The Beginning of Work and Play

Today is Wednesday, March 14, 2007, our first full day in South Africa. We met all of the children this morning and it was off to school for them at 7:30. The school is not far from the Pines Center but Brian transports the children by van to school and picks them up in the afternoon. It will take a while for us to learn all of their names but I am diligently working on it. The ones I know so far are Nswaki, Punseletso Gladys, Punseletso Maria, and Mpho. Brian and Lois tell us they are not used to the level or style of teaching done here. The resources are very limited and teachers often do not get much beyond teaching names and play. One of the high schools runs a student/teacher ratio of 30:1 and they do not bring in substitutes when a teacher is not present. Brian and Lois are in the process of setting up their own school for the children here at the Pines. Our project for the first day was to trim up a few trees that are in the area of where the new playground will be located. One tree ended up being “trimmed” A LOT. I think Brian has a vision for what purpose the tree will play but we are not sure what his vision is. Maybe tomorrow we will know more. We worked hard for about two hours with trimming and cleanup and then delivering the firewood to a South African community, which is referred to as zone 7. Brian and Lois were very lenient about our work schedule today just because they figured we would have jet lag. Some of the zone 7 children walk a very long way to go to school so Brian takes them to school and picks them up with the children from the Pines. The zone 7 children came home from school with our children and waited to be taken home once we got the firewood loaded up. What I saw next was something I have never seen in my 53 years. It is hard to describe my feelings, however, I will tell you that it felt like a lightening bolt went right through my heart and I was sobbing on the way back to the Pines complex. The zone 7 housing is something that most of us will never experience in our lifetime. Most houses are made out of tin and just a tarp roof held down by big rocks or anything else they can find to use. The floors are dirt. It is very hard to fathom that about 45 million people live like that here. It humbled me beyond comprehension. When I returned to the Pines, I fell on my knees and praised God and just prayed for the zone 7 people to inherit treasures in heaven, which I am sure is His plan. In the middle of the afternoon, we had cake and ice cream for Nswaki’s 10th birthday. It was a real joy to see the pleasure on the kid’s faces when they tasted the cake. After the birthday party, the children wanted to jump on the trampoline. I have not jumped on a trampoline for a long time. I did jump with for a while doing a summersault and having a lot of fun. After that activity, Justin and I went for a swim with the kids.. Not too long into the swim, it was very windy and we had seen some fire across the road but didn’t think too much of it. Before I knew it the fire had jumped the road and had set another pile of garbage surplus on file. It was close enough that I heard it crackling – and it scared me half to death – especially with all the kids outside. We told the kids that they had to go in because of the fire so we sent them in for their safety. Brian and Chris took a watering hose out to put the fire out the best they could. Our food has been fantastic since we came here. Martha and Dawn have been doing a fantastic and painstaking job of keeping us all fed. They have even prepared wonderful desserts for our pleasure. Praise God for them!! At our dinner, we all pretty much talked about each of our salvation stories. It was awesome to learn more about everybody and it was kind of like we all formed a bond of some kind. Especially later in the evening when the whole team was in the lounge area discussing our lives and God’s salvation and grace until 1:00 in the morning. Actually, a few of us were still discussing until 1:30 am. God has really been at work here in South Africa. Not only are we helping out the people here, we are developing such wonderful relationships with all the team members. They will definitely last for an ETERNITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love in Christ,

Dee Dee