The Fluegge Family in Africa

By grace I’m saved, grace free and boundless; My soul, believe and doubt it not.  Why stagger at this word of promise?  Has scripture ever falsehood taught?  No!  Then this word must true remain:  By grace you too will life obtain.  By grace!  None dare lay claim to merit; Our works and conduct have no worth.  God in His love sent our Redeemer, Christ Jesus, to this sinful earth; His death did for our sins atone, and we are saved by grace alone.  By grace God’s Son, our only Savior, came down to earth to bear our sin.  Was it because of your own merit that Jesus died your soul to win?  No, it was grace, and grace alone, that brought Him from His heavenly throne.  By grace!  This ground of faith is certain; As long as God is true, it stands.  What saints have penned by inspiration, what in His Word our God commands, our faith in what our God has done depends on grace – grace through His Son.  By grace to timid hearts that tremble, in tribulation’s furnace tried, by grace, in spite of fear and trouble, the Father’s heart is open wide.  Where could I help and strength secure if grace were not my anchor sure?  By grace!  On this I’ll rest when dying; In Jesus’ promise I rejoice; For though I know my heart’s condition, I also know my Savior’s voice.  My heart is glad, all grief has flown since I am saved by grace alone.  (Lutheran Service Book hymn #566)

Where did the month of February go?  I don’t even have that much to write about.  The month has been spent “watching and running”.  We have spent the month watching the kids at their various activities and running around doing errands and shopping.  My sewing machine bit the dust because of all the moving around we did.  I am pretty sure those “guys” with the AGS moving company didn’t treat it very well.  So, that had to be fixed.  With a bit of effort Grandma and I were able to locate someone who could fix it for me (ok really it was fixed for Grandma \”/) and fix it for a reasonable price.  Really, really nice guy and I am so thankful we found him.

Rev. Alfred and Nancy Ebel arrived safely, along with all their goodies.  There are now 3 new beautiful quilts adorning 3 beds (all the quilts were made by Grandma), we have eaten all the wonderful “snacks” they brought and are thoroughly enjoying their company.  Grandpa is helping Samuel learn how to play basketball, Grandma is helping Samuel with his Math.  They have been to 2 of Abigail’s swimming galas (swim meet), one of Samuel’s basketball games, and one of Caleb’s cricket matches.  Grandpa even knows a little bit about Cricket (who knew?) and has been able to give Caleb a few pointers.  Grandma comes faithfully once a week to help out our roses which really need some help and to help with a little bit of dusting and ironing which are two chores I really, really hate to do.  I am so thankful for the help and the roses are looking much better.  They are looking well cared for.  Grandpa and Grandma were also able to take a trip to Capetown this past week (20-25 of Feb).  I am anxiously awaiting their return to find out how they enjoyed it.

The excitement for the month was the scorpion found by the 3 and 5 year old in the garage and the snake I uncovered when I put the trash out.  Glenn, my knight in shining armor, was around for both and killed both of them.

Caleb has taken up Chess along with Robotics this year.  Where did this child come from?  Samuel starts Rugby trials soon.  This coming Friday he is supposed to show up to play touch Rugby.  He was instructed this would be a good thing for him to do if he wants to join a Rugby team.  Samuel has also taken to selling my fudge nougat and congo bars at school.  He has a “buyer” who, Samuel believes, pays well.  Samuel uses the money to buy things from the tuk (snack bar) shop.

Samuel and Abigail are to be confirmed on Sunday 1-May-2011.  You are all cordially invited!  We have plenty of floor space and there are many wonderful guesthouses (bread-n-breakfast type places) within walking distance of the house.  Seriously, the more the merrier.

In Christ

Susan Fluegge

(Glenn, Samuel, Abigail, Caleb, Jesse, Eliana)

Threw together a few pictures with some music from our vacation at Camp Buffalo.

Fatherlike he tends and spares us;

Well our feeble frame he knows.

In his hands he gently bears us,

Rescues us from all our foes. -Carolina Sandell Berg

Dear Friends and Family in Christ-

Camp Buffalo.  We had such a good time. Camp Buffalo is camp for those who want to hunt.  However, summer is not the season to hunt so we were able to just hang out and enjoy the scenery.  The boys did some hiking, swimming, jumping off of rocks into a deep pool of water, fishing, mastering the river with out drowning, playing games, and male bonding conversations.  The girls also did some swimming, jumping off of rocks into a deep pool of water, games, and girl bonding conversations.  We played Settlers of Cattan (and I actually won one game), Scrabble, Skip-Bo, Uno, and Britannia.  We did lots of braaiing and ate really, really well.  It also rained.  The first night was absolutely gorgeous but the second evening a huge storm decided to dump gallons upon gallons of water on us, flooding the tents and soaking everything inside.  It rained off and on from that point on but we were still able to have plenty of fun.  Check out the slide show of some of the pictures that were taken during our week at Camp Buffalo on youtube

Camp Buffalo is actually one of many camps/farms that is set aside for hunting and they are all fenced off.  It was interesting to learn how hunting is done here.  The man who manages Camp Buffalo is an experienced hunter.  He knows his land and his animals really, really well.  He takes groups of people out hunting and he shows them where to find the animals, then he helps them track the animals and then eventually kill some sort of deer like thing that ends in “bok” like SpringBok.  (I’m sure there are other types of animals that are hunted, not just the deer like things.)  He took us up to one of the “look-outs”  they use to spot the animals they want to hunt.  Usually what happens is there are people (those who work to sustain and protect the camp/farm) standing on a ridge looking for animals.  When someone on the ridge spots a herd of animals he uses his cell phone to call the hunter to let him know where to find the animals.  The experienced hunter and his group are then able to find the herd of animals quickly and easily.  Once the animals are spotted they are tracked and then “shot”.  And if you can follow what I just wrote you are amazing and you understand it’s a different way to do hunting.  Glenn wants to take Samuel some time this winter.  I am hoping they find the time.

Glenn and I were also able to see the old Lutheran Seminary.  It was/is a beautiful place but isolated.  It is always interesting to hear the history of something.  There were also many famous South African battles fought in this area and there was a day or 2 set aside to view these historic sites.  It was really interesting but I am not going to go into any details.

School has started and once again I am feeling very overwhelmed.   I think it will take me another week before I can adjust to everyone’s new schedule and things don’t seem so busy.  It doesn’t help that we have had some sort of something to attend about every other night since school started.  Tonight I was supposed to attend a Mother’s Information Cocktail at Pretoria Boy’s High (PBHS) but I couldn’t find the strength.  (I am really missing the quietness of Togo).  PBHS is an extremely strict school and Samuel is finding it hard to adjust.  Although, despite his complaining most nights, I think he truly enjoys it and it really is good for him.  So, I will start with Samuel and let you know what everyone is doing at the moment.

Samuel is in Form 1 (grade at Pretoria Boys High School.  It’s his first year at yet another new school and he is still learning the ropes.  School starts at 7:30 in the morning and we are finding it hard to get him there on time.  He has already received his first “late” (detention) because he left his song book somewhere and so didn’t have it on hand.  Someone found out and gave him a “late”.  He is serving that tomorrow after school.  He spent his first week just learning the ropes and learning all of the schools chants (war cries) and songs.  It would take me a whole 2 pages to try and explain PBHS so I won’t.  Hopefully I can get Samuel to write on the blog.  Anyway, Samuel is part of Matheson house (there are 10 houses altogether at PBHS) which is like Harry Potter being part of Gryfindor (if this helps explain things a little).  He has made the “A” team for the form 1 basketball team.  There are 4 Form 1 basketball teams.  This isn’t saying much.  They play outside and have practice only 3 times a week for an hour and a half.  I watched once and there just isn’t enough room for all those boys (from Form 1 all they way to Form 5) to really play.  Glenn has been trying to instruct Samuel on how to play because he isn’t getting much at practice.  Basketball is not a South African sport.  However, Cricket, Soccer, and Rugby are huge here so that is where the money is spent for fields and equipment etc.

Abigail is in grade 7 this year and is loving being the “oldest”.  She likes bossing all the other kids around and having privileges that the others do not.  This year they changed her classmates.  Last year they put her in a class that was full of diplomats.  This year all her friends from last year are in a different class (7w) and her class (7a) is full of children from South Africa.  I am not sure how she is handling that.  She sees most of her “old” friends during the day so I think she is ok with it.  She is doing swimming again and has added Public Speaking.  They learned how to write a speech today in Public Speaking which is a good skill to have.

Caleb is in grade 3 this year.  Most of his classmates are also in different classes but he doesn’t seem to mind much.  So far he is enjoying his teacher and his classes.  He is even more focused on getting his homework done.  We’ll see how long that lasts.  He is also playing Cricket again (he has his first match this Thursday) and wants to join Robotics.

Jesse is in gade 0 (they say grade naught but I say kindergarten).  He wants to be grown up but doesn’t like the work that comes with it.  He will eventually come around and start enjoying school again but it will take awhile.  His favorite day so far was when he was able to do speech.  It was someone and something familiar.  I have him playing mini-cricket, mini-tennis, and swimming.  He does mini-cricket on Mondays, mini-tennis on Tuesdays, and swimming on Wednesdays.  This all just to keep him busy so I am not driving back and forth from school all day long with everyone’s different activities.

Glenn’s classes start next week, Feb 1.  He is teaching Greek 1 and 3, Greek Readings, and African Church History.  He is still busy learning Latin and German and reading a multitude of books that correspond with his doctorate.

My thyroid seems to be normalizing.  I will know for certain next time I visit the doctor.  My Masters doesn’t start until March and for that I am really thankful.  I have had the time to make sure everyone is settled in school.  Eliana is still at home with me.  She will not start school until next year but she is a joy to have around.

Just a couple of more days until my parents arrive.  We are all looking forward to having them around for 6 months.  It’s been 19 1/2  years since I have lived close to my parents.  Can’t wait for the “new” experience.  \”/

In Christ

Susan Fluegge

(Glenn, Samuel, Abigail, Caleb, Jesse, Eliana)

And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.    What Does This Mean?  We pray in this petition that our Father in heaven would not look at our sins, or deny our prayer because of them.  We are neither worthy of the things for which we pray, nor have we deserved them, but we ask that He would give them all to us by grace, for we daily sin much and surly deserve nothing but punishment.  So we too will sincerely forgive and gladly do good to those who sin against us. Martin Luther from the Small Catechism

Hello from Pretoria-

School is now in full swing and I am just getting to Christmas.  Hopefully with a schedule and a routine I will be able to get a bit more done.  Ah, who am I kidding!   We truly had a marvelous Christmas.  There were some very funny moments with Jesse explaining to everyone that Jesus was born hell (Glenn spent about 45 minutes explaining away that silly notion) and Samuel had his chance to give his version of the Christmas story.  By the end we honestly knew why we were celebrating Christmas.  \”/  We had a great meal of turkey, mashed potatoes, salad, and veggies.  Everyone had full tummies and happy faces.

I have decided to just send the pictures we took from Christmas in a slideshow (sorry to the grandparents as they have already seen this).  We received a great Christmas letter from a cousin of mine and it was all pictures with captions.  I loved it!  I am a visual person and so enjoyed the pictures immensely.  Anyway, I decided to do the same with our Christmas.  Actually, I’m just being lazy.  The slideshow is already done and this whole letter will only take a few minutes as opposed to the hour trying to come up with something witty to say.  Hope the slideshow is viewable.  I threw it together using iphoto and just sent it from there.  There are PC’s out there that won’t play anything MAC.

The next letter will be from our trip to Camp Buffalo.  I have over 200 hundred photos to wade through first before that gets done.  I will also send a short letter with a long slideshow.  I know you all enjoy those slideshows so much.  \”/  After that I should be caught up and will get onto letting you know what is happening with kids, school, sports activities, etc.

In Christ

Susan Fluegge

(Glenn, Samuel, Abigail, Caleb, Jesse, Eliana)

“There is something elevating about the praise of God.  When we magnify His name and celebrate His glory, our own souls partake of greatness.”  Robert E. Coleman

Happy New Year-

It’s been awhile and so, of course, I have too much to tell and it will take a while.  I apologize for all the reading that I am sending to your inbox.  Of course you could just delete it and not read and all will be good.  I think the last time I wrote Glenn was taking off for Madagascar which was the end of Nov. or the beginning of December.  A ton has happened since.

While Glenn was in Madagascar Jesse fell ill.  When Glenn came back from Madagascar two weeks later Caleb was just recovering from the same illness and Abigail and Eliana were in the middle of it.  I came down with shortly later.  It was not a fun illness.  I ended up alternating 8 hour tylenol with Advil just to keep the headache at bay.  It was nice to spend a week in bed but nothing got done.

Before I ended up in bed, however, Samuel had his ‘Secrets’ night.  For the entire year the grade sevens had been working on their ‘secrets’ theme in English class.  At the beginning of the year they had to come up with an historical character.  They then had to write poems, journal entries, poetry, movies, plays and many other things involving their character.  This character had to have at least 3 secrets which were to be apparent in their mask and character on the ‘Secrets’ night.  Samuel chose a character from the Revolutionary war in the U.S.  His characters ‘secrets’ involved desertion during a battle but ended up returning, a cool type of gun, and spying on the British. As part of the ‘Secrets’ night Samuel had to read something he had written.  After the different “performances” the parents were asked to visit each of the children in the grade 7 class and ask questions about their character.  It was a really interesting evening and Samuel did a really good job on his “performance”.  I included a picture.

Abigail had awards night.  We were a little in shock and weren’t exactly sure what she was being awarded for but went to support her anyway.  She was in the middle of her flu bug so we drugged her enough to keep her sane but she looked horrible.  Anyway, Abigail was awarded with half-colors.  We had to ask well.  Schools here give full colors to those whose grade average is above a certain percentage.  They give half-colors if there grade percentage average is above 78 percent.  I understand that doesn’t seem all that great however a 78% here is the same as an 88% in the states.  Once again this is good but not many people receive rewards for that type of a grade average.  However, for Abigail this is good because this average includes German (most kids start German in Grade 4 which means that Abby is 2 years behind yet she is above the class average for grades) and Afrikaans (which for her is also new and most kids speak Afrikaans at home and started learning it in grade 2).  Next year she wants to do better and would like to have full colors.  It’s a good goal.

Samuel also had his awards ceremony night/graduation.  The grade 7′s have their night on a different night for it to be special.  Samuel did not receive any reward for anything but he did pass grade 7 and “graduated” from Crawford Preparatory.  It was a good evening and we were able to meet some of the parents of the kids that Samuel hangs out with.

It is really a busy time of year.  Not only do we deal with the end of year “stuff” and Christmas but we also add the end of the school year events.  And, for some reason, they also start making sure you are prepared for the beginning of the new school year in Jan.  We had to make sure all stationary and books were bought.  It’s a very busy, very expensive time of year.

Next letter I will include Christmas, vacation at Camp Buffalo, and Samuel is now registered for “high school”.

There are a few things we are looking forward to in the year 2011.  My parents will arrive Jan. 27th and will be here for 6 months.  Also, Samuel and Abigail are to be confirmed on Sunday, May 1.

Hope and Pray you have a good New Year.

In Christ
Susan Fluegge
(Glenn, Samuel, Abigail, Caleb, Jesse, and Eliana)