New cousins in Copenhagen

Fast facts:
There are three more letters in the Danish alphabet than in the English one.

Cars cost 2.5 times more in Copenhagen compared to South Africa to encourage citizens to cycle. 

Receive huge fines for not wearing a helmet while cycling. 

Schnapps drank with herring is a very popular combination. 

White bread is difficult to find, rye bread is eaten with most meals. 

Sweetie Pie originated from Denmark, but is called a cream puff here. 

School and university is free. 

A waffle is what we call a sugar cone, and a Belgian waffle is what we call a waffle.

I read on the back of a tea bag today "some relationships come and go, but some are made to last". My dad does not have a lot of his family left. He has lost both of his parents as well as his only sibling. What remains is a few half siblings that all live in different parts of the world. While my dad chose to leave home as soon as he matriculated, he has sustained relationships with some of these half-siblings, and today he got to meet up with his half-sister who he had not seen since their father's funeral, more than 15 years ago.

Anne and her husband, Daniel, and their three daughters (like us) acted as our own personal tour guides for the day in Copenhagen. They travelled more than 3.5 hours just to see us, and as soon as we stepped off of the ship, the showering of blessings began. They brought us all a very special Danish gift. My dad received a key holder and my mom, sisters and I received a daisy bracelet. The reason being that the Danish queen's favourite flower is the daisy. We all also received special Danish chocolates and licorice. They then took us around Copenhagen showing and telling us about historical statues and Nordic myths. We came across a statue of a Nordic goddess and Anne told us the story behind it. This Nordic goddess turned her sons into bulls and made them plow the land. Wherever she plowed became her land and Denmark. Unfortunately I don't have access to internet so I cannot find out the facts behind it. The place where this statue lies is on top of a water fountain. In the winter they have to turn this water fountain off to prevent the pipes from cracking because of the cold.

Anne also showed us a statue of the Little Mermaid, an extremely popular tourist attraction in Copenhagen. We were also shown the place in which the Danish Queen's boat docks into the harbour, as well as where she resides during her stay, and the balcony that she stands on and waves to the people on her birthday. We were allowed to have a picture with one of the guards, something that is forbidden at Buckingham Palace. We were even lucky to see the changing of the guards which happens at 12pm every day.

My favourite part of the day was visiting the Marble Church. It was so amazingly beautiful inside. Tourists just went in and stopped to sit in a pew and quietly pray. It was one of the most beautifully-built churches that I have ever seen. The locals describe it as onion-domed. The front words of the church translate to "the Lord's word stays eternal". This church reminded me of another church that we visited in France more or less 10 years ago. Julianne, my younger sister was around 6 or 8 years old, and when we entered this church (I have forgotten the name of it), it was so majestic that she quietly whispered to my dad "daddy does Jesus live here?" It was one of those extremely precious moments that my family has never forgotten.

After our tour we had lunch at a place called Dansk Smorrebrod. A Smorrebrod is basically rye bread with different hams/fish/meats, sauces and garnish on top. Almost like an open sandwich. Anne told us that when she started sending her oldest daughter, Mirjam to school she would pack her a sandwich for lunch. Mirjam eventually returned from school one day asking her mom to make her "sandwich" the same way as the other mothers did for their daughters. Anne, a South African, did not know then that this was the Danish way to do it.

Our lunch was decadent and it ended with a scoop of true Danish ice cream with a sweetie pie squished on top. God truly blessed us today by gracing us with the meeting of my dad's sister and her family. Not only were we blessed by their company, but I believe that God blessed them with ours. God does that sometimes, almost like a double whammy of blessings. I am just so lucky that my eyes have been opened to the fact that this is all His doing.

Sea day, swimming and sleeping

Fast facts: Four laps around the running track on the ship is equivalent to one km. Leaving the North Sea and will enter Baltic Sea by midnight.

I began my day with banana crumpets (what they actually call pancakes here) and a salmon, cream cheese and capers bagel. It is only day two on the cruise and I have forgotten what it feels like to look forward to eating. It is a sea day today which means that we do not stop at a port. Tomorrow will be our first port day in Copenhagen, Denmark. After breakfast, my mom, sisters and I went for a jewelry-making session which ended in us getting our own caricature portraits. Something we just happened to walk past after the jewelry session. We then spent majority of our day in the pool, jacuzzi and sauna. My mom decided to read and as for my dad...he slept. After my post-sauna shower I found him curled up on a deck chair snoring softly. This image of him just gave me such peace. Who would have thought that just within a few months he would have become so healthy and so relaxed that he could quietly have a snooze in a noisy pool room on a luxury cruise? Seeing him there was a blessing in itself from God.

Tonight was formal night. You can imagine how excited we were about this, having four women in a family of five. After a couple (hundred) pics, we had an amazing dinner. The rack of lamb being enjoyed with real mint jelly was the best meal of the night. The show tonight, as there is one every night, was an all-male acappella group from London called The Magnets. They were absolutely amazing. One of the members practically performed a five minute drum solo using only his mouth. I ended my night with a quiet cup of lemon and ginger tea. Looking forward to tomorrow.

Cruising through

After a quick night's stay at the Ipswich Holiday Inn, we took one taxi and two trains to reach our ultimate destination; Harwich...the place at which our 12-day cruiseliner would be leaving from. We toured the ship as soon as we took our first step on to it, ending up at the infamous 24 hour dining hall called the Windjammer (pronounced with the j, not a y as we South Africans would expect).

Fast facts: Ship name: Brilliance of the Seas. 20 SA citizens on the ship. 800 Brits 600 Americans The remainder are all of different nationalities. Total passengers: 2400 Staff: 1100 Ship weighs 90 000 tons.

As we entered our rooms, the only tiny thing about the ship, my two sisters and I took lots on who would get the best bed or top drawers. While unpacking I came to the extremely sad conclusion that I had left my only two books that I had packed, underneath my seat on the international flight. I had been reading The Book Thief, which belonged to my aunt back home, and a very special book that I had received from a friend of mine in my bible study in Grahamstown entitled "What happens when women say yes to God". I was on the last chapter and my eyes had continued to be opened as I read each consecutive page. To say I was disappointed that this book was gone was an understatement, but what I then began to think about was the first story that the author of the book shared in the opening pages; how she lost her bible on an aeroplane. Okay, she didn't exactly lose her bible, but she did lose it to the passenger seated next to her. She said that after chatting to the man next to her for the majority of the flight, God had urged her to give him her bible. Not just any ordinary bible, but the bible that she had described as tear-stained and covered in notes...although I wouldn't be able to quote her directly without the book. This man, a non-believer, then went on to take a week off from work just to read the bible, something that the most staunch Christian would probably not be able to say they had ever done. He gave His life to the Lord and started sharing his revelation with whoever he could.

Maybe me leaving that book on the aeroplane was linked to a story of this kind. Maybe someone is meant to find that little book and maybe they will become one of the greatest followers of all time. Or maybe it will be chucked into some kind of lost-and-found box where it will remain for years...either way God is in control.

Later on in the day the sun came out, something that we had been praying for to happen on the cruise for months in advance. My mom and I also entered a raffle and ended up both winning amazing gift vouchers. As the lyrics go, "You give and take away". I may have lost two treasured books, but as it is shown in the story about the bible and the passenger on the aeroplane, every act has repercussions, often amazing ones.

The little things

Sushi, the family dog, and I had been allocated the spare room upstairs since half the family had come down from Port Elizabeth to look after her, Fruity, Jolie and Tinkie when we leave for our trip. So when my dad decided to start playing London Calling by The Clash on full volume in the kitchen, located directly beneath my bed, Sushi and I were less than impressed. He then moved on to the soundtrack of London's popular musical Billy Elliot. At this point, Sushi popped her head up, gave me a look, and proceeded to get out of her bed...I guess that was my cue. Although our flight was only in 5 hours time, my dad was clearly excited.

Today, we arrived in Heathrow at 5:07am and got to our hotel at 11:30. Having only managed an hour's sleep on the plane, most of our sense of humours had disappeared. What kept me up for most of the night had a lot to do with the itchy blanket and the confined space, but my mind also could not switch off. All I kept thinking was, "how am I going to write about a Godly experience every single day for the next three weeks?" God is miraculous, that I know, but I suddenly starting feeling a lot of pressure to write something miraculous every day. If God wanted to he could show us a massive sign everyday like a universal snow storm or shower us with pink bubblegum-flavoured rain, but he doesn't do that for a reason. We walk by faith and not by sight. But I still felt a need to impress or make God sound "cool". 

After today, I realised that that was not the "Godly" thing to do. I was expecting something from God just so that my blog would sound amazing by worldly expectations. Maybe God will show me something out-of-this-world tomorrow, but what I view as small or taken-for-granted is still a gift from Him....maybe learning that was my something amazing. 

After arriving at the hotel, we sat down for a family lunch. It was at this point that God started showing me these things...or maybe He just opened my eyes to what had been happening all day. Like the little bit of pride I felt when we held hands in the bar and said grace publicly before eating, or how my sisters and I laughed together while mocking the Barry Roux parody of Happy by Pharrell, or the fact that my dad had tears in his eyes yesterday morning while he was playing his music. But most of all, God showed me the best gift that he has ever given me, my close-knit family. We suffered together last year, but we grew immensely closer. This holiday alone would increase that greatly. After dinner, we all shared a late night swim at the hotel since the sun had not yet begun to set, something perhaps trivial to us, but all a part of God's favour. I look forward to more of that.

My daddy gets his wish.

Early last year my dad was diagnosed with lymphoma - bone marrow cancer. He was extremely ill and even more emotional. Although this affected him the most, it had a great impact on all of his family. We stood by him through his treatment and on his worst of days and only a few months ago was he told that he had been healed. My dad is an extremely ambitious and spontaneous man who loves to spoil his family. On the day of his third treatment of chemotherapy, he said to my mom that he was in need of looking forward to something, something to literally live for. After a long talk with my mom about how we had no money due to the chemo and that it was not a good idea, my dad booked return tickets for us 5 as a family to England. He had no idea what we were going to do there and whether he would find the money to allow us to do anything besides sitting in Heathrow airport for three weeks, but he says that it was one of the things that he thought of while he was being injected in his weak and bruised hand for the 8th time or having his second bone marrow extraction in his back. 

We can officially say that next week Sunday we will be leaving for a 2 week Russian cruise and 1 week stay in London. My dad is healthy and even gaining back some muscle and hair. I will be using this spot as my personal travel diary, but instead of having my focus on the experience that my dad will be having, I have decided to focus primarily on every daily experience with God in a different environment. God is the sole reason for why my daddy is still around today and He is the way, the truth and the life. My dad had a revelation about Jesus Christ when he was in Rome a few years ago. This made me want to see every day as an opportunity to experience God in a new way. It is funny how when you are on holiday you often spend less time with God even though you have more time on your hands. So, this is my attempt to not allow the lack of a routine to prevent me from "fitting" God in...

Below are pictures of my sisters  and me from our last trip.

Back to what is right

Remember me telling you about my Pappa Samuel getting sick last year? Well for the past 8-9 months, my dad has been fighting cancer with full force and was told just a few weeks ago that his battle is finally over. He will have to go for check-ups on a monthly basis for the rest of his life, but besides that minor factor, my daddy is healthy as can be.

It was tough.

Taking on something like that among your family members is life-changing, yet it has brought us all together immensely. There was a massive amount of support, but Jesus Christ pulled it all back together, just like he has always promised to do. 

The hair is back, the weight is gaining and he is even seeing a personal trainer to bulk up a bit. The chemo may have made him look like a 13 year old boy :P But since the first day of training he has not given up any opportunity (often making up his own) to whip his shirt off and pull is biceps and cooler bag (six pack underneath a bit of a squishy layer).

My dad is my hero, honestly. And he was only able to pull through this time because of his beliefs. 

This song is not really dedicated to my dad or anything, but I've been wanting to learn it for a long time. This was a one-take recording, so it is seriously average. It is one of those songs that you inhale (as I have said before) and for the first time in a long time, my dad is probably tasting air in an entire new way. I love him so very much <3