Community Stay Prep

Normally Thursday mornings are time for us to relax because they are no meetings, but since our Community Stays begin tomorrow, we had an 8am session with Dan this morning. As a group, we read through the book of James. Dan encouraged us to reread it again individually, considering the passages not only from our perspective but from the perspective of the children we will be staying with. Dan needed to get going to Bushbuckridge for the day, so we were released to continue studying James or prepare for our stays.

Later in the morning, we were being taken grocery shopping with Jen for our weekends. Melissa and I waited for the second round, so while the first group was shopping, I took some time to go sit in my favorite spot here at the Village. It's nice because it's out of the way, and it's quiet. Not to mention, the view is pretty amazing!

 When I came back down, I cleaned up some stuff in my room first. In this case, my room looks worse than it did before I started because I was going through stuff to throw away, but ended up writing in one of my journals instead. Then I had time to reheat leftovers and inhale my lunch before it was our turn to head out to the grocery store.

Generally, we do our shopping at Pick n Pay, but for this trip we went to ShopRite. Our community stay will begin Friday afternoon and last until Monday morning. We are all in pairs and are taking enough food to share with the family we are staying with.

Here is our shopping list of what each pair needed to buy:
5kg Mealie meal (corn meal)
2kg rice
1 bag apples
1 cabbage
1 bag carrots
1 bag tomatoes
1 sm bag sugar
1 sm bag salt
1 sm bottle of oil
tea and/or coffee
small packets of creamer
2 5L bottles of water (we picked up 3)
toilet paper
2 cans of pilchards in tomato sauce
2 oxtail soup mix
1 6pk of eggs
1 sm peanut butter
2kg of mixed chicken portions

Other personal items to pick up, if needed:
flash light (or torches as they are called here in South Africa)
balls, crayons, paper, etc
wash clothes and soap
lollipops
cereal bars
bug spray
sunscreen

So when we got back to the Village, our main room looked like this: (and this isn't even all of the groceries!)

Here is the pile of groceries for Mel and I, minus was had been put in the refrigerator or freezer.

Now we have a little more down time until Dan gets back from Bushbuckridge. Then we'll find out more about the families we are all staying with. Later, we are having dinner 'upstairs' at the Ladies house, hosted by Cat. And depending on how long that lasts, we might go to spend the evening at the Farm with Bentley. Everyone wants to see us, it's almost like they are afraid we won't come back...

A few things for you all to keep in mind:
-I don't know what family I am staying with yet, but consider that we have met children as young as 7 who have already buried both of their parents and have to serve as the head of household role.
-It is Africa, but even when it is warm during the day it can still become very cold at night. Some families don't even have a mattress or blanket to stay warm.
-We will be bucket bathing during our home stays, which sounds very bizarre to most westernized cultures, but it is not uncommon here in Africa. People don't know any different.
-Some households do not even have utensils to stir what little food they have to cook.

As we prepare ourselves to go into community, pray that we would all have open hearts and minds, that we would listen intently to the any stories the children are willing to share, that we will be gracious despite any uncomfortable situations we may face, that we would be beautiful feet, and that we can bring some joy into the lives of our families, even if only for a weekend. Also pray for us as we learn more about ourselves and each other. That these experiences would bring us closer together and unite us in the work that lies ahead of us. Consider how different the lives of the children here are from our lives at home. Consider how that impacts your response to passages you read in the Bible.

Don't hesitate to ask any questions you might have. I won't get them until Monday, but within reason, I should be able to answer anything you could ask. Thank you for reading, and thank you for praying!

Community Stays

Today we went back to Share for the day. We attempted to do home visits. I was with Leyton, and two of the care workers. No one was home at the houses we went to, so we had plenty of time to talk to the care workers. We talked about their families, their likes, interests, and the challenges they face as care workers.

After dinner, we had an evening session at the Waspe's house. We did some basic agility and flexibility testing based on the Dan Waspe method: a cereal box. It was a little awkward, but really, really fun. Once that was over, we started discussing our upcoming community stays. We will leave the Village just before lunch on Friday and return at some point around lunchtime on Monday. We are all staying in Welverdiend, which is in Bushbuckridge. It is still within Mpumalanga, but is at least a two hour drive from the Village. Community stays are dependent on the families we are staying with; sometimes volunteers are housed individually, other times (normally) they are housed in pairs. For our intake, we will be staying in pairs. I am staying with Melissa, Alicia is staying with Mariah, Dave is staying with Russell, and Joe is staying with Leyton. We will find out more about the families we are staying with specifically tomorrow. We will also go shopping for basic supplies: food, soap, wash clothes, etc, and any thing we want to take to pass the time with our families. In the past, people have taken playing cards, paper and crayons or bubbles, if they are staying with young children, and balls are very popular. We have played with some sort of ball at (I believe) every community visit, from tennis balls, to soccer balls, to even a football at Siyathuthuka. Most of the children who attend the feeding points are in neighborhoods with other children who do not attend the feeding points. For this reason, Dan said that if we take balls with us, they will probably be ruined by Monday morning because the children will be so excited to play with them. As for food, we may or may not get live chickens to prepare and eat. This has been done in the past, but it is dependent on the individual community and if there is access to enough live chickens. The September intake did get live chickens because Dan knew exactly where in the community he could find them, and enough of them. Busji and Audrey are working on it; I guess we'll find out tomorrow. The additional items we decide to take help pass the time, but also help bridge the language barrier. In the community of Welverdiend, the locals predominantly speak Tsonga (Xitsonga.) Depending on if there are any adult family members, they may also understand some phrases of Siswati, as this is the predominant language within Mpumalanga. I am more apprehensive about being able to speak the language than anything else to be honest. Luckily, Mel has been to Africa before and has a better grasp of both languages than I do. Occasionally you do hear stories of volunteers on community stays, within South Africa or abroad, who could not speak to their host at all. Sophie had that experience when she was abroad. At least having a list of basic sayings allows us to have a starting point for communication. I typically haven't been sleeping more than 6 hours a night, and I know if I can get 3 I'll be fine, so I am much less concerned about the physical aspect of the stay. And let's be honest - it will be an upgrade from our boxes as homeless people, am I right?

That is the basic gist of our community stays for now. After the community stay, I should be able to take some pictures within the community to show you all. I will try to write one more post tomorrow, but will obviously be offline until Monday afternoon at the earliest.

The morning got off to a rocky start, but it has turned out to be a pretty successful day. Thanks for reading, and thanks for praying for all of us here at the Village.

Jonah Day

This past Sunday we attended Church at Touzhill with Jayme and Lynn. It is a more westernized service. it's not like home, but it's really not like the community Churches either. Then we had a quick shopping run to get supplies for the farewell braai for Chris and Sophie. The afternoon was spent preparing our food until it was time to start the braai. After that, we just went to bed. Yeah, we're a crazy bunch...

Monday was a pretty good day. We went to Siyathuthuka and went on home visits. I'm planning on writing a more in-depth entry on what that means very soon, but that's all you get for now. On our way home, we stopped for our weekly grocery run. It was fairly quick because we only have to prepare a few meals this week. While we were there, I went with my roommate, Alicia, and Mariah to get our ears pierced at the pharmacy. When in Africa... Mariah and I both got our cartilage pierced, while Alicia opted for her upper lobe. They are all easily covered, which might be necessary as we are spending the whole weekend out in community. We will be spending four days and three nights in child-headed households. We will have bottled water for ourselves, and food to share with the family. We will also take things like nail polish (for the girls), playing cards, and things like crayons, depending on the age of the child. Things to help bridge the language barrier. It is a great privilege for these families to host us, but it is also a privilege for those of us who get to experience being invited into these homes. Even if it is a twenty minute home visit, it is an honor. But I digress...

So we went shopping, got our piercings, and were pretty excited with ourselves. We came back to relax - we had an entire evening free to ourselves!!! Orientation is jam-packed, so typically we are grateful to have an hour of downtime, let alone an entire evening! I made myself dinner pretty early and then threw in a load of laundry. Then I got on facebook and read about the accident that killed Jason Drew. I did not know Jason, but I knew his wife, Chelsea, her brother, Matt. I went to the same school with them, and knew them since I was in kindergarten. I first met Jason's brother, Mike, when I was in 7th grade. I always saw Chelsea with their young boys. Those memories coupled with the knowledge of Jason's death was crippling. I initially went out to the patio where everyone else was eating dinner, thinking that it would be nice to be around people. I just ended up sitting on the floor leaning against the building, and opted to go back to my room, I forced myself to put away my laundry, which was a very slow task after that news, and then I sat staring at my computer screen for about an hour. At the time, I was also chatting to a friend about a rough situation. Everyone has an opinion, but no one has all the facts, which is excessively frustrating. I left my door open, partially because I just wanted the breeze to bring in fresh air, and partially because I think I wanted to be found. Mariah did find me, as she was headed to her room and noticed my door was wide open. She just popped in her head and immediately saw on my face that I was not okay. I talked and cried, and then she prayed. It's immensely humbling and rejuvenating to be individually, purposefully prayed for. It's something that we don't necessarily embrace in Westernized Churches back home, but it is an integral part of the Hands family. After that I dried my tears and again went out to attempt to be social with everyone in my intake. After a brief synopsis of my evening, we migrated inside to get away from the mosquitoes. Russell attempted to help me work on a crossword puzzle and Dave showed me some pictures from his travels. Partially because of companionship in general, but also probably partly because I imagine I was a pretty pathetic creature. And it's a well known fact that men are averse to tears. Anyway... we're still a crazy bunch: after that, it was bedtime (surprise!)

This morning was ladies prayer and Jason's death was still weighing heavily on my heart. I waited as everyone else listed their prayer requests. When there was silence, almost immediately as I started speaking, I got emotional. And I cried again. In front off all the ladies here. But it is what it is, and I got loads of hugs. Mel and I had a good discussion, as I was feeling pretty drained already. It wasn't even 9AM and we were still going out to community, which was a pretty daunting combination. I ran up to the boys, Michael and David, to get some caffeine. Then we went into our morning session with Emily. I already felt pretty close to Leyton, as we've been crammed together in a Hands vehicle on more than one occasion, but today it was time to get closer to Russell as we had to cram four people onto a small piece of paper. We had to all have both our feet on the paper, with nothing touching the floor. Like the initiatives course at summer camp. It was a challenge and I could just feel Russell behind me right as he lost his balance. Emily explained that this was a visualization of what we face as we go into home visits in the community, and are preparing for our community stay. If we work together and communicate, we can help each other to balance on the paper. Then we went back to Siyathuthuka for home visits. As I mentioned, I'm going to give a much deeper post on home visits soon, but they are inspiring and heartbreaking at the same time. It is genuinely difficult to wrap my head around everything at once. We went back to the feeding point to play with the children until it was time to leave.

Tonight was our third Foodapalooza: Breakfast for dinner! Emily, Divine, Marc, and the Dutchman (because I don't actually know how to spell his name) were invited to come down from 'upstairs' to join us. Then we discussed the first adult television shows we all watched when we were younger, and we played Apples to Apples. That's an American game, which can be somewhat interesting when it is being played by a diverse group of people who are not familiar with all of the references. And then you guessed it - we stayed in the Village just relaxing until everyone went off to bed. On this particular evening, Alicia and I were the hold outs. I believe Russell was around somewhere on a phone call too, but we were the last to leave the Village. It was nice because I was feeling especially exasperated. I had been working on a different blog entry. I hadn't actually gotten to the point to consider publishing it. I actually started writing it yesterday and it's just been pending. Someone suggested that I ought not to publish it, which is true, and was brought up for valid reasons, but it irked me just the same. I think I'm mostly frustrated because so much has happened in the last two weeks and I'm still processing everything. When I am questioned about something, I cannot automatically formulate the ideal answer I would like to present. I know why I feel the way I feel, and I know the feelings are true, but I cannot articulate all of the details that reinforce my decision. No one has all the facts, yet everyone has an opinion. Seriously. It's exasperating! I am so thankful Alicia is my roommate though. She just has an innate sense of self that impacts how she responds to everything and that I find positively hysterical! I love her mixture of Canadian and Indian sayings. She is also pleased with my assimilation to Canadian vocabulary. She insists I have started to say 'aboot' though I'm pretty sure it's just because I mock Dave when he mocks the Canadians... But Mariah definitely caught me saying 'oh hey!' in a very Canadian accent...so guilty as charged!

Anyway... I should probably go to sleep, but I'd much rather listen to some American music on my iPod while no one can distract me. Over forty people here in the Village and I am the only American... I don't mind listening to other people's music at all, but I would rather sing to songs when I know all the words. Despite all of the pathetic moments and exasperation, today has actually been a satisfactory day. Though, I am not sure this blog will make any sense to the outside world...but nevertheless... To wrap up, I will leave you with three things:

"So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you." - Deuteronomy 31:6

Gotye: just because, I know he's not American, but he's still a keeper!

Beyonce: because she is American, and because Mariah and I rocked out to this song, among others, in the Venture today!

The last 30 hours just feels like they were lived in slow motion, and as if I was looking at myself from the outside at a distance. Painfully aware of my mistakes and shortcomings. Here's to hoping for a better day tomorrow! If nothing else, I do know I am blessed to be born into circumstances much better than the children we serve here. I also know that God is sovereign; that everything will ultimately work to display His glory.

Doubt and Thanks

It has been 18 days since I left home. I got into two different cars, and onto three different planes. I traveled over 8,000 miles. Since I have been here I have traveled even further. Out of my comfort zone and into vulnerable communities. It's been 18 days, but it feels like a lifetime. At certain points, I feel like I have been here so much longer. Other times, I feel as if I just walked off the tarmac. It's only been 18 days, but I don't know that girl anymore.

Since I have been here, I have been cared for, looked after, accepted and loved. I have been listened to and encouraged. I have had moments of panic and worry, questions about logistics and unmatched expectations. I have been terrified, and I have been fearless. I have been radically challenged and empowered. I have been questioned and held accountable. I have been inspired. I have taken risks that pushed me out of my comfort zone. I have been prayerful and cognizant. I have examined and evaluated. I have allowed my life to be affected by everything I have experienced here. I have been called to an intake, full of friendship and so much energy, and the Hands family community, which embraces love above everything, because of and in spite of the diversity here. I have been more honest, open, and truthful. I have been considerate and purposefully kind. But looking back over the last 18 days, I realize it hasn't all been pretty. I have been careless, and harsh. I have had moments of isolation, where I have been closed off and cold. I have asked questions I had no right to ask. I have questioned situations beyond my control, that I had not right to critique in the first place. I have felt apologetic and guilty in situations where it was found to be unnecessary. I have also laughed more, sang more, and been more vocal, obnoxious or otherwise, these last two weeks than I have been in a long time. Ultimately, I have been much happier here than I have been in a long time.

About a month before I came here, a friend from Church posted this quote on facebook:

"There is nothing more dreadful than the habit of doubt. Doubt separates people. It is a poison that disintegrates friendships and breaks up relationships."

Additionally, another good friend from Church gave me a devotional book before I left home. Today's verse is Ephesians 6:10:

"Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power."

The devotional goes on to encourage us to draw near to Christ instead of drawing near to our fears and worries. The first friend I mentioned also posted this gem:

"Every single thing that has ever happened in your life is preparing you for a moment that has yet to come."

I want to thank everyone here for the impacts they have had, knowingly or otherwise, on my life these past two weeks. I'll start off with my intake: I want to thank Mel, Dave, Alicia, Russell, Joe, Mariah, and Leyton: for listening to my never-ending babble, for really listening and questioning, for providing insight and context and answers. For helping me put the puzzle together when I've been looking at the pieces all wrong, and for not thinking less of me while I struggle to figure it out. I want to thank Alicia for putting up with all my crazy hi-jinx. A side effect of being continually challenged to let go of my comfort zone, is that I get loonier by the day! I have laughed so, so much - in situations that aren't even legitimately funny (this also happens to be an African trait so at least I'm on the right continent!) Alicia has let me embrace it, enabled me to begin some really bad sing-a-longs (sorry to everyone else, haha) and asked hard questions without becoming judgmental. And for thinking I'm cool despite the fact that I wake up at the crack of dawn every morning and inevitably disrupt your sleep. I want to thank Dave, Russell, Joe and Leyton for listening to me babble about whatever stupid thing I'm ranting about in the moment. For still listening and talking to me, despite the fact that you know I watch The Bachelor and listen to Hanson, because I know those two elements are outside your normal realm. Except for Leyton! (just kidding!) I want to thank Mel for being Mel. For being calm and collected, and for understanding life here in a context I have yet to really wrap my head around. I want to especially thank Mel for being friendly and gracious in the moments when I haven't made it easy. The moments where I was preoccupied, closed-off, and tired. I'll try to be better, much better in the future.
PS: I should also thank everyone here for allowing me to mimic their vocabulary and accents at any given time. I apologize for butchering any cultural norms, but will probably continue to do so. My hometown is just not this verse in terms of dialect and vocabulary, and being here, living amidst all of this diversity, makes it all the more entertaining

Everyone else at Hands: I want to thank Ashley for having the ability to really listen when I needed to be heard, and for having the right words at the right time. You are such a kind soul that radiates joy in a way that everyone can't help but notice. I want to thank Daytona for listening to my babble along with the other guys, and encouraging my American quirks even when they earn me an eyebrow raise. I want to thank George and Marj for picking me up at the airport, for making me a meal and keeping me awake after I landed, and for being like my parents since I've been here. For Alicia Ralph speaking brutally honest words that pave the way for beauty. For Sophie making us all pancakes. For Chris's humor and unmatched skills as a minstrel. There are so many reasons so many people here deserve thanks, I can't begin to process them all...but know that I am genuinely thankful for you!

Everyone else back home: I want to thank Adrienne, Chelsie, and Kari: you have all listened, questioned, comforted, and advised me throughout the whirl-wind of these last two weeks. Having people who I have known for years, who continue to keep me accountable, and who just 'know' me - what I'm saying, why I'm saying it, and where I'm coming from - is immensely helpful and grounding. You all know the last week has been especially rough, and I cannot express the sense of gratitude I have for you, because you all saw my faults and loved me regardless. For Alan and Erin: for just being kind, providing advice, and loving me through it all, despite knowing situations in different context. And for trusting me to make the right decision, in spite of a history of questionably impulsive behavior. And last but not least, for my Parents: For the questions and concerns you raised to try to understand what we do here and why I wanted to come so badly. For all the help with my fundraisers and telling everyone and anyone you know about my dream for Africa. And for letting me come here, and accepting that I'm not afraid, despite of how much it scared you. Thank you, I love you!

African Mornings

I wake up early every day here. Today I woke up especially early. 3am, how delightful! I have woken up at 4 one morning, but this is the first day I have been up this early. I'm probably just too excited, BECAUSE I'M GOING TO KRUGER PARK TODAY!!! Not everyone is going, so people kept asking me if I was going... Honestly, I'm not even sure why that was a question. So far I have caught a gecko, loads of frogs - including at inopportune moments like when people are trying to skype with their parents, whoops!, a dung beetle, a lizard, some sort of cricket, and an ant. So depending on how much time people have spent with me here, they might know that question doesn't even need to be asked! Here is the website for Kruger Park, and I am definitely taking my camera so hopefully I'll get some good pictures to post for you all. And here is a healthy dose of the 80s, just for good measure, because what else would you listen to when you are up this early before going on Safari: Baltimora! And just in case I wasn't already awake, an alarm somewhere in the valley just went off, so I'm definitely not going back to sleep now!

Just a quick review of our Friday (the 22nd):
First, after breakfast, was Hands on Deck. It's a monthly meeting where we get to find out about projects everyone else is working on, here and abroad. We also said goodbye to Sophie and Chris, who are leaving early Monday after being here six months. I've only had the privilege of spending a few days with them, but you immediately get an idea of just how amazing they are, and the bonds that can be formed here. Then we had a session with Alicia, which was really good. The rest of the morning/afternoon, the six of us (minus Mariah and Mel who were running errands in Nelspruit) enjoyed an afternoon of landscaping. Moving dirt,  trying not to kill grass, seeing lots of critters, including said cricket insects, frogs, spiders - big and small!, and lizard. We took breaks for lunch, and before dinner to relax and cool off a bit. I had leftover curry for dinner. Food expires much faster here, so I need to clean out some leftovers taking up space in my refrigerator. Then we went to Lynn and Jayme's for a quick debrief session, which ending up involving a walk and scaling some rocks. In Africa, it is much harder to be "lady-like". I'm always jumping out of the Venture, or off of rocks...thank goodness for long skirts and leggings!

It's just about time for me to actually get ready now; I hope everyone has a great weekend!.

40 Days of Prayer

February 20th:
We start off our Wednesdays with small group, as always. Then began our day of sessions with Lynn to talk about why we do what we do and how we do it. We had a session in the morning before breaking to go to the Chapel to kick off the 40 Days of Prayer. If you haven't already seen the information on my facebook page or on the Hands website, you can go here to see what it's all about. Praying together here always strikes me because it is always such a contrast from back home. The 40 Days of Prayer is a way to refocus and re-prioritize our energies for the upcoming year. Volunteers often go home for the holidays, if able, so these 40 days are a good reminder of what we have all been blessed with, and why we are here in the first place. After we finished praying for Rimos, you can read his story here, it was time for our lunch break. In the afternoon, we began another session with Lynn. This time we got to display our abilities to interpret how Hands does what it does, with a touch of artistic ability, which I will admit was lacking in my effort. We even got to present our work, it was like being in college all over again... For dinner, most of our intake (6 out of 8) plus a few others staying here in the Village, all made dinner together. We had salad, spaghetti with our choice of sauces, and garlic bread. I generally haven't eaten big meals since I've been here, but it was really nice to share a meal with everyone. Then we went up to the Waspe's house to have a debrief session of our time so far. It happened to be a stormy night here, so naturally the power went out. Half of our intake braved the rain and ran down to the Village. I would have, but I had my camera and my journal with me, so I opted to wait. Especially since I've already had to dry out my backpack and all of its contents once already. Storms last much longer here in South Africa, so as it continued to pour with no sign of letting up, Cat came to get us and drive us down to the Village. Which was great, but when we got to the Village we found out that Sophie and Chris had walked up with umbrellas to get us, so they were just getting soaked in the rain. I really don't think they minded though. Everyone came back and watched the storm on the porch, with our cameras and camcorders of course! Russell, who is like an energizer bunny, went running in the rain storm just for fun. We all sat and talked and enjoyed each others company until the storm was over.

February 21st:
Thursdays are our easy day. We don't have any early morning sessions, so most of the volunteers sleep in while they can. I still wake up roughly the same time everyday without my alarm clock. I woke up at 4, but stayed in bed until 6, catching up on email and a few other things. Later than morning, around 10, we loaded ourselves back into the venture and went off to Bushbuckridge, to the community of Nhluvuko. I'm fairly sure I spelled that correctly, but everyone here just calls it Share. We met with the Care Workers there before being split into groups to do home visits, and of course we made it back in time to play with the kids before it was meal time. Leyton and I went with Melody, Constance, and three other Care Workers. Melody was great. She is very patient with us, answering all our questions and helping us with our Xitsonga. I'm a little better at Siswati than I am at Xitsonga, but learning both languages is definitely outside my normal realm of vocabulary. I will hopefully find some time later to write posts that are a little more specific about the families I have visited here.

When we got back to the Village, it was the second Foodapalooza! This time it was pizza night, and it was a huge success! I think Ashley said we had twice as many people last this time than we did the last time. It's really fun, because the foods we eat are normal for those of use from westernized countries, but are new to most of the people here in Africa. We also had ice cream sundaes for dessert. After dinner it was 'guys night' and 'ladies craft night.' The ladies have been working on stuff for Morgan and Tommy's wedding up at the Waspe's house. I know some of the people were working on table runners last night, which led to some interesting conversation because at least two of the guys here had no idea what a table runner was. The guys watched "The Guardian", which they did admit after the fact wasn't necessarily the most manly movie. I stayed to watch that just because I hadn't seen it before. Alicia and Mariah were around throughout the movie too. It's interesting watching movies with such a diverse group of people, especially Africans - because their opinion of nudity or suggestive scenes is markedly conservative compared to the western world. You probably wouldn't even realize how little you react to a suggestive scene until you're sitting next to someone who has a drastically different reaction. By the time the movie was over, it was after 10, so everyone almost immediately went to bed. Mostly people go to bed early, and wake up early. Some of us earlier than others... I stayed up late just to see if I could sleep in any later, but it didn't work. I was actually up a little earlier than normal, at 5:18, so no go.

Today, most of our intake is staying here in the Village to help Herman with some maintenance work. I think I heard a rumor that it involves digging and or moving bricks... but I'm sure it will be an adventure regardless. Some of the intake will be heading into Nelspruit to take care of things, in terms of visas or phones, etc. And I am very excited because tomorrow we are going to Kruger Park!!! I'm definitely taking my camera, so look for pictures very soon!

I'll also try to post an update soon about income and cost of living for the people in the community here, so you have a better idea of the odds these families are facing as we go through the 40 Days of Prayer. Thanks for taking time to read about the work we're doing here, and as always, thanks for praying!

Week 2

February 18th:

We began our day with our Monday morning prayer meeting, and then our intake went back to Welverdiend. We met up with the care workers and split into groups to do home visits. The group I was in went to four houses, though only three of the families were home to talk to. Then we went back to the feeding point to play some games, catch and a few hand clapping games mostly. Then it was time to serve the meal, and we sat with the children as they ate. We talked to them as they were eating, and then played more games after cleanup from the meal. There was also some weeding in the mix as well, so they can try to get their garden in order. Then we all crammed back into the Venture. We also stopped on our weekly grocery run, so after that, we were literally crammed into the Venture. We had a few good sing-alongs as well. And if people weren't singing with me, I was singing somewhat quietly to myself.

February 19th:

Today was a crazy day! We started off with the ladies prayer meeting, which is always a great way to start the day. Then our intake was off to Senzokuhle. However, when we got there, plans changed. We got back into the Venture and headed to Mandlesive. This center is split into two feeding points. We were at the smaller of the two, that feeds 20 children. We played catch, sang and danced, jumped rope, limbo-ed, and had such a good time with these children. Then we split into groups to walk to children home with their care workers. One of the girls I was walking with taught me the moves to Shakira's 'Waka Waka' so Kristi and I attempted to dance. Emphasis on attempted, but the girls got a laugh at least. We had picked up at extra person at this point, so we were now cramming eight people into the Venture. Two people in the front, four people in the middle row - including yours truly, and four people in the back. To say we were cozy would be an understatement. Then you add in the fact that we had been outside in the full African sun for at least five hours and the Venture does not have air conditioning. And did I mention the roads? I know we all love commenting on the quality of PA roads, but let me tell you, they really aren't that bad. We just do our best to wedge into our seats so we don't continually bump into the people around us, and laugh about it after the fact. For dinner we had the pleasure of going to the Snymans' home. Carolyn made us some traditional Afrikaans dishes and a dessert. The rest of the evening was spent catching up on our studies for small groups, and just relaxing with each other.

Tomorrow we get a break from traveling to the community. We'll be at the Village, starting off our days with small groups and then having a session with Lynn. God is doing amazing things here, thanks for being a part of our adventures!

Community Church

Yesterday we got to experience the Mac Mac pools. They are gorgeous! Naturally, I am not anymore coordinated here in Africa and I slipped on one of the rocks. And in true PA fashion, I cleaned and bandaged myself up only to get a sunburn. Luckily the sunburn mostly faded, so I'm actually nearly as pale as I was before I got any sun, but my scrape is quite the sight... I did get to experience some fun stuff prior to slipping though, and I took some really cool pictures.


Mac Mac Pools!  You can swim under those waterfalls, and I did!

And Dave Bentley, master of the braai, showing us all how it is done. I have to give him credit, he does know what he is doing, and it was delicious. I might not need to eat any meat again for a month, but it was well worth it!

 The view was just incredible!

So anytime you are swimming at a waterfall, it is common knowledge that you are obviously required to jump off said waterfall. So here is our attempt to jump all at once.

Except jumping all at once was a bit too risky, as there are only so many areas you can jump. We tried to stagger, but Dave, Joe and I ended up waiting out the first round. Then as soon as the water cleared we all jumped in, or so we thought... but no worries, we did eventually get Joe to jump in. He even lived to tell about it!

 

 It's us! Everyone in our intake plus Divvy and Ashely, the Village Chief. From left to right: front row is Alicia and Mariah, middle row is Divvy, Dave, Mel, me, back row is Ashley, Russell and Joe. I love this picture of us!

And a picture of the entire crew on our Mac Mac day. Such an amazing, fun group of people!

Today the eight of us got a taste of African worship. We went into Nelspruit to a Kenyan Church. We'll hit several different Churches in the area to see the variety the area has to offer. This particular Church service lasted just under two hours. It was definitely at experience. The minister asked us to go to the front and introduce ourselves so the congregation could know who they were worshiping with, which was a pretty cool experience. The main scripture was 1 Chronicles 14: 8-17 [NIV]:

"When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over all Israel, they went up in full force to search for him, but David heard about it and went out to meet them. Now the Philistines had come and raided the Valley of Rephaim; so David inquired of God: “Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you deliver them into my hands?”
The Lord answered him, “Go, I will deliver them into your hands.”
So David and his men went up to Baal Perazim, and there he defeated them. He said, “As waters break out, God has broken out against my enemies by my hand.” So that place was called Baal Perazim. The Philistines had abandoned their gods there, and David gave orders to burn them in the fire.
Once more the Philistines raided the valley; so David inquired of God again, and God answered him, “Do not go directly after them, but circle around them and attack them in front of the poplar trees. As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the poplar trees, move out to battle, because that will mean God has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army.” So David did as God commanded him, and they struck down the Philistine army, all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.
So David’s fame spread throughout every land, and the Lord made all the nations fear him."

The message was about breakthroughs in our lives. It was definitely cool, and definitely appropriate timing with everything we have experienced on our trip so far. It will definitely be a memorable day. Then we went to do a little more shopping. I got a deck of cards and some post cards, a few of the others got some clothing items. Then we all came back to do laundry or relax, until it was time to get ready for curry night. Everyone in the Village was invited to bring a dish. There was so, so much food and it was all delicious. We'll all sleep well with full stomachs tonight, which is good because tomorrow is going to be another long day. We're headed back to Welverdiend to work in the community there. I should probably look over my language guide. I'm learning I am better at some things than others, and learning African languages is not necessarily one of my better skills...

I hope everyone has enjoyed a relaxing Sunday afternoon. I'm excited to give you more updates about the work we're doing this week. And as always, thanks for praying!

Village Life and Orientation Updates

The Hands at Work HUB is located outside of White River, Mpumalanga in South Africa. It's a small international pocket here in South Africa. Living here are various people from different African Countries, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Australia, a lot of Canadians, and me - the token American.

Life here is simple, but no one seems to mind too much. Long term volunteers and staff have houses "upstairs" but the rest of us live in community with basic dormitory style rooms. Here is a picture of my half of the room. There isn't a whole lot, but when you're living here, you realize you don't need a whole lot. 

And here is a picture of the kitchen, where we make all of our meals, as demonstrated by Dave(UK) and Leyton(AUS)

This is a view of the Village, looking up the front steps.

And if you turn around, you get to look at this. And no, it never gets old!

So those are just a few pictures to capture Village life. If you have facebook, there are more pictures on my profile. The internet here is not as fast as at home, so while I would love to upload millions of pictures for you, that is just not realistic. I'll do my best to post more photos as I take them though!


February 14th:
We spent the morning at the Lowveld Botanical Garden. What an experience! We had a morning theology session with George and some quiet time to have a look around the gardens. There was no question that we were in South Africa because we were quite literally in a jungle. There are also absolutely amazing water falls. You definitely have a sense of how insignificant you are when you're watching the water crash down the rocks with such speed and force. I've traveled around the United States quite a bit and have had the privilege of seeing some amazing views, but this was definitely one of my favorites!

We went back to the Village to eat a late lunch and then attend a tea so we could get to know more of the current people here at the Village. After that we were invited to dinner at the Waspe's house, and we stayed there for another impromptu session with George. Finally we came back to the main Village to work on a skit about our experience so far. We ended up recording a time lapse video instead, but it was great fun.

February 15th:
We spent the morning in the Village. First, we had a session with the whole group, called Digging Deeper, where we showed them our video and then heard a speech George gave while traveling in Canada. It's nice to hear the message that is being presented to the people who aren't here to experience things first hand. It just helps the whole group keep everything in perspective about why we are here, what we are trying to accomplish, and how different people are doing their best to make that happen.

Then we had a lovely session with Carolyn that was all about health here at Hands. All the lovely African things you might imagine... we talked about Malaria, Typhoid, HIV, TB, frogs, snakes, scorpions... but it is really not nearly as bad as you might believe. Life is pretty much normal here. We have access to safe drinking water, so it's all good.

That afternoon we went back to Siyathuthuka with Cat. We had time to do some more home visits, and play with the kids. My Siswati needs some remedial help, but I've got some time to learn some more. We got back to the Village in time to relax and clean up before going to dinner with Lynn and Jamie. They got us our first African pizza! Jamie just returned to South Africa after spending a few weeks at home in Canada, so it was great to get to know her a bit! We had lots of great conversation, and it was just a great evening where we got to unwind after everything we've experienced this week!

Today we are off to the Mac Mac pools, which are supposed to be amazing waterfalls where we can swim. And Dave Bentley is teaching us how to braai, which is basically South African barbeque, so it should be amazing! Hopefully your weekends are relaxing, and thanks for praying!

Ash Wednesday

After our morning session with George, and our afternoon session with Emily, a group of us ate dinner together to celebrate Marj's birthday. We had a collection of great food made my Marj and Jenna. Jenna also made a chocolate cake, complete with chocolate icing made with hot chocolate and topped with fresh blackberries. It doesn't get any better than great food and great conversation!


After dinner, we all went up to the Chapel. Right now, the Chapel is a basic concrete structure that the Hands family is constructing as time and finances permits. It is finished enough to be functional. There are a few embellishments and pictures hanging, but it's pretty bare - but definitely not in a bad way. It just is what it is. It is basic, but it is not distracting. It is empty, but it is not useless. There is just something about having only what you absolutely need: an area that provides an element of shelter, and people willing to praise God with their whole hearts. The evening began with sharing some stories that we were supposed to hear at Monday's prayer meeting, but ran out of time. Once those were wrapped up, we transitioned our focus to Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent. George gave a message, challenging our perceptions as always. We prayed, and then we sang. As we were all singing, we took turns going up to have George place the ashes on our foreheads and bless us. Before and after everyone received their ashes, we all sang worship songs a capella. With volunteers from so many different countries, we know the same songs but to slightly different tunes and harmonies. It sounds like it could be confusing, or even frustrating, but honestly it somehow just works. There was not an extremely large group, but our voices just filled up the Chapel. It was a powerful experience that gave me chills. It was the perfect culmination to a very emotional, very encouraging day.

I realized I haven't shared too much scripture up to this point. Let me assure you, I marked several passages myself before coming here, and Hands has identified many others. I'll start off by sharing the Watchword for 2013:

^"As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace"

 -1 Peter 4:10 [ESV]

There are many verses that are posted in the Village, and referenced frequently, but that is the main verse for this new year. It is a very important verse that highlights the heart of living in community. We must identify our gifts, and use those to serve each other and make our burdens lighter. God brought us all here purposefully, and anyone who has had the privilege to experience life at the Village will agree. The eight of us were meant to come here to be together for however long we are here. We are learning what it means to live in community, but it is so much easier when we are constantly faced with the harsh reality of these lives every day. There is no reason, other than pure chance, that we were born in the first world and these children were born in third world. That is the sobering reality that is always present here.

Orientation: The First Days

So after spending a couple days adjusting to life at the village, we finally were able to go out and experience a bit of life here.

The first day: Monday February 11, 2013
We began our day with a prayer meeting. This was nice because it brings everyone in the local Hands family together, including the people who spend most of their time behind the scenes and we haven't seen as much. It was amazing to have the whole group together in one room. We sang songs in English, and some songs not in English, but everyone sang with so much heart! I wish everyone could experience it, I can't even do it justice by trying to describe it to you! We prayed, listened to stories of the other volunteers and prayed for the children in their stories. What an awesome way to put everything in perspective in our lives here!

Then it was time to get our hands dirty. Dan loaded us into the cars and we headed off to the Clau Clau Service Center. There we listened to Dan explain all the basics about Hands: the Hub, the RST, the SC, the care workers, the HBOs... all stuff that (mostly) meant nothing to me before I can here, and I'm sure means nothing to you. Just know, we have to know it to really know what Hands does. And I'll explain it to you so you can eventually get the best understanding of the organization and what Hands does. We also heard the stories of the care workers. How difficult their lives were, how God completely changed them for the better. Then we went to the community of Siyathuthuka. You can read all you want about the lives of these children, but until you experience it, you can't just 'get it.' We played games with them. I threw a lot of bad passes with a football, along with some poorly aimed kicks to a soccer ball. We also taught the kids to play hopscotch, tic tak toe, and some hand games. They are so adorable, and so full of life! We sang with them, though this was really mostly us watching them sing and being in awe. Fortunate and Cat really got them going with a few songs. We still don't know all the lyrics in Siswati, but we can at least mimic the dances! Then it was time to serve them lunch. At Siyathuthuka they fed 50 children last year and are expanding to 75 children this year. The women made a mixture of white beans, kidney beans, corn and cornmeal mixed in with some chicken stock. It simmers until it is fairly thick, but it smells and looks good. The children love it. These little bodies get heaping plates because, for most of them, it is their only meal of the day. Some of the very little ones had containers so they could take the leftovers home. These little babies are more coordinated with leftovers than most people I know! They are so tiny, holding a heaping plate of food with their left hand and spooning it into their container with their right hand, and they never lose a drop! That's the cruel necessity of life here though. They learn from an early age to be as self sufficient as possible, because their parents might be working or sick, if they have parents at all. Little ones split a plate meant for one between themselves and two friends, because friends become family here. If they have had enough of the water they were drinking, they poor it into the cup of the little one sitting next to them, to make sure that they will have enough. It is encouraging that these babies can be so giving, and heartbreaking that its because they so desperately need to be in order to survive here.

The second day: February 12
The ladies began with a prayer meeting together. We talked about story and the impact that has on our lives. What we want our story to be. This was such a good way to begin my time here with Hands because it really got me thinking. Then Dan was anxiously waiting for us to finish up because we were driving the whole way to Bushbuckridge and Welverdiend. We went to the BBR Service Center and met the care workers there. There was a meeting going on, so we didn't meet all of them and we did not meet the coordinator, but we did a name game with the others who were waiting. Alicia, Dave, and I went with Audrey into the community. Welverdiend is different than Siyathuthuka because Siyathuthuka is closer to the Hub and they get visitors often, while Welverdiend is about a two hour drive away. Those children were so excited to see us! At one point we were walking to a house we were going to spend some time visiting, and these little ones came running after us screaming 'white people, white people!' They also become completely shy once they realize we will stop and talk to them. We eventually made it to the house, and once inside it began raining. We thought we had waited it out, and began to walk back to the service center, but we were wrong. We got absolutely drenched in the storm. It was difficult and amazing. I couldn't see because the rain was washing sunscreen into my eyes - but soon enough it washed it out! I can even describe it. In certain areas the ground remained so firm, and immediately next to it would be an area that was extremely slippery or muddy. I had warned the group that I trip all the time, so Dave was worried I was going to wipe out. And behind Alicia was helping Audrey avoid getting stuck. We had to stop in other house just to get out of the rain. [I did have my passport and yellow-card on me. They were both in my wallet so my passport didn't get too wet, and my yellow-card didn't get wet enough to ruin it. I also had my Bible and notebooks. The notebooks are dried out at this point, my Bible is still getting there...] We made it back to the Service Center and ate in the car with Jo-Anne while we waited for Dan and the last group to get back. They had Micah with them, so it obviously took them longer to make it back with his desire to splash in every puddle! Back at the Service Center we discussed core values and what they meant for us. Then we had some time to play with the children before it was time to leave. The drive was amazing! There are cows and goats everywhere. We also passed a group of baboons on the road. There were two on the side of the road on the way in, but going back there were probably more than twenty of them sitting in the road, it was a crazy sight! We also passed lots of game land. Dan assured Audrey that I would spot an elephant... and if you know Dan, you'll know that's not at all surprising. But I'm afraid that I did not spot any elephants yet.

We made it back to the village for the first Foodapalooza: taco night! The other volunteers had invited some of the people who live 'upstairs' to come eat with us. In fact, they were experiencing tacos for the first time! It's a really unique experience to share something so commonplace for us with someone else who finds it so foreign. After dinner, we discussed our favorite bands when we were 14, though some people had to guess because they haven't been 14 for quite some time. Then it was time to debrief with Tommy and Morgan, discussing what orientation had been like for them, and how things were going on our end. After that, we traded more 'when you were 14...' questions. I know what was on our walls came into discussion at one point. And we all go to sleep pretty early, around 10. That's just life here. I'm up with the sun, by 6AM at the latest, and by the time I get back from a day in the community, I'm already pretty tired.

This morning everyone had small group, and then the eight in our intake went up to the Sanderson Farm with George to share our testimonies. I think everyone in our group will agree with me when I say 'what an experience!' Obviously we feel a special bond with anyone who has had any involvement with Hands at any point, but to experience as a core group...is just priceless. It's something intangible and something that I will never forget! Now we are eating a late lunch before having an afternoon session with Emily. Tonight our intake is divided up and going to dinner with different people throughout the village. Alicia and I are headed up to Tommy's (and soon to be) Morgan's. I'm very excited to get to spend more time with them.

I'm really excited what has happened so far, and what is to come!
Thanks for reading about my journey, and thanks for praying!

Lazy Sunday

Hi Everyone! I hope your Sundays are going well!

Here at the Hands Village, we (the new intakes) had a pretty easy day. Because we've all traveled quite a distance and are still recovering from jet lag [personally, I'm feeling fine. I switched over right away, which probably means I won't be quite so lucky on the trip home...] anyway... we stayed around the Village while everyone else ventured off to various Churches in the area. Marj had mentioned having monkeys in the area. They come to the Village on Sundays because they have learned that everyone leaves to go to Church. They swing in the trees and try to get into the Village kitchen to find food. In the past they have been successful, and have made quite the mess! Well, sure enough a few of us were talking on the deck and the monkeys made their appearance! Joe rushed to close his windows and Mariah tried to get a closer look, followed by Dave and his camera. They were not the best photography subjects, but it was nice to see them, even if briefly. Then Mel, Dave, and I took a walk to the chapel. It is unfinished, with open windows, so it is the favorite spot of the monkeys. They just swing in through the windows and have a grand old time. Then it started to sprinkle, so we headed back because you never know when a sprinkle will turn into an outright downpour!

Then some of us ate a quick lunch, and all of us got ready for our first experience with shopping in South Africa. It's different than in the States, things aren't organized the same. You just have to know where everything is, so we had a few of the current volunteers along to help us if we got stuck. I was finally able to get some coins, I've just had all bills up to this point, so that was exciting! As for the food, there are cupboards and small refrigerators that we all share, mostly two people each. After shopping our van stopped to get ice cream which was an unexpected surprise.

After that it was time for meetings and paperwork, and then we got to make dinners with our fresh groceries. After dinner we relaxed, and played a round of Dutch Blitz. There are lots of Canadians here, and that game was a hit. I had to have a refresher on the game, as I haven't played it for quite a few years, and we had to start from scratch with the volunteers from Australia and the UK. Now some people are playing a game with scrabble pieces, I missed the actual instructions. Others are already in bed. There are so many frogs and lizards here, the frogs especially are active at night.

Russell is finally here! So our intake group is complete! Tomorrow morning we have our first full-group meetings, and head off to our first day of orientation. Things are going to get very busy, very quickly. I'll hopefully be able to post some pictures soon, I was able to pick up batteries at the store today. But, I won't be able to post any pictures from community visits just yet. I'll try to update at least a few times this week to tell you a bit about what we are doing during our time here.

Thanks for praying!

I'M HERE!!!

Hi Everyone!

What a whirlwind! I left my house in Indiana a little after 12pm EST on Wednesday to head to the airport and was in transit until roughly 12pm SA time on Friday. It was definitely an adventure! I had to recheck my bag at every airport. Pittsburgh was obviously easy since I'm so familiar with it. After that I went to JFK where I had a 14hr layover. I think it's the largest airport I've ever been too. After going to baggage claim I had to take the AirTrain to the international terminal, but it was too early to check in. I spent the night in the food court. There were a few other groups there. It was busy, noisy, and very, very bright. Way too much stimulation to sleep! I ended up staying awake the entire night, through check-in, then the last of the layover, and even the first part of the flight. After they fed us 'dinner' at lunchtime for EST they dimmed the lights and put us to sleep so we'd wake up on African time, which was really really nice.

I woke up early as we were flying over Liberia and there was a fantastic lightening storm - of course we were watching it from above the clouds. It lit up the entire horizon on the left side of the plane (I had a window seat) as far as I could see and took us over 10 minutes to fly past. We landed in Johannesburg and had to get to baggage claim, which was interesting because it was not marked as clearly as it would be in American airports. We eventually found it and then rushed off to get our passports stamped. It was a large room with lots of people and no fans, so the air was stagnant and felt muggy. Once that was taken care of we went down towards customs, when I got to that counter they actually directed me to a different counter. Luckily, I just had to follow the stairs and found a bag boy eager to help. It would not have been an enjoyable experience without him! I would have had no idea where to go!  I showed him my boarding pass, he took my checked-bag and starting rushing through the airport. It definitely sped up my time through the airport. The customary tip is 40Rand which is less than $5, so in my opinion it was $5 very well spent! I had some time to relax before my final flight. I brought a filtered water bottle with me that I filled up at airports after passing security, so I took the time to find a fountain and the bathroom. My final airport was Kruger and it was like nothing I have ever seen!  Lots of foliage and probably similar to what you would imagine an African airport to look like.

Two of the Hands volunteers, Marj and George, picked me up and it was so nice getting to spend some one on one time with them. Almost immediately after leaving the airport, we passed a herd of impalas along the side of the road! They tried to point out various things on the way back to the Hands Village, most of which I will probably forget sooner than later. When I made it to the village, the Hands at Work Board was having a meeting, so I met people that aren't normally in South Africa which was exciting. I got set up in my room and had some free time before the other volunteers showed up, Joe from the UK was the only one who arrived before me. There was no power because of a massive storm the night before, so we ate dinner by candlelight in a large group. It was a potluck partly to welcome our intake group, but naturally, a good way to use up some food that would otherwise go bad. We played a game that Kristy taught us until it was late enough to go to bed. I felt okay, but we were all staying up to go to sleep on African time and reset our clocks right away. I slept well and feel rested. The birds here are amazing, and the sun is bright. It's a big contrast from being in Pennsylvania just a few days ago!

Power came back on this morning, but it's a lazy day here. Our orientation doesn't start until Monday. I am still troubleshooting a few things in the meantime. Overall, South Africa is amazing (it looks like I'm living in Jurassic Park, minus the dinosaurs) and everyone is welcoming! I'm using battery power at the moment, but I will hopefully get the power situation figured out and be able to check in again soon! Things are working out, not always as I was expecting, but working out nonetheless. Thanks for praying!


***Edit***
My clock and battery charger aren't rated for the voltage here, but my camcorder, laptop, iPod, and phone charger should be fine. I'll be able to get some batteries when we venture out shopping tomorrow. My roommate is the newest arrival to the Hands base, and now we're only waiting for one more who will show up Sunday evening. We're all settling in and getting more comfortable. It's amazing how a place can be so different yet the same compared to places back home. Orientation starts Monday so it will be a busy, hectic week, but it's amazing hearing each others' stories of how they got here, so I have no doubt that it will be an amazing, difficult, eye-opening, and fun journey for the eight in our intake class! Hopefully since power is back on all of us will get into a rhythm of working with and around each other, internet included.

Of course I had to bring tea with me, and everyone at the village is loving it.
Now it's time for movie night: we're watching the Hunger Games.
I'll try to update you all again soon!!!