The Restory Retreat Centre

Christ is the bread, awaiting hunger. St. Augustine Matilda took her father through to the retirement village in Wakkerstroom today. Within a few weeks we’ll be moving as well, so we’ll be close by, living on the farm a little out of town. We know that the retirement facilities and care are very good, but on a personal level we really want him to be happy there. This past weekend we moved his furniture into his new room and furnished it with his favourite chairs, new curtains and linen and put up the family photos he loves. With us doing that, Matilda’s sister Marinetha looked after him and my father here on the farm at Rietfontein. A real logistical exercise to have our hands free and them taken care of. Earlier this afternoon Matilda sent me a picture of him lying on his bed in the sun in his new room, listening to his favourite music and singing along. It is still early days, but he seems to like his new surroundings. To us it is such a relief. This was the fir...

Photographer: Suzanne Beard There once was a woman who could talk to animals. She enjoyed that very much because although there are many people who can talk to animals, there are very few who can hear animals’ answers. On her journeys through the forests, on the banks of little streams and strolling through meadows she constantly talked to the animals. She asked them interesting questions: What do they want to get out of life? What do they love doing most and why? Would they change the world if they could? Sometimes the animals invited her to do things with them. “Come climb with me” the hairy worm would say. “Today you must swim” the fish invited. And then she did. One day, she was having a conversation with a cow when the cow asked the woman: “How is it” said the cow, chewing her cud, “that you can talk to us animals and understand our answers?” “Well” said the woman, “one day when I was young I came across a distorted tree. An owl was caught in its branches. ‘Pl...