Rock Harbor South Africa

Andrew Here,

Today was the beginning of our 2nd week in South Africa, a week in which we will be working with Orphaned and Vulnerable Children (OVC) and the sweet-home township. Today began a 3 day camp with the OVC's and many of us saw first hand the hardship these children face and the desire they have for love and attention. For me, it was pretty cool to see the kids light up when you would smile at them or enjoy playing soccer or basketball for an entire afternoon. But was really struck me was how simple things can make one of these kids be happy. I was hanging out in the shed where many of them were playing when I took out a basketball pump to pump up a few of the flat soccer and basketballs. The kids were in such awe of the pump that they began bringing me any flat sports ball they could find. I started allowing the kids to pump up the balls themselves and they just loved it. Who knew a simple basic thing as a basketball pump would bring such fun and joy to their lives.

One thing that has be so evident to me on this trip is the power of prayer. From praying before classes in hope that they will run smoothly to prayers of peace and sleep, God is working in mighty ways in South Africa and I am truly blessed to be a part of His work through this amazing team.

P.S.... GO JETS!!!!!

*~*~*

Thank you all for your continued prayers! I can't express what a HUGE difference they've made! My time here has changed so dramatically since my last post! The next day took a huge upswing which has not wavered since! I'll be happy to fill in all the details of the last few days later, but for now just a quick update on today. The arrival of the OVC kids today was eventful to say the least. One of my new favorite memories of the trip will now be the continuous replay of Edward (I believe a few of you know him) running full speed across the conference room and headbutting an unsuspecting Siobahnne in the behind! Claire and I lost it...classic! We let the kids have a free play time and they loved it! I'm excited to see what the next few days will bring!

...oh and a little shout out for Nicole...something about Seahawks :)

Night Everyone!
Heather

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Siobahnne here.

I'm not sure whether or not to be happy that a lasting memory for most of my teammate will be little Edward, running full speed, head-butting me straight on my tail bone. I was literally in shock as the pain hit, and it hurt to sit afterward!

Let's just chalk that up to taking one for the team, because I'll admit I laughed so hard my stomach hurt.

As stated above, today was our first day of three with the OVC kids. I have to say, I think it's a blessing to have them here at Bridges for the three days rather than trying to run this out of Sweethome. They seem so happy here and so excited to be in a different environment. From the minute they got here it has been sweet chaos.

We started with lunch, then went straight into passing out t-shirts and bracelets, and then I got to start us out with the first episode of The Big God Story. Discussion time was a little interesting, but we're hoping the kids are starting to catch on. The cool part was that they all got to decorate a little draw string bag to take home and they decorated them with scenes from the story today. We saw bags covered in rainbows, creation and Adam and Eve. One of the older boys even recreated one of the pictures we showed on his bag. Such talented kids!

After that, it was just a fun free for all. We played soccer, volleyball, jumped on the trampoline, got dance lessons from a 6 year old (she has serious moves) and essentially just played with the kids doing whatever they wanted. These kids just really wanted our love and attention.

We got high-fives, big hugs, and huge smiles all day long. Everyone learned from my bruised tailbone how to avoid the Edward Head-butting experience, and Edward has actually really done well.

We had an amazing dinner and then watched The Incredibles before working with the CHEs to get the kids to bed. The other ladies and I all went to the girls rooms and got our good nights from the kids and even good night kisses from one particularly precocious little one named Akhona.

Prayer Requests:

...Keep those anti-spider/anti-bug prayers coming please!!!

...Pray for these kiddos. It's so easy to forget where they come from when we remove them from the Sweethome setting, but I had an amazing and long talk with Sisanda today about the conditions over there and why so many kids weren't here for the camp. These kids need God in their lives and people who can act as the body of Christ for them. For at least these few days we can be that body, but I also ask for prayer for others to step into that place after we are gone.

...Pray for these kid's futures. The good news about an OVC program being established in Sweethome is that soon Sweethome kids will be eligible to possibly attend Bridges! Some of the older boys are actually in a school already and we just pray that they stick with it.

...Pray for the team. Some members aren't used to kids this young, and the language and cultural barriers occasionally make things difficult. We pray for patience and love in all circumstances. As always, we could use more rest and prayers for continued health as well.

...***We also have a special prayer request from the church we attended this morning. A older woman, named Diana, from Diep River has been suffering from Cancer. She has more that 6 tumors on her spine alone and many others as well. Tomorrow she fly's to California for prayer before heading to some kind of Christian Cancer treatment center in Mexico to receive more medical treatment and prayer. Tomorrow they are asking folks to fast and prayer. It can be a part of the day or all day, just lift this woman high and pray for healing.

You have all been so wonderfully supportive and we very much appreciate all the prayer and love.

And just in case you're wondering, my tail bone stopped hurting enough that I can sit =p. Definitely feel bruised though. Totally worth it to see his continually smiling face though. Love these kids.