Goodbye to the Haliks

You know the friends I was talking about...the ones who went through my cupboard? Yeah, well, they left the country on Monday. Either going to the Philippines or Australia, not sure yet.

This is pretty hard for me as they were REALLY good friends! But I'm sure God will help me pull through and I'll find some new good friends to hang out with.

Here's some photos we took with the Haliks at the airport before they left:

Our 2 families (from left to right): Jeneen Zylstra (my mum), Me (Jacinta Zylstra), Tione Zylstra, Ebony Halik, Ken Zylstra (my dad), Kylie Halik, Levi Halik, Jaydn Halik, Corey Zylstra, Rob Halik and Brodie Halik.

Mum, Kylie and little Levi.

Corey and Jaydn.

Tione, Ebony and me.

Ebony and Me :)

Giving

You know how there's a saying 'giving produces just as much joy as receiving'? Well, on Sunday afternoon, I really noticed how true that saying is!

You see, on Thursday we'd had some friends come around for dinner and one of them started going through my cupboard and telling me to give away everything I didn't wear anymore. So, after hours of her holding up clothes and me screaming 'NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!' (but sometimes yes!) I finally got a pretty big pile of stuff to give away.

Then, on Sunday, the rest of my family went through all their jewellery, clothes, makeup and toys to find some other stuff kids would love. Then we loaded it all into our big toybox, stuck it on the back of the truck and treked inland to Teouma!

Most of the kids there were just over the moon! Absolutely glowing! Although, there were some exceptions who either ran away or seemed really confused, but that was expected. It was just a really, really amazing time!

It was crazy thinking that the little barbie doll or shirt we gave them made them THAT happy...but it did :D

So just remember to be content with what you've got, because there are some people who have a whole lot LESS!!!

This was the first group of kids we came across and they were pretty impressed with their pressies :)

Roads

Hey,
You know how people say your life is like a long road trip? Yeah, well, as I was going out yesterday (to drop my uncle at the airport actually) I realised how true that really is....well, it is for my life anyway.
There are parts where you're going full speed ahead and there are times where you realise you just HAVE to slow down and focus on the road ahead of you, the other people involved in your life and, most importantly, God.
There are times when something gets in your eye...and it hurts! It blinds out everything else in life because all you can think about is that person/people who hurt you.
And there's those times where other friends come along and help you with the pain, help you remove the peice of gravel that is hurting so much inside your eye.
There are roundabouts, where you turn around a bit, get back to where you were before.
There are times when you get lost, don't know where to go, what to do...and so you pull out the most helpful map in the world...the Bible!
There are unexpected twists and turns in this road of life. There are potholes, stop signs, traffic lights and pedestrians to watch out for, but we'll eventually get to our destination, whether it be heaven or hell, in the end.
cinta

Life

Hey,
About a week ago, one of my friends had a REALLY bad allergic reaction. She had to go to hospital and have her epi-pen twice...yeah, not good. And to top it off, they have no idea what caused it. That gave her (and me) a real fright because it just proves how unpredictable life is. I mean, she's only 15 and she almost DIED!
Which leads me to this thought...we shouldn't let the sun go down on our anger. I think that's a Bible verse, but not sure which one. But it makes lots of sense. Like, if you get really, really ticked off at someone and say some stuff you don't really mean and then go to bed but then the person who you were angry at had an allergic reaction like Alisha and died, how bad would you feel then!?!
You really need to apologise before it's too late...or, better yet, don't get into a fight in the 1st place. We can always try the 2nd option, but we're all human, so we're gonna get angry at one point or another. So we just need to try our best AND, if we slip up, to realise the mistake quickly, say sorry, ask forgiveness and talk it over with the other person.
That's what we should do now, before it's too late. Because life can end sooner than expected.
Cinta


And, just in case you were wondering, my friend is fine now, pretty much back to normal. Just pray that they can find the cause of these reactions before she has another.
xxx