Weddings are generally fraught with family drama, and mine was no exception, only I didn’t realise at the time quite how much turmoil my nuptials were causing in my father’s life. A month before our wedding date, Anton was shipped off on a missionary trip into deepest darkest Africa and due to get back a…
It was unfortunate, but none of the girls in our group had particularly dainty physiques. We were all still carrying our pre-twenties baby fat and had what the guys unsubtly hollered “thunder-thighs”. I was just grateful all of us were in it together and we’d run screaming into the water whenever it was time to…
The N1 is our national highway. It runs all the way from Cape Town city center, snaking a path between the sprawling metropolis before gliding effortlessly into the Huguenot tunnel as it bids Table Mountain farewell, where not even 200 years ago a band of courageous pioneers, the voortrekkers, weren’t so lucky. What they would…
We’re fighting over a pear. I refuse to surrender this juicy, ripe fruit and he isn’t having any of it. Grabbing my arm in an attempt to pry it out of my stubborn fingers, he’s underestimated my commitment to the pear and I put up a real fuss. But we’re laughing. We’re laughing? Yes, yes,…
By any standards, Alon farm and all its subsequent properties were beautiful. Even in the early days when funds were scarcer there was always a rustic yet orderly charm. Sara was the one to thank for this. Despite the crude vivid green plastic chairs and mass-produced Chinese coffee that were mugs ordained with garish designs…
My brother was among some of the very last young men to be conscripted to the South African army after leaving school. He’s my half brother really, from my dad’s first and very brief marriage. Gian was twelve when I was born which meant that between us having different mothers and him leaving school exactly…
I was done. Too many late night bible studies and early morning prayer meetings. Too many conversations about deepening my spiritual walk. Too many times of opting out of regular teenage socialising so that I could spend time with my “family” at Alon. Too many chats about spiritual submission and the role of a woman…
Ninth grade brought a refreshing quietness to my overworked nervous system, and I found myself stepping out of shadows that had been hovering over my head for too long – Dustin was living far away in Cape Town, having joined a YWAM group in the seaside village of Muizenberg. So YWAM, short for Youth With…
The discipline of children was a hot topic in the community. “Spare the rod and spoil the child.” I was on the backfoot when it came to exchanging tales of “the worst spanking ever”. My mom would give me a little barehanded paddy whack on my bottom if I got too sassy and my father…
So the first year of high school was the most tumultuous year of my school career. Battling to fit in with any peer group, battling to fit in at Alon and battling to remain invisible to Dustin within the corridors of our drab school. Maybe it was spiritual fervor from my recent trip to Israel…
