Hi
I had planned to stay in the states for a few more months, I have had some really sad news, and need to return home this week. My mom passed away on Monday, it was unexpected. She got double pneumonia and was in the hospital on Sunday, my brother and sister in law were with her on Monday, and she passed away Monday afternoon. Lisa is returning with me, and we have a lot to sort out before we leave. Please pray that everything goes smoothly and that God maps out each step for us.
thanks
love
Catherine
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Another Lisa's update
Hello once again--from Oregon!
Catherine and I made it home a couple of weeks ago and just have not yet gotten around to writing yet. Oops! The last month of our trip really took a lot out of us so we have been trying to rest up and get back on our feet again.
NATIONAL PARKS GALORE!
The month of July took us to just about every National Park in Colorado and Utah, it seems. It seemed silly not to take full advantage of our new annual pass! We hit most of the famous parks (Arches, Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon), and discovered some lesser known ones as well that were pretty amazing. We enjoyed the beautiful creation--but not the heat so much!! I have been wanting to see the Grand Canyon for years now and got to fulfill one of my dreams--watching the sunrise over the canyon. It was sweet!
LV
After making our way through Arizona, we met up with my mom and her brother in Las Vegas for a night. I am not a huge LV fan, but it was really fun to see my mom and Catherine was glad to see yet one more thing that she has only seen through the movies.
YOSEMITE--MY FAVORITE!
Our last stop was Yosemite--a personal favorite of mine. We didn't have reservations for a campsite, so we found a nice lady who was willing to share hers with us! We had a blast playing in the river and soaking up the beauty of the valley. We were even able to borrow bikes from our camp-mate, something we've been trying to do for months now!
SEATTLE
A couple of weeks ago, we got to meet up with some friends in Seattle--our friend Denea who lives in Lubbock, TX and Dawn from Seattle (both of whom we met in Mozambique). We were plenty busy as we saw lots of sites and went to lots of coffee shops. It was a blast. Catherine has come a long way from her first hesitant cup of coffee a few months ago. She was drinking lattes without sugar and doing espresso shots! Ha! I love it! She even wouldn't let me leave the city without going to get "just one last cup"! =) Who would have guessed?!
LATEST NEWS--CATH'S STAYING!
Catherine's flight back home was supposed to be last Saturday, but she has filed with the US to extend her stay here. So assuming all goes well, she should be here a while longer. Neither of us was ready for her to go yet!
Well, that's the short version of our last few months. Hope you are all well.
Love,
Lisa (and Catherine too)
Catherine and I made it home a couple of weeks ago and just have not yet gotten around to writing yet. Oops! The last month of our trip really took a lot out of us so we have been trying to rest up and get back on our feet again.
NATIONAL PARKS GALORE!
The month of July took us to just about every National Park in Colorado and Utah, it seems. It seemed silly not to take full advantage of our new annual pass! We hit most of the famous parks (Arches, Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon), and discovered some lesser known ones as well that were pretty amazing. We enjoyed the beautiful creation--but not the heat so much!! I have been wanting to see the Grand Canyon for years now and got to fulfill one of my dreams--watching the sunrise over the canyon. It was sweet!
LV
After making our way through Arizona, we met up with my mom and her brother in Las Vegas for a night. I am not a huge LV fan, but it was really fun to see my mom and Catherine was glad to see yet one more thing that she has only seen through the movies.
YOSEMITE--MY FAVORITE!
Our last stop was Yosemite--a personal favorite of mine. We didn't have reservations for a campsite, so we found a nice lady who was willing to share hers with us! We had a blast playing in the river and soaking up the beauty of the valley. We were even able to borrow bikes from our camp-mate, something we've been trying to do for months now!
SEATTLE
A couple of weeks ago, we got to meet up with some friends in Seattle--our friend Denea who lives in Lubbock, TX and Dawn from Seattle (both of whom we met in Mozambique). We were plenty busy as we saw lots of sites and went to lots of coffee shops. It was a blast. Catherine has come a long way from her first hesitant cup of coffee a few months ago. She was drinking lattes without sugar and doing espresso shots! Ha! I love it! She even wouldn't let me leave the city without going to get "just one last cup"! =) Who would have guessed?!
LATEST NEWS--CATH'S STAYING!
Catherine's flight back home was supposed to be last Saturday, but she has filed with the US to extend her stay here. So assuming all goes well, she should be here a while longer. Neither of us was ready for her to go yet!
Well, that's the short version of our last few months. Hope you are all well.
Love,
Lisa (and Catherine too)
Saturday, July 21, 2007
A few Highlights!
Hi all!
You may ask where I am saying hi from, well we find ourselves in Dallas, Texas! Yip we did not think we would make it this far but God seems to be leading this journey not us.
So while in California God told us to head to Lubbock Texas(some friends we met in Mozambqie stay there), so we packed up and left. To get htere we had to drive through some desert land. We headed to Arizona, it was interesting and kind of hard on us as we thought we were not hearing right and going in the wrong direction. After much heat, tears and praying we kept going. As we were driving out of Arizona there was this slight rain that came out of no where, and God told us there is refreshing coming. We had no idea what to expect. We hit New Mexico, and stayed in a place called Lus Cruces, it was really amazing there, we could breath again. we camped 2 nights there. We went to go see White sands, which really was incredible it was miles and miles of white sand dunes....white sand dunes strecthing for miles. And scary thought we were driving through the area where America first tested the Atomic bomb. Yip we were in the middle of missile territory, but we were safe! They werent testing any that day and am sure that the road where people drive is not the place they test them.
The next day we headed for Caldsbad Caverns, still in New Mexico. We got hit with a crazy storm on the way there, I could hardly see in front of me while I was driving, we kept going as we had no idea if it would stop, just black clouds lighting everywhere, and of course the relief that we were out of the desert! It eventually stopped and we felt ok again and well refreshed!We headed straight for the caves once in Caldsbad. These caves are the biggest in the US not sure about the world. You could fit 14 football fields in them. It was fascinating, we caught and elevator down 750 feet and took a stroll around, it was fascinating. We hung around till dusk, watched the bats take flight out of the caves interesting little creatures those bats are. The next day we went back and decided to walk in the caves, so we walked down 750 feet, took us about 2 hours. Next stop "Alien territory"
We headed for Roswell, now if any of you know this is the place to see UFO'S, well this is what the town seems to think. It was kind of weird. We went and found a camp site and decided to explore Roswell in the morning. Trust me, not much to explore, most shops have some Alien/UFO memrobilia and we went to the museum but decide that paying $5 was not worth the information we might see or read. Sure is a strange place, Lisa and myself decided to be funny and put some foil on our heads and take a picture of us by a Roswell sign, yip we thought well we might as well laugh at the oppurtunity we had of seeing this strange little town(you want to see the picture, let me know i will email it to you). We left pretty soon after htat and reached Lubbock, Texas
We had no idea what was going to happen here. But we had fun. Our friends spoiled us, we met lots of people and got to just hang around Lubbock. God had been planning some stuff we loved doing. So some of the stuff was, praying and encouraging people we got to meet. It was such fun just watching God move and Holy Spirit being poured out onto people. We even got the oppurtunitie to speak at a church on a Sunday morning. It was such fun, the pastor just let us do what we felt Holy Spirit was wanting to do. Lisa and myself had no clue until it was our turn to stand up and speak what God wanted us to share, but we got to share and pray for people to have Holy Spirit, (I love doing this). We left a few hours later after sharing our hearts and praying till the last person left, no one seemed to want to leave.
I also got refreshed with some pure South Africans, a friend of a friend new these two crazy South Africans that come to Lubbock once a year to minister at a Church here. They are pure afrikaans South Africans, they made us milk tart and then pulled out some sausage that kind of tasted like borewors, and ALL GOLD tomatoe sauce and Mrs Balls Chutney.....yummy it felt like i was back home. We spent some good time with them and laughed a lot because we could understand each other and the things we were saying. So I have started teaching Lisa some afrikaans, our secret little language, so no one else can understand us here in US, especially when we need to communicate and we dont want everyone to understand.It fun and Lisa is a good learner. We left Lubbock and headed for Dallas, been here just over a week, have been staying with a family that Lisa kind of knew, they welcomed us in and we have had some good times with them and their 3 daughters. We will be leaving in a few days, we kind of know where but have not finalised it yet,
So keep praying for us, we have good days and bad days but have learnt that each day is just another day of grace!
Love you
Catherine
You may ask where I am saying hi from, well we find ourselves in Dallas, Texas! Yip we did not think we would make it this far but God seems to be leading this journey not us.
So while in California God told us to head to Lubbock Texas(some friends we met in Mozambqie stay there), so we packed up and left. To get htere we had to drive through some desert land. We headed to Arizona, it was interesting and kind of hard on us as we thought we were not hearing right and going in the wrong direction. After much heat, tears and praying we kept going. As we were driving out of Arizona there was this slight rain that came out of no where, and God told us there is refreshing coming. We had no idea what to expect. We hit New Mexico, and stayed in a place called Lus Cruces, it was really amazing there, we could breath again. we camped 2 nights there. We went to go see White sands, which really was incredible it was miles and miles of white sand dunes....white sand dunes strecthing for miles. And scary thought we were driving through the area where America first tested the Atomic bomb. Yip we were in the middle of missile territory, but we were safe! They werent testing any that day and am sure that the road where people drive is not the place they test them.
The next day we headed for Caldsbad Caverns, still in New Mexico. We got hit with a crazy storm on the way there, I could hardly see in front of me while I was driving, we kept going as we had no idea if it would stop, just black clouds lighting everywhere, and of course the relief that we were out of the desert! It eventually stopped and we felt ok again and well refreshed!We headed straight for the caves once in Caldsbad. These caves are the biggest in the US not sure about the world. You could fit 14 football fields in them. It was fascinating, we caught and elevator down 750 feet and took a stroll around, it was fascinating. We hung around till dusk, watched the bats take flight out of the caves interesting little creatures those bats are. The next day we went back and decided to walk in the caves, so we walked down 750 feet, took us about 2 hours. Next stop "Alien territory"
We headed for Roswell, now if any of you know this is the place to see UFO'S, well this is what the town seems to think. It was kind of weird. We went and found a camp site and decided to explore Roswell in the morning. Trust me, not much to explore, most shops have some Alien/UFO memrobilia and we went to the museum but decide that paying $5 was not worth the information we might see or read. Sure is a strange place, Lisa and myself decided to be funny and put some foil on our heads and take a picture of us by a Roswell sign, yip we thought well we might as well laugh at the oppurtunity we had of seeing this strange little town(you want to see the picture, let me know i will email it to you). We left pretty soon after htat and reached Lubbock, Texas
We had no idea what was going to happen here. But we had fun. Our friends spoiled us, we met lots of people and got to just hang around Lubbock. God had been planning some stuff we loved doing. So some of the stuff was, praying and encouraging people we got to meet. It was such fun just watching God move and Holy Spirit being poured out onto people. We even got the oppurtunitie to speak at a church on a Sunday morning. It was such fun, the pastor just let us do what we felt Holy Spirit was wanting to do. Lisa and myself had no clue until it was our turn to stand up and speak what God wanted us to share, but we got to share and pray for people to have Holy Spirit, (I love doing this). We left a few hours later after sharing our hearts and praying till the last person left, no one seemed to want to leave.
I also got refreshed with some pure South Africans, a friend of a friend new these two crazy South Africans that come to Lubbock once a year to minister at a Church here. They are pure afrikaans South Africans, they made us milk tart and then pulled out some sausage that kind of tasted like borewors, and ALL GOLD tomatoe sauce and Mrs Balls Chutney.....yummy it felt like i was back home. We spent some good time with them and laughed a lot because we could understand each other and the things we were saying. So I have started teaching Lisa some afrikaans, our secret little language, so no one else can understand us here in US, especially when we need to communicate and we dont want everyone to understand.It fun and Lisa is a good learner. We left Lubbock and headed for Dallas, been here just over a week, have been staying with a family that Lisa kind of knew, they welcomed us in and we have had some good times with them and their 3 daughters. We will be leaving in a few days, we kind of know where but have not finalised it yet,
So keep praying for us, we have good days and bad days but have learnt that each day is just another day of grace!
Love you
Catherine
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Highlights from Lisa!
Hello from the Rockies!!
It has been many, many miles since we last wrote.... Yesterday marked a month since our last oil change and we already crossed the 3,000 mile mark--just since then!
THE DESERT IS HIGHLY OVERRATED!
We've covered a lot of territory in the last month and a half! We decided we weren't so fond of the desert of Arizona and New Mexico, except for the amazing caves in Carlsbad! We spent a morning in Roswell, New Mexico and that was quite enough. No, we didn't see any aliens this time!
LUBBOCK-(where?!)
Our time in Lubbock, Texas with our friends from Mozambique was absolutely amazing. We saw God moving very powerfully in people there and we were given the opportunity to speak in a church there, which ended up being such fun. We let the Holy Spirit lead and he really spoke through us and touched people there. We enjoyed praying for people afterward for over 2 hours! Such fun!
CAMPING IN DALLAS WITH GREG AND JEAN
The next day we headed to the Dallas area and met up with my (Lisa's) aunt and unlce, who happened to be there camping at the same time we were planning to be there. Cath and I went for an impromptu swim in our clothes in the lake there one evening at sunset--beautiful and refreshing!! Reminded us of our early morning swims together in Mozambique when we were first getting to know each other!
REST AND BLESSING AT THE KYPUROS HOME
We have been amazingly blessed all throughout our trip of finding amazing "strangers" who have opened up their homes and hearts to us. One such family, the Kypuros', are friends of friends from CA. We thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them, playing (and coloring!) with their three beautiful girls, and praying with them on several occasions. After our first few days with them, they left town on vacation and let us stay in their home for a few more days while they were gone. A blessing for sure!
A REAL TEXAS RODEO!
After that, we headed to our friend, Andrea's, parents' house--also "strangers" to us. They welcomed us with amazing "Tex Mex" and upon discovering that we had not yet seen a rodeo jumped up from the dinner table, packed us in the car and took us off to see one! I was a bit skeptical at first, but ended up having an absolute blast! I liked the bull riding--and the kiddie version (4-6 year olds) on sheep!
MORE STRANGERS--and FISHING! (see picture below)
Our friend, Denea (from Lubbock), was in Dallas for a family reunion and invited us to join. It was great fun to see her again and to meet yet more wonderful people who welcomed us so warmly. A favorite part of our time there was going on her dad's platoon on a lake at sunset to fish. Once again, I didn't think I would enjoy myself, but ended up not wanting our time to end. We laughed a lot, and I caught....a log, some plants, and the bottom of the lake on numerous occasions.
OOOOOOO-KLAHOMA WHERE THE WIND COMES SWEEPIN' DOWN THE PLAIN....
After a long drive, we made a stop in Oklahoma City, where (once again) we were rained on while camping. Seems to be a theme... Anyway, we thought what better thing to do in Oklahoma than go see the musical "Oklahoma!" on stage. It just happened to be playing that week we were there and we caught opening night. Such fun to be in an audience of real Oklahomans who were so excited about their State.
NEXT STOP--KANSAS CITY AND DAGWOOD'S DINER (see picture below)
Once again, we were taken in by a complete stranger--this time on 2 hours' notice. We stayed 3 nights with a friend of a friend of a friend of a woman we met in Lubbock. We visited the International House of Prayer there and were happy to escape the crazy rain that has been pounding the mid-west. Our favorite part of Kansas City was discovering a dingy little diner on the Kansas side one morning. After a failed attempt to find a restaurant we were familiar with, we finally stopped, incredibly hungry, at Dagwood's Diner. Wowee--AAA needs to get this one in it's tourbook! We ate with the locals and watched as the 60something, overweight woman in the kitchen made our pancakes, licking the batter off of her fingers before carrying on with the next order. Next to her stood two women in the kitchen taking their smoke break... It was absolutely an amazing experience--and the food was so fabulous that we went back the next day for more!
A LOOOOOONG DAY OF DRIVING LEADS TO DENVER, COLORADO (see picture below)
Through Kansas we went in one day. Not too much to see, really. We found a nice place to stay in the mountains of Denver and Cath got to see another baseball game--the Rockies vs the Mets. Good fun as usual. I enjoyed watching the cotton candy man speed down the stairs, the amazing sunset, and the cute baby that was sitting in front of us. Oh, ya, and the baseball was good too. "We" won. =)
ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH! (see picture below)
We are currently (that is, for the next hour or so) just outside of Colorado Springs, enjoying some tremendous beauty. We've decided that we officially like Colorado! Yesterday we visited the "Garden of the Gods", which is a park consisting of all sorts of crazy rock formations. The sky was bright blue, the trees super green, the clouds white as could be, and the rocks a beautiful red. We took tons of pictures and enjoyed just sitting and enjoying the scenery. Last night we went to Seven Falls, all lit up with lights. We missed the fireworks, but this was better than fireworks! It was calm and very pretty. We felt like we were in a movie set and that when we left they would shut off the lights and turn off the tap to the water!
NEXT STOP??
We're off in a few minutes and aren't sure where we'll sleep tonight. However, we have been scheming about the next few weeks and have a good idea about our route back to Oregon. This could well be the last chance I have to update until we get back home. We will likely stop at a coffee shop for internet here and there, but I probably won't be able to take the time to write another long update for a while. I hope you all are well!
Lisa and Catherine
It has been many, many miles since we last wrote.... Yesterday marked a month since our last oil change and we already crossed the 3,000 mile mark--just since then!
THE DESERT IS HIGHLY OVERRATED!
We've covered a lot of territory in the last month and a half! We decided we weren't so fond of the desert of Arizona and New Mexico, except for the amazing caves in Carlsbad! We spent a morning in Roswell, New Mexico and that was quite enough. No, we didn't see any aliens this time!
LUBBOCK-(where?!)
Our time in Lubbock, Texas with our friends from Mozambique was absolutely amazing. We saw God moving very powerfully in people there and we were given the opportunity to speak in a church there, which ended up being such fun. We let the Holy Spirit lead and he really spoke through us and touched people there. We enjoyed praying for people afterward for over 2 hours! Such fun!
CAMPING IN DALLAS WITH GREG AND JEAN
The next day we headed to the Dallas area and met up with my (Lisa's) aunt and unlce, who happened to be there camping at the same time we were planning to be there. Cath and I went for an impromptu swim in our clothes in the lake there one evening at sunset--beautiful and refreshing!! Reminded us of our early morning swims together in Mozambique when we were first getting to know each other!
REST AND BLESSING AT THE KYPUROS HOME
We have been amazingly blessed all throughout our trip of finding amazing "strangers" who have opened up their homes and hearts to us. One such family, the Kypuros', are friends of friends from CA. We thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them, playing (and coloring!) with their three beautiful girls, and praying with them on several occasions. After our first few days with them, they left town on vacation and let us stay in their home for a few more days while they were gone. A blessing for sure!
A REAL TEXAS RODEO!
After that, we headed to our friend, Andrea's, parents' house--also "strangers" to us. They welcomed us with amazing "Tex Mex" and upon discovering that we had not yet seen a rodeo jumped up from the dinner table, packed us in the car and took us off to see one! I was a bit skeptical at first, but ended up having an absolute blast! I liked the bull riding--and the kiddie version (4-6 year olds) on sheep!
MORE STRANGERS--and FISHING! (see picture below)
Our friend, Denea (from Lubbock), was in Dallas for a family reunion and invited us to join. It was great fun to see her again and to meet yet more wonderful people who welcomed us so warmly. A favorite part of our time there was going on her dad's platoon on a lake at sunset to fish. Once again, I didn't think I would enjoy myself, but ended up not wanting our time to end. We laughed a lot, and I caught....a log, some plants, and the bottom of the lake on numerous occasions.
OOOOOOO-KLAHOMA WHERE THE WIND COMES SWEEPIN' DOWN THE PLAIN....
After a long drive, we made a stop in Oklahoma City, where (once again) we were rained on while camping. Seems to be a theme... Anyway, we thought what better thing to do in Oklahoma than go see the musical "Oklahoma!" on stage. It just happened to be playing that week we were there and we caught opening night. Such fun to be in an audience of real Oklahomans who were so excited about their State.
NEXT STOP--KANSAS CITY AND DAGWOOD'S DINER (see picture below)
Once again, we were taken in by a complete stranger--this time on 2 hours' notice. We stayed 3 nights with a friend of a friend of a friend of a woman we met in Lubbock. We visited the International House of Prayer there and were happy to escape the crazy rain that has been pounding the mid-west. Our favorite part of Kansas City was discovering a dingy little diner on the Kansas side one morning. After a failed attempt to find a restaurant we were familiar with, we finally stopped, incredibly hungry, at Dagwood's Diner. Wowee--AAA needs to get this one in it's tourbook! We ate with the locals and watched as the 60something, overweight woman in the kitchen made our pancakes, licking the batter off of her fingers before carrying on with the next order. Next to her stood two women in the kitchen taking their smoke break... It was absolutely an amazing experience--and the food was so fabulous that we went back the next day for more!
A LOOOOOONG DAY OF DRIVING LEADS TO DENVER, COLORADO (see picture below)
Through Kansas we went in one day. Not too much to see, really. We found a nice place to stay in the mountains of Denver and Cath got to see another baseball game--the Rockies vs the Mets. Good fun as usual. I enjoyed watching the cotton candy man speed down the stairs, the amazing sunset, and the cute baby that was sitting in front of us. Oh, ya, and the baseball was good too. "We" won. =)
ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH! (see picture below)
We are currently (that is, for the next hour or so) just outside of Colorado Springs, enjoying some tremendous beauty. We've decided that we officially like Colorado! Yesterday we visited the "Garden of the Gods", which is a park consisting of all sorts of crazy rock formations. The sky was bright blue, the trees super green, the clouds white as could be, and the rocks a beautiful red. We took tons of pictures and enjoyed just sitting and enjoying the scenery. Last night we went to Seven Falls, all lit up with lights. We missed the fireworks, but this was better than fireworks! It was calm and very pretty. We felt like we were in a movie set and that when we left they would shut off the lights and turn off the tap to the water!
NEXT STOP??
We're off in a few minutes and aren't sure where we'll sleep tonight. However, we have been scheming about the next few weeks and have a good idea about our route back to Oregon. This could well be the last chance I have to update until we get back home. We will likely stop at a coffee shop for internet here and there, but I probably won't be able to take the time to write another long update for a while. I hope you all are well!
Lisa and Catherine
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
A Porsche PART 3
Cath drives a PORSCHE?!!
Down to the Los Angeles area we headed, where Lisa's parents stay. The first night we actually stayed at Lisa's aunt's house since we were going to go "yard sale-ing" the next day near her house. (Those of you South Africans out there may be asking, "what is a yard sale?" Well, it's where people put out their junk, or stuff they don't use, and sell it for really cheap.) But little did Cath know she was going to experience more than a yard sale the next day. Early in the morning we agreed to go with Lisa's uncle to go for a coffee run and we walked outside and there it was--his car... A PORSCHE! Now Cath is still trying to get used to the coffee thing, but her comment was, "Well, I don't mind going to get coffee if I get to ride in the Porsche." The reply she got was...... "Well would you like to DRIVE it?" Now who would pass up an offer like that?! Certainly not her! So, like an excited kid, she jumped in the driver's seat of an amazing Porsche.....Lisa got to sit all scrunched up in the back, bearing with her friend as she got to live out another dream. WOW! It was such fun sitting behind the wheel and actually driving it. It brought new meaning to the words "fun" and "excitement." Definitely a car she would like to have one day--it kind of made up for a bit of her sad story back home, as her car was stolen a few days earlier... yip, her beautiful car.
OK, so back to earth. From the Porsche drive she did not stop smiling the whole day and giggling like a little child. Then off to "yard sale-ing" we went--lots of houses with lots of junk--but Cath did pick up some baseball mits for her nieces, her brother and herself... all for an amazing price of about R100. It was a real deal, but her bargaining skills weren't up to scratch. Lisa thought she could have got them cheaper, but wait till next time!
Living in a movie...
Troop Beverly Hills.....if you have not watched it, Cath think it's about time you did! It was one of her favourite movies as a kid. After much searching we eventually tracked it down. The video store even sold it to us for $2--think it's not popular anymore....but Cath needed to watch it before "Troop Lisa and Cath" headed out to Beverly Hills/Hollywood for a tour. It was a good laugh and got Cath all excited for the next adventure. So off we went the next day to the place of the stars. Well, Hollywood was kind of interesting. We walked on the path where the stars are in the ground, took some pictures, saw some sights, and decided that lunch was just more important--especialy when it was "In-N-Out" burgers on the menu. So we sat on Sunset Boulevard and ate In-N-Out and prepared ourselves for the next leg of the journey--Beverley Hills. Now, as a kid Cath dreamed of being rich and having a house here one day. Yip, it's shocking, I know, but hey as kids it's always good to dream of weird things. So we found the Beverly Hills Hotel. Now, if you watched the movie, you would see a scene from there (go watch it--I tell you its worth it!). We took some pictures to say we were there, drove through some streets of Beverly Hills, then headed down to the famous Rodeo Drive, where if you hang out a long time you might see some famous star come buy something. Needless to say, we walked down the street, went to the bathroom, took some pictures, and left. Seemed like it did not live up to all that Cath had thought, but it was worth the visit as now Cath can say she has walked the famous Rodeo Drive where you could easily spend thousands of dollars on a shirt! Scary, I know.
Disneyland, here we come!
So Lisa and Cath would like to have gone to Disneyland, but since it costs lots of dollars they decided that God needed to give them some tickets. Well little did they know He had it all planned 25 years ago! So on the 3rd of May Lisa turned 25 and her mom sent us to Disneyland for her birthday. It was a day to remember. We woke up early, left the house by 6h30, and headed out to the Place of a Million Dreams!!! Lisa got to wear a badge for her birthday and every employee who saw her wished her "happy birthday!" We saw Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Pluto, Winnie the Pooh, and after much tracking down eventually found Goofy and of course Cath could not resist taking a picture with Goofy. We did most of the rides and did not even have to stand in long lines to get on them-- 30 minutes tops, and that was a kiddy ride. But it was all leading up to the best part of all...the parade. It was Cath's favourite. The music played as all the different characters--some on floats and some just walking and dancing--came down Main Street. If you asked Lisa what her favourite part of the day was, she would say...having lots of people say happy birthday, not waiting in lines for rides, and watching Cath experience Disneyland for the first time. And if you ask Cath what was her favourite part of the day she would say....the parade. Here is her comment: " It was like a dream-come-true seeing all the Disneyland characters that you only see in the movies and remembering all the songs that came with them. Yet it was not a movie anymore--it was real life!"--- "Yippidee do da yippeedee yay my oh my what a wonderful day..." So after a full day of being on our feet we headed home to rest our weary legs. Nothing could have taken away the day we had full of a million dreams!
Cath's summing up:
When I re-read all we've written about in the last few days, I realise that Jesus is really just taking us through a time where He is spoiling us and letting us live some of our dreams even though they might seem like nothing to some people and stupid to some--especially in the bigger scheme of things. But I know I am in a season of just being and having fun. I can't explain it, but I sure am enjoying it. But it does not stop me from wanting to see God's Kingdom come on earth, because in the midst of all that we are doing, we wait for oppurtunities to show God's love and share His heart with people we come across--whether it's smiling at someone or talking to someone or praying for someone, we are learning about what Jesus is in us and how we are to function from that and not strive in that. So to end off, all I can say is..."go live your dream--it's worth it!" I am, and a few days ago I got to go to yet another baseball game--this time a Dodgers game--and ate a Dodger Dog!
The next stop? Well, that is still in the works. We'll let you know as things develop!
Love you all, and next time we'll try to write sooner so it doesn't have to be a book!
catherine and lisa
Down to the Los Angeles area we headed, where Lisa's parents stay. The first night we actually stayed at Lisa's aunt's house since we were going to go "yard sale-ing" the next day near her house. (Those of you South Africans out there may be asking, "what is a yard sale?" Well, it's where people put out their junk, or stuff they don't use, and sell it for really cheap.) But little did Cath know she was going to experience more than a yard sale the next day. Early in the morning we agreed to go with Lisa's uncle to go for a coffee run and we walked outside and there it was--his car... A PORSCHE! Now Cath is still trying to get used to the coffee thing, but her comment was, "Well, I don't mind going to get coffee if I get to ride in the Porsche." The reply she got was...... "Well would you like to DRIVE it?" Now who would pass up an offer like that?! Certainly not her! So, like an excited kid, she jumped in the driver's seat of an amazing Porsche.....Lisa got to sit all scrunched up in the back, bearing with her friend as she got to live out another dream. WOW! It was such fun sitting behind the wheel and actually driving it. It brought new meaning to the words "fun" and "excitement." Definitely a car she would like to have one day--it kind of made up for a bit of her sad story back home, as her car was stolen a few days earlier... yip, her beautiful car.
OK, so back to earth. From the Porsche drive she did not stop smiling the whole day and giggling like a little child. Then off to "yard sale-ing" we went--lots of houses with lots of junk--but Cath did pick up some baseball mits for her nieces, her brother and herself... all for an amazing price of about R100. It was a real deal, but her bargaining skills weren't up to scratch. Lisa thought she could have got them cheaper, but wait till next time!
Living in a movie...
Troop Beverly Hills.....if you have not watched it, Cath think it's about time you did! It was one of her favourite movies as a kid. After much searching we eventually tracked it down. The video store even sold it to us for $2--think it's not popular anymore....but Cath needed to watch it before "Troop Lisa and Cath" headed out to Beverly Hills/Hollywood for a tour. It was a good laugh and got Cath all excited for the next adventure. So off we went the next day to the place of the stars. Well, Hollywood was kind of interesting. We walked on the path where the stars are in the ground, took some pictures, saw some sights, and decided that lunch was just more important--especialy when it was "In-N-Out" burgers on the menu. So we sat on Sunset Boulevard and ate In-N-Out and prepared ourselves for the next leg of the journey--Beverley Hills. Now, as a kid Cath dreamed of being rich and having a house here one day. Yip, it's shocking, I know, but hey as kids it's always good to dream of weird things. So we found the Beverly Hills Hotel. Now, if you watched the movie, you would see a scene from there (go watch it--I tell you its worth it!). We took some pictures to say we were there, drove through some streets of Beverly Hills, then headed down to the famous Rodeo Drive, where if you hang out a long time you might see some famous star come buy something. Needless to say, we walked down the street, went to the bathroom, took some pictures, and left. Seemed like it did not live up to all that Cath had thought, but it was worth the visit as now Cath can say she has walked the famous Rodeo Drive where you could easily spend thousands of dollars on a shirt! Scary, I know.
Disneyland, here we come!
So Lisa and Cath would like to have gone to Disneyland, but since it costs lots of dollars they decided that God needed to give them some tickets. Well little did they know He had it all planned 25 years ago! So on the 3rd of May Lisa turned 25 and her mom sent us to Disneyland for her birthday. It was a day to remember. We woke up early, left the house by 6h30, and headed out to the Place of a Million Dreams!!! Lisa got to wear a badge for her birthday and every employee who saw her wished her "happy birthday!" We saw Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Pluto, Winnie the Pooh, and after much tracking down eventually found Goofy and of course Cath could not resist taking a picture with Goofy. We did most of the rides and did not even have to stand in long lines to get on them-- 30 minutes tops, and that was a kiddy ride. But it was all leading up to the best part of all...the parade. It was Cath's favourite. The music played as all the different characters--some on floats and some just walking and dancing--came down Main Street. If you asked Lisa what her favourite part of the day was, she would say...having lots of people say happy birthday, not waiting in lines for rides, and watching Cath experience Disneyland for the first time. And if you ask Cath what was her favourite part of the day she would say....the parade. Here is her comment: " It was like a dream-come-true seeing all the Disneyland characters that you only see in the movies and remembering all the songs that came with them. Yet it was not a movie anymore--it was real life!"--- "Yippidee do da yippeedee yay my oh my what a wonderful day..." So after a full day of being on our feet we headed home to rest our weary legs. Nothing could have taken away the day we had full of a million dreams!
Cath's summing up:
When I re-read all we've written about in the last few days, I realise that Jesus is really just taking us through a time where He is spoiling us and letting us live some of our dreams even though they might seem like nothing to some people and stupid to some--especially in the bigger scheme of things. But I know I am in a season of just being and having fun. I can't explain it, but I sure am enjoying it. But it does not stop me from wanting to see God's Kingdom come on earth, because in the midst of all that we are doing, we wait for oppurtunities to show God's love and share His heart with people we come across--whether it's smiling at someone or talking to someone or praying for someone, we are learning about what Jesus is in us and how we are to function from that and not strive in that. So to end off, all I can say is..."go live your dream--it's worth it!" I am, and a few days ago I got to go to yet another baseball game--this time a Dodgers game--and ate a Dodger Dog!
The next stop? Well, that is still in the works. We'll let you know as things develop!
Love you all, and next time we'll try to write sooner so it doesn't have to be a book!
catherine and lisa
Monday, May 14, 2007
Journey part 2
Lisa and Cath update: Part 2
California, here we come!! First stop: San Francisco.
Over the border from Oregon to California we went! Now Cath can officially say she has set foot in CA. We headed first for San Francisco. We found Lisa's generous friend who let us stay with her for a week. We were so glad to have a warm, dry bed and some dry clothes--it was like staying in a 5 star hotel! Some fun things we saw and did? For one, we walked the bridge... the Golden Gate bridge!! We braved downtown San Francisco--ya, we got off the train a few stops too late and ended up in the scary part of town. But what would a trip to San Fransisco be like without seeing its scary, dangerous side?! We spent some time at Golden Gate Park, ate some ice cream there, and went to the beach. Cath is rather disappointed that you can't smell the sea here. Cape Town is the place to smell the sea, she says. Oh yes, and Cath had her first "In-N-Out" burger experience. Mc Donalds just does not even come close! Yummy yummy!
Field of Dreams...
It was a dream come true--the night Catherine and Lisa got to sit and watch as the San Fransisco Giants played the St Louis Cardinals. For 27 years, Cath had dreamed of attending a Major League baseball game in America. Boy, was it a night to remember as free tickets landed in their laps just hours before the game started! Cath was all excited as she got ready to go to the game...and Lisa just enjoyed the sheer childlikeness of Cath's reactions. As Cath entered the big stadium and stared everywhere, taking in every moment, she slowly approached the entrance to where it was all to take place. The excitement was almost too much to bear, but the two braved it as the game had already begun! WOW! What a moment! The game was amazing and in the 7th inning they got to sing the ball park song.... "Take me out to the ball game..." And, of course, they could not have gone to the ball game without having a hot dog and a Coke! If all that wasn't enough, Barry Bonds hit a home run! (check out his website http://barrybonds.mlb.com/players/bonds_barry/index.html if you're not familiar with who he is) . As Cath and Lisa watched, they could not help but smile and giggle at each other because Jesus really blessed them with a special evening of fun and dreams!
Sonoma, California--and then stumbling upon beauty in Big Sur
After San Francisco, we went to see a friend of Lisa's in Sonoma. It was fun to hang out with her, and this time we got to DRIVE over the Golden Gate bridge.... After two days, we left her friend's house late in the afternoon and headed down the coast. We wanted to find a camp site that we could stay at for at least 2 or 3 days--we were kind of tired of just staying one night at a camp site. We drove and drove, looking for the perfect spot. It was getting late--nearly 10h30pm--and it was a dark and windy road. Fortunately, we stumbled upon a campsite just before we ran out of gas. We just decided that this was going to be the place--either that or sleeping in the car!-- so we set up camp and went to bed. To our great surprise, we woke up in the morning surrounded by great big redwood trees and a river just a few feet from our tent. Wow, it was perfect! We looked at each other and said, "Well done!" It was an amazing 3 days of resting (with no rain!) and just spending time alone with Jesus.
Sea Kayaking
Realizing that we could not stay there forever, we packed up and headed towards San Luis Obispo, staying there 2 days with some of Lisa's friends. We got spoiled again with some sea kayaking...oh how Cath loves the water--that was so much fun!
California, here we come!! First stop: San Francisco.
Over the border from Oregon to California we went! Now Cath can officially say she has set foot in CA. We headed first for San Francisco. We found Lisa's generous friend who let us stay with her for a week. We were so glad to have a warm, dry bed and some dry clothes--it was like staying in a 5 star hotel! Some fun things we saw and did? For one, we walked the bridge... the Golden Gate bridge!! We braved downtown San Francisco--ya, we got off the train a few stops too late and ended up in the scary part of town. But what would a trip to San Fransisco be like without seeing its scary, dangerous side?! We spent some time at Golden Gate Park, ate some ice cream there, and went to the beach. Cath is rather disappointed that you can't smell the sea here. Cape Town is the place to smell the sea, she says. Oh yes, and Cath had her first "In-N-Out" burger experience. Mc Donalds just does not even come close! Yummy yummy!
Field of Dreams...
It was a dream come true--the night Catherine and Lisa got to sit and watch as the San Fransisco Giants played the St Louis Cardinals. For 27 years, Cath had dreamed of attending a Major League baseball game in America. Boy, was it a night to remember as free tickets landed in their laps just hours before the game started! Cath was all excited as she got ready to go to the game...and Lisa just enjoyed the sheer childlikeness of Cath's reactions. As Cath entered the big stadium and stared everywhere, taking in every moment, she slowly approached the entrance to where it was all to take place. The excitement was almost too much to bear, but the two braved it as the game had already begun! WOW! What a moment! The game was amazing and in the 7th inning they got to sing the ball park song.... "Take me out to the ball game..." And, of course, they could not have gone to the ball game without having a hot dog and a Coke! If all that wasn't enough, Barry Bonds hit a home run! (check out his website http://barrybonds.mlb.com/players/bonds_barry/index.html if you're not familiar with who he is) . As Cath and Lisa watched, they could not help but smile and giggle at each other because Jesus really blessed them with a special evening of fun and dreams!
Sonoma, California--and then stumbling upon beauty in Big Sur
After San Francisco, we went to see a friend of Lisa's in Sonoma. It was fun to hang out with her, and this time we got to DRIVE over the Golden Gate bridge.... After two days, we left her friend's house late in the afternoon and headed down the coast. We wanted to find a camp site that we could stay at for at least 2 or 3 days--we were kind of tired of just staying one night at a camp site. We drove and drove, looking for the perfect spot. It was getting late--nearly 10h30pm--and it was a dark and windy road. Fortunately, we stumbled upon a campsite just before we ran out of gas. We just decided that this was going to be the place--either that or sleeping in the car!-- so we set up camp and went to bed. To our great surprise, we woke up in the morning surrounded by great big redwood trees and a river just a few feet from our tent. Wow, it was perfect! We looked at each other and said, "Well done!" It was an amazing 3 days of resting (with no rain!) and just spending time alone with Jesus.
Sea Kayaking
Realizing that we could not stay there forever, we packed up and headed towards San Luis Obispo, staying there 2 days with some of Lisa's friends. We got spoiled again with some sea kayaking...oh how Cath loves the water--that was so much fun!
Sunday, May 13, 2007
The Journey part 1
I can get more out of God by believing Him for one minute than by shouting at Him all night.
Smith Wigglesworth.
Wow! It has been a while since we wrote about where we have been and what God has been doing. The time has really passed like crazy, but we have enjoyed every moment of it! We've had lots of adventures in the last 5 weeks, so rather than overwhelm you with one long email, we'll split it up into easy-to-swallow chunks for the next couple of days. =) Love, Catherine and Lisa
Silver Falls, Oregon--and the "back side of water"
Leaving home and heading about an hour away, we stayed in a cabin for 2 nights at a place called Silver Falls. There we got to see the backside of a waterfall! Yip, it actually exists--believe it or not--and it was fun to walk behind it! We liked it so much there that we stayed another 2 nights--but this time in a tent. That was the beginning of the rain that just didn't want to leave us alone on the first part of our journey. Camping is fun, but when you camp in the rain, it takes on a whole new meaning. The up side? We learned how to put a tent up and take one down pretty quickly!! We are pros now.
Easter in the tulip fields
On Easter Sunday we got to walk through fields and fields of tulips--wow, what a day! It seemed unreal, and the colours were just incredible. Made you want to dance and sing!
"Yurt~sweet~yurt"
Heading down the coast, we hit HUGE amounts of rain. It was crazy! And as Cath played games on Lisa saying, "Sure! We can camp in this weather--no problem!," Lisa (not realising she was joking) was thinking "Wow, Cath is more adventurous than I thought!" But after some communication, and even more laughing, God blessed us with a place to stay--a "yurt"--that was dry and warm and the same price as a tent site on that particular night! Wow, what a blessing...
Caves? What are those?!
This time it was Lisa's turn to fulfill one of her dreams. Lisa had been wanting to go to the Oregon Caves for about 5 years; she just needed some crazy South African to go with her... then she found Cath! So off we went to see the caves with our fun and adventurous tour guide. Be sure to check out the picture--he was quite a character! He was great and took us on an extended tour of the caves (we were in there for 2 1/2 hours, when a normal tour is only 90 minutes). Just as we were about to exit, Lisa was smelling some strange smell so she looked on the walls with her mini flashlight to see what it was. Instead of finding the cause of the smell, she found dozens of spiders and Cath's hand right next to them! Freak out she did, but praise Jesus she missed putting her hand on them! And, no, we never did find out what that smell was.... (check out the site for the caves if you want... http://www.nps.gov/archive/orca/home.html )
Smith Wigglesworth.
Wow! It has been a while since we wrote about where we have been and what God has been doing. The time has really passed like crazy, but we have enjoyed every moment of it! We've had lots of adventures in the last 5 weeks, so rather than overwhelm you with one long email, we'll split it up into easy-to-swallow chunks for the next couple of days. =) Love, Catherine and Lisa
Silver Falls, Oregon--and the "back side of water"
Leaving home and heading about an hour away, we stayed in a cabin for 2 nights at a place called Silver Falls. There we got to see the backside of a waterfall! Yip, it actually exists--believe it or not--and it was fun to walk behind it! We liked it so much there that we stayed another 2 nights--but this time in a tent. That was the beginning of the rain that just didn't want to leave us alone on the first part of our journey. Camping is fun, but when you camp in the rain, it takes on a whole new meaning. The up side? We learned how to put a tent up and take one down pretty quickly!! We are pros now.
Easter in the tulip fields
On Easter Sunday we got to walk through fields and fields of tulips--wow, what a day! It seemed unreal, and the colours were just incredible. Made you want to dance and sing!
"Yurt~sweet~yurt"
Heading down the coast, we hit HUGE amounts of rain. It was crazy! And as Cath played games on Lisa saying, "Sure! We can camp in this weather--no problem!," Lisa (not realising she was joking) was thinking "Wow, Cath is more adventurous than I thought!" But after some communication, and even more laughing, God blessed us with a place to stay--a "yurt"--that was dry and warm and the same price as a tent site on that particular night! Wow, what a blessing...
Caves? What are those?!
This time it was Lisa's turn to fulfill one of her dreams. Lisa had been wanting to go to the Oregon Caves for about 5 years; she just needed some crazy South African to go with her... then she found Cath! So off we went to see the caves with our fun and adventurous tour guide. Be sure to check out the picture--he was quite a character! He was great and took us on an extended tour of the caves (we were in there for 2 1/2 hours, when a normal tour is only 90 minutes). Just as we were about to exit, Lisa was smelling some strange smell so she looked on the walls with her mini flashlight to see what it was. Instead of finding the cause of the smell, she found dozens of spiders and Cath's hand right next to them! Freak out she did, but praise Jesus she missed putting her hand on them! And, no, we never did find out what that smell was.... (check out the site for the caves if you want... http://www.nps.gov/archive/orca/home.html )
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