Leaving for Cape Town.

Im headed to Cape Town tomorrow at 4AM! Carol, Richard and I will drive for 15 hours to get to the south coast of South Africa for a little fun at the beach. We will be gone from Friday December 28th until Saturday January 12th. I wont have internet access during this time, so the blog will be a little quiet. Im sure I'll make up for it when I get back from our trip. I hope everyone has a wonderful New Years celebration. May God bless you in 2008!

Christmas 2007

I had a great Christmas. There is no doubt that it was hard being away from family and friends, but the Lord definitely blessed me and helped me to have a great day. The day began with presents from home. My family spoiled me by sending 5 packages! It was hard, but I waited until Christmas day to open them. I got some wonderful things. And I went from not being able to find a stocking in South Africa to having 3 stockings (2 imported from the US). It was great to have things from home to open on Christmas morning. I’m wearing some of my new clothes right now.

After I opened my presents, I went to church. We had a very casual service with classic Christmas songs. 4 of the girls from the youth group sang "Mary Did You Know?" They did a great job!

After church I went home for a brief break. I got the chance to call my Mom and talk to her on Christmas! And then we headed to Peter and Yvonne's house. We had a four course meal for lunch. This sounds very formal and fancy, but things were very relaxed. We ate at tables out on the patio. It was a bit over cast so we didn’t have to worry about it being too hot. The weather made it very comfortable to eat outside. There were about 20 people at lunch. We took about 3 hours to eat lunch. Between each course there were things to do. We took a break to open crackers (paper tubes with prizes inside that you pull and pop open). One set of crackers had whistles inside. Each whistle had a different number (note), and one cracker had a sheet of music and a 'baton' for the conductor. So we attempted to play Christmas songs with our whistles. It was all quite fun!

A few people went swimming, but the day was so overcast, that I didn’t hop in the pool. It would have been far too cold! Instead of swimming, I went inside and called home. I called Grandma's house and got passed around from one person to another. It was great to get to talk to everyone! I also called Paige's house and got passed around her family as well. It was fantastic to get to hear from people at home. I got a little choked up, but my roommate Carol commented "You don’t look like you've been blubbering, so it must have been a good phone call."

Peter and Yvonne gave us gifts (even though they told us NOT to bring gifts!). We each received some smelly lotion and a small painting. My painting was an abstract of an African woman carrying her baby on her back. I need to get it framed and hang it on the wall.

After Peter and Yvonne's house, we were supposed to come back to the apartment and open presents from the roommates. But we didn’t have time because we needed to go to Pastor Cheryl's for the evening. We had lots of sweets and desserts at her house while we watched the movie "Happy Feet." It was odd to watch a movie about penguins when it was HOT. But we had a nice quiet end to the day. Just hanging out and relaxing with our "Africa Family."

And finally, after a very busy day, we came back to the apartment. My roommates and I opened our presents from each other at 10PM. I kinda liked having Christmas events all day long. It stretched the day out and helped prevent the "Christmas let down" that you often get when you rush through the day. My roommates got me a few Christian fiction books, a small Bible that will fit in my purse and zips closed so the things in my purse won’t mess it up, and the WOW 2008 CD. They did a great job! I really feel spoiled this Christmas. I hope they liked their presents as much as I like mine.

Now the apartment has the typical after Christmas MESS! Guess I better go do some cleaning. Thanks to all of you who prayed for me this Christmas. God truly blessed me with a great day! I hope your Christmas was a great one too! God Bless you and Merry Christmas!!!

I'm Rich

Today we gave out food parcels to many of the people in our church and community. There were 2 plastic shopping bags FULL of food. Each person received:
1 chicken
1 lb. ground beef
½ liter each of milk and juice
½ lb each of potatoes, onions, apples, bananas, cabbage and tomatoes
A small bag each of rice, flour, and sugar
A package of tea
A can of coffee
And because it’s Christmas and time to celebrate, they also received:
A box of cookies and a chocolate candy bar

The bags were overflowing with food. It was amazing to see the reactions of some of the people. One lady started singing and dancing. The whole fellowship hall stopped to look at her and she made them join in with clapping and cheering. I was reminded of David who danced and sang to the Lord and would not be stopped. He did not care if other people considered him “undignified.” When it is time to praise the Lord, sometimes you just can’t hold it in.

Another lady commented “I am rich today! In my house, we are rich today. God is so good to us. He does give us what we need.” Wow, 2 bags of food make her feel rich.

As we were checking the list to make sure everyone got their parcel of food, a few unexpected names were added to the list. One precious lady kept saying “You can give my parcels to her. I want to make sure she gets food as well.” How sweet it is to know someone with such a generous heart. But the Lord is good and we had more then enough parcels to go around. So everyone got something and no one had to walk away empty handed.

I was blessed to get to help pack these bags and help pass them out. Everyone was thankful and had big smiles on their faces. It is good to know that at least for a few moments, the worries of the world were eased. The burdens were lifted. God is good and cares for His people!

Good worship followed by good fellowship. I am truly blessed to be able to serve God here at this time.

Christmas Plans

I’ve had several people ask me about my plans for Christmas...so here is what I know so far....

Carol and I will begin the day by going to church. Sara plans to go to the Door of Hope and watch the toddlers open their presents.

After church, we are going to Peter and Yvonne's house for lunch. Peter and Yvonne are the nice couple that treated us to a vacation weekend in the Drakensburg Mountains. They seem to adopt the international volunteers, so there will be several 'misfits' there. It will be nice to celebrate with a crowd of people that are missing home too. We are having a fancy meal followed by some swimming in the pool.

After a nice lunch and some fun with friends, we plan to go to Pastor Cheryl's house for afternoon tea. Knowing our typical visits with Pastor Cheryl, we will be there until late.

So it will be a fairly busy day...which is a good thing!
I hope YOU are having a wonderful Christmas. Whether it is a busy day or a quiet day, I hope you have a chance to celebrate the birth of Christ. Sing Happy Birthday to Jesus and eat a piece of birthday cake. Just enjoy the day our Savior was born.

Frustrating Day with a Surprise Ending

Today was a lesson in frustration. I finally have my tire fixed, so I left around 11AM to go shopping. I needed to shop for Christmas, for my upcoming vacation and for the Day Care. My list was quite long. The first frustration came when I was looking for clothes. The sizes are different than US sizes...once the size difference was figured out in one store, I realized the next store's sizes were not the same. The difference between sizes from one store to another was huge! And when I finally found what I wanted, they didn’t have ANY size that would fit me!

The second frustration came from the lack of educational toys. Apparently, all of the things I have seen in the past few months that I wanted to buy for the Day Care are not big sellers for Christmas. They have all disappeared! I saw some Fisher Prices Little People sets that I want in a store. This store is usually MORE expensive, so I didn’t purchase them. The next 2 stores (Which are usually LESS expensive) had the same thing at a higher price. *sigh* Shopping is so difficult.

There were also frustrations of having NO parking, lots of people to dodge, and long lines at all of the food places at 2PM when I wanted lunch. What mall has long lunch lines at 2PM?!? And who would have thought that there are NO Christmas Stockings available on December 20th! I’m almost sure that there are no Christmas Stockings available in all of South Africa. hahaha I guess decorations aren’t a priority this late in the season.

But the biggest frustration is definitely the fact that I STILL haven’t figured out where to find things. As I was checking off items on my list, I had to try several different stores to find what I was looking for. Sometimes, things just don’t make sense here. The sugar is not always on the same aisle as the flour in the grocery store. The milk and butter are not near each other. I just kept thinking "I could find it at Wal-Mart!"

After a lot of frustration, I realized it was my night to cook. I went to the grocery store and got all of my ingredients....then I went to get some chicken and there wasn’t any! How can there be no chicken in the whole grocery store? I went to ANOTHER grocery store, got the chicken and (finally!) at 5:30PM got back to my apartment.

And surprises, surprise, waiting for me on the kitchen table were 4 packages!!! Wow, what a great end to a frustrating day! Thanks Grandma, Aunt Dianne, Aunt Sue-ee, Paige and Dad for sending packages! Thanks God for bringing them just when I needed them.

Mold

On Friday, I was in the mood to bake. So I decided to make some chocolate chip cookies. This was an adventure on its own because finding chocolate chips is IMPOSSIBLE. So I bought a few chocolate candy bars and chopped them up to make the cookies. As I was getting other ingredients I needed from the pantry, I realized we had some water damage. Several of the shelves were damp and a few even had mold growing in the corners. So I pulled everything out of the cabinet to clean. I bleached every surface of the pantry. It was quite disgusting. I assumed that the damage was from the excessive rain we've been getting. I figured we had a slight leak that was aggravated by the storms.

The next day, after everything was cleaned and replaced, I go to pull out some cereal and step in a puddle of water. Only, it hadn’t rained in 48 hours! The best thing we can figure out is that one of our upstairs neighbors must have some leaking pipes (none of our pipes go through that part of the wall). The walls in the pantry are wet to the touch and there are drip marks in various places. We dont think the water is coming from the roof.

The horrible part is that we have a fan running 24/7 to help dry out the moisture, and it’s not working. Less than 24 hours after the bleach, our mold has returned, and we wake up to a small puddle every morning!

I've put everything in plastic bags or on Pyrex dishes to prevent them from touching the shelves. There is NO other option for food storage. We only have two other cabinets (one under the sink with cleaners and one beside the stove with all the dishes). So living with this problem and the process of getting it fixed is not going to be fun. And to make things harder, the city shuts down at Christmas time. This is summer vacation for most people. They leave the city and go visit family. So there may not be anyone available to find and repair the problem until after the New Year! Pray that God will send a miracle in one form or another to help us with our leak.

The only good thing that came from this was the batch of cookies I made. And they were very good if I do say so myself!

Needs for the Touch Life Centre

I have had many people ask what we need here in Jo'burg. I have compiled a new list of needs. If you are interested in finding out how you can help provide some important materials for the Touch Life Centre, please click on the link on the left that is titled CHURCH NEEDS (below the box with the date and time). This will take you to a page that lists the needs we currently have here in Jo'burg. Thanks for your prayers, support, and words of encouragement!

Nail

About a week ago, I was stopped at a stop light (robot), when the man behind me started beeping his horn (hooting) and gesturing. I didn’t know what he was beeping about. The light was red so surely he didn’t expect me to go anywhere. When the light turned green, I turned…and he followed me. At the next light he was beside me and gesturing for me to roll down my window….he didn’t seem angry, so I cracked the window. (I was curious!) He told me that my rear, right tire looked a little low. He told me to get it checked at a garage. I thought “Wow, there are nice guys here in South Africa too!”

But being the girl I am, I forgot to get it checked on the drive to my apartment. Two days later I noticed the tire was really low. So I went to the gas station to have them put some air in it. As the guy was putting air in my tire, he noticed a small nail. The nail was causing a slow leak. But did I stop right then and there and put the spare on? NOOOO. I drove to church so I wouldn’t be late. And then forgot about the tire again and drove home. It wasn’t until today that I woke up and finally remembered. There is still some air in the tire, and I have no where to go today. So I’m going to see if I can’t find how to get this fixed. My first instinct was to call my Dad or a friend of mine that knows a lot about tires....then I realized there wasn’t much advice they could give about getting your tire fixed in South Africa. It’s strange how a nail in my tire can make me home sick.

Big Brother

One of the things that amazes me here in South Africa is the way the older kids of a family take care of the younger kids. It is common to see an 8 year old carrying around his/her 2 year old brother or sister. It is amazing that these children are so responsible at such a young age. Although we don’t have a class for children under 3 for Sunday School, we often have children that young come. And we can’t turn them out or we'd be turning away the older children as well. The older brothers amaze me most of all. I have seen them be so gentle and loving with their younger siblings. They don’t shy away from changing diapers, comforting a crying child or playing silly games to entertain a fussy toddler. Along with the responsibilities of caring for a younger sibling come the common trials of childhood like school, making friends and figuring out what life is all about. And these kids seem to face the challenge.

Although it is touching to see such strong relationships between siblings, it is hard to see these kids burdened at all. My childhood was free of worries outside of myself. I long to see these children just enjoying being kids. These kids are amazing. Please pray for these kids. They are growing up in poverty. They often live in cramped apartments and most things they own are second hand donations. They are growing up in a country that has a 40% unemployment rate and they are at a disadvantage because of their lack of resources. The cycle of AIDS, illiteracy and poverty is overwhelming. God is working in this community and many people are trying to provide for the needs of these children. But there is so much more to do. Please pray that God reveals the greatest needs to us so that we will know how we can be His hands and feet here in Jo'burg.

Training Days

So I have survived two days of teacher training. Two down, one to go. All in all, things are going well. The teachers are participating in discussion and seem interested in learning. Im not sure how affective my teaching is. Im good with 5 year olds, but adults are not my forte. Some times I wonder why God ever thought I could manage this. I can’t tell you how many times I pray that God will teach these teachers what they need to know in spite of me.

It is extremely difficult to tell these teachers what they need in their classrooms when we don’t have all of the materials they need. It’s also extremely hard to describe good teaching to people who have probably never seen it. They seem to understand what Im talking about, but Im not sure how these concepts will affect their classrooms. My next big job is to figure out specific skills the teachers need to work on and plan lessons I can teach in their classes to model the skills they need.

Im still having a bit of culture shock. Im coming from a school where all the teachers understood good teaching techniques. They have seen them, practiced them, and have a curriculum that is used as a jumping point rather than a 'bible.' Now Im in a school where the teachers know very little about teaching techniques. They have not seen them or practiced them and they need a curriculum that is all inclusive with lots of 'meat.' I come from a world that has more 'stuff' than we could ever use in our classrooms. And Im now in a world that doesn’t have enough and wouldn’t know what to do with it if they had it.

Im going shopping tomorrow. I can provide 'stuff' for these teachers. And I can provide what knowledge I have. But there seems to be a missing component and I don’t know what it is. Pray that 'stuff' plus training will equal a dramatic change in the quality of teaching. And pray that stuff plus training plus God equals a miracle.

Christmas Bags

Today we had the Sunday School Christmas Program. It was thrown together at the last minute and I wasn’t sure about the outcome, but I was pleasantly surprised. The kids made the best of it and did a good job considering the short notice.

After the program the whole church had some tea and cakes. Having food and fellowship is a Baptist tradition after all.

As the children were leaving, we handed out Christmas bags to all of them. We made enough bags for all of the children that come to Sunday School. But apparently there are some children who know how to church hop this time of year in order to get a present. But God is good and we had enough bags to go around. The notebooks, pencils, crayons, candy, toys and beanie babies were provided by VA Baptists. Some things were sent from VA. Other things were purchased here with the money that was donated to us. Carol's family did a great job getting money and donations from their churches! Thanks!

When I get a chance I will post some pictures of the kids with their bags. I also had to take the opportunity to take a picture of some of my favorite kids sitting down inside of the big box of beanie babies that my church sent to Africa with me. I think it’s awesome that my kids from my church at home helped provide Christmas presents for my kids at my church in Africa! I miss all the kids back in VA SOOO much!!! (ok, ok, I miss the adults too!)

Thank you to all the people who provided things for us to hand out. It was a privilege to get to bless these children because of your generosity. God is good!

Tomorrow (Monday, December 3rd) is the beginning of my teacher training. We will be training Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Please pray for me and the teachers as we work together, learn and plan for next year.

Graduation

The Day Care's graduation ceremony was on Saturday November 24th. We have 14 children leaving us and going to school. The kids have been practicing songs, skits and poems for the graduation for months. Everything went very well and the children did a GREAT job on all of their items they were performing. There was only one part of the afternoon that worried me. In the middle of the play, the power went out! Since all of the songs were on CD, the graduation would have been a total disaster with no power. After 2 minutes of frantic prayer and hoping for a miracle, the power DID come back on and we were able to finish the graduation with no more hiccups. Thanks God for helping us. A typical blackout lasts HOURS. God is good.

The graduation began with all of the children on stage. They recited the Lord's Prayer and then sang several songs (Jesus Loves the Little Children, Jesus in the Morning, This Joy That I Have, and Clap Your Hands Halleluiah just to name a few.) After this, the Puppy class (2-3 year olds) showed off what they have learned by saying their colors, shapes, days of the week, months of the year and counting 1-10.

Next the Giraffe girls and boys (5-6 year olds) said nursery rhymes and sang a few songs. 5 of the giraffes performed a tambourine routine to "The Happy Song." This was such a hit, the parents called for an encore.

Then we started the play. The kids memorized lines and sang songs in this play. The worked so hard. Mary and Joseph were so cute pulling their 'donkey' behind them. The donkey was a plastic storage box with wheels and a horse head attached. The sheep, shepherds, wise men and miscellaneous other characters came in on cue, said their lines and looked cute as could be! The end of the play had the whole cast of the nativity on the stage as "Mary" said John 3:16.

After the play, the Elephant Class (4-5 year olds) sang 3 songs to give us time to dress the graduates in their caps and gowns. They marched in to "Above All" and looked so proud as they waited their turn to receive their certificates. Pastor Cheryl prayed for each child individually as they received their certificate. And each child also received a Beginner's Bible courteous of several churches in Virginia!

We finished the program with the song "He Reigns" which starts "It’s the song of the forgiven, rising from the African plains." During this song it was an amazing feeling to have all of the children singing at the top of their lungs "All God's children singing 'Glory, glory, halleluiah He reigns."

Finally, we passed out food and had some fellowship time. Everything went smoothly. The kids did a great job. The parents LOVED it. And Im glad its over!
Go to my pictures page to see some photos from graduation. www.flickr.com/photos/10765134@N03/

Turkey Day

As you know, Thursday was America's Thanksgiving. South Africa does not have a Thanksgiving celebration, but my roommates and I HAD to celebrate. We invited 3 other Americans to join us Thursday night for a traditional Thanksgiving feast.

My roommate Carol and I cooked the turkey together. It was our first attempt at turkey cooking and I think it turned out well!! We cooked it in a roasting bag and cheated with a pop up timer. The turkey was moist and done early enough to get all of the other food cooked. Carol made WONDERFUL gravy. We also had sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, stuffing and a fruit salad. I baked a chocolate cake for dessert.

The 6 of us had a great time talking and celebrating! Thanks to all of the people that emailed us recipes/ provided recipes via the BGBC cookbook that helped us with our first attempt at cooking a Thanksgiving Feast!

Despite all of the wonderful food and company, the best part of the day was the chance to call home!! It was so good to hear the voices of friends and family. All in all, it was a great day! I'll try to get some pictures posted soon.

Hurry Up and Wait

As a general rule, "Hurry Up and Wait" is a way of life here in South Africa. For the most part Ive been getting used to the 'wait' portion of this phrase. Waiting for the bank, waiting for people to arrive (15 minutes late is entirely acceptable). Ive waited for decisions and meetings and planes to arrive. Waiting has been a part of life.

But when the waiting is over, things happen rather quickly. Hurry up and make a decision. Hurry up and fill in for XY and Z who are sick today. Hurry up and move materials at the last minute. Hurry up and retrieve materials from another church.

This next couple of weeks has a lot of "hurry up" to deal with. The Graduation/Christmas Party for the Day Care is this coming Saturday (November 24th). The kids have been practicing for months and I think they are going to do a great job! But this week is a mad dash to get costumes ready, food organized, and details ironed out.

The following weekend (December 2nd) is the Sunday School Christmas Program. Since we only began practice 3 weeks ago and we only have 1 left before the program....Im not confidant about the way this is going to turn out.

And the week after that is my long awaited, much anticipated, desperately needed teacher training (December 3, 5, and 7). I know what changes need to be made. I can imagine what a great Day Care looks like. I can see the kids interacting in age appropriate ways. I can see the potential in the teachers. But Im having a very hard time finding the best way to get what is in MY head into THEIR heads. I think I could show them changes that need to be made by modeling lessons in their classrooms....but I dont think they will grasp the important concepts unless I teach them explicitly and very specifically point out what Im doing. But after 6 years of teaching and a life time of loving children, Im not sure of ALL of the different things Im doing. So Ive had to look at my teaching techniques and beliefs more closely. Ive had to analyze what I do, why I do it and how effective it can be in this setting. I am definitely growing and learning through this process. The task set before me is extremely challenging. There are days when it seems impossible. Im having to rely on God to fill in the gap when Im unable to perform miracles in this Day Care. And we need a few miracles! But I believe that God is still in the business of performing miracles.

Between helping with 2 Christmas programs and trying to figure out how to train teachers Im feeling a little overwhelmed. Ok, Im feeling a LOT overwhelmed.

But in true South African style, Im busy for the next few weeks and then I have a nice long break (December is Summer Vacation!). I get to "Hurry Up and Wait."

Stark Contrast

I think Jo'burg is like many cities around the world. There are areas of affluence and areas of poverty. Last night I had a chance to see the two worlds within moments of each other.

I work in an area of town that is run down. It used to be a white area during apartheid, but in the past 14 years it has been abandoned by its former white residents and is now a predominantly black area. You can see the beauty that once existed in the architecture and remaining landscaping, but the area of Troyeville has become very run down. Just driving to the church I see trash along the grounds, many buildings with graffiti and broken windows. As you look around there are people milling about everywhere. Although most of them try to remain clean, their clothes are often worn and often second-hand. The stores have bars at the windows and doors all day long and the cars look as if they could fall apart at any moment.

After working in Troyeville all day yesterday, we had the opportunity to go out to dinner with Peter and Yvonne (the couple that took us to the mountains for the weekend). We went to an area called Sandton. Sandton is vastly different than Troyeville. There is no trash to be found. I don't think trash would dare touch the ground here. It would pick itself up and find a trash can before it would allow the landscape to be upset by litter. The landscaping is beautiful along the roads, homes and shopping areas. The people, clothing and cars are equally impressive. The stores have no bars (during the day) and the people seem to walk around with a sense of leisure. They aren't rushing to get somewhere, but enjoying their shopping experience. I feel that this area is so fancy that I don't quite fit in. (The South Africans use the term "Larney" when describing something extremely fancy and high class.)

It is always interesting to me to see the "Haves" and the "Have-Nots" so close together and yet so far apart. When I tell someone from the nicer areas where I am working, they instantly become shocked that I would dare go to Troyeville. They have judgements of the area when they have never been there. But I suppose I am the same way. I have judgements of the Soweto area because of its horrible reputation for violence. It is often easy to make judgements on what we've heard rather than risk seeing for ourselves.

Just to ease your minds....I am usually locked safe within the walls and gates of the church. I rarely walk outside of the church perimeter, and never by myself. I have met enough people in the community to get a wave from a parent or child as I am driving the short distance from the church to the highway. And all of the people that I have come in contact with in Troyeville have been friendly to me. Safety precautions are a necessary part of life and I observe them. So don't be a worry-wart (I'm speaking to a select few of you out there and you know who you are!) If you are still feeling worried, please turn your worries into prayer so it can do some good.

Excitement

The weather has been beautiful the past week. Sunny, warm and breezy. Its very hard for my brain to wrap around the fact that it is November. The stores have Christmas decorations up and there are only 3 weeks until the Christmas program at church....but Im having a hard time accepting that. I guess cool weather and fall leaves are necessary for my brain to think its close to Christmas.

The church got a new washer and a new stove today! I send out a great big thanks to Gem and her church for their generous support. God is good. The washer was getting old and spent more time being repaired than washing. The oven didnt work and the cook eyes worked inconsistently. So having these two appliances replaced was such a blessing. The old washer and stove are being passed on to people who are in desperate need and are willing to get some more use out of them. So the blessings are trickling down throughout the community.

Two of the ladies on the team have helped us clean out our store room and there is FINALLY room to sort and organize the children's materials. Three cheers for Betty1 and Betty2! Now the books, craft supplies and toys will be easier to access and use. Im excited about the possibility of being organized and tidy. There is still a lot of sorting to do, but I finally have the space!! Im a excited!

The VA Girls

Sara, Amber and Carol

This picture was taken during our weekend in the Drakensburg Mountains.

This is a picture of me and my two roommates. I thought everyone might want to see a picture of the ladies that I spend a lot of time with. God has been so good to put us together. I couldnt have asked for better girls to live with.

Sara (on the left) works at the Door of Hope. She is the youngest of the roomies. She is straight out of college and plans to be here for 2 years through the Venturer program. Sara is always very sweet and has the best outlook on everything. She came in and seems to be a natural at helping with the babies. She has the big job of helping wit adoptions, running babies to the doctors and MANY other things. But she takes it all in stride and seems to love it!

Carol (on the right) works at Troyeville Baptist Church as the Youth Pastor. Carol is the organized roomie. She remembers things, plans things and keeps Sara and I from being completely messy. Carol was the first to arrive here in South Africa and has paved the way for us in so many ways. She plans to be here for one year, but we are hoping to keep her a little longer than that if we can. I am very impressed with the youth that Carol works with and know they are learning ALOT from her.

Those are my roommates. They are great girls and we have a great time together. We have a "roommate" date every Friday. We go out to dinner. Sometimes we go shopping or go to the movies together. Its our chance to get out of the house and away from work and spend some time together. We also take turns cooking dinner. None of us claims to be a good cook, but we haven't killed each other yet with our food...so we are making progress.

Typical Day

I was trying to think about my typical day so I could share with you the things I usually do. But my typical day is not ever typical. Changes are frequent and being flexible is necessary. So here is what happened the past few days just to give you an idea of what I do.

Wednesday-- I went to work in the morning. I spent part of the morning practicing the Graduation programme with the children (Im the narrator). After practice, I spent some time writing curriculum and planning for the teacher training that is coming in early December. In the late afternoon I spent some time with the children during their free play. And finally went home. On the way home it was raining, so traffic was awful. Wednesday night my roommate Sara (who works for The Door Of Hope) went to fetch a new baby that was dropped at the baby bin. While she was gone I baked a cake and enjoyed a little quiet time. (Can I just say that I am SOO glad that I brought the church cook book with me.....my roommates said to thank Jane Madison for her wonderul Salisbury Steak recipe!)

Thursday-- On Thursday I spent some time in the morning planning for the team that was going to arrive. I went to the Day Care and spent some time with the kids while they were in Play Centers. I tried to model good child-teacher interactions....this is an uphill battle! I left from church and went to the mall to wait for my roommate Carol. We headed to the airport to pick up the team.

Friday-- Carol and I rode to a church up in the Northern area of the city to pick up some donations to our Day Care. After riding around in a cirlce for a while (we took a short cut that wasnt too short)....we finally got there...got the stuff and then went to pick up the team. We stopped for lunch and then we took the team and the stuff to the church. We gave the ladies the grand tour (they got mobbed by the kids of course) and finally got home around 5:00. Friday night is our roommate date night, but we were all too tired. So we went to a restaurant nearby called Yanky's. After a quick calzone we headed home and crashed in front of the TV.

Saturday-- Today I went to pick up the team and took them to an African Market. After 3 hours of shopping, we stopped for lunch at McDonald's and then went to church for the monthly ladies meeting. We had a program on AIDS and some lovely conversation. And now Im at home blogging.

So, as you can see, I have no typical day. I fill in when there are emergencies at the Day Care. I write lessons. I pick up teams. I run errands. I model things for the teachers. I hang out with my roommates and spend a lot of time at church. Some days are crazy busy...others are slow and drag by. Im used to very structured predictable days, so this changing schedule is a new experience for me. Life is definitely not boring!

Holidays

Halloween passed without a single jack-o-lantern, trick-or-treater or scary movie on TV. Other than seeing pumpkins in the grocery store, you'd have never guessed it was Halloween. Its very strange for me to not have those seasonal milestones. Its three days after Halloween and there are no turkey decorations to be found. The weather is warm and breezy. The trees are blooming. If I didnt have a calendar to help me keep track of time, Id never guess it was November.

It is also a little disconcerting to see Christmas decorations in the stores. On Christmas day, we will be in the middle of summer. Yet all of the Christmas decorations are very typical decorations. They have Christmas trees, snow flakes and Santa Claus on the wrapping paper. The Christmas cards even have winter scenes on them! And just in case you are wondering...the Christmas stuff started appearing in mid-October...just like in the US. So it seems universal to begin the season before necessary.

But I cant say I am sad about the early onset of Christmas. I LOVE Christmas Carols! So I love any excuse to listen to them. I cant wait until Thanksgiving like my Grandma does. I have to start listening to them the day after Halloween. Im interested to see the differences between a US Christmas and a South African Christmas.

Small World

A team of 4 ladies from VA arrived today. They will be working with me at the Day Care. They are very sweet and I look forward to a wonderful time with them. One of the ladies looked SOOO familiar when we picked them up from the airport. Come to find out, she and I have already done missions together. In 1997, Betty and I went to Panama together. I was 17 and she was a leader on my Acteens Activator trip. We spent 2 weeks in Panama teaching Clowning and Puppetry. I had a great trip and I am so excited that God has brought the 2 of us back together to do more missions work. Its amazing that God would put us together twice. The first time, she was my leader as we traveled to Panama. This time, I am her guide in South Africa. What an amazingly small world we live in! Or maybe its just that God is SO BIG!

Discouraged

Im feeling particularly discouraged today. I dont know if its the weather (cold and rainy), or if its just Satan trying to mess with me. But Im feeling a bit lost when it comes to this job. I have found that I go through cycles here in South Africa. I feel hope and joy at working with the kids. I see wonderful things that can happen and Im blessed to be a part of them. Then a day like today comes and I feel like Im not making a big enough difference. I feel like Im floundering and not meeting anyone's expectations. I feel like I cant do enough, I cant do it good enough and I cant do it fast enough.

Please pray for better communication between me and the entire church staff. Pray that we can all see how God is working wonderful things through all of our human blunders. Pray that the teachers will be open to drastic changes. Pray that they will see how changes brought can make the kids happier and their jobs easier. Pray that I can keep my eyes focused on what God has planned. Pray that I dont get distracted by the delays and small steps.

God is good all the time. Im so gald I can write about what is going on here and KNOW that you will pray. I have no idea how many people read this blog. But I thank each and every one of you. Wether I know you personally or not, your prayers are making a difference. I am humbled that you keep coming back to read more. Please know that God is doing great things (even on the days when Im discouraged).

Tutoring

I had the opportunity to work a little girl today on her school work. Oyisa is one of the teacher's daughters and is struggling with adding in school...and her class is getting ready to move on to multiplication! Im trying to do some last minute tutoring to get her up to par. She is sweet as can be, but so unsure of herself. As I was working with her, I realized she had major holes in her education. She has many things memorized well, but has very little application. She knows all the numbers and can write them perfectly. But she can’t process how to add 2 numbers without using her fingers. She knows all the letters and letter sounds, but cant sound out a simple word. She can write a sentence, but only ones that she has memorized. She has no techniques for attacking problems. This impromptu tutoring session highlighted the fact that we need to implement an after school home-work-help time. The church had plans for an after school program, but with a shortage of funds, space and adults, it has gotten pushed to the side. Please help me pray about this. Maybe God can make it work after all.

Rugby Fan

For those of you who dont know me really well....Ive never been a big sports fanatic. Until now! Somehow I am hooked on Rugby. The Rugby World Cup is being held in France this year. I have watched many of the games on TV. Im actually proud of myself because I have learned some of the rules of the game and can cheer along with the other rugby fans here in South Africa. I dont know how it happened, but I finally found a sport I enjoy watching.

The South African team is called the Springboks. They have done really well and are in the finals. Tonight is the last game. South Africa vs England. I am amazed at all the pride that can be seen all over South Africa. TV shows are moved to make room for Springbok specials. EVERYONE is wearing Springbok colors (green and gold). Flags are flying and all of the stores have dress their manaquins in green and gold. Springbok fever has hit. Im tempted to spend an atrocious amount of money on a Springbok jersey, but Im not sure I could find one in the store today!

Im looking forward to the game tonight. The Springboks have a good chance of winning the finals! Go Springboks!

The Drakensberg Mountains

This past weekend I had the opportunity to get out of the city. A nice couple invited 5 volunteers in the Jo'burg area to go with them to their time share in the Drakensberg Mountains. I was amazed at the beauty that God creates. I have seen mountains in VA, Mexico, Germany and South Africa....and each set of mountains was unbelievably beautiful and unique. I cant begin to describe how gorgeous the mountains looked. Some of the mountains looked worn down with age. As if the outer coating had been worn off and the inner frame of the mountain was exposed. Other parts of the mountains looked like giants had laid down and been covered with a mossy green blanket. The dips and valleys seemed to be the nooks behind the giants’ elbows and knees. Everything was so calm and peaceful. No rushing cars or bright lights. No to-do lists or schedules. Just a lot of good conversation and gorgeous scenery.

We went on 2 hikes while we were in the mountains. On the second hike, we wound our way through the woods toward a grotto. The path we took was narrow and steep at points. And you could always hear the river below, but it remained elusive most of the hike.....until suddenly you'd come upon it and have to hop from rock to rock to get to the other side and continue the search for the waterfall at the end of the trail.

As we were hiking, I couldnt help but sing "Ive got peace like a river." My roommate commented that rivers are rarely peaceful looking. More often than not they are rushing and tumbling over rocks and down waterfalls. But I think that what peace is.....peace is knowing you are heading in the right direction, even when the pathway is rocky. Peace sweeps you through the rough spots of life and keeps you moving when you want to stay stuck and stagnant in the still waters.

I have experienced peace like no other as I follow God's will here in South Africa. Much like the river, there have been rocky spots. There have been moments when I felt like things were going to fast and I just wanted to slow down. There have been moments when I felt like I was falling through space like the water in the waterfall. But through it all, Ive known I am heading in the right direction. I know God has a great plan and I just need to go with the flow.

I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to spend some time in the mountains. I always feel a bit closer to God when I am surrounded by the beauty that he created.

My Friend Sunday

A while back I asked you to pray for a child at the Day Care named Nero. I was amazed and humbled by the affect of your prayers. He blossomed almost overnight. He is more outgoing. He is attempting to learn more English. I have seen him smile SO MANY times in the past few weeks. Your prayers are making a difference.

Id like to tell you about another student at our Day Care. His name is Sunday. He is 6 and getting ready to go to school this coming January. Sunday lives with his grandmother. Both of his parents have passed away. And this past week he recently lost his grandfather.

Sunday came to the Day care a year and a half ago with some coordination problems. At the age of 4, he wasnt able to walk up and down the stairs without adult assistance. He wasnt able to run and often tripped over his own feet when walking. I believe that much of this was due to neglect. In the past year Sunday has made great progress. He now runs and walks up stairs and can climb the jungle gym. His running is a bit awkward and not very fast (he always gets caught when playing Duck Duck Goose!) but he is making progress.

Sunday is considered the "Bad Boy" of the Day Care. Because of his reputation, the children easily blame him for everything that happens. (Although, 50% of the time he probably is at fault.) Although there may be a little ADHD problem, Sunday is very immature for his age. He loves to be the center of attention...be it bad attention or good attention.

Sunday is cute and adorable. He has a loving heart and a desire to learn. But he is also one of those naughty kids that misbehaves and then smiles at you to see what you are going to do about it. Although I find his behavior endearing (Ive always had a soft spot for the naughty ones)....apparently his behavior is going to get him in major trouble at school. The teachers at the center have commented "When the schools see how he is, they are going to put him in one of those special classes and he'll never get out." This breaks my heart. Sunday has the ability to learn. He has the ability to behave. He just desires a little positive encouragement.

Please pray that the teachers at the Day Care will see the great things about Sunday. Please pray that God will prepare a teacher for him that will see his potential and accommodate for his faults. Please pray for his family. Pray that Sunday will overcome the negative expectations that people have of him and live up to the wonderful expectations that God has for him. I know God can imagine so much more for Sunday than I can, so I leave it in his hands to guide the life of this little boy. I cant wait to see what your prayers and God's love can do for this child!

Good News

I wanted to update you on a little boy at the Pre-school who was tested for HIV. Thabo's (Ta-Bow) test results were negative! Praise God! No HIV!! Please continue to pray for him. We are trying to get his legal custody straightened out. Pray that this will be a matter of paper work and that no other problems will arise during this process.

I also wanted to share with you the joy I feel when I get to speak to these children about God. Although I tried to show God's love, I wasn't able to speak about God as a public school teacher. I am so blessed now that I have the freedom to speak about God ANY TIME I WANT! I get to sing about God, to talk about His love and provision. And nothing is more precious than asking a class “What story should I tell today?” and hearing them ask for Bible Stories!

Today I watched as the children practiced for their Graduation Program. They sang about God. They acted out the Nativity Story. They recited the Lord's Prayer. And they danced to praise Jesus.
I was nearly in tears....I am so blessed to be a part of the lives of these children.
I was nearly doubled over laughing because of the way they danced and sang some of the words wrong.
I was proud to see them trying to hard to get everything right.
And I was a bit overwhelmed that these 60 children are constantly looking to me and the other teachers to know how to act.....how to act in the play and how to act in life.

I cant thank you enough for your prayers, encouragement and support that make it possible for me to be here and experience all of these things. I feel I am unable to fully express what is happening here. I cant show you how obvious it is that you are praying. I can physically see and feel the power of your prayers. I cant show you the joy in these little faces as they get socks, balloons and stickers that YOU have provided. I wish that everyone could come here and experience it for themselves, because words will never describe the powerful things God is doing here.

If you ever want to see it for yourself, all you need is a passport and a plane ticket! Anyone is welcome to come and visit and see for yourselves what is going on here in Jo'burg. Warning: We may put you to work!

Burn, Books and Big Job

Its been raining alot lately. Thursday was a nice break from all the rain. I spent the morning on the playground with the older kids. In the afternoon I spent some time on the playground reading. It was warm but there was a nice breeze. After that much time in the sun....you guessed it....I got a sunburn! Dont worry, I went to the pharmacy and bought some sun screen right after work.


Friday, Carol and I rode to Pretoria to pick up a truck load of free resources for the church. Apparently churches in the states have partnered with this BIG church in Pretoria. They pack and ship a tractor trailer load full of out dated materials. The church here invites the neighboring churches to come share in the wealth. They target churches that dont have the money to buy these resources. It was amazing to see full sets of curriculum, VBS kits and Open Windows devotionals. What a great way to get more use out of old resources.

Im making progress with the curriculum Im putting together. I wanted to get the whole year planned with themes, stories and skills so I could work on the detailed lesson plans month by month. Ive planned, re-planned, unplanned and planned again. Some days I feel like I havent gotten far. Other days I see a light at the end of the tunnel. Resources and materials are so different here than in the States....so it takes a little creative planning on my part. I am definitely out of my comfort zone.

Tired

I've been unusually tired the past few days. I'm not sure why. I've tried to link the weariness to sleep, food and several other factors and can't seem to figure out why Im dragging so much. I let myself sleep an extra 45 minutes this morning and went into work a bit late. I felt alright after eating breakfast, but on the drive to the church I felt drowsy and exhausted. (I can hear all the moms out there going: take some vitamins, drink some orange juice, eat more vegetables, dont sleep too much...that'll just make you more tired. I know, I know....Im being a good girl!)

So please pray for a little more energy.
Also, Pastor Cheryl is recovering from the flu. Please pray for her health....she has been sick off and on all year.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

We had a VBS this week at the church. We had the kids rotate through stations. I got to teach the Bible Story Rotation!! Many of the stories focused on the affects of prayer. As part of one of the lessons, I taught the kids the Teaspoon (Tsp.) prayer. This is something I’ve learned since arriving in S.A. I thought it was a quick simple way to teach kids to pray and I was amazed at some of the things the kids prayed about. The point of teaching the Tsp. prayer is to make sure that kids focus on different things as they pray.

T=Thank You
S=Sorry
P=Please (I told the kids that they could ask God for ANYTHING, big or small.)

Here are some of the responses I got from the kids:

Thank You God:
For another day
For being alive
For making me ME
For bringing me to church
For my family and friends

I’m sorry God:
For fighting with my brother
For not listening to my mother
For biting my friends
For treating other people badly
For sinning


Please:
Help me fix my lap top mouse
Give me more friends
Keep me safe when I go home and when I go to play
May I have my mother and father alive while I am alive?
Forgive me my sins
Forgive me if I’m not praying, but you know that I trust in you
Help us to do nice things for you.
__________________ (Some children left this part blank....they chose not to ask for anything!)


The kids here sing a song that starts "Telephone to Jesus, Telephone to Jesus, Telephone to Jesus every day." I told the kids to talk to Jesus just as if they were on the telephone. They don’t have to sound fancy or use big words. Saying "Hi, God!" was a good way to start. They laughed a lot as I made fun of the fancy prayers you sometimes hear in church. I think they got the point that is doesn’t matter how you pray as long as you JUST DO IT!

Unqualified

Nothing happens quickly here in South Africa (except maybe the driving). And my effectiveness here at the Touch Life Centre seems to be a slow process as well. I wish I could report that I have made many wonderful changes and that things are drastically different than when I arrived….but I can’t. Knowing what changes to make is not easy. How to implement the necessary changes is much harder.

Some changes will be a shock to the teachers. Others will go against cultural norms. Some changes that need to be made relate to attitude and others relate to organization. I struggle to prioritize the changes that need to be made. When I think something is important, often it is hard to teach the new skill or mind-set. Or sometimes it is not really as important as I thought it was and somehow the list of priorities is thrown back up into the air and I am back at square one.

I don’t want to fail at this job. I don’t want to fail my family or church. I don’t want to fail all of the wonderful saints who pray for me daily. I especially don’t want to fail the children I’m here to work for. But I must remind myself daily that it is not ME who is doing the work. I am here to serve God. My job is to be available to God so that He can do His work. He is ultimately the one who will do the work in the lives of these children.

The longer I am here the more I mourn the lost chances I had to serve God. I think of all of the things I could have been involved in at home. All of the people I could have invited to church. All of the conversations about God that I avoided with non-believers because I didn’t think I had the answers. I have the answer. He lives in my heart….and I let my doubts and fears prevent me from being available to serve God. So often I said “Lord, I will follow you, but….” (Luke 9:61). I will follow you, but not right now. I will follow you, but not there. I will follow you, but I’m not going to do that. I will follow you, but right now I’m so busy I don’t have the time. I will follow you, but isn’t there someone more qualified?

I pray that God redeems all of the lost moments that could have been used to His glory. I pray that God redeems all the lost opportunities to serve Him. Now that I am finally trying to serve Him, I realize how much joy I lost out on in the past because of my stubborn selfishness. And all of the times I avoiding serving God were purely moments of selfishness! I was too busy, too lazy, too insecure or too hard hearted to step up and fill in where God needed me. I pray that each of these lost chances is redeemed and that I am given more opportunities despite my lack of dependability.

I can’t begin to tell you how many needs there are in this world. And we are the ones God has called to help. We are God’s people. We all have the opportunity to be His hands and feet. I cant imagine how affective we could all be if we would stop giving God excuses and start giving Him our willingness to serve!

For me, it’s a daily (sometimes hourly) commitment to serve. I’m trying so hard not to make excuses. I’m trying not to let the fear of failure hinder my willingness to try. I’m trying to be available to God. I’m not always the best person for the job….but God can use our willingness to do His work. Even though I can’t see quick, drastic changes happening here at the Day Care, I have no doubt that God is working and great things will come with time. I don’t know how these changes will come, but I trust in Him. I trust Him to provide what these children need. I trust Him to prepare the teachers for change. I trust Him to prioritize the changes for me and orchestrate them in spite of me if necessary. I trust Him to do the work that I am not qualified to do. I trust Him.

A Poem of Worship

I was asked to read a poem at church one Sunday. I couldnt find one I liked, so I just wrote one. I was really trying to focus on the fact that worship is something you DO..its an action. So I tried to start every pair of lines with a verb. As you can tell, it sounds very much like a psalm...that's cause I was reading the psalms right before I wrote it. Here it is....

Praise the Lord here in this place.
Praise our God for his wonderful grace.

Tell of his glory, his power and love.
Tell of the one who reigns up above.

Sing and be glad for our God is great.
Sing of the wonders that He did create.

Shout for joy, be glad He is King.
Shout to the Lord, let your praises ring.

Worship the Lord with prayers and with song.
Worship the Lord all the day long.

Love the Lord for He sent his Son.
Love the Lord, His will be done.

Lift your feet and dance around.
Lift your voice, make a joyful sound.

Raise your hands and praise his name.
Raise a prayer- thank God Christ came.

Praise the Lord, our God of love.
Praise the Lord who reigns above.

by Amber Williams
1st September 2007

Rhino and Lion Park

Last Friday, I had the opportunity to go visit the Rhino and Lion Park (my first excursion outside of Jo'burg!). It is a wild game park that is outside of the city and houses many native animals in its boundaries. Although this game park is not completely natural, (they feed the lions and house them in separate areas of the park than the tasty zebras) it is nice to see the animals in a more natural setting than a zoo. We drove our car around dirt roads in search of all sorts of African animals.

We saw LOTS of ostrich. We also saw wildebeest, rhinos, hippos, crocodile, zebra, several different animals in the deer family, and a variety of birds. I’m sure there are others that I’m not remembering off the top of my head.

The zebra looked funny. It was dry and dusty and the zebra were coated with a thick layer of red dirt. So they didn’t look black and white, they looked more black and pink. The Rhino were eating when we first drove by in the morning and we got to see a baby nursing. It’s amazing to see a baby animal that probably outweighed our car. Later in the day, the Rhino were resting under a tree. Carol had her mega-zoom camera lens and wanted a photo of them...but they were all lying down. But the biggest Rhino chose that moment to get up and show off. It was like he was posing for the camera. First he was facing us, then he turned and we got a nice profile shot. He stood there for a long time as we snapped pictures. Then he lay down as if to say, "Show's over folks, thanks for coming."

My favorite part of the park was the animal crèche (nursery). There were several baby animals that were abandoned or injured that the park was taking care of. As we were looking, one of the staff put a leash on an older cheetah and took it for a walk! There were 6 month old brown lion cubs, 4 month old white lion cubs, and 7 week old tiger cubs (tigers aren’t native to Africa, they were imported). We didn’t get to just watch these cubs play; we got to PLAY WITH them!! You could pay about $3 and spend 5 minutes playing with these animals.

We opted NOT to play with the older brown lions. They were about as tall as me if they stood on their hind legs. We chose to play with the younger white lion cubs first. Although they were only about 4 months old, they were probably as big as a full grown lab. It was getting hot and they were pretty lazy, so we had to play with them to get them active. It was so funny to play with them like they were cats....just really big cats. They liked to bat at a coke bottle with rocks in it...their paws were as big as my hand! They loved to chase a rope around in circle. They also liked being lazy and just getting their bellies rubbed.

After the lions, we went to play with the 7 week old tiger cubs!! They were so little compared to the lions...about the size of a large grown house cat. They were a little friskier and wanted to play. They loved to grab your clothing and twist and chew as if trying to drag you around. They were fluffy and had the brightest blue eyes. I loved playing with them because you could actually pick them up and put them in your lap. And since we showed up when the animal nursery was relatively quiet, we got to play a little longer than our 5 minutes. ;-)

After playing with the babies, we rode around the park some more. To finish off the day, we went to the area of the park where animals are kept in smaller fenced areas for breeding purposes. We walk into a narrow aisle between to fences. On one side is a full grown brown lion and lioness. On the other side is a full grown white lion and lioness. The 2 males were pacing up and down the fence growling at each other. Standing between these 2 enormous, fierce animals while they were roaring at each other was a bit unnerving. Although there was an electric fence between them and me, I still felt the hairs on my arms stand up and my heart raced a bit faster. The growls, roars and rumbles were so low and deep you could feel it reverberating around you. The look in their eyes meant serious business. They desperately wanted to get to each other and show off their power. And I was close enough to them to realize how BIG and powerful they really were.

I was very impressed with the number of animals and the natural way the park was set up. I think this small park gave us a stronger desire to go see the enormous and very popular Krueger National Park!

PS...I’m having some trouble with this Blog, so I couldn’t add the pictures here. Check out my flikr site for a few pictures from the trip. http://www.flickr.com/photos/amberdawny

Art and Toys

This past week, we had the privilege of having an 'artist in residence'. Kelly came from VA to help at the Day Care. She did some art with the children....they LOVED her to pieces. She is the playdoh queen! But she also spent a lot of her time creating a mural for our playground. Kelly stayed at the apartment with Carol and I, and we all had a lot of fun talking, hanging out and getting to know each other. Its sad to get to know her and then watch her go. But I realized that if I hadn't come here to South Africa, I probably wouldnt met her at all.

Kelly left a little bit of the mural unfinished (a section of the wall that is unseen and to the right of this picture). There is a youth in the church who has some art skills....and Kelly thought this would be a way to get this youth involved in a service project. I think its a great idea!

I also got to spend ALL DAY Thursday sorting and organizing toys. I feel much better knowing what we do and dont have. Although the sorting process wasnt super organized, and the rooms dont have centers set up like I want, I have a starting point finally. Until now, I didnt know what was hidden in corners and cubby holes. I didnt know what to ask for and what was needed. Now I can set goals and search for things at the stores that I KNOW we need.

(Check out the NEEDS BLOG to find out what we need.)

I also had the privilege of passing out socks and underwear to all of the children today. They were so excited over something as simple as underwear and socks. And they werent picky....they gladly took what ever we handed them. And one of the mothers thanked me multiple times!! We made sure to give extra pairs to the kids who needed it the most. There was plenty to go around! I want to thank all those who made this possible! You really are making a difference. God bless you for the blessings you shared with others.

I feel like Im taking lots of little baby steps and these teachers and kids need giant leaps to get them to where I think they can be. Im hoping that baby steps will start to add up AND that when the new school year starts in January we can reorganize and implement some great new things. My goal is to prepare the teachers with knowledge and 'tricks up their sleeves' between now and then so they will be ready to dive in head first with the start of the new year!

Stay tuned for another blog about my trip to the Rhino and Lion Park!!

Fire

On Saturday, I was home alone (Carol was at the church for youth). I went on the balcony to enjoy the view and happended to see a FIRE in the distance. As I watched, the fire spread quickly. I realized, I dont know the emergency number here. I dont know my street address. I dont know what to do! The tall grasses seemed to bloom with fire. In five minutes the fire had crawled its way up the long row of fences and walls.

After climbing upward on the hill near my apartment, it started to spread outward. I watched as a lapa caught fire. The thatch roofed structure looked like an enormous fire ball. The house nearby was in danger because of the flames. The people in the house tried to put out the fire with their water hose. But because of the size of the flames, they couldn't get close. Thankfully, the lapa burned itself out before the house caught fire.

(In this picture, the fire is over the fence of the nature reserve, but not yet inside my fence.)

As I looked up the hill beside my apartment complex, I realized that there was nothing to stop the flames. They would quickly spread toward me and the nature reserve directly behind me. I felt safe because there was enough pavement and brick to prevent the fire from coming close to the apartment. And the tall grasses seemed to burn out quite fast. But I was very concerned about the nature reserve. There was no way for me to help. The fire was on the other side of my electric fence and I had no water hose or courage to help the situation.

As I looked up the power lines to see the flames move closer to the nature reserve, I saw a man beating the flames with his shirt. He had jumped the low fence of the nature reserve and was trying to keep the flames back. Considering the long and wide the fire was spread, there was no way he was going to stop this fire. I marveled at his determination. I think he was working hard in hopes that the fire department would show up and take over. And he was right. Just as he was overwhelmed and exhausted and about to give up, just as the fire was about to reach the nature reserve, the firemen showed up. They allowed the fire to jump the fence of the nature reserve, but made some lines further back that prevented wide spread fire damage.

Closer to the apartment, there was some fire damage. The fire began to jump our fence. Although it probably wouldnt have damaged the buildling, we werent willing to wait and see. A very clever neighbor pulled the emergency fire hose out of the stairwell and over the top wall. Three men worked together to spray the fire and keep it from invading our personal space.

Many of the South Africans were not surprised or alarmed. Apparently grass fires are common this time of year. They might be common for the South Africans, but they aren't common for me!! I was a little stressed and worried. That was enough excitement for one weekend! But God was good. This happened on a Saturday when people were home to call the fire department. He prevented any real damage to people and property. This could have been so much worse. AND after an hour and a half of excitement, I gave in to the need for a nap! It was a GREAT nap!

Faith

I went into the sanctuary today for a moment of peace and quiet. And also for a little prayer time. I have been very overwhelmed and humbled lately by all of the needs here at the Touch Life Centre. I am completely and totally unable to help them with everything that they need. And I know in my heart that it isnt going to be making the difference, its going to be God. But knowing God has all the answers doesnt give me all the answers we so desperately need.

As I was praying, Faith (the cook at the Centre) walked into the sanctuary. She was seeking the same thing as me...a moment of peace and quiet. We sat together silently for about a moment and then Faith pulled a Bible out of the pew. She flipped and flipped and flipped and finally found Matthew 7:7 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." What a timely reminder from God! I needed His help and He sent someone to remind me that all I have to do is ask for it!

I praise God for Faith. Please pray for her. I learned many things about her during our conversation that break my heart. She is so very sweet and wants desperately to please everyone. She has a wonderfully tender heart. Pray for special blessings for her. Pray for protection for her and her family. Pray that her neighbors see her as a wonderful example of God's love and that they seek and find what she has...God's Love!

Prayer Requests

Your prayers have made an amazing difference here. I post prayer requests on my blog and then I see the changes here and know you guys are praying!! Please pray for the following things:

• A worship leader to help with the praise team/music
• A male leader to help with the youth. The boys in the youth group need a positive role model to talk with.
• The Sunday School program at Troyeville Baptist Church. The teachers are tired and the classes are too large. The program needs lots of help! Pray for the teachers: Nomalonga, Shay, Rona, Renee, Simon and Dave.
• Thabo-- A young boy at the Day Care. His mother died of Aids. His step-father has allowed the head teacher at the Day Care (Nomalonga) to take him in. We are in the process of getting the paper work finalized so that she has legal rights to raise him. But because the only person to sign the papers is a step-father, there may be complications. We are also getting Thabo tested for HIV because of his mother's history. He is 7, but is only just now starting school. He has had a lot of changes in his life in the past year! He is an amazing child. He is sweet, polite, clever and outgoing....pray that God continue to protect him.
• Pray for the team that is flying to Johannesburg on Thursday. Pray that they have safe travel. Pray for the hearts of the people they will be working with in Kroonstad.
• Pray for Pastor Cheryl. Pray for physical health. Also pray that she have a renewed passion to serve Christ here in Troyeville. Sometimes it feels like you are spinning your wheels and getting no where. No matter how many needs you fill, there are so many more. Pray that she is blessed by the people here and that she see how God's glory is shining through in the programs and ministries of this church.

Moving

Today is the First Day of Spring in South Africa!! And the temperatures are in the low 80s. Im liking this weather!

On Thursday and Friday we moved into our new apartment! The apartment has 3 bedrooms, a living room, kitchen, and 2 bathrooms. It has a large balcony and nice big windows. We are situated about 25 minutes from Troyeville Baptist Church. Although we will have more of a commute, we are in a quieter neighborhood. Our apartment building is in a gated complex. There is a security guard at the gate and electric wires along the top of all the fences. Our building is at the back of the complex. We are the highest building on this large hill, so we have a nice view. Directly behind our apartment building is a nature reserve. There was an article in the paper that said there are more than 50 animals living in this reserve. So outside of my back windows I might get to see mongoose, meer cats or zebra.

Carol and I are still settling in and unpacking boxes. I should be washing all of the kitchen dishes right now! There are still several things we need to purchase, but we are trying to work on it a little at a time. After 3 days of packing and moving and unpacking, carting furniture up a flight of stairs and cleaning the apartment we are very tired. We were very blessed to have Pastor Cheryl, her husband Don and a friend Regina help us with the move. We also had 2 men that were hired to help with the heaviest things (refrigerator and large furniture)...Praise God for that!

I think Carol and I are both a little weary of making decisions. Where to put furniture, who gets which set of sheets, what kind of cleaner do you buy here, which dishes do we really need to keep, etc, etc, etc. But we are glad to be moved in and we are settling in fairly quickly. Its nice to have a large place to share.

Pretty soon we will be joined by Sara (who will be volunteering at the Door of Hope). Pray for her as she prepares to join us here. She is coming through the Venturer program and staying for 2 years. Pray for safe travel. Pray that she adjusts well to life in South Africa. And pray that we can welcome her and help her through the process to make the transition a little smoother.

I'll post pictures of the new apartment when we are a little more settled. Right now, all you would see are boxes! :-)

My Birthday!!

Today is my birthday!!

I dont really feel a lot older. In fact, I havent felt 'older' since I turned 21. How old am I? Not 30 yet! And that is all you need to know. hahaha

How did I celebrate?

I bought lunch from KFC for all of the staff at the church on Friday. Whenever they talk about treating themselves, they talk about buying KFC. So I bought 20 pieces of chicken, drinks and dessert. The desert was Milk Tart. I had never had milk tart until I came to South Africa. I think its British, but the British version is a bit different from the S.A. version from what I hear. The cook at the Day Care made some Pap and gravy to go with the chicken. (Click here to learn about pap.) So I had a little American food and a little South African food. Appropriate dont you think?

On Saturday I was very lazy and did NOTHING! I read part of a book (my favorite past-time) and I enjoyed some quiet time with my Roommate/Fellow Missionary Carol. We ordered pizza and I watched a little bad American television (WWE!). I had a Coke (not diet!) and a Snickers bar with a candle in it!! Cant have a birthday without a candle to blow out! Getting Happy Birthday wishes from my Mom and Dad were probably the 2 highlights of the day. :-)

AND I get to go out to the movies and get an absolutely sinful dessert tomorrow after church!

And as I finish typing this post I realize its midnight.....not my birthday anymore. But its still technically my birthday American-time. Think that counts? Do I get 6 more hours to celebrate? Or is that cheating? hahahaha

Brutally Honest

I had told myself that I needed to be brutally honest when I was here in Jo'burg. And I have tried to share some of the good and the bad. But I admit that I havent been completely blunt about the social and cultural problems here in Jo'burg. Partly because I am slowly becoming aware of the problems and partly because I am in shock about the volume of needs. I want to share one specific example with you.

There is a little boy at the DayCare (we'll call him Nero). He is 4 years old and struggles to follow directions. Although he is partly stubborn, he struggles mostly because of language differences. His English is VERY limited. Nero's clothes are too small and his shoes are falling apart. He is being raised in a home with an alcoholic Mom, and his Dad is slowly dying from AIDS.

Nero's dad brings him to church and makes sure he is at school. His dad seems to be the one to make sure he is clean and fed. Nero's dad was recently baptized! His dad is the one who takes care of him.....but his dad is not going to be there much longer. I worry about this little boy and the many others like him.

Dads are rare. Proper clothing is rare. Stable homes are often rare too.
Poverty is common. AIDS is common. Broken families are common.

Please pray for the children here in South Africa! Pray that God is such an enormous part of their lives that they become the generation that makes big changes here in South Africa. Pray that these children will be so surrounded by God's love that they cant help but have it pour out of them and into their communities. Pray that God provides for these children. I thank God that I can be His hands and feet in a small way here with these precious children!

Teaching

I had a great week! A few of the teachers were out this week with various illnesses. Because teachers were scarce, I got to step in and be the teacher of the Elephant class (4 and 5 year olds). I spent the whole week with them. I got to try out the curriculum I have been developing. It definitely needs a few adjustments, but the children seemed to like the activities and stories.

This week, we were learning about healthy foods. I told the story of Daniel and his friends refusing the bad food in Babylon and asking for healthy fruits and vegetables (Daniel 1). We painted, played with playdoh, drew pictures....and I felt like I was in my element! One of the teacher assistants looked at me as if I were crazy a few times.....getting the playdoh and paint cleaned up was a bit of trouble. But I hope she found out that the trouble was worth it.....the kids were answering questions and initiating conversation! (You have no idea how rare this is!)

The other teachers seemed to be using some of the ideas too. And I was super-pleased to see them adapt a few of the ideas and make them suit their classes. They are really taking a positive approach to change. Praise God! Please continue to pray as I work on this curriculum. I am in a bit over my head, but God seems to be making it work. I felt so confidant being the 'teacher' in the class. I can deal with kids and pull out tricks to get them to learn.....but I am still struggling with how to lead these teachers. But I cant teach all 60 kids by myself....so pray that I find more ways to show these teachers how to help these kids. Leading adults is not easy for me, but I know God can make all our weak efforts into great things.

4 Day Weekend

This week was a short one. I worked Monday through Wednesday, but had off the rest of the week. South Africa was celebrating Women's Day, so the Day Care closed in honor of that holiday. I thought that a 4 day weekend was the perfect time to finish the last Harry Potter book. It was kind of sad to see the series come to a close.

I was also glad for the few days off because I have been battling a cold. It seems like half the children in the Day Care have been ill. And all of the teachers seem to have gotten the germs that are going around (there is no policy to keep the children at home when they are sick, so germs spread quickly). I knew it was just a matter of time before I came down with something.

I am very thankful that my fellow missionary, Carol, had some cold medicine she brought with her from the states. We have not been able to find a decongestant here in S.A. Her medicine got me through the 2 toughest days. Unfortunately, Carol is now sick, and I have used all her medicine! So pray that we can find a suitable replacement soon!

Other than colds, everything is going well here. The weather warmed up into the high 60s today. I hope we get a few more days like this!

Prayer request: Please pray for the Sunday School program here at Troyeville Baptist Church. There are too many children and too few workers. Today we had over 30 children in the Young Children's class alone. In this class there were kids from 2 to 10! We need to find a way to split the class into smaller groups. (And there are 2 other classes with the same problem.) We lack materials, space and workers. It is great to see these children come to church, often on their own. God has given us an enormous mission field....and it walks in the doors every Sunday! But we are ill equipped to meet the needs with the resources we have. Pray that God will make it clear how to work with these children and help them to learn of God's love and mercy.

List of Needs

I know that many people want to know how they can help us here in Johannesburg. I have quite a long list of needs/wants. Only God can fill all of these needs. Only God knows which ones are truly important. I will list all of the needs we have from the great to the small. What we need the MOST is prayer. Pray, pray, pray! So many of these things shouldnt/couldnt be mailed. And many of them could be purchased...if I could only them. I havent quite figured out the best way to get these things that we need....thats why we need prayer! :-)

I will try to group the needs by category.....
Touch Life Center (Day Care):

• Funding for teacher/aides salary (Id also like Christmas boxes for the teachers with things they may need)
• Underwear, Shoes and Socks for the children of the day care (ages 2 to 6)
• Uniforms for the 16 children going to school in January (~$40 each)
• 10 black child sized graduation gowns
• Storage cabinets with locks
• Christian Children's Music CDs
• Bible Story books
• Toys of all sorts....

House Keeping: We need a sturdy children's house keeping set with stove, fridge, etc....as well as plastic baby dolls and baby doll clothes, plastic food, etc.
Blocks: We need wooden blocks, Plastic blocks of basic shapes, etc.
Vehicles: A nice train set, sturdy cars, trucks, planes, etc.
Outside toys: Balls, Sand box, sand toys, water play toys
Craft Supplies: yarn, pipe cleaners, ribbon, construction paper, popsicle sticks, powdered tempra paint, wiggle eyes, tissue paper, etc
Various: Bean bags of various shapes and colors, Plastic animals, things to sort (counting bears, large buttons, unifix cubes, etc.) Musical Instruments (maracas, tambourines, bells), dry erase markers

Troyeville Baptist Church:
General: Mop Bucket, Large Broom, Storage Cabinets with locks
Youth: Sponsors for Youth Camp (about $70 per student), Christmas boxes for the 20+ youth
Sunday School: New Testament Curriculum with pictures, Christmas play with music, Christmas boxes for the 30+ Sunday School children


The needs can be overwhelming at times, but God has been good about supplying things that we need. The first week I was here, we received a donation of toys that had a large set of Duplo blocks!

It is very difficult to prioritize the needs. If I had to pick one category that is needed the most, I would choose socks, shoes and underwear for the children. Thank you in advance for your prayers and support!!

Busy Week

This week was very busy, but exciting. Monday was a big party for Pastor Cheryl's birthday. She organized the party for herself...which seemed a bit amusing at first. But it was really a night of praising God. She had more than an hours worth of singers/musicians singing praise songs. She tried her best to keep the focus off of her birthday and on God. She even gave a small gift to everyone who came. After the music, there was lots of great food. I dont like crowds, especially crowds full of strangers. So I was very happy to have been given a job....I had to cut cakes and help collect dishes and return them to the kitchen (No one uses paper plates here, they consider it wasteful and only use real dishes).

Wednesday we had to say goodbye to Erin and Russell (college missionaries that were here for 2 months). It was hard to see them go. Those 2 really helped me learn the ropes of the Day Care. They got dropped in their first week and learned their way around the hard way. I spent many days talking with them and learning about their observations of the culture and the children. They were wonderful help and great friends. They both have HUGE hearts and are committed to serving God. They were always willing to step up and help in any way they could. We spent many fun hours together just hanging out, shopping or going to see movies. I am SO glad they were here. God put them here for many reasons, but I KNOW he put them here to help smooth the transition for me. (Hopefully Russell will be returning to Jo'burg soon. After he raises enough support, he will be coming back to be a volunteer coordinator for the day care and the Door of Hope. We all look forward to his return.)

Later in the week, the day care got a visit from a missions group from Los Angeles. The group had 4 adults and 6 teenagers. They did a few puppet skits and a clown skit for the children. They also painted faces and danced and sang with the kids. The team from LA was very nice and friendly. They jumped right in and talked to the kids. It was a great morning.

I also had a meeting with the teachers at the day care. The meeting was supposed to be Tuesday. We tried to find time for this meeting ALL week. But there were sick teachers, the team from LA, sick kids and many other things that got in the way. So the meeting was Friday morning. Delaying the meeting just gave me more time to pray alot about what to say. I was supposed to give the teachers feedback and suggestions and present lessons for August for them to use. I was so glad to have lots of positive things to say to the teachers. They really have made a great start and work well together. The children obey the teachers (and dont listen to me at all!). So I think that we got the meeting off on the right foot. I gave a few suggestions. The head teacher, Nomalonga, seemed to agree with me on many of them. It was encouraging to have her support. Then I presented the lessons I have been developing. These are just a starting point so we can see what works and what doesnt. But I feel good about the things discussed with the teachers. They seem willing to try new things and I think they will pick up a lot of skills naturally just by being exposed to new ideas.

The teachers seem very tired. They are at the Day Care from 7:30 until 5:00ish. They have kids and husbands and dinner and other things to keep them busy after their work day is over. Many of them wash their clothes by hand because they dont have a washer. When they are sick they come to work anyway, because they need the money. Most of their money is used to send their older children to school. They have stress that I cant imagine. They live in a run-down, dangerous neighborhoods and struggle to make ends meet. Yet they reach out to help the people around them. They participate in church bible studies and teach Sunday School. They give away anything extra they have to others who are in need. So these ladies need lots of prayer!! I have decided that I need to pamper them a bit and bring in lots of goodies to help them feel special (which also gives me a good excuse to make cookies this weekend!) The staff names are Nomalonga, Aurelia, Malt, Joyce, Faith, John, Ivan, Mummsie, and Lyndiweh. Please pray for them and their families.

Thank you for your prayers! I know they are working. I can see it in the relationships Im forming with the students and teachers. I can feel it in the way I am settling in and feeling more comfortable. And I know someone out there is praying hard about my driving, because I am driving on the LEFT hand side of the road and it doesnt even seem strange to me anymore. AND I have Thursday and Friday off this coming week! Finally, some time to do laundry! Yippeee! Praise God. He answers big AND small prayers!