I am home in VA safe and sound. The flight was uneventful and smooth. Me and all of my luggage made it to VA with no major damage or concerns. I was greeted at the airport by my Dad and 5 great friends. They had posters, horns and flowers for me. They also had those plastic visors that you get from the dollar tree. They turned these upside down and wrote the letters of my name on each visor so that when they were wearing them, they said AMBER. It was so fun to walk out of the terminal to such a greeting!
After a quick trip to Walmart to stock up on soap, shampoo, etc I showered and went to my grandma's house for lunch. American Chinese food is so much better than South African Chinese food!
I got a good nights sleep (Praise Jesus!) and after a little drama trying to find my dress for my interviews, I had 2 interviews. They went well and I am now gainfully employed as a 4th grade teacher. Ahhh....4th grade! That's going to be quite a change from Kindergarten/preschool.
After the interviews, I went home, unpacked a little and went to church. I thought I was going to speak to the youth about my trip. But I was surprised with a "Welcome Home" party instead....how sneaky! Wow, what a blessing to have people so glad to have me home!
My To-Do list is growing shorter and everything seems to be going smoothly. The transition back to the US couldn't have gone any better. God is good and I'm glad to be home.
I plan to write one more blog as a wrap up of my experiences in South Africa..so stay tuned just a little while longer.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Sunday, July 6, 2008
A few photos
Im too tired and overwhelmed to really post anything at this moment. Here are a few photos.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
To Do List
A lot of things are going to be happening in the next few weeks. Im having a hard time prioritizing what to focus on each day. At this point Im just taking care of the things that HAVE to be tackled at the moment. I'd like to get a jump start on some of the things on my list, but I'm having a hard time thinking beyond the immeadiate to-dos. Here is the list in the best chronological order I can figure....
Finish thank-yous for TLC Staff
Pack
Say Goodbyes at church
Print the curriculum (Which is finished!!! Praise God!)
Pick up a few remaining odds and ends
Get on the plane
Land, settle into my house and see family and friends!!!!
2 Interviews (The day after I arrive home!)
Kingsfest
MC2 (church camp for a week where I am a missionary on staff)
Those are the highlights. Im sure there are other minor details in there. The list looks short, but they seem REALLY big from this side of the list. Hopefully as I go through the list I will be able to take it one thing at a time.
I'm excited to be coming home! And Im excited that my to-do list has a time limit.....at a certain point all of the things will get crossed off wether I get them done or give up on them! hahaha Pray that I get them all done!
Finish thank-yous for TLC Staff
Pack
Say Goodbyes at church
Print the curriculum (Which is finished!!! Praise God!)
Pick up a few remaining odds and ends
Get on the plane
Land, settle into my house and see family and friends!!!!
2 Interviews (The day after I arrive home!)
Kingsfest
MC2 (church camp for a week where I am a missionary on staff)
Those are the highlights. Im sure there are other minor details in there. The list looks short, but they seem REALLY big from this side of the list. Hopefully as I go through the list I will be able to take it one thing at a time.
I'm excited to be coming home! And Im excited that my to-do list has a time limit.....at a certain point all of the things will get crossed off wether I get them done or give up on them! hahaha Pray that I get them all done!
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Street Corners
There are many people on the street corners in Jo'burg. Some are trying to sell you something. Some of them are begging. Some of them want to wash your windshield for a little money. It can be overwhelming at times to be constantly bombarded with sellers, beggars, washers and random other people at the stop lights.
The people that really get to me are the mothers sitting on the corners with their children begging for money. Often the kids are crawling and walking in the median strip making me nervous that they are going to fall into traffic. There are days where I've seen the same people sitting out on the corners for hours....with their children. What child wants to sit by a busy street and beg for money? It breaks my heart. It makes me mad that these women are teaching their children to beg. It overwhelms me to think that if I give them 5 rand they will be able to buy a loaf of bread today, but there is no way to provide for them tomorrow. It’s like putting a band aid on the problem. The little change I give them doesn't really help them in the long run. And it even encourages them to stay on the corners and beg and repeats the cycle of poverty.
I must be honest and admit that there are many days when I can drive past these people and not really think about the poverty they live in. I've gotten so used to seeing them, that I don't really see them.
Today there was a mother at one stop light who had her baby strapped to her back. But this mother wasn't begging. She was trying to sell pens and nail clippers. I've seen her before and bought a pen from her once. I like that she is trying to sell things to make a living. Her child is seeing her work hard to provide for them. Today I was pretty far back in the line of cars. The woman didn't get near my car until right before the light turned green. As she walked down the long line of cars, she had a pretty smile on her face. She said good morning to the people who had their windows cracked open. She was polite and friendly.
Then the light turned green, so I went. Had she made it 2 more cars I would have bought a pen from her again. I was about to brush it off as I usually do when I see people on the side of the street, but then I looked in my rearview mirror and saw her face. Her smile was gone. She looked tired. Worn out. Like she was about to lose hope, or had already done so. And my heart broke. I just kept thinking "Why didn't I stop and buy something?" Sure, the cars behind me would have been mad. I probably would have heard a bunch of horns beeping. And I would have another second rate pen littering my already dirty car. But perhaps, just maybe, if I had bothered to stop and help her she wouldn't have felt quite so weary and hopeless. I kept thinking "Whatever you do for the least of these you've done unto me"....and I didn't take the opportunity to help "the least of these" because a stop light turned green! Sometimes my stupidity amazes even me. Good thing our God is a God of second chances...and third and fourth and ten hundredth chances. Hopefully the next time I have the opportunity to help someone, I won’t let the chance pass me by.
The people that really get to me are the mothers sitting on the corners with their children begging for money. Often the kids are crawling and walking in the median strip making me nervous that they are going to fall into traffic. There are days where I've seen the same people sitting out on the corners for hours....with their children. What child wants to sit by a busy street and beg for money? It breaks my heart. It makes me mad that these women are teaching their children to beg. It overwhelms me to think that if I give them 5 rand they will be able to buy a loaf of bread today, but there is no way to provide for them tomorrow. It’s like putting a band aid on the problem. The little change I give them doesn't really help them in the long run. And it even encourages them to stay on the corners and beg and repeats the cycle of poverty.
I must be honest and admit that there are many days when I can drive past these people and not really think about the poverty they live in. I've gotten so used to seeing them, that I don't really see them.
Today there was a mother at one stop light who had her baby strapped to her back. But this mother wasn't begging. She was trying to sell pens and nail clippers. I've seen her before and bought a pen from her once. I like that she is trying to sell things to make a living. Her child is seeing her work hard to provide for them. Today I was pretty far back in the line of cars. The woman didn't get near my car until right before the light turned green. As she walked down the long line of cars, she had a pretty smile on her face. She said good morning to the people who had their windows cracked open. She was polite and friendly.
Then the light turned green, so I went. Had she made it 2 more cars I would have bought a pen from her again. I was about to brush it off as I usually do when I see people on the side of the street, but then I looked in my rearview mirror and saw her face. Her smile was gone. She looked tired. Worn out. Like she was about to lose hope, or had already done so. And my heart broke. I just kept thinking "Why didn't I stop and buy something?" Sure, the cars behind me would have been mad. I probably would have heard a bunch of horns beeping. And I would have another second rate pen littering my already dirty car. But perhaps, just maybe, if I had bothered to stop and help her she wouldn't have felt quite so weary and hopeless. I kept thinking "Whatever you do for the least of these you've done unto me"....and I didn't take the opportunity to help "the least of these" because a stop light turned green! Sometimes my stupidity amazes even me. Good thing our God is a God of second chances...and third and fourth and ten hundredth chances. Hopefully the next time I have the opportunity to help someone, I won’t let the chance pass me by.
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