The Vanderherbergs

Beppe

2009-12-23T14:18:00.001-02:00

My grandmother passed away last night. It was an incredible experience. Not incredible as in amazing or exciting, but more surreal than anything else. I arrived at 9 PM last night, Tuesday, December 22nd to a room full of aunts and uncles around her bed. I hugged my dad, whom I have grown to appreciate and love more and more every year, outside the room and then was quickly prodded to her bedside. She looked nothing like she did last month.

Last month, she told me about her arrival into Canada. We visited her in her retirement/nursing home with misspelled words on the menu for that evening. Amidst the hubbub of activity given the 20 grandkids and great-grandkids and aunts and uncles, I sat down with Beppe and told her about my new job, working with immigrants and refugees. And I started in, asking her about her immigrant experience. 'Oh', her eyes lit up remembering the old days, happy not to talk about her health or annoying roommates where she would feign tiredness just to make them stop talking. 'Oh', she remembered coming over with Johnny and Pieta (I hope I have that right), arriving at Pier 21 in Halifax.

They were quickly shuttled off to Montreal in an immigrant holding station. I have no idea what that would have been like but relate it to the interim transitional housing for refugee families arriving in Toronto, needing a place to stay before they're shuttled somewhere else to begin their lives. I imagined them sitting on the floor with their backs against the wall while she spoke. Her hair wrapped up like stereotypical European women have always arrived like, in my mind only for sure. When she spoke, I heard that they moved to Brandon, Manitoba, current population of 41,000 people. And I thought, that must have been a small town 50 years ago. But no, it was Birnie, Manitoba, a tiny village with about 15 houses about a 100 kilometres from Brandon. And they were outside of Birnie. Here was what she told me.

'The winters were really cold and long. But we had to go to church if we could. We would get a ride into town an hour or two before the service and get picked up again long after the service was done. It was hard back then and we were far away from anyone. There was really no one to talk to for miles. Mike's asthma was acting up because of all the dust from farming and we had two sisters in Frankfurt that invited us to live with them so we decided to move back to Ontario. The thing about it was that we had to move first and that our furniture was going to come later on a truck. We had bought a nice wood stove, but we couldn't fit it in the house and used the stove that was previously in the house. I thought I had made the instructions clear but the movers took the wrong stove and drove it all the way to Ontario with the rest of our furniture. The woman of the house we left was so mad but what could I do? I had the wrong stove and there was no way I was going to ship it back to Birnie because my stove was still there. So, I sent a nice letter just suggesting that we trade the stoves, that she could keep the one we bought and we would forget it happened. I don't know what came of it but I didn't hear from them again. She was so mad. But what could I do?'

She went on to tell me how her husband, Pake, had picked up jobs in the Trenton area and ended up at Quaker Oats, a factory job which was better for his asthma than working on a farm. She said that the immigrant experience had been hard and lonely at first, that they had to work hard and had to work harder just to get to church on Sunday mornings. It was a good talk and it sounded like she approved of me working with immigrants now, helping them ease into this beautiful country called Canada.

Having approached her bed at the hospital, I said hello and made the mistake of asking how she was. The snickers from my aunts and uncles made me realize quickly how dumb a question that is for someone who is dying. She was dying. Right before me. I said, 'It's me Michael, I drove in from Peterborough,' and kissed her on her warm forehead. The atmosphere in the room was loving. Her kids were all around her. They loved her. I heard that all the girls had slept over the night before and that it would be the boys' responsibility to stay over tonight. Gary said, 'Easy'. My dad was in for sure. And John was going to get some coffee for us.

The others left at around 9:30 to the sound of mom's difficult breathing. My dad and I settled in to a conversation about work and life in Peterborough. Gary was doing Sudoku, and John hadn't come back with the coffee quite yet. I noticed a change in Beppe's breathing and stood up. You could tell there was fluid in her lungs and that the morphine from an hour before wasn't quite having the same effect. I put my hand on her forehead and stroked her thin hair. Her breathing settled, as if comforted by the simple feeling of human touch. Gary and my dad drew close on the other side. My dad encouraged me to keep on stroking her hair and keep comforting her because all three of us could somehow tell that this was it.

I didn't think about much other than my hand on her head. Her breathing was far apart at this point and we knew she was slowing down quickly. Gary's hand was on her forehead. Dad's hand was on her cheek. And she breathed her last and her cheek twitched a few times and the colour drained from her face. Surreal is a good way to explain it. She was beautiful in her death, with her family around her, on her last day here. With a family she loved. With a family that loved her.

I feel guilty for being there, sharing that moment with her, knowing that the aunts had slept over the night before, that Carla and the other girls have been assisting her for years now and I'm just the grandson from Peterborough rolling in at the last hour. But maybe Beppe knew and wanted to wait for the girls to go. She loved them so.

Ride for Africycle 3.0

2009-01-27T18:55:00.002-02:00

We intend to ride around Lake Ontario again this year from July 3rd to July 12. Last year we raised $12,600 for Africycle (www.africycle.org) and we hope to raise $30,000 for them this year. Check out the following link to discover how you can donate to Africycle through our ride. http://www.canadahelps.org/GivingPages/GivingPage.aspx?gpID=3146. Donate!

Canada Day Capture the Flag

2008-10-30T14:18:00.002-02:00

In efforts to create the best summer ever (2009 that is), it has been bestowed upon me to organize the best capture the flag game ever. This will be a Canada Day City-wide Capture the Flag game with the river as the dividing line. Please see the attached picture to see the boundaries. It will basically be the Red team (determined by red T-shirts) against the Green team (wearing green shirts). July 1st is on a Wednesday in 2009, so weddings, weekend camping trips, and work in general can be avoided. What I want to hear back from you is whether or not you are interested, and what colour t-shirt you would like to wear. Dave Breukelaar and I will be the team leaders and as you enlist, you will be added to a team. Our hopes is that this is the most intense, larger than life, super competitive, game of capture-the-flag that you have ever experienced. Please reply to this email and express your interest. Also, please invite your friends and have them email me. As teams grow, meetings can be hosted to develop different strategies. To learn more about the Best Summer of 2009 Series, please visit the VanDerHerberg home and see among other things, a visit to the distillery district, a canoe trip from Lakefield to Peterborough, and others. Done.

Michael

August 16th of 2009

2008-10-16T11:18:00.000-03:00

The 4th HIV/AIDS Community fundraiser in support of the Stephen Lewis Foundation is scheduled for Sunday evening, August 16th of 2009. This years event raised $9525.75 on the evening of, and the rest that trickled in after the event pushed us over the $10,000 mark. Thanks for being part of it and we hope to see you in 2009.

-Michael

Peterborough Careers Dot Com

2008-09-11T16:38:00.001-03:00

This is my new employment listings' site:
http://www.peterboroughcareers.com/
Peterborough careers and job listings containing (almost) all of the Internet job link sites in the city.

Little Emanuel Sankar-Vanderherberg

2008-08-06T13:00:00.007-03:00

I am on the phone with Steve and Stacy and he has said it has been a stressful first week. This is the gist of the conversation: Thank God for midwives. They supplement. He got better at breastfeeding. Steve hasn't slept too much. Little Emu (my suggestion as a nickname) was up from 1 to 4. He cluster feeds (feeds and then wants to feed again 15 minutes later). Wailing at 3 in the morning. Sometimes he just wants to cry at 5 AM. It's kind of been like that. Steve is trying to work at home and the Internet crashed. They're loving the granola at 3AM in the morning. Stacy wants more granola from Andrea. Steve likes the bike I got him from the B!ke shop below the Third Space and will probably want another one with the rate his get stolen at. They're doing really wall all things considered and want us to visit. This is a bit of a jumbled blog post but that is how the conversation went. Here's the intimate family photo.

and another one with beautiful Aunt Laura and the bundle of joy.

And another with Aunt Andrea.

and one with my bare-chested brother and proud father Stephen.

The dread pirate Roberts never takes prisoners

2008-07-02T16:28:00.003-03:00

Just so we are all aware of how I feel, I love my wife Andrea Margaret VanDerHerberg. Unashamedly, unabashedly, loudly and with deepest sincerity, I love my wife. She has eyes like the sea after a storm. She is beautiful and pure. She works hard and loves with a genuine love. She wears her heart on her sleeve and although she, more than anyone, has the power to upset me or make my day, she almost always tries to make my day and almost always succeeds. Forget the stone-cold girls with big sunglasses who act like they are too cool to talk to anyone; anybody can do that. I can do that. But I won’t. Be genuine. Love deeply. Laugh. Cry. Next time you see her, tell her I told you she is beautiful.

Michael

Other blogs of interest...

2008-06-17T17:15:00.003-03:00

mine
www.rideforafricycle.com
www.august17th2008.blogspot.com
www.peterboroughcareers.blogspot.com (invite only, but if you're looking for work in Peterborough, just ask)

others
dave breukelaar - http://www.fungineer.blogspot.com/
blondel - http://awesomeinternetsite.com/
--> blondel's movie blog - http://www.awayfromherethemovie.com/blog/
tim coles - http://mymomentum.wordpress.com/
mel bee - http://melbeesbuzz.blogspot.com/
mike vyn's non blog of nothingness - http://www.mikevyn.com/

the hippy chippy

2008-05-20T10:58:00.002-03:00

If you have not yet been to the Hippy Chippy, you should go today. Solar powered grease on wheels making incredible poutine just about sums it up. It is located at the intersection of Ashburnham and Marsdale in East City, at the entrance of Beavermead Park. Scotia, Daniel Way, Dan Huizenga, and Chris Jardin will all be working there this summer. What an incredible staff line-up! So, check them out, give them a tip, and let them know I sent you.

Michael

Life motto

2008-05-15T12:32:00.003-03:00

Do your best and knock on a lot of doors. Whatever you do, whether you enjoy it or not, do your best at it. Walk in the light by not being deceitful. Wear your heart on your sleeve and love one another. Pursue new opportunities everyday based upon the means that you have and the skills that God has given you. God will be the one that opens doors and closes others. If you simply do your best where you're at, live a simple life by choosing to love other people, and pursue the dreams that God has placed in your heart; you'll find yourself where you're intended to be, loving the people you're intended to love, and living the life you're intended to live. And be content to have a few doors closed in your face along the way, knowing that when people say 'fate', I hear 'God chuckling at us from upstairs'.

Have a good day. I guess because where I am at in life and my current train of thought I am writing this more for myself than anyone. And one other thing. Frisbee Fridays at the Silver Bean at 7:00 PM.

Michael

Flying Ducks

2008-05-13T09:54:00.003-03:00

I was bicycling to work this fine morning and it was beautiful. The sun was still coming up (or the earth was still rotating to appear as if the sun was rising) and I was a bit chilly in my thin corduroy jacket. So I decided to stay in the sunlight and bike behind Holiday Inn on my way to the cafe where my sister was waiting. I got behind the building and lo' and behold, there was a mother duck at the bottom quacking madly and two little ducklings on their backs on the concrete pathway running around the back of the building. And I heard a ‘plop’. A little duckling had jumped from the third floor and had landed on the concrete below. Racing thoughts, jumbled emotions, I jumped off my bike, ran next to the building (careful not to step on the little ones) and started catching ducklings with my jacket that were jumping from the third floor. Jump, catch, jump, jump, catch, plop. Aaaaaahhhhhh! Of the ten ducklings that hatched on top of the Holiday Inn, eight of them made it away with their mother. One of them had obviously snapped its neck in the fall and the other had broken it’s leg. As the mother and eight ducklings were making their way to the river I scooped up the broken-legged duckling and tried to include him/her in the river launch. To my dismay the mother hissed and snapped at me and actually came after me. I left the two ducklings behind and let nature run it’s course. I guess the mother knows best. But that was a crazy way to get to work. Flying ducklings, saved a few, and watched some left behind to die. Defender of defenseless ducks, I’ll keep that title going a while longer.

Michael Vanderherberg

TV Sucks - Ride your bike

2008-04-25T14:57:00.005-03:00

I have been riding my bicycle a lot lately; averaging around 40 to 50 km every other day for the last 2 and a half weeks. I have felt my cardio improve, I have felt my muscles tone up, and I have felt my metabolism rise at about the same rate as my ravenous appetite. So, let me lead you to the top 10 reasons to turn off your TV. Hopefully, it will inspire you to turn off the boob-tube, get outside, and live a life that is worth telling your friends about. Unless you're talking about the Montreal Canadiens and their effort to win the Stanley Cup, I can afford a little bit of that. On the no-TV train, Andrea and I have never had a TV in the house except for two distinct times, one being the 2006 World Cup where my dad installed a dish and we left the door unlocked during the day so anyone could come over, and two, last year's Stanley Cup playoffs and the little 19 incher in the backyard with a campfire. Both of these events created community and a great time among friends. And although I am a big fan of Alex Trebek, I will leave the box-o'-death out of my house for a long time to come. So, in honour of my good friend James Pronk and his great T-shirt, 'TV sucks, ride your bike'.

-Michael

On a side note, apparently is was TV turn-off week from April 21st to 27th. It's crazy that none of us saw that advertised. Hmmm...

She's coming home!

2008-04-21T14:02:00.003-03:00

Ladies and gentlemen, my beautiful wife will be returning to Canada, and specifically Toronto, this Tuesday evening at 9:30 PM. This past two and a half weeks have been tough. I have missed her more than I ever have in my life. Thankfully, the weather has warmed up because I was quite cold in bed at the beginning of the month. And I am thankful to have friends, not so much for their friendship at this point, but more to distract me enough while Andrea was away. To my sweetheart Andrea, I love you so much. Come home safely I pray, in Jesus' name, Amen.

We need a Water Day

2008-04-18T02:26:00.003-03:00

Part of the Khmer New Year tradition is a nation-wide water fight! They throw water and then white powder on each other. So there it is, as we were driving around this beach town there were all these people piled in the back of pick up trucks, or dump trucks or standing on the side of the road with their stash of water bags and buckets of water ready to throw at motos and walkers and other trucks! It looks so fun! all the little kids were REALLY into it but it was fun for all ages. Sounds like a good thing to start in Peterborough!

At the Beach

2008-04-18T02:15:00.004-03:00

I always thought I wasn't a fan of beaches. but after Zanzibar I gave them a chance.. and this one is great too. Yesterday we went on a boat trip to three islands two were snorkeling stops - which i tried for the first time - i little bit scary, being so close to so many fish, but AMAZING.

I got a bit of a burn, but hopefully i've learned my lesson.

Rachel, we had the same tour guide that you had on your island trip - the one who climbed the coconut tree and we are staying tonight at the same place you stayed when you were here!

We will stay here one more night and leave sometime tomorrow.

The rest of our time will likely consist of reading and swimming and looking in wonder at all the beauty around us.

Some More from Seim Reap

2008-04-18T02:04:00.003-03:00

Here are two pictures I wanted to put up before.

Sorry one is sideways, I guess it makes it look even more funny...the internet it too slow to do anything about that!

Siem Reap and Angkor Wat

2008-04-14T06:02:00.003-03:00

We left very early on Sunday (4:30) and it took 5 hours to drive to Siem Reap.

It's likely the most touristy town in Cambodia. Everyone is very friendly and there are so many more foreigners. Ít makes me realize that I'm really accustomed to english speaking tourists. These are from everywhere, speaking all different languages.

Today Erycha and I went to the reason for the tourism here - Angkor Wat. these Temples were built in the 9th to 11th centuries and re-discovered 400 years ago. they had been hidden in the jungles for years! Orginally they were Hindu temples but then turned into Bhuddist and for years have been alternating. Now it's a bit of a mix. (Statues of Bhudda with insense in front - Hindu style) It's Khmer new year so this is a time people give gifts at the Wat (temples)

And once again it felt like such a sacred place.

A stillness of times from other worlds. The third and last temple was my favourite. It was almost completely in ruins and there were huge trees growing in the middle; their roots extended like tentacles under, over and around the ancient stones.

All I have to say is

The whole earth is full of His Glory.

Will post pictures later... sloooooooow Cambodian connection!

For Michael

2008-04-12T11:49:00.002-03:00

This post is dedicated to my Boyfriend Michael.

Both because i made a potato tower (which is something you would do) and because I know he misses my attention.

I love you my awesome husband. And thanks for blessing this trip (and working while i play)

Spoiled Saturday

2008-04-12T11:40:00.003-03:00

Today was a Spoil Andrea day. Really nice.

We went to the gym in the morning and then on the way back, dropped by the market to get fruit and coconut waffles. The girls made me a delicious brunch.

Then in the afternoon/evening they took me to the spa and i got a one hour massage and one hour pedicure! As if that wasn't enough, we went out for a wonderful dinner at a mediteranian restaurant with a roof top terrace.

So lovely. Feels a little strange to have the missionaries spoil you...

Happy Khmer New Year!

2008-04-12T11:23:00.003-03:00

Technically it starts on monday. All the shops close down and most everyone goes to their hometown or to the beach or Siem Reip. And that is why we will leave at 4 am tomorrow otherwise the half an hour exit from the city will take 2 hours.

They start to celebrate early with parties and taking it easy. On Friday we went to a New year's party at Asian Outreach. Complete with duck duck goose-like games, karaoke and barbeque!

To the Market with Chantha

2008-04-10T06:05:00.002-03:00

Today i had the pleasure of meeting Chantha. She is the lovely house-keeper of Erycha and Maria's flat. I got to go to the market with her to buy lunch ingredients and then she gave me a cooking lesson and khmer lesson in one! We had a lot of fun, laughed a lot. She loves her job so much and was thrilled to include me this morning.
In telling her that I love her country, she asked me if I had been to Tuol Sleng (see previous blog) and then told me that her father's picture is there. Wow. And her mother disappeared as well during this time. I'm at a loss for words.

Tuol Sleng

2008-04-10T05:38:00.002-03:00

yesterday Erycha took me to Tuol Sleng, an old highschool that the Khmer Rouge turned into a prison and torture chamber in 1975. That's the first part that's hard to believe - 1975. There are rooms full of these pictures - the Khmer Rouge documented all the people they killed. There were so many photos. They have left the school much how it was, with rooms used for torture, cells, gallows - such a horrible thing. In some way it felt like a sacred place. These people, individuals, need to be mourned, respected.
One thing I wondered was - Where was God while all this was going on? I could feel Him there as I walked around but to imagine all those rooms filled with pain, hatred, agony.
I think he was still there, with them. Hurting, crying and in pain along with them.
David talks a lot about God's presence in the midst of evil and injustice, the psalms are filled with it. "I know that the Lord secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy."
And i thought of the verse, "The whole earth is full of his Glory"
And furthermore, I read today in Rob Bell's Velvet Elvis that another way to translate that verse is "the whole earth is full of his weight and significance" Weight and significance. Not always pleasant but the assurance that there is meaning and hope and that nothing is unnoticed.
And I'll end the musings with a bit more from Rob - "It isn't just those beautiful moments in the midst of the everyday and mundane; it is also in the tragic adn the gut-wrenching moments when we cannot escape the simple fact that there is way more going on around us than we realize."

that's just weird

2008-04-08T16:10:00.002-03:00

Hope

2008-04-08T12:15:00.001-03:00

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Yay for Erycha!

2008-04-08T08:25:00.005-03:00

I've been so proud of my good friend Erycha. It has been such an honour to see her world and what she has been up to, how much people love her and how she loves people.

Three cheers for Erycha!!!

PS michael, I figured out the image size thing! (and I love you sooo much)

Andrea in Asia!

2008-04-08T08:04:00.002-03:00

On Monday I went to an orphanage with Maria called "Happy tree Children's Home... Man, those trees were happy! It was located on a hospital compound and had 90 kids, all of which are HIV positive. They all had to line up for lunch and I tried to sneak in.. Quite hard to do.

Today (tuesday) Erycha took me to the some villages about an hour from Phnom Penh and we were able to go with the Asian Outreach Village Field staff on home visits. Erycha took a lot of great pictures and I watched her take them... she did give me permission to post them, however.
It has been such a pleasure to be here - with Erycha and Maria, seeing what they do and getting to see Cambodia from such an inside perspective. It is such a beautiful country - hot, busy, lots of motos, and such warm people.

Michael, can you let me know how to post pictures like you do...?
I'll try to keep ya'll posted!
Andrea

Job Links for Peterborough 2008

2008-01-26T15:08:00.001-02:00

I am still developing the ever growing Job Links document for Peterborough.

Visit www.peterboroughcareers.com to see all the Internet job links for the City of Peterborough.

Cheers,

Michael

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

2007-12-30T21:12:00.000-02:00

If there's anybody out there still, we're now in Peterborough. The Christmas was great with family. My brother Mark is now engaged to Jen Wiersma and that's awesome. The Vyn's are still beautiful. And New Year's eve will be spent making olie boelen with James and then to Sophia Street at Melody Mann's.

Life is beautiful. And I got a job at the MNR again, starting on the 7th of January.

Michael

Alive and well in Harare

2007-12-19T15:43:00.000-02:00

The trip between Blantyre and Harare. What a ride. There's a nice story behind it as well. We asked at least 5 people the company, location, time and cost for the bus ride and they all said Zupco, in the station, 7:00 AM every morning and 3000 Malawi Kwacha (around $20). We woke up on the 18th, also our 3rd wedding anniversary, quite ready to take the Zupco bus. Walking out of Doogle's and down the dirt road we saw Munorurama, the bus line we initially inquired at but was told wouldn't run, with a sign saying that it was heading to Harare. It parked on the side of the road as we came up with all our stuff and we pleasantly discovered that the Zupco (an inferior company and less comfortable ride) cancelled the trip for Tuesday and that Munorurama had suddenly decided to go to Harare instead of Johannesburg. We hopped on, grabbed our favourite seats near the front, and we were off. Same price at the same time, but on a much more comfortable bus and at much higher speeds. Thank God. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. And the path had a few turns in the road on the way, but metaphorically, it was straight and fast.
Here are Andrea's recent reflections on Africa;
Africa is crammed with heaven. And every common bush, and minibus a fire with God. But only she who sees takes off her shoes. The rest sit around and worry about their wallets.
Well, our feet are dirty, and although I've instinctively brought my right hand to my back pocket a few too many times this trip, I feel like we've learned something truly beautiful on this trip, something we'll never forget or forfeit for cheaper things. And tomorrow morning, we go home. We'll see you all soon enough.

Michael (Andrea is playing Dutch Blitz in the next room and is doing quite well)

Hah.

The Plateau

2007-12-17T10:47:00.000-02:00

We began walking up the plateau at around 8:30 Saturday morning only to be welcomed by a huge rainstorm once we had walked a couple kms up. Fortunately, there was a very sweet lady named Chisomo who saw us under a tree just as it had started and decided to pick us up. As it was another 5 km to the top we were more than happy to catch a lift. It ended at Malawi's top-end hotel called the Sunbird. At around a $100 a night it is way beyond our price range but we were more than happy to have some tea and read our books in the restaurant while we waited for the rain to stop. We then hiked back down to the Trout Farm which runs for about $12 a night for a nice room. It really was a trout farm in the middle of paradise. The running water and beautiful gardens made for a wonderful stay. They didn't have a restaurant there but we did meet a couple of dutch student doctors who were more than happy to have dinner with us at the Sunbird. After another lazy day at the trout farm and buying some gifts, we cooked an egg (yes, one egg) in the guest kitchen, took some sappy photos and went to bed early. We're now in Blantyre at Doogle's and we're meeting up with some friends from Lilongwe for dinner tonight. One of them is a British diplomat here on official business. She's a great girl with a pretty awesome job working for the Brits here in Malawi. We take the bus (hopefully) from Blantyre, through Mozambique, and to Harare tomorrow so please keep us in your good thoughts and prayers. You might now hear from us again until we get back and then... what's the use of a blog? Just invite us over for dinner instead.

Cheers,

Andrea and Michael

Africycle and the Zomba Plateau

2007-12-17T10:14:00.001-02:00

This last leg of our journey has been a lot of fun. We left Lilongwe with a couple of people on Friday and got dropped off at a very busy bus station in Blantyre. And by bus station, I don't mean a Greyhound station like Bloor and Dundas, I mean mini-buses everywhere and muddy roads, and people selling phone minutes for cell phones and we made it through that to Doogle's Lodge, where all the travellers supposedely come on their way through the city. We were able to drop off our larger packs here (I say here because that is where I am right now) for the weekend and head to Zomba. Oh, Zomba. What a paradise of Malawi! I was so impressed by the little town. We took a crazy minibus there with only 23 people in a Westphalia style VW van and both Andrea and I sent a specific prayer up a few times that we wouldn't tip over on the corners at 100 kmph.

And there was Africyle on the left hand side of the road, just a few kms before reaching Zomba. We has such a great time visiting their site. We met Innocent 'the ladies man' first and he showed us around the place, the tools they used, what they needed most (mountain bikes and kids bikes have been a hit) and where they store the bikes that are about to get fixed. They've been officially running since August and have sold about 350 bikes since then, which is wonderful considering the competitive prices they are selling them at. Edward the welder wanted to show us his welding job on the side of the container and wanted us to show it to his best friend Ted back in Canada. Philip showed up and gave us a more administrative tour of the place.

We stayed at a guest house for the night and ate some wonderful food at a local Indian/Burgers restaurant called Tasty Bites (I had a few for sure). The next morning we headed to the plateau to the north of Zomba. What a great time. Next post...

Ten days left

2007-12-11T05:56:00.000-02:00

So there's one week til our anniversary and we mount the bus in Blantyre and ride through Mozambique to Zimbabwe and add two days and we'll be on the plane towards cold and warm-in-our-hearts Canada. I am excited to come home. But I don't want to miss the last days here so I am trying to live it up.
I must admit, I haven't written much because most of the time all the thoughts and observations and events just swim around my head and I don't know what to say. Michael seems much better at articulating.
This morning I went for a run and got about a million cat-calls. It makes you uncomfortable. Africa makes me uncomfortable. Maybe I just hate feeling like the rich girl. Especially because all the issues here aren't things that giving my money away will help.
Anyway, It has taken me far too long even to figure out what to say here. So I will continue in contemplation and wondering for a while longer.
I hope that all is well in Peterborough (and Cambodia and where-ever else you may read this from)
Enjoy the pre-christmas frenzy! (we're really glad we're missing it)
andrea

And the Silver Bean staff member of the year award goes to......

2007-12-08T05:27:00.000-02:00

This is Chifuniro

2007-12-08T05:06:00.000-02:00

Chifuniro is this young man's name. He quickly became my favourite after arriving at the Ministry of Hope Crisis Nursery. It is a place where babies are brought when abandoned by their parents, but also a place where babies are brough when the parents are incapable of taking care of the children between birth and three years old. Often, mothers die, as is the case for Chifuniro, and the reasons vary from AIDS related illnesses to malaria to any number of things. Yesterday, I saw a photo of Chifuniro's dad holding him before he was given to the Crisis Nursery. Even from the photo, you could tell he loved him. Here, Chifuniro is given a chance to live, to eat all he needs, to receive medical attention if necessary, and prepare him to live with his father again when he can eat solid food. It's a really unique ministry and much needed in the local population where fathers can not take care of babies in their early years but love them and want them to live. We might head to the nursery a couple more times before we leave, but yesterday I had a really cool afternoon with Chifuniro. Andrea was inside preparing 'memory books' for the kids. Photos, family trees, where the child came from, details that will allow the child to have a glimpse of their past rather than nothing. It's a really cool way to allow the children to know where they've come from. So, Chif (as I call him) and I took a walk around the garden, I sat him in the grass and he was playing with a long piece of straw. We just stayed out there hanging out. It's a bit hectic inside at times. Once, it was myself and eleven babies. So, knowing that most of them were down for a nap, it was OK for Chif and I to take off. I went to bring him back to his room and he started to cry. He doesn't make much noise otherwise, but he didn't want me to leave. And neither did I.

That was a bittersweet afternoon.

Soon, on the 14th of December, Andrea and I will leave Lilongwe and head for Blantyre. Why the 14th? Well, because a fellow Canadian we met is driving down there on that day and we want to score a free ride. If it wasn't for Andrea, I think I'd hitchhike all the time. You meet some pretty interesting characters along the way. About a month ago, we hitched a ride between the Mushroom Farm and Mzuzu with some political activists. They seemed harmless enough though... We'll see how we get from Blantyre to Harare. We might have some interesting stories for you there.

Much love to all my family and friends. I hear the weather is beautiful. We anticipate the snow. - Michael

Pastor Dave and the Reverend Chris Vyn

2007-12-06T16:18:00.000-02:00

I guess I just feel inspired, that's all. I appreciate Dave for his witty cynicism, but more so for his faithfulness to the church. I appreciate Chris for his genuine love, but even more so for his stunning good looks. I guess it runs in the family.

So if you see these guys downtown at 2 AM, give them a ride home, they deserve it.

On a more serious note, we really care for the both of you. We hope the Third Space is well. Dave, tell the guys at hockey that I'm coming home soon. That's it.

Michael

The cutest baby on our trip so far.

2007-12-06T16:13:00.000-02:00

To Eloise, Monique, and Christian. We miss you guys a lot and thought we'd share your cute baby with everyone else, although I think everyone in Peterborough has already seen this photo. Sure is the 'money shot'.

Michael and Andrea

Flight Insurance

2007-12-03T13:09:00.000-02:00

Looks like we have one more adventure to go. We'll probably we heading down to Zomba. Reminds me that I need to contact the Africycle guys (can someone email them and get them to contact me as I don't have their address). We'll stick around there for a couple days, head to Blantyre, the largest city in Malawi, and then take a bus from there to Harare passing through Tete, Mozambique. We might even be able to use our Portuguese. We'll see how that all works out. I guess that's a word of advice to all you off-the-seat-of-your-pants travellers out there who would wish to change their tickets later on. Buy flight insurance.

Much love from the warm heart of Africa

Michael

There's my Kuche - Kuche

2007-12-01T14:27:00.000-02:00

Childrens' Projects

2007-12-01T14:23:00.000-02:00

(Kind of a continuation of the first part of the last post - Andrea felt like it was two stories being crammed into one)

I am no expert on development issues. I don’t know how it all works and I don’t admit to having learned more than the surface in the past weeks here. But I’m learning a few things and I feel changed by them. Let me give you examples of the projects that Andrea and I went to just yesterday morning.

The first project was a Canadian led organization. The plot of land is isolated and far removed from any other community. There are 12 homes on the property with 2 functional at this time. The homes are quite large and cost around $40,000 a piece and cost around $12,000 a year to run. The homes are donor dependant with all the donations coming from Canada. There are around 8 kids per home at this time with a ‘mother’ that has been hired and lives in the home with the children. This is normally a widow whose responsibility is to mother these children. We have met the Canadian couple who run the project and they seem motivated to love these kids and see them grow up in good homes. The children are very healthy and well-fed and have all their physical needs met.

On to the next project. We went to a community project called Adziwa where one of the key donors is a local church in Lilongwe as well as some international donors. There are 17 homes on the property with all being used but two at this time. They are 2-3 bedroom homes costing around $6000 a piece. This community project was built alongside a poor community where most of the homes are derelict and run down. They asked the community what was needed most and the community responded with the following; homes to assist families that have taken in orphans, income generating projects, water treatment facilities, and irrigated plots of land. In most cases, orphans are absorbed by the extended family (grandmothers, aunts, uncles, etc.) but they often lack the resources necessary to feed the children or house them. These homes allow the children to stay connected with their community, and become part of various income generating projects like chicken coops (seen here) and other farming practices. Every house gets a 30 x 10 m plot of land to grow food and there are 117 children currently in the homes. The land was not purchased but given by the chiefs simply because it is a community project. It is sustainable and not reliant on continuous external funding. There are no paid staff members as it is the family members caring for the children. The family interacts directly with the village

The last project that we saw was actually on architectural drawings as it has not yet been built. They are taking a run-down orphanage and turning it into a mega-orphanage with no intention of turning children away that are dropped off there. It is quite different from the first project as they will be dormitories instead of smaller homes and the dining will be done all together in one place. I’m trying to be a bit unbiased in how I’m describing the projects but here is where I’ll stop. The person who we are with, their face dropped as these drawings were explained to him. He basically described it as an institution that will do more damage to the children and the future credibility of their organization than good. Within dormitories, sexual abuse is rampant, particularly when you’re dealing with previously abused vulnerable children. The kids grow up without specific attention from a mother or father figure. UNICEF and other model agencies don’t approve of this method at all. And by opening their doors wide without holding the community accountable, this place will become a drop-off point for unwanted children, orphaning more than necessary. I’m a bit jaded by this meeting and I know the organization means well. They see children who are abandoned and they want to help as many as possible at once. But they are not involving the community from which these children come. There is a disconnect with the responsibility from the extended family. And it’s said that they’ll learn. That they might spend millions of dollars, fail on this time around, and improve it next time. I just hope that the least amount of kids get hurt in the process.

Ministry of Hope - Crisis Nursery

2007-12-01T14:16:00.000-02:00

Sustainable development. Community based organizations. Faith based organizations. Churches. Orphanages. Children’s homes. Children’s villages. Lifeline Malawi. Raising Malawi. National Organization for Vulnerable Orphans and Children. Visionledd. Kalawe Orphan Religious Care. Kids In Need Deserving Love and Encouragement. Village of Hope. Ministry of Hope Crisis Nursery. Children of Blessing Trust. National AIDS Commission. Stephen Lewis Foundation. Child Care Centre. Child Rehabilitation Centre. PAOC. PAOM. PAO?. World Vision Canada. World Vision USA. World Vision Malawi. Income generating projects. The list goes on into the thousands. I have a book from the National Organization for Vulnerable Orphans and Children (NOVOC) with thousands of organizations in Malawi that are caring for vulnerable children.

I feel lost in the amount of programs that are here that work with the sick, the dying, those with AIDS, the vulnerable and the abandoned. I feel a bit disheartened to see so much money being poured into a country and then hearing more and more stories of the effects of the disparity that the money brings. I feel numbed after working on databases at the crisis nursery where many of the children die, where many mothers die and the fathers or relatives bring the babies there, where many babies are abandoned, found by someone and then brought to the Crisis Nursery. It’s an odd job, working on databases pertaining to where these children have come from, and then to go and play with them and feed them. You hear a child crying for water, and that’s just about all he does. And it’s so annoying because there are so many children who also need care. And then you read his story. He was abandoned by his mother. And all he wants is a cup of water. So I trudge off to the kitchen and return with a cup of water which he accepts gladly and finishes it off in silence. And he comes close. And he hugs me. And I hug him back firm enough that it almost hurts him. And he loves it, to be held so close. And we hug about 10 more times. Embracing firmly, letting go, looking at him. And then there is another toddler of less than two years, much the same as the other, next to me. And he hugs me too. And I squeeze him until he exhales. And I know there is a bit of pain in it. But he smiles and wants to be hugged tightly again. And I hug him again, and he laughs, and I lay on the ground and lift him up in the airplane ride formation, tickling him as I suspend him in the air. And he screams as he laughs loudly. And then the other is next to me again asking for attention. And I suspend the airplane rides and take the other one walking outside holding his hand as he pulls me around. I can tell he doesn’t want to go back in, but wants to stay outside with me. He cries as I bring him back in and he asks for another cup of water. It’s so simple to love these kids. They are born into such horrific circumstances. I hope they turn out all right. Do you like his shoes? Thank you very dutch.

"That"

2007-11-26T15:48:00.000-02:00

It is November 26, 2007 today and I hope the rains are here to stay. We are on the brink of rainy season here in Malawi, where the locals rush to purchase maize seeds, the grounds is tilled by hand, and everyone prays for the rains to start. And it’s not just for the sowing of crops that I anticipate the rain; it is because of the heat. It is hot here, hovering at around 40 degrees between 11:30 and 2:30. Andrea and I have decided that the favourite time of the day is between 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM where you can see the shadows shift and the temperature change can be felt on our skin. The sunset this evening was beautiful as we rode our bicycles back from another couple’s house who we met. The men seem to find it quite amusing to watch two white people bike by when we’re normally seen in Land Cruisers. We just tell them that we’re from Peterborough and a little bit more down to earth than the rest.

On that note, Andrea and I always speak quite highly of Peterborough wherever we travel and whomever we meet. We talk about our friends, dinner parties at Lynn’s, Frisbee in the park where you have to step on the concrete pad, breakfast with the boys on Saturday mornings, canoeing to work, the cafes and restaurants, the Third Space, Church in the City, motorcycling along River Road to Lakefield; it really is home to us and our favourite place on earth. We anticipate good times again at the Bean, we have no idea what we’ll do in terms of occupation between when we return and May 1st, but it always works out well and there has never been a need to worry.

Back to Lilongwe, we played Ultimate Frisbee last night having been invited by the aforementioned couple. Mike and Heather are from Minnesota and work with Partners in Hope, and HIV/AIDS clinic offering testing and ARV’s (anti-retroviral) which work against the progression of AIDS in the body. They brought us out swimming on Saturday afternoon with their children and then we went out for dinner with the two of them to a really nice restaurant where I had a nice steak. I scratched by knee up pretty bad at the game last night and Andrea has been calling me ‘tender’ today, but I think I’ll tough it out. We brought the two Canadian girls, who were staying at the Bowlers, to the airport today. That means we move into the guest room here at the Bowler residence for the remaining two weeks in Lilongwe. Although understanding the family dynamics of living with their two children might prove difficult, we do have our own room to escape to and we are learning to love them.

We are attempting to change our tickets to fly out of Lilongwe here rather than in Harare, Zimbabwe. Although we don’t often shy away from adventure (Zimbabwe being a bit of a mess right now), it would be great to stick around Malawi for a while longer, possibly visit Africycle in Zomba which is in southern Malawi and fly out of here. Please pray for the ticket changing process, that it goes smoothly and doesn’t cost too much to change. We’re still loving it here and we just received the last discs of season 3 of Lost. I’m a bit more excited about that than Andrea. Tomorrow morning Andrea has something exciting though. One of the local churches is opening up a youth centre downtown that will have a really nice café. Andrea is on to be a consultant tomorrow morning in the café opening process. Beautiful, isn’t it?

Anyways, to all the folks back home. We love you and miss you all.

Michael and Andrea

An ode to Jeff and Erin

2007-11-24T06:48:00.001-02:00

Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

You guys are great.

Dinner tonight

2007-11-23T12:57:00.000-02:00

We went out for dinner with Makina and Martha last night. Makina the cook to be exact. He is the chef in residence at the place we are staying. In efforts to get to know new people, we invited him out on his evening off with his wife. We went to CFC, their version of KFC where they had chicken and chips and we had some chicken curry. It was great. Later on, they mentioned that it was the first time foreigners had invited them out for dinner. Tonight, we go to dinner at their place for the traditional Malawian meal. More details to follow....

He's so cute!

2007-11-23T12:51:00.000-02:00

This here is a little boy named Innocent. I don’t really know what to say. Pray for him and all his fellow friends at the Ministry of Hope Crisis Nursery. Today, I was trying to feed a little boy named Tamanda. The six-week-old twin was so skinny and ended up spitting everything up. It breaks my heart. But it is good to know that God is there. God – he is everything to them and they are so dependent.

Day on the Town

2007-11-22T11:34:00.000-02:00

Steve and Kathy and the Family have gone on a four day safari and have left Michael and I to our own devices. So we have been exploring and wandering and taking lots of breaks cause it's REALLY hot...I'm sure you all feel bad for us.

Please pray that we figure out how to get from here to Harare and home as this has been on my mind a lot. I know that God will take care of it and that I need not worry... but you know how it is. It would be nice to know that you all are praying as well.

We love you all and will see you in a month!!

Andrea

Mountains

2007-11-20T08:42:00.000-02:00

Andrea and I climbed a small mountain the other day with a couple other Canadian girls, Anita and Holly from Victoria. It was a great climb up with all the water we had, the wind and the shade up the final ravine to the top and the beautiful view at the summit. Life is still pretty busy here. We've been driving around with Steve and Kathy looking at properties for the Children of Blessing Trust centre. Please pray for wisdom for the board to pick the right property for the project. Specifically, Kathy works with children that have various disabilities, from cerebral palsy, to epilepsy to HIV+ which leads to other illnesses. It is a great project and we believe it will greatly serve the community.

I had a chance to visit a city surveying office yesterday and this morning and have chatted GIS with Mkondo, one of the young men my age there. It's been fun. We're printing off a large aerial photo of Area 25 and 49 of Lilongwe which will display the catchment area of the COBT centre. Just looking at all the options. It's fun to talk shop with a local GIS techie. It makes me feel like a geek and I kind of like it. Andrea says hello and that a post from her will come soon. We miss you all back home and we'll have lots more stories over this next month.

Just text today.

2007-11-16T18:06:00.000-02:00

Blog

November 16th today. We’ve been in Lilongwe since Monday with the Bowler’s. Steve, Kathy, Amy and Alisa have welcomed us into their home and Andrea and I have been visiting the various projects that they are involved in. We came here with the intention to connect with an “HIV/AIDS Project” but I think we are experiencing a lot more than that. People don’t die from AIDS; they die because of AIDS. What I mean to say is that they generally die from a range of different diseases, the most common being tuberculosis or malaria, after their immune systems have been ravaged by the horrible virus. So, the involvement of Steve and Kathy’s work (in what we’ve seen so far, goes far beyond treating HIV positive patients to a much more holistic approach to health care and loving people in general.

I’ll start with the boards that Steve is on to give you some perspective. There is one that he is the chairman of that he is trying to get off of, so I’ll leave that one out. He is the chairman of NOVOC (Network or Organizations Working with Vulnerable Orphans and Children). The gov’t of Malawi uses NOVOC to implement the National Plan of Action for this particular issue. NOVOC is supported by OXFAM. Their general motive is to network organizations working with children at risk, bringing them together and supporting their cause.

He is on the sub-regional board of REPSI (Regional Psycho-Social Support Initiative) for Namibia, Zambia and Malawi. This is meant to integrate the social and psychological needs of people (particularly children) to help them through the grieving process of death. Death pervades life here. It is common for there to be a funeral of someone you know once a week. We passed one this morning. It is signaled by laying some thin branches across the road so you slow down a bit as you pass the grieving house in your car. There are also coffin making shops, at least five that I have seen so far in our driving around town. What is crazy is that a lot of the coffins are small. It takes a bit for that to sink in but it eats away at you. REPSI steps into this death-induced-culture by creating memory books for the children (called Journey of Life in some circles), showing orphans where they came from, photos of their parents before they died because of AIDS, photos of their care-workers that they grow up with, attempting to build a sense of structure or belonging in the child’s life as they develop. I was impressed by this. I had never thought about these needs. Shelter, food, clothing and medication don’t mean too much without love or without understanding of where you’ve come from.

Steve is also on the board of Lifeline Malawi, which is a Canadian based group doing medical work. This is for the medical side of AIDS. They offer voluntary testing, ART (Anti-retroviral) medication, working through local churches and tribal leaders.

Steve was formally the SOS Children’s home National Director here in Malawi and was for 8 ½ years. Look into them if you can. They’re basically homes for orphans that aren’t meant to be orphanages. There is a ‘mom’ in the home that receives help from donors through SOS to support the home. From here, Steve is an advisor with Villages of Hope which are a copy of the SOS work, but on a smaller scale and with slight differences. Village of Hope will have 12 homes constructed in all. We went there today to visit the ‘House of Promise’ where Kumpanda, the man I met, lives with his wife and two children and 6 other children that they have taken on through the program. It seems like a great idea except for the sustenance. The funds come from external donors instead of from the community. If donor amounts fail, these houses could be in a lot of trouble. It will end up being about $200’000 per year for 160 kids. This isn’t your $30 a month program like Compassion or World Vision where most of the kids live in homes, where their parents aren’t dead. Steve was pretty candid in his response to these sponsorships saying that you really can’t raise a kid on $30 a month, it doesn’t work like that. You can help a child, like Michael Otieno from Kisumu, get his school fees paid for, and some direction from an organization sponsored by Compassion. But, he goes to bed at night where his parents live. It’s a slum but at least it is a home. For orphans without any social structure beneath them, it tends to be a bit more expensive. Anyways, it was a pleasure to see the home. It was nice to see that none of the kids were there, as they were in school. But it was also sad to see another 20 neighbor kids around the house that weren’t in school because the parents couldn’t afford the uniforms or the ‘school development fees’ to the free schools.

Moving on, Steve is also on the board for MANERELA (Malawi Network of Religious Leaders Affected by AIDS). I had to ask Steve to repeat this acronym for me. It is for pastors, priests and imams who are HIV positive. It is a support group to HIV/AIDS in the open, to step out and reveal their status. This is quite easy to type into a blog but a lot harder in real life. Imagine a pastor back home revealing that he had had illicit sexual affairs with someone other than his/her spouse thereby contracting HIV. Now imagine it in a nation that is much more ‘Christian’ than Canada. And I say that with a bit of cynicism because of the contradiction of grace attached to the stigma of HIV/AIDS in the church. I’ve also been informed that although it is a very Christian nation, it is also a very sexual nation, stemming from tribal customs concerning fertility, honour, debt repayment, and just about every other excuse you could think of to have sex. I feel like I’m rambling at this point because I don’t think I’ve really worked it out in my own mind. Basically, there is lot’s of sex, even in the church community. But it’s a very Christian nation, therefore when the negative repercussion of HIV/AIDS bears it’s ugly head, people are shunned, ostracized, expelled and thrown out of their community, and the church community before most others. MANERELA hopes to see church leaders come out and lead as examples of grace when they find out they are positive. Grace, love, grace, love, grace, love, grace. Oh Jesus.

Lastly, he is the Regional Coordinator for HIV/AIDS work for a Canadian NGO called Visionledd. It’s http://www.visionledd.com to find out some more information about this organization.

And these are only the boards that he is on. Next blog and I’ll relay what he actually does. A lot of it is partnering with his wife in the Children of Blessing Centre for children that have developmental disabilities. They are in the process of now purchasing a plot of land for the community centre which will offer rehabilitation services, training for mothers, medication for diseases such as epilepsy, and much more. Kathy is a physiotherapist and she has a huge heart for these kids. As for us, I think we're just happy to be here and find ourselves in a situation where we can love kids and serve in really simple ways. I'm becoming an Access database creator for different social programs as well as a feeder of kids, and we counted pills at an epilepsy clinic yesterday as well.

Please pray that we remain healthy, that we would have energy to serve in effective ways, and that we would be filled with the love of Christ as we love others.

Much love,

Michael (and Andrea)

The sweetest thing

2007-11-12T17:21:00.000-02:00

We have arrived in Lilongwe and have been so warmly received by Steve and Kathy Bowler (of Visionledd and various other NGO's). Shortly after arriving and having lunch, Andrea and I headed to the Crisis Centre for young babies. It isn't an orphanage, it's a place a where mother's can bring their babies when they need help or when they simply can't take care of them for a certain time. Here is a nice photo of my beautiful wife with a beautiful child. This warms my heart. Seriously. Please join us in praying for Steve and Kathy and their family (two young daughters, Amy and Alisa) and the work that they do. Please pray that while we serve, that we would serve effectively and with love. And when God just wants us to be there, that we would do so with humble hearts.

The mushroom farm

2007-11-12T16:58:00.000-02:00

There is a little bit of heaven found on the steep ascent between Chitimba and Livingstonia in the form of a place called the Mushroom Farm. Owned by an Australian named Mick and currently being run by an Irish girl named Darlene, it is a simple place with a stunning view of the Rift Valley escarpment running into Lake Malawi (aka Lake Nyasa). We stayed here for two nights and visited Livingstonia up the hill, named after David Livingstone (wiki that for an earful on Malawi's history). I played some soccer with the students on the hill and Andrea and I had a great time giving a pen to a girl who asked for one. That's all she said, "I am going to school, but I do not have a pen." Who couldn't give a pen to someone. Not money, not food, just a pen. We visited some beautiful waterfalls which I thoroughly enjoyed. We had church by ourselves overlooking God's beautiful land, and took off for a massive hike down the hill. We ended up at the bottom quite sweaty but greatly appreciated the physical exertion. We were met by these boys at the bottom as we waited for a ride to Mzuzu. We ended up flagging a Range Rover with some human rights workers and squished ourselves in the back only to find ourselves at a party with them just down the road for about a half hour before we started again. It was a fraction of the price of the bus and the beer they gave us was free. I don't think it gets any better. We stayed in the Mzuzu Zoo that night and met up with some other travelers. We watched the "Last King of Scotland" and it was crazy to watch after having traveled that terrain (Not Uganda but a similar East Africa) for the last two weeks. On to Lilongwe.

Zonked Out

2007-11-12T16:43:00.000-02:00

After the night ferry from Zanzibar to Dar, a bus from Dar to Mbeya (just north of Malawi on the Tanzanian side), our cheapest and dirtiest hotel spot yet, getting conned out of a few bucks at the border crossing, catching a mini-bus to Karonga and an AXA bus to Chitimba, this is me in the back of the bus. I was really tired. Even the guy on the left said to me, "Man, you must have been tired!".

*This story is all true except for everything in quotations.

The best beach in the world accorrding to us guys'

2007-11-08T15:27:00.000-02:00

Here we are on Paje. Just another beach bum shot. We went back for another day and spent the day on the beach. What a good day! From the second day of motorcycle renting, to the beautiful sand that felt like flour, to swimming in the bath-warm water, it was great.

Moving on from that, we raced back to Old Stone Town, went out for dinner and hopped on the night ferry from Zanzibar back to Dar es Salaam. The ferry turned out to be a lot better than our expectations with mattresses to lie down on and Filipino TV soap operas. The AC was pretty strong so Andrea and I cuddled throughout the night. I was actually quite rested and pleasantly surprised to discover that we had arrived in Dar having had a good nights sleep.

We opted for the bus this morning instead of taking the train as we were able to leave Dar at 7:00 AM, just making it in time for the bus from the ferry dock. The bus ride was about 12 hours and Andrea woke me up as she saw giraffes, zebras, elephants and monkeys in one of the national parks that we drove through. It was a lot of fun to meet people on the bus and I had a chance to talk to a journalist/videographer who made documentaries for the local television networks, which is good as it will mean less Filipino TV soaps. He had some interesting stories about HIV/AIDS in Africa and the highway that we were on, the Tanzanian-Zambian highway. He said that this particular highway has helped the spread of the virus because of the lifestyles of truckers and the freedom of sex workers in the region. Basically, it has become a corridor for the virus to get into the middle of the continent and out again.

We're here in Mbeya and leave at 6:20 tomorrow morning for a bus to the border and then on to Chitemba. Please pray that we keep safe on the roads, that we find good people to meet and laugh with, and that we love more and more as we go on.

Much love,

Michael and Andrea

Zannnzzzibar!

2007-11-05T15:42:00.000-02:00

What a beautiful day we had today in lovely Zanzibar. We rented motorbikes and drove to Paje on the east coast of the island and swam in the Indian Ocean, the Indian Ocean! The sand was white and felt like flour between our toes. OK, from the beginning, from Arusha. We arrived in Dar es Salaam having met some nice people on the bus, stayed at the YWCA and went to Anglican mass Sunday morning. It was fun to see the Anglican preacher with a Tanzanian twist. I think we should send Christian Harvey (how many wins now buddy?) over there for some lessons in facial expressions while preaching. The first photo is us the next day on the Catamaran. We actually jumped onto another ferry which was actually not going to Zanzibar, it was only 16 cents a piece so we sheepishly go off the ferry without asking for our money back. We met two Brits (Hugo and Roisin) and an Edmontonian (Mike) on the ferry and went to the Flamingo hotel with them in the middle of Old Stone Town. Crazy place. It's a crazy network of alleys and mini streets. We met up with Gray, a South African hitch-hiking from Capetown to Cairo but stopped in Uganda discovering his girlfriend was pregnant, and he brought us out to town. We went to the market for street meat and had the time of our lives. That is until three in the morning when Andrea had to rush to the sink in our rooms and then to the toilet. Hmmm, I'll leave most of the details out but she didn't have the best night. She was, however, in shape for a motorcycle ride across the island with the Brits this morning. We had the time of our lives and my motorcycle training and my international driver's license came in handy for sure. Those were both Andrea's ideas so I am once again glad I married that girl. The Internet is pretty shaky here so I'm going to post it. I haven't mentioned going to Freddy Mercury's bar, the South Africans that got stopped by the cops and crashed the moped, and the intense Scrabble games to be had.

We leave soon enough back for Dar, catch the train to Mbeya, and enjoy the sights along Lake Malawi between the border and Lilongwe. We hear that Livingstonia is pretty good so we'll check it out.

No malaria yet and keep us in your prayers.

Much love from Zannzzibar!

Michael

One more family photo before we go.

2007-11-02T19:57:00.000-02:00

I couldn't resist this one of Kulsum and her father. We hiked up the rim of a crater and around the edge and down again. Pretty simple, and simply pretty awesome.

Happy birthday brother

2007-11-02T19:51:00.000-02:00

It's my brother Stephen's birthday today, November 2nd. It was also my brother Mark's birthday on October the 24th, but we were in the air at that time. Both of these young men are incredible. Mark is solid as a rock in his commitment to his friends, family and God. And he's quite smitten with his girlfriend as well. Stephen is a man of integrity who has married a wonderful girl. He's the most perserverant man I know in Canada (there are a few internationals who take the cake). Much love to them.

Michael

Potions anyone?

2007-11-02T07:53:00.000-02:00

I hear that the 'Nyaki Enternational African Medicine' shop is having a sale tomorrow morning. Anyone interested?

Kids

2007-11-02T07:47:00.000-02:00

This one made us happy to see. Kids with their arms around eachother walking to or from school. It was a bit of espionage work taking this photo as I took it while walking and holding at waist level, so I don't think anybody noticed. Maybe the lady in the red bandana but I think she was cool with it.

You will often see two men holding hands walking down the street talking to eachother about something that they laught about. And girls hold hands as well. Not too many couples, other than the foreigners who don't want to lose eachother in the crowd.

Maybe I'll take this up when I get home. Dave? Christian? Mike? Carlo? Anyone? Or maybe not.

Hennafied

2007-11-02T07:25:00.000-02:00

Here are some before and after photos of Andrea receiving some Henna art from Sukaina. I think they'll be doing the left hand tonight as well. Don't worry mom, it's not permanent. Although I do find it quite beautiful.

We'll be leaving Arusha tomorrow morning to go to Dar es Salaam and the island of Zanzibar. Our intentions of going to Zanibar are quite simple, there are two 'zeds' in the name. You can't say that about to many places other than Brazzaville. Does anybody know any more?

I think we're going on a hike this afternoon up one of the many smaller hills in the region. We can't really fork out the $2000 for the Kilimanjaro trek but this is a close second. And a camel ride might be in order which would make Andrea as happy as a peach.

There is a girl who works at Sticklings whose name is Henna or Hena, or something to that effect. This post is dedicated to her. Just for fun.

Knife sharpening with a bicycle

2007-11-02T07:11:00.000-02:00

I love how everything is so open in Tanzania and Kenya. By open I mean that all the wood-working, welding, bicycle repairs, and tailoring is done on the side of the street for everybody to see. This is a scene which we found particularly interesting. The men are sitting backwards on the bicycles and have elevated the back tire and set up a belt to a grinder. With the spinning grinder, they sharpen knives. What ingenuity! No electricity needed at all. All for 100 Tanzanian shillings and with an exchange rate of 1200 shillings to the Canadian dollar, I think we should have brought the knives from the Silver Bean. Getting through customs may have been difficult though.

The Boss

2007-11-01T14:44:00.000-02:00

When people ask if I want to buy something I usually refer to Andrea as the boss. "She's the boss, ask her." But then I normally have to do the bargaining. It's a bit tiring after a while to see nothing with price tags on it and know that you're in for a battle to pay at least twice as much as the locals. Whatever, it's more of a game now than anything, just like auctions back home.

If anyone has a couch in an earth-tone colour I have a young couple who are currently looking for one. They are specifically looking for one that's less than four feet in length (more like a mini loveseat) but they are open to other offers. I know it's a stretch but I love these guys a lot.

Michael

World Vision Office

2007-11-01T14:38:00.000-02:00

We stopped by the World Vision Office for Tanzania today to drop off a letter and soccer ball for Richard. I hope he likes it. I'm still a bit frustrated with communication problems but things really have turned out for the best having met Khalil's brother's family (can I double punctuate on the apostrophe?).

We saw another truck on the side of the road on the way their. This one was a two-tonne dump truck full of rocks. The side of the road had deep and steep concrete ditches in this area of town. All I have to say is that with the way these guys drive here, I think that deep ditches was a bad idea.

Maybe they can fill them up a bit with the rocks from the truck.

Jabbir, Sukaina, Hasanain, Kulsum, and Ali Jawad (in reverse order)

2007-11-01T14:06:00.000-02:00

What a great family. We went out to McMoody's last night for dinner and had pizza, chinese food, spring rolls and fries. It wasn't as good as the best meal we had the previous night, but it was still an honour to be treated by them to a night out on the town. Andrea is getting henna done on her hands tonight by Sukaina and I think Kulsum is making a card for her. And one more thing, I think Jabbir's father is making curried chicken tonight. What a giving family. I don't even know when we'll leave. I'm almost half way through my War and Peace book but I think the other 679 pages to finish the second half will take me at least into Malawi. The boys went to mosque this evening and appropriately so, we were left behind.
We had an amazing opportunity to visit the projects that Jabbir has been referring to. Him and about 14 other friends specialize in removing cataracts of needy people in Tanzania. They literally do give sight to the blind as they go in with teams of surgeons, opticians, transport specialists (Jabbir's line of work), and managers. We saw the PowerPoint presentation of how they have assisted different areas and I think they average about 54 operations per trip and about 5 trips a year. Very simple and greatly needed aid to people who need to see. It's probably a bit more dirty than the PowerPoint alluded but it was very clear that they were honest men doing noble work in a way that they could.

I asked Hasanain where he wanted to work when he grew up and he said, 'With my Father of course.' I've been thoroughly impressed by this young man. Intelligent, respectful and loves his family.

Sukaina has taken to Andrea and I think that they'll make cookies and do henna this evening. Isn't that what all people do when they're in Tanzania?

And this man, he has impressed upon me quite greatly. He's a keen businessman who is really busy but he really makes time for his family and the guests in his home. And for all that he has given us, all he asks is that I keep him in my prayers, so I will. God bless this man, truly.

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.

http://august17th2008.blogspot.com/

2007-11-01T14:05:00.000-02:00

http://august17th2008.blogspot.com/

36 to 100 hours

2007-11-01T05:02:00.000-02:00

This morning has been a bit disappointing. We just found out that Richard Ntambala Masanja lives in a different town quite far from here. From our Lonely Planet guide, we have determined that the back-tracking ride on a bus will be between 36 to 100 hours. I wouldn't be too excited about the 36 hour bus ride, but the [daunting] possibility of a 100 hour bus ride is a bit too much. I'm frustrated because all of this could have been taken care of ahead of time with a bit clearer communication between the Canadian office and the Tanzanian office. Arg. So, I don't think we are going to visit him as that could put us too far in the wrong direction (I'm disappointed with myself for even writing that because I know it would mean a lot to him and me to see eachother). Also, we're really hoping to make it to Lilongwe to work with Visionledd in at least a couple weeks. So, if some other transportation option opens up (or whatever) we might still go to see him. Please pray that we would have wisdom to make the right decisions.

---

On a more positive note than the communication blunders, we are having a really good time with Jabbir's family. The kids seem to like us and they have been intent on treating us so kindly here. So, other than potentially not visiting Richard, everything is going really, really, really well.

Somebody said this, "Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding."

Protect your life - Fasten Seatbelt

2007-11-01T04:58:00.000-02:00

Little Lake Canoeing

2007-10-31T18:39:00.000-02:00

These girls have been emailing so they deserved a photo of themselves on the site. It seems like one was happy that we were leaving and the other sad. Maybe not.

This photo was taken the day before we left for Africa. It was a nice way to say goodbye to the city we love so much. I'm not sure why the water is higher on the left than on the right though. It seems like an unstable lake.

Some more photos

2007-10-31T18:08:00.000-02:00

These are the parks where we went. First, Lake Manyara in the bottom centre of the page and second Ngorongoro CA on the left. We are staying in the city of Arusha currently. Lake Manjara was breath-taking. Known for it's birds and monkeys, the park is comprised of water more than land and the sights on the first day were incredible. The mass amounts of flamingos bathing in the lake and swooping over the hippos.

The second day at the Ngorongoro crater was even better. We drove up through clouds to descend again into a crater that is a natural haven for just about every African animal you could think of. If you find the crater on the map, we drove around the small lake in the centre stopping every few minutes to enjoy a new sight. The lions came so close and we thought they were going to chase after some wildebeast or zebra (the migrate together because the wildebeast can smell the lions but see poorly and the zebras have excellent vision to see the lions coming) but they were a bit more lethargic than our anticipations. The hippo pond was full of hippos (crazy eh?). There were also the symbiotic snowy egrets that your teachers talk about that eat the flies off the hippos backs. We saw hyenas and jackals which the driver referred to with a bit of disdain as being the dirty animals. Thompson gazelles, warthogs, elephants, giraffes, ibis', thousands of zebras and wildebeast, 4 young male lions, impalas, ostriches, what else? I'm not sure, but Andrea kept a list as the driver went on showing us them all. It was incredible.

Just the two of us and the blue African skies. Ahhh, I love Andrea.

A hawk stole my lunch here. It's true. We stopped here for lunch and I had made up in my mind that I would sit in the shade for a bit and rest my reddening Dutch skin while I ate my lunch. The driver said, "Be careful for the birds for they will take your lunch." And I thought, 'Whatever, I can see a bird coming." So I was enjoying the scenery while holding my sandwich in my right hand (facing the same way we are in the photo but under the tree) and a hawk swooped down from behind, grabbed my sandwich with it's talons and took off. I didn't even feel it until I saw it leaving with my sandwich. Luckily, I had been given a samosa to eat as well or I would have been really put out.

No, I'm not playing in the sand. I am actually hiding behind a below-average size anthill. Don't play around these kids. You might be the king of the castle, but you'll end up with little bites all over you.

MNR

2007-10-31T14:57:00.000-02:00

It seems I can never escape my work. They asked for some imagery but I told them I left my terabyte drives at home.

Happy Birthday Lucas

2007-10-31T14:53:00.000-02:00

This is just a quick note to our friends at 165 Perry that we are celebrating Lucas' first birthday on the other side of the world. Oh yeah, and it you need my trailer at all while we're gone, you can talk to James or Nancy because they have it. Much love,

Michael & Andrea

Habari za safari?

2007-10-31T14:41:00.000-02:00

Just a few photos to quench your thirst. The wildebeast skull is my Halloween costume for this balmy October 31st and the Bone Sky photo is dedicated to Dave Breukelaar for his inspiring photography.

Khalil's Family

2007-10-29T18:45:00.000-02:00

Today was another good day. A very good day. We slept for 12 hours straight after having skipped a night's sleep on the buses from Kisumu to Nairobi to Arusha, so we woke up quite content and well-rested. We settled on our safari plans with Godfrey and negotiated on a fair price. This happened to be within the AICC (Arusha International Conference Centre). We saw all kinds of billboards and displays concerning the Rwandan genocide and then discovered that this very place was the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. It's slogan was the 'Geneva of Africa'. So we thought, 'This is very interesting that we are here. We might as well stick around.' We met a lawyer from Montreal who was working there as a defense lawyer for the perpetrators of the genocide. Talk about a horrible job! He explained how hard it was to defend someone that the whole world was against. It was a very strange meeting just to talk to him. We then discovered that we could go in to one of the court rooms and listen to the proceedings. So we did. The curtains had to be drawn on the witness who was testifying concerning a man involved with the genocide and there was a point when we even had to leave the listening area because of more sensitive information. It was really a crazy feeling to have stumbled into something so interesting and historical. It's still a bit surreal even 12 hours later. We grabbed a great lunch and went to a cafe for coffee later on. At this point we phoned the brother of Khalil (close friends from Peterborough should remember Khalil from a couple years back. Trent Univ. friend now living in Montreal). We asked the cafe owner to phone him, gave him the number and when he had finished putting it in his cell phone, he said, "Oh, that's Jabbir. I know him." Arusha has about 1 million people within the GAA so this was a great (sic.)coincidence to meet someone who know him. Jabbir (Khalil's brother) came and picked us up right away and brought us to his home like old friends would. Jabbir, his wife, Sukaina, his father, and their children Hasanain, Kulsum (who pronounces her name Kuuuuullllllsum as I forgot the 'L' the first time, and the baby Jawad (in the photo here) have been so welcoming. We've talked everything from the beauty of Arusha, to Khalil and Fatim in Montreal, to politics, to religion, to safari prices and back again and they made the best meal we have had yet on the trip with three types of meat, ungali (a maize product), french fries, salads and sauces. What a treat to have been welcomed so warmly into someone elses home! Our prayer would that we would become good friends with them here and that we would be a blessing to their home as they have blessed us so much already.

We are leaving for a safari tomorrow morning and should have some crazy photos for you in about 2 days time.

Much love,

Michael (Andrea is fast asleep already)

p.s. - Thank you Khalil

Arusha, Tanzania

2007-10-28T14:08:00.000-02:00

Well, we arrived in Arusha today after taking the night bus from kisumu to Nairobi (9hrs) then the 6:30 am bus to Arusha (6.5 hrs) so needless to say we were tired when we arrived. We found a place to stay for 12 dollars a night (included breakfast) and are trying to figure out if we will be able to accept one of the million offers a minute we get to go on a safari.
Everyone is really friendly, as we have found africans to be but I think they're extra friendly at the prospect of winning our safari money....
After we went to the hotel to shower and nap we went to the stadium for a soccer game which was wonderful! Everyone was so happy and they all had radios that were playing a different soccer game so they wouldn't miss it. Every time the right team on the radio scored the whole crowd errupted - regardless of what was going on on the field. It was really great to be part of the action.

To all our friends at home, we love you and miss you. Hope everything is going well there.

Fish head = the Engine

2007-10-27T06:29:00.000-02:00

Last night we went to the 'Green Garden' in downtown Kisumu with 3 Canadians; Danny, Keattie and Laura, from Chelsea and Montreal QC respectively. I had a fried Tilapia fish with ungali and tomatoe stew and Andrea had this fancy pizza. In weight, I probably had three times the amount of Andreas but her's still cost more because mine was the native dish. Our server todl me I was a true 'Luo' for ordering the Kenyan Lager Tusker *thanks Dave* and that meal. He then came back after I stared the fish and told me I was eating it all wrong. That I need to start with the engine *head* and then eat the spare parts *the rest of the fish*, so I obliged and ate the eyes, the brains and the rest of the meat around the skull. I felt the gag reflex coming on a couple times but I forced myself through it. I also tried the Tanzanian beer 'Serengeti' with the Cheetah on it but I much preferred the Kenyan Tusker. The three others were great company for Andrea and I and we were very thankful for how they always asked the name of the server *who was wearing a white-collared Arby's shirt* and struck up a conversation with them. They have a tuk-tuk *3 wheeled taxi* driver named Bernard that they always call and refer other people to. I really like that. We're not really sure what we're up to today *at an internet cafe right now* other than that we're leaving at 9:00 PM tonight for the night bus to Nairobi and then straight off to Arusha risking the fact that we might need visas to get into the country *and before we get to the border*. God, please grant us favour at the border. And let us be a light for you, somehow humble and loving. And thanks for my beautiful wife who has been such a joy.

Cheers,

Michael.

Thursday... no, Friday October 26th

2007-10-27T06:19:00.000-02:00

We met Michael Otieno today, the young man that Andrea has sponsored through Compassion for the last 10 years. What a great experience. The poverty vs. the honour of that young man. He literally lives in a slum and he is in the top of his class. The incredible adversity that this boy, this young man, has come against in order to get to where he is at now, it stuns me. And it's almost like it is better for him, I say that with remorse and guilt, the fact that he works so hard, loves so simply, is so smart, it is almost better that he is poor in Kenya than rich in Canada. This young man is empowered to become something great for the kingdom of God. It was such a pleasure meeting him, his family and the compassion Kenya workers. *God bless him. Get him into university God. Help him and help his family.... What a day.

Kenya, Tanzania, Malawia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, DRC and the Netherlands

2007-10-23T13:36:00.000-02:00

OK, here we go.

We're leaving today for East Africa and Nairobi specifically. Andrea and I are apprehensive, nervous and super excited about our upcoming trip. We hope to update this blog often enough to let everyone know that we are still OK, what we're up to and how you can think about/pray for us back home. I guess to begin, please pray that we'll enjoy the flights, and that are time in Kenya is safe. We'll be staying with a UN rep in Nairobi who is a friend of Andrea's grandfather, Gerald VanderWillik. We anticipate meeting Michael Otieno, the young man that Andrea has sponsored through Compassion Canada for the past decade. Those are the first two stops with the possibility of meeting up with James Kirkland while we are there. I'm writing this so I'll take the chance to say how much I admire Andrea and how involved she has become in the planning of this trip. I am so honoured to have found a partner to travel the world with and love so much.

We'll see you all in a couple months,

Michael (and Andrea)

She is beautiful eh?

2007-09-05T00:15:00.001-03:00

Just wanted to say that I love my new sister Stacy. As for the one at her side, I'm not sure yet.

Hanging out at Stacy and Steve's

2007-09-05T00:08:00.000-03:00

I'm with the good looking one.

http://august17th2008.blogspot.com/

2007-09-05T00:07:00.000-03:00

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Stephen Lewis Foundation Fundraiser - August 19th

2007-08-27T17:20:00.001-03:00

Well, It happened again. This year the SLF Fundraiser made $10,564. We're pretty happy with the amount raised. And man, we had a lot of fun. It's always a blast to auction things off with Keith Monk. This one was the "One Movie Rental Everyday for a Year from Have You Seen". Meagh Culken got it for a mere $605 but I heard she's sharing it with the Dublin boys. Ky'okusinga spoke on behalf of the SLF and I had a great time meeting and talking to her and Susan from the SLF. All in all, a great night was had... by all.

I'm outta here -- Michael

Backyard Fun

2007-05-15T13:17:00.000-03:00

The objective this summer is 50 campfires in the backyard. Here is number 2. And that is me in the background looking like I'm about 7. That is a Christmas tree blazing in the fire and yes, I am having fun.

- Michael

Fun-draiser

2007-03-26T23:10:00.000-03:00

Mike and Katie's Guatemala trip skate fundraiser was a success, I'd say.

It got michael addicted to hockey and gave us all a chance to celebrate the season.

Sonshine, I'm not sure who you are but maybe you could email me at vanderherberg@gmail.com
because, you're right I don't change this blog much!

The beloved, two days of fun, couch-ski

2007-03-26T23:05:00.000-03:00

It was a lot of fun, while it lasted. But in order to insure that no children were injured we decided not to repair the couch when the ski snapped off...
Como miaco imainou, ele fez um sofa com 'skis' para andar nos colinhos. fue muito divertido so que nos perdoamos um ski e nos so usamos duas dias... Nao queremos masticar alguem e nao consertamos.... perdoa meu portugues, estou com miuto saudades de falar e praticar portugues!
Te amo nossos amigos brasileiros!
Andrea

Thanks, Mel for the paint advice

2007-03-26T23:03:00.000-03:00

Thanks to much help from our faithful friends, our new house has a fresh coat of paint. And we are even more in love with it!

Goodbye Christmas

2007-03-26T22:58:00.000-03:00

Here is us saying goodbye to our first christmas tree ever... twas lovely.

Thanks for coming Julio!

2006-12-31T20:09:00.000-02:00

Julio, we are so glad that you made it to mexico in time to meet us. Thanks for being a great tour guide and so much fun!

Jorge y Estela, Gracias para todo tu hospitalidad. Amamos ustedes!

Os Mexicanos!

2006-12-31T20:00:00.000-02:00

Nos Fomos para Mexico para des dias visitar nossos amigos, a familia Zacarias! Fomos a um casamento, falamos portunhol, comemos bem. Foi bem legal! Mas nao tinhamos banco imobiliario! Que horror! Obrigado para tudo familia Zacarias e Beser!

2006-12-31T19:59:00.000-02:00

We were able to visit the kids at the orphanage Andrea used to voluteer at... there were some of the same kids, the place hasn't changed much. But it was so nice to see them again.

2006-12-31T19:55:00.000-02:00

We were able to rent a bike for twenty four hours. It was really fun to rip around Puerto Vallarta. Except we have reason to believe that we got credit card frauded by the guy who rented it to us!

Ode to the Silver Bean Staff

2006-11-20T18:16:00.000-02:00

Oh Girls, I miss you so. All the good times making Lattes, making fun of mike gatt, serving sammies, giggling and trying to get weekends off - except lisa that is!
You guys are far more awesome than I can ever describe. Thanks for your committment, hard work and just being super.
I love you all and hope we can hang out soon!
andrea

Mel Bee and Benny BOOO!

2006-11-20T18:09:00.000-02:00

It may be a bit strange to see the gypsies carving a pumpkin with Jesus face in it...Just goes to show you that Jesus is a friend to all!

Lil' lynnie the Sheep

2006-11-20T18:05:00.000-02:00

I know she looks like a lost lil lamb but it is actually a dream come true for her! If you can't have sheep just yet, you might as well be one!

Nos tiniamos uma festa no dia do Halloween. Foi bem divertido, todos nossos amigos se vestiram como algo engracado.

Quite a Scandal!

2006-11-20T18:03:00.000-02:00

Good thing the press wasn't there...I've always wanted to be mother Theresa, and here was my chance - and I didn't even have to give up my husband.

Update

2006-09-01T14:03:00.000-03:00

$10162 was raised for the Stephen Lewis Foundation. Michael turned 25 on August 19th. Andrea is still as beautiful as ever. The house is wonderful. Laura has moved into our beautiful apartment at the house. We're really happy to have her here. The Silver Bean is slowing down and we'll close at 6:00 soon. We're pretty much ready for the season to be over. Andrea is thinking about working at the Planet Bakery for the winter but hasn't officially decided. And I think I might quit my Data Exchange Administrator job and take up the life of an actor. And everything is true except that last part.

Cheers,

Michael

HIV/AIDS Community Fundraiser for the Stephen Lewis Foundation

2006-07-17T16:10:00.000-03:00

Date & Time: Sunday August 20th, 4:30 p.m. to 9:30 pm. Concert starts at 6:00 and continues on after the auction. Auction starts at 7:00.

No cost to attend, but please bring money for auction and concert donation.

Location: Silver Bean Café, Millennium Park, 1 King Street, Peterborough, Ontario

Sunday, August 20th in Millennium Park, Peterborough. Benefit concert and community auction with all proceeds going to the Stephen Lewis Foundation.

The Silver Bean Café is hosting a community fundraiser for the Stephen Lewis Foundation on Sunday, August 20th in Peterborough. There will be a concert by Aengus Finnan, founder of the Shelter Valley Folk Festival, and a community auction performed by Keith Monk, the local auctioneer legend. Come out for an evening of awareness and fundraising for the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa. A huge problem, but where a little bit of money can make an impact in people’s lives.

Contact name/number/e-mail for further information:

Michael VanDerHerberg of the Silver Bean Café, 705 749 0535 (café), 705 742 2811 (home), 705 755 2249 (work), vanderherberg@gmail.com , P.O. Box # 2, Peterborough ON, K9J 6Y5

Stephen Lewis Foundation
http://www.stephenlewisfoundation.org/
info@stephenlewisfoundation.org
416 533 9292 (office)

July 31st, Evening House Cleaning / Moving Party!!!

2006-07-11T14:18:00.000-03:00

Hey Folks, What are you up to on the evening of July 31st? Well come on down to 185 Perry Street and help use move into our NEW HOME!!! Andrea and I have just bought our first home... actually in the process of finalizing the purchase of our new home. So if everything goes well, we will have a house cleaning session and then a big house moving party on the evening of the final day of this month.
If you're interested, call us at 742 2811.

Cheers,

Michael

Scotiabank... the place where relationships are blah, blah, blah

2006-06-27T10:31:00.000-03:00

This is our little promotion of a bank that doesn't have our money. Hey, guess what? We are in the process of buying our first home. 185 Perry Street here in Peterborough. Hopefully everything works out.

Michael

Is that Johnny Depp?

2006-06-16T16:29:00.000-03:00

I'm not sure about that.

Profile # 4 & 5. Top notch kids.

2006-06-16T16:15:00.000-03:00

Julio Campos. Master Chef. Great friend. Incredible latin dancer. We befriended Julio many years ago. Andrea got to know him through Mike Vyn and I jumped in a while later when I moved to Peterborough. Julio lived with myself and Steve Gibbs for a season. Those were some good times. Julio has been a source of joy in our lives ever since we got to know him. He makes us laugh and he makes us love Mexico.

And Lynn Bowerman. What a girl. I think Lynn and Julio could probably be called our Peterborough favourites. Or at least near the top of the list. Andrea has known Lynn for many years, for how long I don't know, probably for as long as she started hanging out with Carlo and Mike Vyn. As for myself, I got to know her when she worked at the Bridge. I would go in there and get to know some of the kids before I was actually a staff member. As I know now, that's a no-no as I could be crazy (who knows). Anyways, Lynn got mad at me at the end of one of Hawk Nelson's concerts and kicked me out. Tough love. Then I got to know her on a nicer level when she lived at 619 Aylmer. O 619. What a hole. That place, although chock full of beautiful women, was pretty bad even at student standards. But, Lynn became my friend during that time, and even more when I started dating Andrea because Andrea, Lynn and Erycha moved into the hothouse at Hunter and Aylmer. Lynn, what can I say. You're beautiful, a great friend who gives a lot to her friends, and you've got a pleasant eccentric side to you as well. I don't think you'll ever make yoghurt with that crazy contraption you bought but I admire the direction your headed in as a youth worker. Much love.... Michael

Snap Peterborough

2006-06-16T16:08:00.000-03:00

Recently on the front cover of Snap Peterborough (www.snappeterborough.com).

That's us at the Silver Bean.

Eai Brazil. Nos te amamos e estamos com saudades de voces. Um abraco especialmente pra Edgar e Fernanda. Te amo.

Michael e Andrea

Mom and Jenny

2006-05-20T23:31:00.000-03:00

And that's my dad on the left hand side.

Nice

Profile # 3

2006-05-20T23:02:00.000-03:00

This is it. The Jack Pond post. Profile # 3. Jack is, in all regards, our favourite customer, and now a dear friend. Jack has been coming since we started and has regularly ordered a sandwich, a side salad, a coffee, and then his trusty refill. And why is it that we remember what an elderly man orders? Because he's full of stories. Because he comes in with his family. Because he talks about his daughter in the Yukon. Because he went kayaking last year and he's turning 90 this year. Because you can see the love of Christ in his speech and actions. Because he smiles at our staff and speaks complimentary words of kindness. Because he comes often enough but not everyday. I guess those are just a couple reasons. Jack; thank you for your love and kindness. Thank you for the love you show to your family. And Jack, have a great day. You deserve it.

Andrea and Michael