The world is crowded with opportunities for gratitude, many of which are incognito. And the incognito is not always easy to penetrate. The real labor is to remember to attend…to come awake, aware…and to remain aware and in fact active in the moments that bring the heart to a humble place of thankfulness. -Inspired by an excerpt by C.S. Lewis
Dear Pearl,
What a sweet retreat, eh? A weekend away on the Thomas Baines Nature Reserve was just what I needed to end a week of stressful research proposal preparation. And to spend it in the fellowship of the women of our church? Even sweeter! It is amazing how our God draws souls together and to Him in the quiet stillness of the mornings, in coffee breaks with other believers, and in invigorating topics of discussion about going deeper into our identity, desires and joy!
Top it all off with a plastic rhino, Tom, in the meeting hall and then what do you have? A perfect weekend. :)
Glad we could enjoy it together! Love, Jill
Dear Gillian, Bre and Shan,
An attempt to teach GIS in 4 days is no easy task, but we did it! The GIS Short Course for honours, master and post-doc students was a whirlwind and yet a success from my point of view! The empty lab pictured above was full and bustling with each day of the course as people clicked their mouses and raised their hands when things didn’t work. I think we were a speedy and organised team, and I’m glad I wasn’t alone in there!
We gave them a nice taste of ArcGIS, a software program that can have moments of sheer brilliance and utter confusion. Been there, done that, now we can go get a t-shirt about it —> http://www.zazzle.com/gis+gifts. HA!
Now that it’s done, we can be thankful for the calm after the chaos as well. :)
Cheers, Jill
Dear Kim,
The lateness of this post about Easter does not affect its sweetness. It was an Easter like no other before it…
That sounds like the introduction to a sci-fi thriller novel, doesn’t it? (ha!)
The scene begins in a jet-black darkness, a sky ridden with stars, the stillness of an earth not yet aware of the coming day. It’s 4:45am Easter morning, and I’m awake, slowly moving through an unfamiliar house to get out and on my way to a sunrise service on a hill overlooking the town.
I bike from the home where I’m housesitting through the quiet streets, with flickering streetlights as my only companions. It’s even too early for the stray dogs to begin their wandering. Then up the hill and into a large building with big windows. There’s still no sign of day as I walk into the crowd that’s gathered on the hill, only a hope of its coming. And it’s in that stream of thought that we pray and offer praise. What a picture.
Following some melodies and a steady exposition, we clink cups and saucers of rooibos with a side of hot cross buns as we wait in the open for the promise to show itself. The streetlights turn off to make way for the rising light that covers the landscape. From the hill, it’s easy to see its touch, His touch, on everything. Oh delight of my soul!
In the lightness of morning, those two wheels take me back to the place I began, and what started in darkness has now been revealed. Once inside the house, I gather hot water from the kettle, mix in some grounds and migrate to the porch. The aroma of the coffee wafts through my nostrils before it hits my lips. A sacred time, a quiet space, a beautiful presence.
I smile and celebrate in remembrance of the loving act that changed my life. He reigns, here and always. Alleluia! Love, Jill
Dear Lori,
If you’re looking for a retreat into peaceful bliss, I know just where to go —> The Comfort Farms, Eastern Cape, South Africa. We’ll make sure to spend some time here when you come to visit South Africa soon (only 3 weeks away!) It is a place to drink in simple sounds of the wind and enjoy the realness of sunshine on a picnic blanket in the grass. :) That’s exactly how I spent my Good Friday this year, surrounded by a quiet landscape and lively company. Following the Good Friday service in the morning, several of us headed from church out to Comfort Farms with Veronica, who lives on the farm. During the week, she works with farmhands’ wives and grade school students teaching English.
It was a warm autumn day, and the lunchtime meal gathering quickly turned into a backyard picnic! What a sweet time shared with friends, taking in the day to the fullest. 
A time to dwell in peace and reverence. And be thankful. How refreshing, truly.
Love AND SEE YOU SOON! LITERALLY! -Jill
Dear Bro,
The fact that they call it “glandular fever” here in South Africa makes this Epstein-Barr virus’s nasty infection more dramatic than the casual “mono” label we use in the USA. “Mono” is a simple abbreviation of the disease name mononucleosis, which makes sense and seems fairly unthreatening, even boring. (The word “monotone” comes to mind.)
Whereas any disease that has the word “fever” in it immediately sounds the alarm and screams “DANGEROUS LIFE-THREATENING DISEASE! YOU HOPELESS VICTIM!” Examples pave the road for this view, including typhoid fever, yellow fever, dengue fever, cat scratch fever (thank you Ted Nugent), scarlet fever, lassa fever, “snail fever” (schistosomiasis), Beiber fever (help them please), the list goes on.
It’s understandable that the glands are the primary focus of the disease name – I experienced swollen tonsil glands so fierce that it was misdiagnosed twice as tonsilitis. It took a third visit to an ENT (ear-nose-throat) doctor and some bloodwork to confirm a correct diagnosis and the recommendation to take it easy.
As any 21st century citizen with internet access does these days, I went to the world wide web to see what reliable and unreliable internet sites had to say about the glandz fever. Did you know there’s a doctor who claimes to be the mono expert? I didn’t stay at her site for long. Other webpages offered lists of symptoms and doomsday prognoses. But a site that interested me most was a forum with reader feedback about natural remedies that could aid in treating the symptoms of mono. Though the page was entitled “Cures,” I didn’t believe that so easily. I read through the posts and continually saw positive feedback from those that used Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) to treat their swollen throat woes. Being my worst-showing symptom, I paid attention to the recommendations offered about VCO and sore throat relief. Feeling somewhat desparate to swollow my own saliva without wincing in pain, I trotted to the natural foods store in town and bought an expensive glass jar of VCO.
Touted as a “superfood” (what item isn’t at a natural foods store?), VCO is supposedly “awesome” for everything, including: hair care, skin care, stress relief, maintaining cholesterol levels, weight loss, increased immunity, proper digestion and metabolism, relief from kidney problems, heart diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, HIV, cancer, dental care, and bone strength. Sound like one of those QVC products at 3am in the morning? Yes and YES.
Anyways, apparently there is some legitimacy to the claims of VCO helping with mono. VCO is partially composed of lauric acid, which is claimed to have antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial properties. I’ve been taking it for the past few weeks, and though it hasn’t erased the fever completely, it has been a godsend to my throat.
I may still have the “fever,” but I have become a fan of VCO. It’s nice on toast. :) Love, Jill
Dear Brittany,
Opposite of the poster’s question in the above picture, you know exactly what was happening in Grahamstown last Friday. The purple shirts and duct-taped mouths are the signature fashions of the 1:9 Campaign, an annual campus-wide protest at Rhodes University calling attention to sexual violence and unreported rapes in South Africa.
This year, over 1500 people from Rhodes and the Grahamstown community participated, including some senior faculty members of the university. I participated as a photographer for the protest and documented people across campus. There was a nice write-up on the Rhodes blog: http://www.ru.ac.za/modules/blog_include/blog_content.php?blog_id=1902
I’m thankful you introduced me to the event last year, and it is inspiring that it continues to grow year by year. Here are a few shots of the purple shirts canvassed across campus that day…
And some photos from the “die-in” – protesters gathered in the library commons for an hour of remembrance to victims of sexual violence and abuse. Different shirts were designated for different participants: men in solidarity, silent protesters, and rape survivors.
What a movement of unity, speaking for those who are often robbed of their voice. Love, Jill
Dear Parents,
Being in South Africa in April gave me the chance to participate in my honours graduation ceremony at Rhodes, which derives from traditions reaching back to medieval universities of Europe!
Rather than an American cap and gown, graduates wear a gown and receive a “hood” with colors that mark the type of degree they have achieved. (Mine was green with a white lining, indicating a BSc Honours degree.)
Rhodes had five separate ceremonies, held in an auditorium at the Monument. Leela and Caroline, two Rotarians from my host club, were my “mums” for the evening and escorted me to the ceremony. At the Faculty of Science ceremony, the Dean of Science requested aloud for the Chancellor (president-like figurehead) to confer the degrees being awarded. Students then approached the Chancellor and knelt on a cushion before him as he was seated in a special chair (which honestly looked like a throne!). According to the ceremony programme, “In admitting a person to a degree, the degree is conferred on the person in a ceremony reminiscent of the cermony in which a knighthood is conferred.” Upon kneeling, the Chancellor then conferred the degrees by touching a ceremonial bonnet to the student’s forehead and approving of the reception of the given degree. Following the bonnet touch, students then walked across the stage to the Registrar, who placed the hood over students’ shoulders. (I’ve ordered the pictures to prove it!) It was a lovely ceremony, and I enjoyed taking part in it, as well as the festivities that followed, including:
The Geography Department Champagne Breakfast
Held for all graduates of the Geography department, I enjoyed spending time with my classmates and supervisors. Above are pictured the “GIS” gals – Brigitte, who finished her Masters, our supervisor Gillian, and me.
The Garden Party on the Drodsty Arch Front Lawns
An afternoon tea is held after all of the ceremonies are finished, in which everyone strolls around in their graduation attire and makes small talk over sweet treats and proper cups of tea. :) My friends Nyx, Lara and I enjoyed the festivities, but were greatly missing the presence of Brittany, our friend and my former digsmate!
The “Unofficial” Photo Shoot with Geography Department friends
To wrap up the festivities, my good friends and fellow classmates from the geography department took some fun photos on the hill overlooking the city. We posed, laughed, watched the sunset…and then in true South African style, ended the evening with a braai. :)
Everyone’s asking if my parents are coming out for the Master’s ceremony next year. How ’bout it? :) Love, Jill
Dear Chrissy,
I hope you had a lovely World Water Day 2011 celebration in Cape Town! As the host city of the UN Water’s official event, a 3-day programme of presentations and debates around water and urbanisation, I’m so jealous of your opportunity to attend and join in the dialogue! What an opportunity! :)
Not to worry though – we didn’t stand on the sidelines here on the eastern side of South Africa. We found other ways of celebrating and communicating about water opportunities and threats. At Rhodes, several organisations helped set up a display about water on our library quad. We encouraged all students, staff and faculty to “BYOBlue – Bring Your Own Blue” and wear a blue shirt or jersey on that day. My housemate Este, a lecturer in the Extended Studies department and a Ms. Green Thumb, had her students plant spekboom to grow in their classroom for the rest of the semester (as seen above). Additionally, some people organised a social at one of the local pubs in town, complete with specials on “blue drinks” and displays about water projects in Grahamstown.
While that was all happening, my colleague Pearl and I spent the day in a few township secondary schools in Grahamstown with the Upstart newspaper clubs. We led a workshop on water and urbanisation, discussing issues related to water and how to be better aware and better educated citizens of the community.
We sent photos from our workshop with the students to the official World Water Day 2011 website, and the photos from Grahamstown are posted alongside others from around the world!
Overall, it was a busy “blue” day here in Grahamstown! :)
Hope to see you soon! Cheers, Jill
Dear Rob,
Sometimes it’s just nice to hop in the car and drive to the beach for the afternoon, eh?
A form of respite from the office that I never experienced until I came to South Africa.
Thanks for letting me tag along! :) Cheers, Jill