Today i cannot help but smile.
Last night myself and my housemates went to the Artscape theatre. What a great privilege to live with 2 friends that challenge and teach you, while having fun in the most beautiful house and surroundings? Dankie Mia en Ili!!!

This morning i woke up and already had messages from people that i love.

I started the day, spending time with God and playing piano – and Chessy the farm cat that adopted us as her friend, came and sat beside me on the piano bench.
2 squirrels came closer to listen and later on sat in the tree closest to our “piano-window.”
(I am not a master on the piano at all and can pretty much just play one song which is Ameli’s theme song. –>Mail me if you want the sheet-music!)

When i stepped into the office, Taryn, (who helps me sooo much with editing and so much more)  filled my part of the table with colourful balloons.

Later on this afternoon friends are coming over for “koek and rooikoeldrank” and this weekend the celebrations continue.

Im excited for the years to come. Im excited to see what God has in store and the adventures I will have with Him.
And as my brother Tjaart says, only a quarter of my live has passed. (:
The best is yet to come.

3o phone snap pics for my holiday:

Yay yay yay yay yay yay yay zellie big smile yay !!! Dankie Here vir die talent wat uit U hand kom.

Every year Junebug has this international competition called Best of the Best where they pick 50 images that they feel is the top 50 wedding images for the year. I’m so proud of SA and it’s photographers. Both Jean-Piere Uys and Welovepictures had an image in the top 50 and Lauren Kriedeman that also received an Honorable Mention.

This image of mine made the Honorable mention under Bride and Groom Portraits:

 Thank you Chris and Mila for your beautiful wedding!

To see the full wedding, here is PART 1 and PART 2

Remember my beautiful Glenys friend from the portrait shoot we did for her? (view the shoot HERE)
About 10 days after the shoot her entire thyroid was removed because of cancer.

Today she started her radiation – which means 2 week in isolation in her plastic wrapped room.

Her brother said on Facebook: “A sad day, my sister has thyroid cancer and has had one operation already and became radio active today for 2 week. She has to live in isolation during this time. Please pray for her.”

Glenys’ response on that? “Love you my brother, it is going to be fine! It is a happy day because I am going to be better soon! “

xxx

When i think of Bulembu and my 2 day experience there, i kind of have to take a deep breath and make a conscience decision on where I am allowing my thoughts to go, because otherwises it’s like most woman’s handbags… (:

After shooting my last wedding for this season, i traveled to Swaziland. This was a first and such a huge privilege. I’ve read up on Bulembu a bit beforehand, but didn’t really know what to expect. I slept over in Nelspruit and from there its about 90 minutes drive to get to the Swazi border, that opens at 8am. (Imagine mountains and more mountains.) There i was greeted by Nerine and Bianca with THE biggest smiles. I “know” Nerine since we’ve attended the same Shofar Church in Stellenbosch, before she started working at Bulembu.

Our 2 days were jam packed with places to shoot e.g. businesses, a hospital, schools etc. All of them designed so that this project, with 300 orphans in it’s care, can (or will later be) self sustainable. What struck me most was how these people that work at Bulembu, so selflessly give their lives to build up these children. I’ve been there only 2 days, but yet i came back changed. I think differently about all my many privileges, how i was raised, what i can be thankful for and the difference I can make in others lives.

Ive asked Bianca to tell as more about this town Bulembu, that was a ghost town as some stage… I am still stunned by this project/vision:

In 2001, the mining company that had built and operated Bulembu for more than 60 years, closed its doors and walked away. With no jobs the town was soon abandoned, even as Swaziland continues to be ravaged by the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the resulting orphan crisis.

Today, Bulembu has a clear vision to become a vibrant, self-sustaining community. This vision for sustainability includes fostering the development of a new generation of emerging leaders through orphan care, education, health services and commerce.

Central to the Bulembu vision is providing total care for some of Swaziland’s 120,000 orphaned and vulnerable children. The Bulembu Child Care Programme is not focused on emergency response or simply providing basics needs, but rather the Bulembu Child Care Programme is working to raise a generation of leaders, providing the children in the programme with the love and resources they need to thrive. In this way Bulembu is working to equip young people who will make a positive contribution to society, and emerge as leaders in their homes, their community and their nation.

The Bulembu Child Care Programme is currently providing over 300 children with total care. One of the biggest ongoing challenges for the programme is transitioning a child from a life of destitute and neglect to a life of hope and care. For well over a year, the Bulembu Welcome Centre has been operating as place of transition for children entering the programme. Most of the children who come to Bulembu are unable to distinguish between colours and shapes and are often unable to write their names, even though they have been attending school. Many things which we take for granted are novelties for these children including flushing a toilet, sleeping on a bed and using something as simple as a knife and fork. The Welcome Centre has proved to be an essential component in our programme, successfully helping children make this transition.

Over the last year, Bulembu has designed an extensive training programme for our care givers or “aunties”. The aunties currently working in the programme have taken this training and have been equipped and educated in best practices of care-giving. Investing in these women has meant that their lives have also been transformed as they find employment and are empowered and encouraged in their work.

A number of enterprises have been launched which will not only contribute financially in the future to the Bulembu vision, but will provide fundamental services to the community, specifically in the area of food security. Current Bulembu Enterprises: Bulembu Bakery, Bulembu Carpentry, Bulembu Dairy, Bulembu Honey, Bulembu Country Lodge, Bulembu Mills, Bulembu Timber, Bulembu Water, Bulembu Store and Bulembu Transport.

Come and experience our unique town and witness transformation in action. Whether by visiting, partnering with us in spreading Bulembu’s vision, sponsoring a child or even working for us, you will not leave Bulembu untouched, but rather changed forever.

For more details, go to www.bulembu.org

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Sneak peak of what is to come!

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