Here is lots of news about the trainings, but better yet, EFT South Africa started the Boroa Initiative! Check this out:
Having just completed 7 events all around the country, we have added a new cohort of EFT enthusiasts to our community.
Starting in big sky country, we kicked off a Hold Me Tight Retreat in beautiful Bloemfontein. Our numbers were limited due to the Free State being in middle of the country and a little slower on the uptake. But the group of therapists, pastors and spouses certainly made the most of their time together. Our venue, the Hobbit House, was the quaintest retreat venue I’ve ever experienced and is a charismatic tribute to JRR Tolkien who was born in Bloemfontein!
With rooms named after characters from The Hobbit, we enjoyed the nooks and crannies, the resident bar carved out of a tree, and saw participants have intimate conversations over a glass of Old Brown Sherry. The Free State’s hospitality came through strongly, with the whole group being invited for a traditional South African Sunday lunch at the home of one of our participants. And so in the midst of the cold weather, we felt warm sitting around a fire, surrounded by trophies of Buffalo, Wildebeest and Gemsbok. We enjoyed our lamb shoulder, tomato soup, and red wine, and most of all good company.
A big thanks goes out to Mariki Smith, our Bloemfontein EFT hostess, who did a wonderful job promoting the event, and also making sure that everything worked well. Her husband was kind to lend us a projector and to make sure our technology was superb. Another thank you goes out to Michael Wohlman who flew in from Cape Town to facilitate the event, and showed us what a gifted facilitator he is. Last but not least, a heart felt thank you goes to Ben Inouye who flew in from the USA to facilitate the event, as well as Core Skills 1. It was such a gift to the EFT South African community to learn from Ben who is a wise teacher.
It was easy to return to the Hobbit House a few days later to host our Core Skills 1 and enjoy the surroundings and tea breaks. We giggle at the South African culture which savours each tea break; tea served in cups and saucers, and always with at least one sweet and savory snack. A visit to the Cheetah farm, and to Nelson Mandela’s statue made our time in the Free State special. Of course, some visitors got to visit Oelrietta – a farm in Tweespruit, where I grew up and my family continues to live. The silence, countryside, the lions and hospitality provided a few days of deep rest.
Our second HMT in Johannesburg hosted 13 couples, and we were joined by Julie Myers from Oklahoma and Christine Laidlow from Unisa, Pretoria. We worked hard for another weekend and enjoyed a night out at Moyo’s – with its rich African cuisine and African customs including traditional face painting for the ladies. A big thank you to Julie and Christine for their hard work – ladies – could not have pulled off this beautiful event without you!
Our fourth session was an EFT Externship held in Johannesburg. Elmien Lesch from Stellenbosch University and Jim Furrow from California were part of the dream team. We had 19 participants and even managed to do a live session, not in a room next door, but right in front of all 19 participants, who had to sit very quietly for the 90 min duration! Jim Furrow has invested so much of himself in South Africa and we are so grateful to him! He teaches with wisdom and genuine interest in all participants. We are so lucky to be able to learn from him.
After 4 days recuperating on a Free State farm, we headed to Stellenbosch in the fair Cape for our final events – Core Skills 2 and 3. Wine tasting, whale watching, an EFT community event filled our time together. We were all subdued when Jim left, but as we race to plan our new dates for 2015 we are happy to find ourselves on the EFT train once again, looking forward to our next adventures on the Southern tip of Africa!
