As I come up on being a month here I have so many new experiences, is it so hard to share everything. I wish I could write everyday. It is restful here and challenging here at the same time. My days are so different, so much slower than New York, but a lot of new things. But I will try to give you a general day in the life of Christy in South Africa.
I am up at 6am, usually to run on the dirt road near the orphanage, with cows or worthogs (yes, worthogs!) grazing nearby. Then I drive some of the kids to school and staff around (in a rickety stick-shift on the wrong side of the road!). After, I come home for breakfast and do a variety of different things, such as home visits in the community, some of the administration work in the office, or food distribution. Then when the kids come home we do a tutoring/after school program with them. This week I will start some counseling groups with the older girls to help them talk about abandonment, rape (yes, a lot of our young girls have been raped), having no parents, living with many health problems, etc. I haven't done much with children so you can pray for me!
Many things that I have been doing are new to me, not necessarily my gifting or experience, and so I have really come up against times where I am saying to God, "Oh! This is hard! I am not cut out for this!" But God says to me, "All that I require is that you love me, love these kids and depend on me everyday!" How many people in the Bible said that very same thing and that was no excuse to God and they did great things. And so I have been depending very much on God everyday.
We finish up our days around 6pm and then the volunteers come back to our houses, often cooking and eating together and talking. It feels like a very old fashioned lifestyle here. We have a TV, but not much to watch, no telephone in our house, and just each other (no other people in our lives) to keep us company. We have nice houses, with clean water, but sometimes it is not running. I have come to appreciate the simple pleasure of running water! We also do not have full showers, just a spray hose, so I am not sure when I will be really clean again! Not for a while! But hey, who cares! I am in Africa!
Today, I am going to several homes in the community where we distrbute food to the poor, to follow up on their needs. We distribute food no more than twice to a home, so that they don't become dependent; but then go to their homes to transition them into helping themselves more (like teaching them to grow their own food, helping them get care they need, etc). That will be interesting I am sure! I'll tell you more about it!

Samkelo

Let me introduce to you Samkelo. He is one of the cutest little boys I have ever met. He is 4 years old and cannot walk (for no good reason, other than he never learned). I help him do exercises to strengthen his legs each day.

He is on his way to the hospital for a monthly visit to the physiatrist.

You can pray that he would learn to walk and to know how much God loves him. He also has such medical complications. I want to bring him home in my suite case!!!!

I have been doing a variety of things here at the orphanage to get to know the kids and also to get to know how the whole thing is run. I have been doing after school programs, food shopping for kids, going to medical appts with them, doing therapies with the disabled kids, etc. Basically everything. Last week I went to experience what the monthly food shopping is like. Basically it is buying about $8000 of huge bags of rice and veggies and milk and everything they eat, loading it onto a pick up truck and driving it home in the heat, hoping no one will steal anything at a stop light. Of course we got a flat tire too, which is normal life. And of course we do much of the loading and all of the unloading! So do the little children back at the orphanage.

Here are some of the kids running to a birthday party that the orphanage was having for them. It was a very touching time, as each one is celebrated and valued. I really respect this place. It is a very special orphanage and God is doing great things through it. It is well established with the South African government.

So I hope to introduce you to some special kids soon.

We'll, I've been here for 2 weeks now. How can I possibly describe all of my experiences to you! Currently, I am living in a small house of volunteers amongst the little houses of the orphanage children. It is hot and sunny here and to think of snow seems so strange!





These are the little houses that about 6 children live in with a house mother. There are 22 houses and we live in one of them. I live with 2 other girls who are so sweet. There are 3 German girls, an American (who works in a different part), and a Korean guy here volunteering. It is great because we hang out together and share life. Here are the kids going off to school in their uniforms. Most of them go to a school in the community but the education here is really bad.

These kids have come from all sorts of very difficult backrounds and the social welfare system of South Africa has given these kids to Lily Of the Valley because their parents are no longer able to care for them becuase of AIDS, or sexual/physical abuse, etc. The kids have so many issues and they need so much love and care.

It is actaully very challenging to care for them. They are street kids who have been toughened by abuse, abandonment, and neglect. On top of that they have all sorts of medical issues and some are disabled. Somehow we think that orphans are these little angels who can do no wrong and are perfectly humble and thankful for everything, but they are actually very tough. Many times they can be so selfish, demanding, ungrateful, and disrespectful. It takes a long time to break through their hardened hearts. I have been learning so much about God's love through that. Because that is exactly who God loves to pursue. Every morning He says to me, "Christy, love these precious children who I have created! Show them how much they mean to me! So far the world has not that well, but I want you to show them how precious they are! And remember you are really just like them, Christy!" His love burns on and on and never fails.

But saying all that, in the last couple of weeks, I have been getting to know these faces and these little children and have been FALLING IN LOVE with them!! They are all so precious and even with their problems, they have such life, playfulness, and joy. I hope to share with you some of these kids especially so you can pray for them!

In the last few weeks I have also had some very unusual experiences, good and bad:

To my excitement, I learned that we live right next to an animal reserve and so in 5 minutes we can drive out to a safari where we saw zebras, hippos, rhinos, bucks, and even giraffes!

The second night I was here, I got one hour sleep because about 50 blood thirsty misquitos were trying to eat me alive (it sounded like a motorcycle race in my room). I had a misquito net but they got inside of it. That was one moment I really wanted to start crying. But problem solved and I get good sleep now, THANK GOODNESS!

I MADE IT

Hello from South Africa! My flight over was pretty effortless, which was a GIFT from God (and a miracle), because an airplane is usually like a closterphobic death chamber to me. This is my second day here at the orphanage, just trying to get my barings on things. I have met many of the kids and am getting to know how they live. We don't have a lot of internet access now so I will have to send photos out later, but I can't wait to show you the beautiful mountains. The orphanage is actaully right next to an animal reserve so we can see all sorts of animals. Everyone lives very simply here, but well.

The children here are all HIV positive, but none have AIDS. Some are disabled, some have had TB, many must go often to see doctors. But generally they are healthy and the set up of the orphanage is very good. It is quite slow here, things run slowly, so that is my first challenge--to slow myself down and to do things that they really need that I normally wouldn't do. My brain gears are churning, seeing how they need help and what could make things run more smoothly. It also has been pretty intimidating here to get to know the kids. Some are friendly, but many are very shy and not so warm at first. To them, they need love to be proven. A relationship need a lot of time.

The other volunteers are great. They are very international and it is an interesting feeling not to be with any Americans. There is a Korean guy, 2 South Africans, and 3 Germans. They are very kind and social. We are all a part of each other's lives and sit and talk together on our down time.

Trying to clean up everything! Wow, it is hard to pack up and fit in all the goodbyes. I have one more day here and my room needs to be cleared out!

So many goodbyes and so many uncertainties, but so much excitement. That seems to be how it is with God.

I have felt overwhelmed with God's communication to me through everything and everyone that I should really be going to this orphanage. That makes me feel better when I get afraid of all the uncertainties, and overwhelmed with all the aweful statistics and problems there.

I fly out on Sunday morning! I can't believe it.

A couple of months ago, my friend found an ad in my church bulletin and thought of me. She showed it to me and I looked at the website. It is an orphanage in South Africa that works with children suffering/affected by HIV/Aids. It was started a few decades ago, initially to bring children who were dying off the street and give them a safe, loving place to have their final days. Over the years, the children have become more healthy and now the focus is not on helping them face death, but on helping them face life. They have all sorts of different programs, to build their education and spiritual and emotional wellbeing. Deep down I felt an unusual and peaceful excitement as I read what they wanted to do in the lives of these children.
After a lot of prayer and a lot of words of encouragement from pretty much EVERYONE in my life, I have decided to go there for 6 months.

Lately, God has been bringing up a verse to me again and again. And it is on their website too (for obvious reasons!). It is this: James 1:27, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and keep oneself from being polluted by the world." Unfortunately, people in this world either do one or the other, but usually not both (especially the latter without judgment). This I want to do well this year.

So, starting in February, I am off to South Africa to work in their clinic and be whatever they need: social worker, tutor, mentor/discipler... I will LEARN a LOT. I will need to depend on Jesus every day, as I am out of my comfortable life and in a world that is full of brokenness and sorrow. But I am excited!