Totally Random, humbling and funny (15 July 2009) Charlie

Wow! We are still having a great time in the North Georgian mountains. Atlanta has also been amazing. With a lot of fun filled experiences and heaps of joy. You will be seeing an Atlanta Issue by Charlie soon, but today I felt like telling you a story. You might have heard something about it in the precious blogs but this version is from the mouth of the humiliated party.

Life is an amazing, tough, learning experience. We learn from others, from our own mistakes and from things that randomly happen to us for a reason. That last sentence might have sounded weird but please stick with me here.

I want to take you way back to Phuket in Thailand.

And no, this is not going to be another story about my dad's Finger again. I have another story entirely. It was something that happened to me because of my own ignorance in part but also because of God's humor and love!

It all started in Germany... We were at a value store one day and we saw interesting specials that attracted our eyes. We were interested not only by some nice products but also by the price tag, only 1€. I think it was the first time we ever saw something in Europe for only 1€. We just had to buy something. My mother was thinking in the line of socks, again... But I had a different idea. I knew I would be going home in a months time so I made the proposition of buying a moisturizing lotion for my face. So that it can be smooth, you know... There are a few reasons why it has to be smooth but I like to go with this one: "My mother likes a boy with a nice and smooth face"! So after my heavy convincing ,my mother agreed, except for one important detail. I wanted the rose scented lotion but my mother thought it to be Unmanly. So I ran back into the store and without even thinking I grabbed the aloe scented one, more manly I presumed. The interesting thing about these bottles of lotion were that everything on it was in German. It didn't bother me though because I was confident in my mother's grade 8 German classes and she inspected the rose scented one and confirmed that it was body lotion. The only problem though is that I took another bottle...

We left that shop with a sense of accomplishment having bought something in Europe for 1€. We flew to Singapore and immediately to Phuket. Totally overwhelmed by the heat and beauty we drank everything in. Meanwhile I very diligently used my German lotion. In my mind my skin got smoother each day. The days went on, a few interesting things happened, my dad lost the top of his left index finger but you know that story allready. The one day I came home from the beach with a mild sun burn. Not really out of the ordinary, considering we were in Phuket, practically on the equator. One of us had to get sun burn one or other time. I wasn't afraid of a little sunburn, especially 'cause I have a nice German lotion to put on.

The days went on and to my surprise my face got redder instead of going back to normal, so I applied more of my lotion... As the days kept flowing by, this little sunburn worked itself into my neck. It began to get more uncomfortable each day. Not only did the ocean salt burn the tears out of me, but it also burned like a raging fire every time there was a bit of perspiration and in Phuket that is 24/7.

It got even worse with each passing day. Thus I added more lotion. Soon we left Phuket and flew to Singapore. Still, I had a burning sensation 24/7 and my face began to fall off, literally! It got so bad it is improper to write about it in a family blog.

Needless to say, my mother thought there was something fishy about the whole thing. So she suggested that I stop using my German lotion, I might be allergic to it or something like that. Sure enough, in only a few days the whole thing was gone. After all this my new layer of skin was white like a dove. I didn't care though because all the burning and face falling was finally over!

So I went home with a great relief, I didn't look like a monster. In Singapore I began to fear that I might scare my friends out of their faith when they see me! The Lord healed me in the last couple of days and I was very, very thankful.

Meanwhile my mother who was still in Singapore wanted smoother legs. She then decided not to let my German lotion go to waste. Needless to say her skin got rougher and tougher, looking worse each day, It was then that my mother put her foot down and decided to check the bottle once more. With some common sense and Grade 8 German she came to a shocking realization...

The great German lotion was actually great shower gel! Ha ha... You might be laughing hysterically at this moment but for me the news was an arrow in my bruised Ego. I then felt like if I was going to take the jump from my ego to my IQ at that moment I would fall to my death. Again, stop laughing...

The amazing thing about it is that I was hurting myself without knowing it. I actually thought I was doing myself a world of good but I didn't see the whole picture. It just proclaimed the fact that God always knows better and what is good for us. We might think that something will be good for us, but lets give that decision to God. You just might have read the label incorrectly!

I also learned the hard way that God keeps a close eye on the proud.

Psa 138:6 Though you are above us all, you care for humble people, and you keep a close watch on everyone who is proud.

The 2 sides of Phuket (3/3/09) Chrisna

(not for sensitive readers)

Phuket in general, has 2 sides. Also for us personally, it had 2 sides.

Phuket really is a tropical paradise, with white beaches,crystal clear lukewarm water and rainforests. The people, once you spend some time with them, being friendly with them, are soft, kind and servants by nature. (That is most probably the main reason why so many western men has Thai ladies as wives/girlfriends.) There is a lot of development and building of millionaires security complexes. One sign reads: "Millionaire mile is just getting longer!"

The other side? Phuket is dirty. The water at the main beach is not crystal clear anymore, the streets full of paper and the water undrinkable. The people are so lost: giving offerings at cement alters, praying to budha, spending the little money they have on flowers for the gods. The tourists are also lost. Sun bathing until they are a blue-brown colour (or crayfish red), getting yet another tattoo, shopping a little bit more and walking on the beach with nothing but a small bikini pant (I’m talking about the ladies!) The rural areas and houses of the locals are also dirty and messy.

The Thai food is very good and not too foreign on the tongue. The fruit is wonderful and affordable. We could eat enough and stock up on vitamins! The shopping is an adventure, with bargaining a must. The excursions too many to choose from, well organized and affordable. All in all a good place for a family holiday.

Dawie J did describe our 2 daytrips. What a joy to be out on the open sea on a speedboat, to dive and snorkel as if swimming in an aquarium and to see the beautiful nature. God truly is amazing and creative.

Tuesday, 17 Febr we had a wonderful time around Phi-Phi Islands. After lunch, we snorkeled in the deep sea and then went to Maya bay. An idyllic place. I was still on the boat, when I heard Dawie, that’s old Dawie, call me. And then I saw it: the tip of his finger was gone, it was not hanging on a thread, it was gone! A bleeding finger was looking at me, the fractured bone in my face. I knew, I cannot fix this, one of my plasters won’t help.

“What happened?” I hear you ask. His finger got trapped in the ladder of the boat as he went down into the water. He could have jumped, but did not want to splash water on the older lady standing there.

A Summary of what followed: we went back to Phuket in a very speedy speedboat of another tour agency and went straight to hospital. Dawie was as white as a sheet and in a lot of pain. The 3 boys were brave, but quiet.. Dawie J was shocked, but his 2 brothes supported him in a special way. We were all praying. I prayed for a clean hospital and a good orthopaedic surgeon to be there. It happened like that. Dawie had to spend the night in hospital and the front tip of his 2^nd finger on his left hand was formally amputated and stitched up.

The 4 of us went back to the hotel, alone. We fetched Dawie the next day and stayed in the hotel for the next few days. We decided to have 2 days of school and take our holiday the next week, which worked out good.

We prayed a lot, talked a lot and tried to learn what we could learn from this trauma. One thing we know: God can and will continue to protect us from the evil one. No matter how hard he may try, he cannot harm us or steal our joy. Our Joy comes from within.

We did not write about this earlier, because we did not want my mother to hear. She is in Hong Kong now and will come to us on Saturday. Then she can see it for herself and see that it is healing. Hopefully the shock will then be less, and we will be with her to comfort her.

So yes, Phuket had 2 sides for us: an exciting ,fun side and a traumatic side. But God is faithfull and in Him we are content and at peace.

So when Dawie says: "I lost my finger in Phuket", he literally means it! We jokingly tell him that he is taking this weightloss thing too serious!

We praise God that we still have each other. An accident can happen so quickly….

And now... SENSITIVE VIEWERS, DO NOT CONTINUE...

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I Repeat: SENSITIVE VIEWERS, DO NOT CONTINUE

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Summer holiday in Phuket (15-27 Febr) Dawie J

Phuket was wonderful!

It was nice to feel the heat again, but on some days the heat was just too much. The humidity sometimes struck me like a sound wave.

The time in Phuket felt like a Strand holiday. I enjoyed the cricket on the beach, unfortunately my dad always win. We even taught some Phuket locals how to play cricket.

It is amazing that the water is so warm. It does not cool you off, but other than that, the swimming was very nice.

Some nights we went out to "shop till you drop". One night I dropped before I shopped, and did not go at all, and other nights I dropped very quickly. Shopping is not for me, but shopping in Phuket is a nice experience. Two nights we bought waffles and pancake on the street. It is amazing how they make the pancake from a small piece of dough.

We had enough of Thai food for a long time. We also ate a lot of fruit, even me - who do not like fruit!
We went on 2 excursions. One to Phi-Phi Islands where we snorkeled. We saw a lot of beautiful fish. The other one was white water rafting and riding on elephants. My mother made me mad, because she told me the whole time that I must hold on tight to the rope. I think I am big enough to sit with out holding on.

With the elephant riding ,we sat on a small bench and Charlie on the neck of the elephant. He was the driver! All the adventures was really very exciting. I know that I am really priviledged to do all of this.

Phuket is amazing and a wonderful place for a family holiday. So: if you have not been there - "GO!" You will not regret it.

Various degrees of chilling - 27 February 2009 (Tinus)

Traveling is hard work. You need to rest every now and then when traveling, or else you'll burn out (if anything heat related is possible in freezing Europe, that is.)

Therefore, our tour plan includes several days of tranquility and relaxation: our time Germany and Phuket being constituted primarily thereof. It is thus, at this juncture between Thailand and Singapore...between rest and work...between fantasy and half reality (since it would be ludicrous to refer to our present situation - even within a week set aside for intensive labour - as reality) my pleasure to testify to our time of sanctuary.

Those who know the Fourie family, will know however that even in our holidays, we rarely slow down. We mostly just shift our attention from work to utter immersement in the joys of having fun. The same was partly true this time round also. As you can relate from the posts of my family members this is certainly true of Germany and is also of Phuket. But, I will not be writing about our busy experiences in Phuket, but our tranquil ones. So, grab a cup of coffee, sit back and relax...

Anyone that has ever driven with my father to Swakopmund or Oshakati when he is slightly late, can testify that we as a family (excluding my mother off course) love speed. Imagine therefore our bliss at being in Germany. Fail to understand our jubilance? Well, the Germans thought it bright to drape their landscape in huge roads with no speed limit. And we were driving an Audi... (Oom Rolie, I think I am starting to understand your fascination with the four circles.)

Driving was thus a breeze. The times we were cruising for hundreds of kilometers at 180. The periods we were blazing at 220. And then that other time..

We were driving from Heidelberg back home. It was fairly late and the road, all 3 lanes thereof, was quiet. We were driving at about 170 (slow and steady in other words) and my brothers were asleep. My parents were talking in whispers up front and Nianel from our I-pod was streaming across the stereo. That was wonderful! More than an hour of watching the landscape change. The slow and powerful movements of the numerous windmills. Resting, Thinking, Relaxing... Oh, that was wonderful!!!!

Well, just to stay accurate, I must remind all that immediately after this relaxing experience we had to hike in the snow...

---|Off topic a little. The road system in Germany was fast, but the infrastructure in Switzerland just awesome. Hundreds (and I'm not exaggerating) of tunnels. One moment you're in one valley, staring up at insurmountable mountains, the next you're in another valley all together. WOW |---

Back to my story. From chilling in the chilly Germany to chilling in the scorching Phuket.

Well, we had a great many wonderful experiences here. Many of them were relaxing and thus earn their right to be written about in this post. Writing about all of them, however, would hinder my relaxing this last few hours, so I shall write about one... No, I shall let the photo do the talking...



Chill, I mean cheers all.

From freezing to steaming 23/2/09 (Charlie)

I am now writing from a very hot Phuket, thinking about the interesting physical exercise scenarios thus far, happy to share them with you! Before I do that, I just want to talk about a few things that's going on in my mind and in my heart.

The last few days have been like a rally: of emotions, time, traveling and finally relaxation. Some of those emotions were laughter and happiness inside while at other times they were regrettably exhaustion, impatience and worry. My mother already shared all our travel frenzies with you and thus you can understand the above emotions. I felt unsure inside with all that was going on around me but then, during one of my silent times with the Lord last week, I felt in my spirit that the Lord said to me He knows my thoughts and feelings and He will be there to comfort me. It was then that He gave me Acts 2:25 "Nothing and no one will let you stumble"! It was then that Jesus' teachings hit me, "You of little faith". I realised then that I just have to have more faith in Him and trust Him to guide me and to protect me. From there on , after asking the Lord's forgiveness, I began to enjoy everything to the full again, not stressing or worrying about future road blocks, but giving it to the Lord and deciding to praise Him no matter what.I was stealing my own joy, because I was thinking about myself and not about the people around me who were also having a tough time traveling. God came through for us thus far and I believe that He always will!

Having talked about that I decided to write about all our perspiration and exhaustion. It began in Switzerland... My father (previously manager of my WHS rugby side) did not want to send back an unfit son to Namibia, especially because the reason for going back to Namibia was to play very tough rugby. Thus me and Tinus started jogging and running in the mountains. Those first few jogs were devastating. Not only because I was unfit at the time but also because of the high altitude and because everything was up hill. The icy cold weather didn't help either. I didn't know my fingers and ears could burn that way without heat, sometimes after a jog I couldn't even stretch my frozen face enough to smile... At the end I enjoyed all the mountain running a lot not only because I knew it was great exercise but because I had a breathtaking view every time.

When we arrived in Germany about two weeks ago, it was a whole new experience again. Being in the woods with a slight drizzle and no snow(not for long) me and Tinus decided to go and jog in these woods. Except for still being very cold, everything was different. We had no view, just trees. When it snowed the following few days there it made all the jogging in the woods even more interesting and more tiring. Leaving Germany with all it's traveling and driving to Frankfurt and back I knew that my exercise routine was going to go up a notch, in toughness and degrees Celsius.

Arriving in Singapore with all the humidity and searing heat I knew this was going to be a mental battle, but I was determined to win... "Traveling is amazing" I thought when standing without a shirt on the beach in Phuket after our first jog. I was sweating all over after a steaming hot, blazing fast run. No more cool mountain jogging. This was extreme! What made it more exciting and tough was that my Father got a whistle and wanted to see sprints... A lot of them... Although this wasn't easy I tried to slow time and think about God's grace and goodness to give me a healthy body to use all energy and to move most of my body on full capability. This made running exciting and gave me the feeling of freedom.

I am glad to inform you that my father is going to another gear with me and that it is going to get a lot worse. I Praise God and trust in Him.

Till next time I write, be faithful with your time with the Lord and trust in Him because He is There for you as well(Psalm 11 - 13)! Sorry That is all for today, I have to go and run sprints now! God bless!

Charlie

P.S. "Come on Charlie you can do it!