Enter daughters ……………. “grand” and “great grand”……….!
Leandra: (USA) Born 9 February, 1983
Ocean: USA) Born 18 March 2010
Looking at these precious gems, I cannot tell which one is more beautiful. They are equally as beautiful – too precious for words! And they are mine!
Landy was born in South Africa, and at the age of 8 years, she was whisked away on 18 January 1991, when her family emigrated to Canada. It broke my heart to see her go. Sadly, I have only seen her “in the flesh” on two occasions since them, but I have, from a distance, watched her grow and develop into a beautiful and very intelligent young lady.
Leandra aged 1 year
Landy you are Granny’s girl. I will always love you, treasure you and praise God for giving me another little girl besides Sheldine. You are a hard worker, a high achiever. You have completed a Bachelor of Science Degree, and at present you are enrolled at the University of the District of Columbia, David A. Clarke School of Law. You are a J.D. Candidate, Class 2011, a student Advocate. You are also a Teaching Assistant in the field of Law and Justice. I am so proud of you.
Not only are you tiny, but you delivered a 9.5 lb. baby girl, little Ocean, proudly sporting an alpaca jacket from Ecuador. How I long to be closer to you, to see you, and to see my little great granddaughter, Ocean. You’re a gem my precious Landy, holding another little gem, smaller than you, but shining just as brightly. You are constantly in my head, my heart and my prayers. My deepest longing is that one day, we will be together in Heaven, never to be parted again.
Aha! I see you have a brother. He looks like a real nice guy. What a closely-bound brother and sister you are – always there for each other, in good times and in the bad! Ok, Lionel, let me hold you up to the sun, to see what bright flashes of light shine forth from you.
Wow! He is good-looking! Esta hombre es hermoso!
Grandson: Lionel. Born 28 June 1985. I will never understand why you did not remain in-utero for just one more day.We would have shared the same birthdate!
Lionel, you are a unique gem in many ways. You are my only grandson, one that I almost lost when you were born. I stood glued as I watched the Paediatrician administer an intracardial injection, your final chance to live. The minutes ticked by, and so did my prayers. God touched you – for a reason I believe!
Lionel, you are exceptional. You have completed a Bachelor of Science Degree and a Master’s Degree in Software Design and Gaming. You worked for 8 years part time for your Dad (Shane), even while at University, and now have been in partnership with him for the past two years. You excel in many areas. You have worked at your Dad’s side and accomplished many skills. You helped him to build a house; you have designed 8 electronic instruments for planes, and are manufacturing the instruments that both you and your Dad designed. Your knowledge and your wisdom exceeds beyond your age. You are a gem of rare quality.
Lionel graduated 20 June 2010 – two great guys – and they are both mine!
Lionel ……………………………………………Leandra……………………………………..Shane.
Brothers
Trevor: (South Africa)
Born: 31 October, 1938
A blogger’s birthday – just missed the launching of my blog. Happy Birthday, brother! Wow, 72 years old already. Don’t you think that is a bit old?
How can I describe you, my dear brother? (1) Small head – large brain; (2) Career started with studying Computer Science, in the days when the computer filled an entire room. Today we get Palm Tops. That is proof enough that you are old! I recall keeping an eye on your achievements and remember thinking, “He must be a genius!” (3) You are a wise guy. Anyone wanting sound advice does not come away disappointed; (4) you are a hit with your grandchildren; they judge you by your cricket hat and believe that you must have played in the top South African cricket team; and among many other qualities, (5) you have an excellent sense of humor.
Tragedy struck you on 28 August 2004, when your beloved son, aged 31 years, was killed in a car accident. What an indescribable loss!
Gregory had three tertiary qualifications, viz. a Mining Engineering Degree, a Bachelor of Commerce and a Government Certificate of Competence in Factory Management. He was killed three months before writing his final examination for his Master of Business Management, where he was studying at a university in Scotland. A tragedy? Indeed! But on 28 August 2004 Greg received the highest promotion. He graduated to Heaven! One day father and son will be united once again, and you will be inseparable forever! Two gems – one on earth and one in Heaven!
Basil (Australia)
Born: 9 April 1940
You are the comic of the family, my brother. I’m sure that you must have been born laughing.
How well I remember your school report card in your seventh grade. It was full of holes from furiously scratching out the E’s, F’s and G’s that you achieved; changing them to please Dad and Mom, and then repeating the process to please your teacher when you returned your report card. You turned out brilliant. School was just not your scene. You accomplished much and for many years ran a successful Insurance business, which you had until you left South Africa for Australia in 2008.
You have only recently revealed to me your hidden talent which matches your humor perfectly – a comic artist. Wow! At 70 years old, and only now do you expose two treasures embedded deeply in you – woodwork and art! My admiration grows for you. I am so proud to be your sister.
I have highlighted five of your qualities in this blog that I admire about you, qualities by which I will always remember you. (1) You have the softest and most tender heart that any man could ever have; (2) you are an extremely kind and generous man; (3) you adore animals; and (4) You are a family man. Your family is very closely knit, and so blessed to be living together now in Australia. Your fifth quality, my beloved brother was manifest in you at a young age. Something that has stuck with me all of my life. (5) Do you recall how you would sit in your room and read your Bible? That gem, precious one, shines the most in my memories of you.
I love you, my brother; I always have and always will. I want to meet you and each of your outstanding and precious family members in Heaven. I could not pray for anything better. Sweet brother, you mean the world to me.
Keith (South Africa)
Born: 26 October 1943
My precious “baby brother”. You are such a special man! I long to see you again. Distance has separated us – a long distance between South Africa and Ecuador.
How well I remember as a little girl, perhaps four years old, loving to look into your then navy blue eyes. I would place you on a level higher than I, and just stare into those eyes. I am sure that without knowing it, I was seeing kindness and generosity, hard to match. How could I ever forget your gifts of money, food and even a car – when I was struggling to make ends meet for myself and my three children.
You are a gem in many regards, above that of many others. You have an infectious humor; your creativity is indeed a gift from God; you are a good and an upright man; you are a man of God with very high morals; and you are extremely kind and generous. In return, God has given you the great honor of having a son in the ministry, who is faithfully serving the Lord.
Dad and Mom loved your frequent visits. How I loved and appreciated it when you called around to visit me, too. I guess now that we are far apart, those visits will never happen again. But what joy, knowing that you, my gem of a brother, will share Heaven with me.
In the meantime, I will be to you as Miriam was to her baby brother, Moses. “And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him” (Exodus 2:4) Today I am at a great distance from you, but my love reaches you and so do my prayers. I love you, my baby brother.
Dawn (Ecuador)
Born: 29 June 1941
I guess I am part of my family, and so I have included a brief overview of my life. As a toddler aged three years I “performed” my first surgery on my friend. My granny would dress me up as a nurse. I felt great! At the age of 18 years, my parents gave me permission to enter into a career that was close to my heart – nursing.
At the onset I would like to say that any achievements that I acquired was by the grace of God. Genesis 39:3-4 aptly describes the successes that God granted me over a period of 54 years, while involved with my nursing career and studying at a Bible College. “… the Lord was with (her) …. the Lord made all (she) did, to prosper in (her) hand) …. (she) found favor in his sight and served him”. God entrusted me with successes, not for myself, but to honor Him, to be used of Him, and to bless others. That is a deep desire in my heart. I ascribe all praise, honor and glory to God, my Savior; “For without Him I can do nothing”. (John 15:5), but, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. (Philippians 4:13)
Education: I have always had a passion for learning, and from my early years, for studying the Word of God. When I was 12 years old, God taught me a very valuable lesson in life – always give God the glory! Every year I would write a national Bible Examination. On this particular occasion, the Lord enabled me to gain the second highest mark in the entire South Africa, and the then Rhodesia. I was excited for “graduation day”. I admit pride was creeping in. The lesson I learned was a blow that knocked me flat. Somehow, amongst all the other scholars, someone forgot to include me on the list of achievers, and only a year later, did they hand me my prize, without acknowledging my success. That was a lesson that God had to teach me. He granted me many successes, with me clinging to His conditions, “Give the Lord the glory due to His name”. So, it is in this vain, that I place on this post, some of the highlights that God granted me.
God blessed me through my school years. He honored me with a gold medal for General Nursing. In total He enabled me to acquire 7 diplomas/degrees in the nursing field. In the year 2000 I had a deep desire to study at a Bible College. I wanted to know more of the Word of God. Now ten years later, I praise Him that He enabled me to complete 5 degrees at Pillsbury College and Seminary, in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. I thank God for my mentor, the Chancellor of the College, Doctor Curt Scarborough, who has been my pillar of strength throughout my studies, a man with the knowledge of the Word of God that I have not seen before. “Prof, I honor you. I praise God that you were the man to whom God led me. You are excellent in every way. I praise God for you, and so wish that every Christian in the world, would pursue the courses that you designed”. You, too, are my gem.
Experience: Hospital: With regard to my Nursing experience, I worked for 5 years in a hospital and adored it. I then moved to Community Nursing as a district nurse, with authority to diagnose, prescribe and dispense medication, from a supply that I carried around with me. My patients were the elderly, infirm and disadvantaged people. After a number of years I moved to the municipal health services and was involved in district Tuberculosis Nursing. I was occasionally called upon to assist with International Immunization, where I gained great skill in the administration of intramuscular injections – sometimes reaching up to 1500 injections in a day. (Any volunteers – I’m an expert!) I was exposed to almost every conceivable district health service possible – occupational health, emergency services, rural nursing, mortuaries – you name it, I was there, which proved invaluable while teaching nurses.
Experience as an Educator: I lectured in hospitals, Nursing Colleges, Universities, I was promoted to Head of Department of Community Nursing Services and Social Science; had exposure to curriculum design; taught nursing students on four levels – first to fourth year students, which totaled 600 nurses. I was also responsible for organizing their practicum.
While carrying this heavy load, I was studying (distance learning) at two universities, and then came the crunch. I suffered severe burnout. Praise God, this was God’s way of changing my course, so that I could serve Him in fulltime ministry. I worked for a while as a professional and public educator at the South African Cancer Association. In 1991, God called me aside to found a ministry for terminally ill Cancer patients in my home, and eventually built a center for these unfortunate people, where I served Him for 17 years, the main thrust, second to compassionate care, was to lead the dying to faith in Jesus Christ, so that they could be admitted into Heaven.
How my heart yearns for these very precious people!
In the midst of all of my studies and work, God gave me the privilege of caring for my children. I had a forced break in my nursing training. What a blessing! I was able to spend precious time rearing my three children.
If I look over my life and my achievements that God gave me, like Paul, I boldly admit, “But what things were gain to me, those I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all thing loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ…..” (Philippians 3:7-8)
Emotions: My Passions
I have three passions, amongst others: (1) my love for my children, grandchildren and great granddaughter; (2) an intense compassion for hurting, suffering and sorrowing people and to reach out to do something for them in their last moments on earth, and (3) a deep down desire to study and teach the Word of God.
“Lord Jesus, You are my Gem. I now magnify you for what you have done in me and through me. The glory belongs to YOU!"
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