St George and the dragon

Today is a very English day, it's the day of our national saint the one and only horse riding slayer of the dragon, St George, and its around this that I'm gonna build this post.

Our dear St George isn't the most well known saint, surely that must go to the pin up of saints him of snake chasing fame St Patrick who so many pledge allegiance too on the 17th March when it would seem that the whole of Ireland plus the United States, who don't actually have their own patron saint, along with anyone who is up for a good time dons a green leprechaun hat complete with built in ginger beard and head down to the nearest bar selling Guinness and spend the night getting drunk whilst singing classic irish songs by English born Shane Macgowan and his Pogues!

National saints days or national days, like the 4th of July, when our own little nations gather around a common flag are celebrated in different ways around the world and from my point of view can seem quite jingoistic with thoughts poporting the fact that our saint is better than yours, our flag is bigger than yours, our nation is richer that yours, which then leads to resentment or apathy from others be they nations or individuals who feel belittled by all the flag waving.

I believe that at this time as the world suffers together, not individual nations, although I'm sure that some would love to continue to think that they are either immune or separate to what is sweeping over this world, my hope is that we become more united during this time. It would seem to me that it's our own individualistic, self centered lives have contributed to the plight that we are now enduring. Life has become all about me, my life, my house, my car, my family, my youtube, Facebook or Instagram account, my bank balance, my pension fund, my political party, my nation, my ideals and my thoughts, however as we continue in this lock down state what are the things that we crave?

Being outside together, interacting with others and we are finding out that we are not individuals locked away, we want to be free.

As we continue through this challenging time I feel that we are looking to a common saviour, so today as we celebrate the life of our patron saint it's my hope that we might indeed find a way to slaye this new dragon which is causing so much suffering and pain, riding under a banner of a red cross, and whatever your belief, this red cross represents grace, salvation, redemption and help coming from near and afar.

This isn't just a day for Englishmen to celebrate, its a day when we need to unite together for the better of our world.

Training up local Zambians

Helping to shape the Driven Ministries vision for 2020

After taking the short flight from Harare to Lusaka we have returned to Kabwe, a town built around a lead mine, now closed, where our friends Chris and Rebecca Viola have set up a project called Driven Ministries after a move from the USA with their four children to help disciple people, especially children, living in the large compound (think of a more spread out South African township) of Makalula.

Evening training session at Maplehurst Guesthouse

We've been in Zambia for just over three weeks now, and although this nation has its own challenges, which we will share with you later on in this post, they are nothing compared to its close neighbours Zimbabwe, where we were able to experience the daily challenges as we often had to cater for ourselves and where we were when we last posted an update.

This is our third visit to Zambia and on our two previous visits we had been hosted by the Violas in their home which sits along the Great North Road, a major transport route enabling goods to travel to and from the port of Dar el Salaam in Tanzania right through Zambia, Zimbabwe and on to Botswana and South Africa. This time we are staying in an old converted farmhouse that the team here have been renovating into a backpackers/conference centre with the desire for it to not only be a place where people will be trained in the basics of the hospitality industry but to be a means of supporting that ministry via the profit that it makes.

Training of Practitioners 

Our first week enabled us to invest into the lives of the Driven Ministries team, helping them to shape their future plans for 2020 by running through the basic principles of the Leadership for Life which look at Team and Project. It was great to help the team come up with a shared vision as well as values and behaviours for each of the different expressions of their various outreaches which include a daily sports outreach programme, similar to the one that we ran at the village of hope, a prison ministry, back to school programme and investment into local church leaders.

We deliver, they read, they deliver

Last week we ran a week long trainer of practitioners, we were joined at the conference centre by 10 people who we had already delivered the Leadership for Life programme into, either during our last visit with Driven or at the E3 Initiative conference that we ran in Pietermaritzburg in November. Each person who attended has to prove that they have applied what we shared with them into their own lives, starting a project that used the principles for the benefit of others.

One guy had started a 'gaming shop' in his local community, he started the 'business' with a TV and cellphone, he sold the cellphone and used the money to buy a Playstation and opened up his 'shop' to the young people, charging them a small fee to play games, the profits of which he used to pay the rent and electricity, as well as purchase another PlayStation. As he spent time with the young people he heard the stories of the children who were attending the 'shop' during school hours, many of them had dropped out of school so he actually paid for some of them to return to school to further their education, a leader exists for the benefit of others! 

Game Shop Owner now becomes
a practitioner to share the
programme with his community

These are the kinds of stories we are hearing from those who have attended our programmes and who have understood that they have amazing potential and by changing their thinking can start to write a different story for their own lives and the lives of those around them.

We had a great time with those who came to be trained, they stayed at the same accommodation, with the Driven team doing an amazing job as they hosted their first conference with the delegates staying over and being fed and watered. As in Zimbabwe we have experienced issues with power outages, these are scheduled which makes it easier to plan around, but which caused problems with the supply of water that comes from the borehole, that borehole needed electricity to pump up the water to the holding tank, but the team did so well working around those issues that we hardly noticed as we taught during the week.

Selfie in the community

It was great to send the 10 people out on the Friday afternoon with the knowledge and confidence that we had seen grow in them as they demonstrate that they had understood the principles that make the Leadership for Life programme so powerful, not only by them reading through their manuals but also by them delivering the programme back to us as we critiqued them in the way they put the points across via the various activities that help people to remember the key points.

Driven Superstars play out a 1-1 draw

As we intimated in the first paragraph Zambia isn't without its challenges and these could be seen as we had the chance to watch the Driven Superstars play a league game of football, held in Makalulu, where we were joined by a crowd of hundreds of people, mainly children who were showing signs of poverty that is rife in that area. The Superstars played out a tough 1-1 draw with a local team, a fair result given the condition of the pitch which was mostly made up of compacted sand and made it hard for the game to gain any actual rhythm.

Zambia is also currently going through a spate of violence where people are being gassed in their homes whilst they are sleeping, it seems to be linked to ritual killings where body parts are being used in traditional African religions but the government and police have stated that this isn't the case. However this news is being shared both by the media and also word of mouth which is causing people to live in a state of fear which is therefore having knock on effect to their mental health and well being.

Out running in the local community

Other than our busy days training we have been able to get out for long walks and runs around the local fields, which has helped to refresh us, as well as reading for extended periods of time, I have also just updated 'the books we are reading list' to the top right hand panel of this page. 

We have also enjoyed a braai with some of the Violas friends as well as taking part, and winning, a quiz night that was also held at the conference center.

This time next week we will be back in South Africa, Durban to be more specific, where we will be running another Leadership for Life programme with a good friend of ours who has invited us to invest in the local people that their church is supporting, we will update further once we are there.

2020 vision Zimbabwe

Maz teaching principles of leadership

After spending around two weeks in England over the Christmas period where we enjoyed catching up and celebrating with family and friends, which was awesome, we took the New Years day flight to Cape Town in readiness for the second test match between South Africa and England at the delightful Newlands cricket ground which is set in the most stunning location laying under the gaze of the mighty Table Mountain.

The moment England won the test match

Without going into too much detail the test match was one of the best to be played at Newlands in many years with England winning the five day match with under an hour to play with Ben Stokes taking man of the match with a amazing display with some incredible catches, blazing stroke play and intimidating bowling. It was also England's first win at Newlands since 1957 which was celebrated by the thousands of travelling Barmy Army fans who outnumbered the local fans by around 8 to 1.

The scouts we trained in Bulawayo

Since leaving Cape Town we have been sharing the Leadership for Life programme in Zimbabwe, starting in Bulawayo where we met up with some of the team that we trained last year and then traveling up to Harare on a six hour coach journey to spend 10 days with some friends from England at a project that they support in the large settlement of Kuwadzana.

Maz training in Bulawayo

It was our third visit to Zimbabwe in the last two years and it is clear to see that this once mighty nation is suffering from a lack of investment which has a huge impact on the daily lives of the majority of the population. The value of the local currency has dropped so much, this time last year we were receiving around four Bonds to the $, this year we were getting between 16 and 20 Bonds to the $, this hyperinflation which is running between 16% and 36%, is crippling the country and has knock on effects with power outages and lack of Petrol making daily life such a challenge.

Living life on the front foot with the group
in Bulawayo

Whilst US$ isn't officially accepted we found a few stores that accepted it and we exchanged some for the local Bond note, currently the maximum bill is 5 Bond, around 25 pence meaning that you need to have wads of it to buy anything of value.

Cuthbert teaches the need to have a plan of steps
to get a project from Here to There 

As you can imagine without investment in the infrastructure of roads, schools, hospitals, water supply or energy production things will continue to be a challenge and with the normal summer rains failing to arrive we saw huge fields of maize (the staple food) and other crops in a state of stress with worries about the supply of food in the near future which could then lead to further challenges around starvation. At present doctors in the main hospitals and some government high school teachers are on strike due to unreceived salaries.

Our first group in Harare

However with all these issues we still found people very engaging, smiling faces greet you and a 'hello how are you' busts forth in English that has been learnt in the schools which follow the British curriculum. The Leadership for Life programme helps people to see their lives as ones full of amazing potential and each one is encouraged to apply leadership mindsets to start to write a new story for their lives and the lives of their finances.

$20 of local bond notes

Overall we lead four different Leadership for Life programmes, two in Bulawayo, including to around 25 young people connected with the Rover Scouts, and two in Harare, and took two of the younger adults who we had trained last year in Bulawayo to help us deliver the programme in Harare over the first weekend, it was great to spend some time with them, encouraging them as they gain confidence by sharing the programme and learning from us.

Maz teaches about good and bad financial management

We had some interesting conversations, especially around money and the need to lead our money well. What came out from all the groups was that it is so hard to set a budget for a day, let alone a week, month or year. With prices of staple food such as Maize and bread changing by the day, and increases in school fees and petrol putting further strain upon a population where traditional jobs on farms and in the manufacturing sector have been lost it is hard to see where they can apply the principles that we are sharing.

Our second group in Harare

That said we heard stories of people who had started projects to increase their income, buying and selling products, making things, or undertaking some projects that would be of a benefit to their community. All in all over 100 people completed the full four modules, with over 50 attending two or three modules, during the four programmes we ran.

At the test match in Harare, Zim v Sri Lanka

We only managed to have one full day off during the two weeks we were there and were blessed to spend the Wednesday where we attended yet another day at a test match, this time at the home of cricket in Harare, the Harare Sports Club, where Zimbabwe were playing their first match since sanctions were lifted by the ICC, verses Sri Lanka. Once again the ground was a little lacking of investment with the old replayscreen and electronic scoreboard in a state of disrepair and the floodlight pylons standing bare with not one light remaining.

During one lower point of our stay I made this note in my diary which I hope will help you understand some of the issues we and the many millions of people face each and every day.

I'm putting these thoughts together as I lay on my single bed at a school where we are staying in Zimbabwe. My heart is pounding as the frustration builds as I think about our current situation. 

Since arriving here last Thursday, today is the Tuesday of the following week, we haven't had stable power, any hot water or any water (hot or cold) flowing from the showers which are situated next to the room which I'm sharing with Maz and all the worldly goods we need to support this two months trip into Africa, and that fit under the 20kg weight limit applied by the internal airlines we've flown with. 

So this is when I am having to apply all the principles that we teach on our Leadership for Life programmes, the thoughts I'm having at the moment could lead to hopeless feelings which then lead me to negative actions. 

This morning I'm having to lift up my head and see myself as a leader, asking myself how would a good leader act in this situation, I'm having to have appreciative thoughts, it's true we have no power and no running water but we do have buckets that have been filled from the pipes outside my bedroom window, so I must be thankful that we have the opportunity to use this for a simple wash. I'm also thankful that we have comfortable beds, clean sheets and a candle that also scares away the mosquitoes which have been trying disrupt our sleep. 

We also have a battery pack which we've been able to charge when the newly installed simple solar system has enough power to be shared amongst the other people who need to use its precious energy. 

I'm also wondering why I'm feeling so frustrated with this situation, a situation that I've been in before and one that I am now sharing with millions, if not billions of people, who have to endure these and much more challenging situations everyday of their lives.

I suppose it could come down to the fact that I chose to come here, I could be sitting in a warmish caravan in the middle of England at the moment, which would present me with some equally frustrating challenges that come from living in a caravan but surrounded by familiar faces in a country that does actually work even though we often think things should or could be better. 

It could be from the apathy that I see in the eyes and the actions of those who around us, I'm expected to empathise with them around their plight but if I do that it only leads to further negative thoughts as they seemingly accept without question the challenging situations they they find themselves in and that then can be justifiably understood when looking at how this nation, as with many others, has suffered at the hands of poor leadership and that I think is where my heart hurts the most. 

I believe we've been called to raise up and call out that amazing potential that lays within each and every person, young or old, man or women, boy or girl, for them to understand that either the way that they think and or the way others think about them has kept that potential from flourishing which leads to unproductive, unsustainable, impoverished and dysfunctional communities where hopelessness is passed on from generation to generation. 

So this morning I'm choosing to look at the current challenges differently, if I'm going to be training others about good leadership then I need to be a good leader too, so I'm already looking forward to this afternoons training session where over 50 people, from the sixth form students, their teachers and some people from the local community will gather together to look at the issue around good and bad financial management and I am thankful that we've already imparted this awesome leadership programme with three other groups of people both here in Harare and also in Bulawayo and where we are already hearing of people who have taken back their life pen to write a new and inspiring story for their lives and the lives of those around them. 

We are now in Zambia with our friends Chris and Rebecca Viola who run the amazing charity, Driven Ministries, and whom we will be spending the next three weeks with. We will update you on our experiences here later on in the trip.

Magical Mysterious Mauritius

Walking the waterfalls

So we spent near on four weeks in Mauritius, alright for some we hear you cry, well actually we won't lie it was alright for us, it was great to be able to explore a place rather than filling our time with prep, planning and training!

We stayed with a local family, some friends of Cho and Deborah from Toamasina, Madagascar, who made us feel so welcome at their stunning home on the west coast of the island in a little resort called Albion (quite apt for an English couple to being staying in Albion, the old roman name for England). They hosted us in a room on the ground floor which came complete with bathroom, bed (obviously) mosquito net (not that we saw any or had the worry of Malaria which is rife in Madagascar) and fan (much needed to keep the room cooler during the hot and humid nights).

Staying with our local friends

Our days were mainly made up of chilling at the beach, swimming and snorkeling in the lagoons which surround much of the island, protected from the Indian Ocean by the coral reefs which make for some amazing sightings of marine life, exploring either on the local public transport, taking trips out on boats or joining walking groups to enjoy the stunning interior of this volcanic formed idile.

Leadership for Life training

We did share the Leadership for Life programme with around 40 people from a local church which we ran in the evenings after people had finished work, these sessions went well and we are looking forward to hearing of the changed lives that we know will come as they start to implement the leadership principles that we shared with them. 

Maz snorkeling 

We had two amazing interpreters, Mauritius being an ex English and before that French colony has a Creole language, who were able to convey the essence of the training, it being based on repetition, activities and actions which help those attending remember the key principles in a fun and interactive way.

The Crystal Rock

I (Tim) shared a word at three different services on the three Sundays that we were there, starting at the main service then the English service and finally the youth service, I'm not sure if that was all a demotion or a promotion! We also went out with the youth team into one of the more challenging government housing estates, something like but then again nothing like the RDP housing projects that we are familiar with in South Africa.

The island really does live up to its billing of the Paradise Island, not only are the hotels and resorts set out amongst some of the most beautiful coastline in the world but the people are so friendly, multicultural and multifaith, there is very little crime, a stable government that looks out for it's people and a sense of optimism and well being that we haven't experienced in any other African (yes Mauritius is part of Africa even though it sits around 2000Kms off of the South East of the continent).

Some of our highlights were as follows:-

Sundrenched beaches

- Taking a catamaran trip out to a couple of the islands, one off the west coast called Ile aux Benitiers where we were able to visit the stunning Crystal Rock and one off the east coast called Ile aux Cerfs (Island of the deer) where we snorkeled in the clear aqua blue waters and saw hundreds of brightly coloured fish.

The view from Le Morne mountain before the rains came.

- Hiking up the remote Le Morne mountain which provided us with magnificent views over the southern part of the island.


- Visiting the Aapravasi Ghat World Heritage site and learning about the Great Experiment which followed the abolition of slavery but which led to a new form of labour where half a million Indian indentured labourers passed through the Immigration Depot going onto work on the sugar plantations which still cover a large section of the island.

The remains of the first Dutch settlement

- Seeing the historic landing places of the Dutch, French and British as they each took control of what was originally an uninhabited island.

- Understanding man's negative impact on the wildlife of the island, especially the extinction of the Dodo.

Maz swimming in the fourth waterfall

- Joining a local walking group to take a half day hike into the valley of seven waterfalls, where we swam in the fourth one which was so refreshing.

Sunsets abound

- Taking the local public bus transport which allowed us to join the throngs as they made their way to and from work, or the market. We broke down twice!

- Watching the sunset over the Indian ocean knowing that Madagascar lay far beyond the horizon. 

Buying Ylang Ylang

- Buying Ylang Ylang from a local lady who produces her own essential oils which Maz was very excited with.

There is so much more to say but maybe we've said enough, other than the fact that we can't wait to hear the stories of lives transformed from our training and following up on further invites which should see us return to the island sometime in 2020.

Three weeks in KwaZulu-Natal

Not a bad place to spend a couple of weeks.

 It's been a month since we last updated the blog and as usual so much has happened since we posted about our trip to the far east. Today I'm sitting on a balcony overlooking the Indian Ocean on the remote island of Mauritius, however before we go into the reason why we are here we need to go back a week or so and let you know what we have been upto since we left South Korea.

After our long flight, it took around 20 hours, what with two flights, one from Incheon to Dubai and the second into Johannesburg where we spent the night before catching the early flight to Durban which also sits on the Indian ocean in the north western corner of South Africa.

At the beach

We had been invited to speak at the E3 Initiative annual leaders conference in Pietermaritzburg, but before that and before we share about the amazing work that E3 are doing we spent two weeks in Durban staying in an AirBnB and renting a car which enabled us to venture further afield.

leaving a legacy in the sand!

As you'll know we lived for six and a half years in South Africa but only visited Durban at the start of our sabbatical in 2015, so it was great to be able to explore a new area of a country that we have grown to love. The AirBnB was wonderful, a small self contained flatlet, open plan bedroom, kitchen and lounge with a toilet and shower, overlooking the Indian Ocean with a pool and stunning garden.


We spent most of the time finding local beaches where we could sit and relax, reading our books or listening to podcasts, each morning we got up early, to beat the heat, and either went for a run along the front near Durban town or out at Umhlanga Rocks, a lovely and busy neighbourhood with good access to the beaches, a few bars and restaurants and a two and a half kilometer prom where we joined many runners and dog walkers each morning.

Our home in the trees

One morning we had the chance to meet up with an old friend who we had got to know in London and who had visited us at the Village of Hope before finding her passion at a charity in Durban. It was great to catch up and we are looking forward to seeing how a partnership might build as we seek to share the Leadership for Life programme into the leaders from around 150 local charities that her charity seeks to support.

Driving through the game park

As we had the car we used it to explore further up the coast to the seaside town of St Lucia, not to be confused with the Carribean island, where we spent a couple of nights in a tent which had been built on a platform in the trees of a local home. From that based we were able to take two drives, one to the west and one to the east of the Isimangaliso wetlands parks which sit at the edge of the town.


We've been on many safari's before, both in South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Uganda and we think we've seen most of the things we wanted to see during those trips, lions when we were on a walking safari in the Okavango Delta, Elephants at the Chobe river, Leopard in Kruger, Gorilla in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda but nothing beats taking your own car and just driving through a national park at your own pace, enjoying the wildlife, no matter how great or small and spending time just being.

Spotting animals in their natural environment
(these are Zebra by the way! ;-) 

As always these precious times come to an end and after returning our car back to the airport after two weeks we were collected by our now friend Sinatra from E3, who was also picking up three other people, a Bishop from DR Congo, an ex-inmate from Kabwe where we have spent a few weeks working with Driven Ministries, and a Pastor also from Zambia. As we got into the car for what should have been an hour long journey to the conference center in Pietermaritzburg we were told that we were going to take a detour into the Zula homelands to share a meal with some local ladies who are part of an initiative that E3 supports.

New friends from Zambia and DR Congo

We are never ones to turn down a chance to see new places so it was great to go and share some time with these dear ladies who look after around 150 orphans, mainly losing their parents to the ravages of AIDS. Their heart for those in need was tangible but after singing a few songs, the Zulu language is very close to xHosa so we were able to join in with a couple of songs before we had to leave for our home for the next six nights.

Sharing a meal with ladies in KZN

Pietermaritzburg is a very lush, green but hilly part of South Africa and the conference center was set in some stunning woodland sitting above the busy city below. Upon arrival we learnt that a large tree had not only brought down a powerline but also damaged the generator which meant that we had no power for the first night and well into the next day where we were being joined by the 40 people who had come to join us at the conference from seven different African nations.

Sharing at the E3 Initiative Conference

We shared the Leadership for Life programme over the next three or so days, encouraging the pastors and those key members of the charities that were represented to change their thinking which could lead to them writing a new story for their lives, the life of their finances, their teams and their projects. We are certain that they all found the programme valuable and it was great to hear of the projects that they are setting out to do as they return home to either DR Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, iSwati, Lesotho or different towns in South Africa.

Financial Management is a leadership issue

These people are truly involved and invested in their local communities, providing support to orphans or ladies and men suffering from domestic violence or human trafficking, and it was a privilege to spend an evening at a women's refuge in Pietermaritzburg, which is supported by E3, before we left.

As always we set up a WhatsApp group for people to share their stories and we are already hearing of how people are applying the leadership principles to bring tangible transformation into their own lives and we are looking into supporting E3 and those that they support with further interventions in the near future.

At Mandela's capture site

Following the week long conference we were put up at a lovely little guesthouse which not only allowed us to chillout for a while before we flew off to Mauritius, but also to get out and run, one thing that I had been doing from the hilly conference center each morning, and also explore the local area. On the Saturday afternoon we visited the site of Nelson Mandela's capture, a poignant place in history, not of just South Africa but the world and on the Sunday after sharing at the local church we took a longish journey to visit Spion Kop, the site of one of the most famous, or infamous, battles in the second Boer war, which saw the massacre of over 350 British Soldiers at the hands of a much weaker (in military personnel) Boer force.

Mass graves at Spion Kop

We visited over the weekend of Remembrance which really bought home the sacrifice that was made by these young men far away from home, but as with all wars one has to ask why does man come to the same old solution to work out our differences, a solution that only brings destruction and heartache for many with little or no change in the lives of those who we are seeking to either protect or conquer.

I did write a detailed Facebook post around that topic but can't seem to be able to link back to it here.

Anyways as we said we are now in Mauritius for near on four weeks and will provide a further update as and when we have news, however please keep a look out for our daily updates via FB and or Instagram and we send much love as we sign off.