moved her 3 years ago from London and have 3 of the cutest boys in
the world, Marley, Sonny and Micah. I will try and post pictures of them
sometime. At supper we met a lot of the people who are involved with Hands. It
was like going to a family gathering and I felt welcomed right away. Everyone
looks out for one another, it’s a beautiful thing.
-Learned about Frogs, lizards, spiders and snakes! Yes they
have all of those here and many more. The frogs are everywhere at night time
and Carleigh has already made friends with a spider in her room. I am hoping
never to meet a snake because they are poisonous.
- Both of us have major canckles. Our ankles and feet look
and feel huge! Its embarrassing and comical.
After curry night me and Mel and Carleigh met at the kitchen/common
area and talked for a couple hours. It was nice. Tomorrow we will be going
shopping, which should be an interesting experience. It is currently 2:30 in
Winnipeg on a Saturday. And I am lying in my bed typing this, very Jet lagged
at 10:30 at night. Still boggles my mind.
Prayer for:
-
We would overcome our jet lag and bounce back
-
Feeling a bit sick from the plane ride over so
for health
-
For our first week and establishing new
friendships
-
For our safety
-
That God would be near us at this time.
p.s. We could really feel the prayer on the way over here.
So thank you SO much for everyone who is praying for us!
Miss you guys.
Carly Honeybunn
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Feb 12th
Last night I didn’t sleep at all. It was so hot my bed was
soaked; it was a very strange experience for me as I rarely sweat. There were
also many strange noises too.
Today Dan took
Carleigh, Mel and I shopping into White River, he went to run some errands and
Sonny, Dan and Jens middle son, stayed with us. It was pretty exciting for a
first shopping experience; the only really hard part was converting Rands
(South African Currency). Our bill came to 700 Rands, which is 30 Canadian
dollars split between the 3 of us.
We got orientated a little bit and got a phone which we will
need phone for texting, opening the gate
and safety.
We had a quiet afternoon, Emily (Canadian volunteer from
Calgary) took us on a little tour and we met a lot of people. Everybody is
lovely and kind as well as very hospitable.
After that we made spaghetti for supper, we had to make our
own sauce as they don’t have any to purchase in White River. It is mango season
here so we ate those for dessert. Then we played a game of bananagrams, which
wasn’t very successful as we were all still jet lagged… we made up a lot of
words.
When we retired to our bedroom we found a fun surprise… a
gecko! It took us 10 minutes to final get it out of the room so we could sleep.
Of course there are still moths and frogs and spiders and snakes to worry
about, I guess I am just a wimpy girly girl.
There is currently a group staying here from the UK, I am
loving the accents, both the English and South African, I am already thinking
in an accent
Quick description of some sights and sounds and smells:
-the air is very thick and humid
-smells like earth and rain
-a rooster wakes us up in the morning, literally with a
“cock a doodle doo”
- Lots of random noises of bugs and other random things
- There are the most beautiful views from here of mountains
and greenery. There is a mountain across from here called Legogote, in English it means Lions head. I will be
climbing that!
That is all I can remember about today.
Time for another sweaty hot and humid sleep! Wish me luck.
p.s. that’s another thing for prayer, that we would get lots
of good sleep and get over our bug fears. It’s silly but it really does get in
the way of our sleep.
p.p.s a frog just got in….
Carly Honeybunn
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Feb 13th
Sanibonani (Hello)
I am trying to practice my Siswati. I am blogging by candle
light with Mel. It has become our little routine. Today Dan took us gals to
Mandlesive. Which is a small community, he taught us more about how Hands at
work is run and it was so interesting and inspiring. We went to a CBO
(Community based organization) which is basically a run by local volunteers
from around the local church in the community who help give the 3ES (3
essential services) to the poorest of the poor. The three essential services
are food, education and health and security. We met with some of these
incredible local volunteers called “careworkers” who were getting ready to feed
75 orphans that day. I tried so hard to speak Siswati and butchered it badly; they
were very gracious with me. I will have to start with some Xitsonga soon as
that will be an asset for other community visits.
It’s been only 2 full days since I have been here and it
feels like I have known these people my whole life. They are all so welcoming.
There are 2 Canadian couples who have been here from 3-5 years, there are
people from all over the world. It feels like a family already. This country is
beautiful and captivating. I wish that everybody could be here and take it in.
There is still so much to do and see.
I am so excited to be here, I already feel myself changing. It’s
incredible, I feel so blessed to be here. I know it’s so early. But I actually
could see myself living here for longer than 3 months!
What hands at work is doing is incredible and I feel so
honored to be a part of it.
I could go on and on and on. I’m unsure about what to share
and what not to, to me I just want everybody to feel like a part of everything.
Carly Honeybunn
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Feb 15th
Today was my 21st
birthday. It was amazing. I started the day off at small groups at Robyn and Sal’s
house for small groups. They unexpectedly sang me happy birthday and gave me a
cake. Then I can down and a monkey had
gotten into the kitchen. After that Dan and Lynn and Mel and Carleigh and I
headed to the community based organization of Senzokhule. Lynn (A fellow
Canadian) taught us all about Hands core values; he is a very amazing and
gentle man. We did our first home visits
and it was very hard. I felt so stupid, I felt like I couldn’t say anything at
all, I was lost for words. I felt awkward and it knocked me off my feet, I
didn’t understand it. Dan and MaHelen and sisUnice and I went in a group and
separated from Mel and Carleigh. Our
first visit was to a man named Darcy, He was in a wheel chair and living in a
tiny brick house smaller than many bathrooms back home. He had been shot 18
times and the bullets remained in his body, I could see them under his thin
skin. His care workers visit him and change his pamper and bring him water and
care for his bed sores. He has no family, one son but he is not allowed to see
him because he can’t afford to pay to marry the boy’s mother, so they can’t
marry. We sat and talked with him and listened to his story, and then I prayed
for him. I did the best I could although I felt inadequate and unworthy to pray
for him.
After Darcy, we
visited a man with HIV AIDs and his granddaughter, she was 7 and she was
beautiful. We chatted and prayed with him also.
My favorite visit of the day was
when we visited a little girl who lived with her Gogo and 9 other brothers and
sisters. She was about 10 and in a wheelchair, it seemed as though there was
something else too, perhaps some type of mental disability, she was so smart
though and spoke brilliant English, she looked mischievous. Dan made her guess
my age and she guessed 10, he told her it was my birthday and she smiled and
Dan asked her to sing, so in her living room she sang to me along with her Gogo
and MaHelen and sisfortunate. It was the most meaningful I have ever heard
“Happy Birthday” sung. I felt SO honored to hear her sing to me.
After we went back to the CBO and I met “Romeo” he was a boy
about 16, he greeted all of us like such a little ladies man, it was so funny I
loved it.
I feel like I could not possibly live my life the way I have
been. I am changed now. Forever.
After that We all went to Tyler and Alisha’s (another
Canadian Couple) for dinner, she had birthday balloons and some cake for me , it was so cute, I just think, I was
worried about not having a good birthday
for various reasons and it surpassed anything I could have imagined. I felt so
much love. Thank you God.
Carly Honeybunn
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