Boerewors in Escondido:)

Hi everyone,

With the exams out of the way, Jac finally had a chance to test drive his sausage stuffer. South African boerewors is definitely hard to come by here in the States. The first batch took almost 4 hours to make, but the process is now streamlined and the next time it will be done in a jiffy [for those in South Africa who are wondering about this expression: in America 'jiffy' refers to one hundredth of a second and not to a condom:)].

We had some pap and wors this week and missed you all.

Cheers,

Jac and Bella

Merry Christmas!!!

This free digital greeting card generated with Smilebox

New Look for a New Semester

Hi everyone,

Welcome to the new version of our blog. Every blue moon one gets the feeling that it's time to try a new hair style or paint your car a different shade of neon pink...well, this blog went for a major overhaul. Hope you enjoy the new look as much as we do:) Those of you who know us also know what a prominent place the word 'kwagga' has in our vocabulary. I might dedicate a separate post to kwaggas sometime in the future.

Many new developments have seen the light this past couple of weeks. My brand-spanking new green card had me frantically scrabble for part-time work to take remove the load of seminary tuition from Bella's shoulders. Even though Starbucks and Home Depot did not get back to me about my applications, two other jobs transpired form the woodwork. I now work part-time for the seminary as technical assistant on the 'New Media Initiative' they recently launched. The work is enjoyable and stimulating on a technical level. I am currently responsible for editing soundtracks for web broadcasts and some web development for smart phones might just be in the pipeline (I hope!). This new job at the seminary is partly responsible for all the theological links we added to the blog, but we also feel good about sharing this good stuff with all of you:) I also present computer classes to my neighbour which will hopefully help him manage his business more efficiently. He really struggles with health problems, so please pray for him.

Bella kicks off her first semester at Long Beach University at the end of this month. The plan is to complete her masters degree in nursing over the course of the next two and a half years. The degree will put her on track in nursing education and help with her long term dreams for South Africa.

This, however, is not the only change Bella will have to face in the coming weeks. Even though she has been toying with the idea to transfer from the Intermediate Care Unit (IMU) to the Intensive Care Unit (PICU) for some time now, the decision was promptly made for her after the hospital decided to downsize the IMU. She has done some cross-training already and should be transferring in the coming month. She is super excited about the new things that she is learning, but such a move never comes without some butterflies in the stomach.

Y'all are probably wondering about the picture of the sausage stuffer for this post:) We have just become the proud owners of an 11lb sausage stuffer. We got some 'lekker' boerewors recipes from Oupa Plaas (Grandpa) and from the rest of the family. We can't wait to test our first batch! If it's any good I might start selling real South African boerewors at the local farmer's market. That would be a treat:)

You'll also be proud to know that we're trying our hand at all sorts of South African cooking. I've made my first bottle of rhubarb just recently. It was delicious and brought back fond memories.

We also welcomed a big gas grill to the family after a kind neighbour donated it to us when he moved out. We now boast a whopping four barbeques on the patio, each with it's special niche (smoker, big BBQ, small BBQ for extra potjiekos coals, and the gas BBQ for veggies).

Thanks for taking the time to read our blog. Please write us some emails to let us know how you are doing.

This semester is going to be a BIG one. We'll be flying by the seat of our pants until our next post.

Cheers,

The Stoffies

Logos Bible Scholarship. Apply now!

Going to Seminary is expensive. On top of that, finding a scholarship can be really difficult. That's why I was so excited to find this Seminary Scholarship website today. Not only are they giving away a $1,000.00 scholarship and a digital theological library, all I had to do to apply was watch a short video and answer a few questions! It took less than 15 minutes. What is best of all is that if you're in seminary and apply for the Seminary Scholarship, and put my name as the person who referred you, if you win the scholarship, so do I! We could both get a $1,000.00 scholarship and digital theological library. So, do us both a favor and go apply for the Seminary Scholarship today.

Home Sweet Home!

Hi everyone,

We had a great summer back home in South Africa. Some of you have asked that we upload some pictures of the soccer and the rest of our trip...well, here they are:)

We also thank all of our friends and family for their generosity and all the time and money they spent in making our trip memorable.

Enjoy!

Jac & Bella

ps: And a big thank you to all our friends in the U.S. for the warm welcome back:)

To see all our pictures click here: *** STOFFIES ALBUM***

A roaring 28th birthday party!!!

Hip hip hoeray,

Thank you so much for all of you who sent me text messages, e-mails, Facebook posts, birthday cards and telephone calls on my birthday. It meant a great deal to me and it is humbling to have so many people who care about us:) Please forgive me for not replying to all of you.

I had roaring birthday party! Bella and Genevieve organized an awesome surprise party for me. I expected a peaceful barbeque with a few close friends and got a roaring crowd of almost 30:) I almost wet my pants when I came around the corner with my BBQ tools to be bombarded with cheers and confetti.

I had a wonderful time with lekker South African style braavleis (BBQ), upbeat conversations, time in the jacuzzi and a couple of jolly souls around the fire pit with cigars and good Scotch.

My birthday cake (with the compliments of Genevieve Stember) resembled a huge Stofberg-style steak (Silly Jac thought it was the African continent!).

Time is flying. Before you know it I'll be thirty:)

Cheerz,

Jac en Bella

Check out the phodies: http://picasaweb.google.com/jacstofberg/JakkelsVerjaar28th#

Still alive and kicking :-)

Howzit,

For those who got a little worried, we are still alive and kicking!!! Shame on us for leaving you in the dark with our bi-annual blog posts:)

There is so much ground to cover that I decided to limit myself to 20 minutes worth of typing and leave it at that. Hold onto your seats ladies:)

#1 Bella is officially a Stofberg (at last!). Applying for U.S. citizenship finally made it possible to have her name changed.

#2 In the same breath, Bella is now also a U.S. citizen. Applause all round as our immigration problems seems to be over for the moment. I have taken the opportunity to apply for a green card to make travelling less of a hassle and to afford me the opportunity to work part-time should it become necessary (Seminary is really expensive!). It opens many doors that may come in handy and may later help to ease the pressure on Bella as sole provider for living expenses and school fees.

#3 We are coming over for a visit in June-July, so have the charcoal ready (wow I miss Castle Lager and biltong!).

#4 I have completed two semesters at Seminary since our last post and we are delighted with the results. I cannot even begin to tell you how much of an influence the last semesters have had on my life. My world view has definitely been significantly challenged - and that for the good:) Every day at Seminary brings with it a wave of fresh appreciation for the riches of God's wisdom and the Gospel. It truly is astonishing and I can only marvel at the intricate detail.

#5 We have uploaded a whole bunch of bananas...I mean photos...of our most recent adventures. Enjoy:-)

#6 Bella has been working two jobs for the past six months. It may sound crazy that she would choose to add more to her already stressful schedule, but it was in fact a move to ease the pressure a little by dropping a shift at the hospital and introducing some variety. She is a clinical instructor for an accelerated nursing program which, apart from the clinical instructing, every so often gives her a chance to lecture. She really enjoys it and I am beginning to think she was cut out to be a teacher:) Unfortunately her opportunities will run dry sometime in the next year unless she obtains a masters degree in nursing, so the future is very much open ended in that regard.

#7 Another development is that Bella and I have finally taken on some ministry responsibilities at our home church. After a long dryspell in ministry since our arrival in the U.S. we started in a small way by heading the youth meetings at our church in Escondido. Our first event was titled "What is Truth?" where we had some fun with a shocking lie detector. It is a great challenge for me to prepare material on such a level and communicate it in such a way that it sinks in with the youth. I can only say I have a lot to learn:)

#8 Bella's knee is healthy again and we can finally get out for some fresh air. We gave it a little test-run this past week on a hiking trial and Bella even played a game of Ultimate Frisbee with the boys at Seminary a while back.

Thanks for all the feedback from South Africa. Despite many great friends (almost family!) here in the U.S., we cannot help but miss home and look forward to having our feet on South African soil again this summer (Winter for you guys). Three and a half years seems a long way to go, but God has blessed us richly in so many ways and his mission makes it worth the struggle.

Cheers for now,

Jac en Bella