Back to Sweet Home: Day 2

Hello!  It’s Morgan writing to you tonight!  It’s midnight and we have had yet another packed day, but something about this place keeps us all going and LAUGHING from sun up to sun down :-).

Those of us that stayed back to help teach at the academy yesterday, along with a few others, headed into Sweet Home this morning.  Kaila, Amber, Natalie, and Chris stayed back this time to step in and teach at the academy and run the after school program. 

Our trip into the township started off with a stop at a Wal-Mart like store to fulfill some of the tangible needs in Sweet Home that the team saw yesterday during their visit.  The after school program and informal school in Sweet Home had virtually no supplies.  So we stocked up on sports equipment, school, and office supplies to take back to them.  Our first stop was to the informal school.  This is where those children from Sweet Home who do not have a birth certificate are able to attend school.  We were able to help them clean up and survey some of the major repairs they need to the building itself.  A huge prayer request would be for the time and resources to make the school building safe and equipped for the teachers and students before they begin next week!   Heather and Erin were able to educate some of the CHEs (Community Health Evangelists) with tools to use in the classroom.  The CHEs are volunteers from townships that have chosen to empower themselves so help their community with the problems they face.  It was really amazing to meet some of them and see how eager they are to make a change in Sweet Home. 

For the next workshop we all headed to the tiny church building in Sweet Home so Adam and Heather could teach on Money Management.  They did and amazing job. I know their knowledge in this area was such a blessing to the CHEs who attended!  Yesterday the team gathered some information from a couple of women who were in need of some help growing their chicken selling business.  Today, they were able to present them with a flyer they created to advertise as well as some supplies for the business.  They were completely overwhelmed and it was really special to see God provide for them through our team.   The rest of us were outside being mobbed by about 30 children!  My highlight of the day was seeing some of the kids we got so close to during the OVC camp running around Sweet Home.  We really just can’t get enough of these kids!   

Tonight, we got to just hang out with the academy students at the bonfire, making S’Mores and worshipping.  Caitlin led us in another beautiful devotional and shared her testimony.  I think I speak for all of us when I say how blessed we have been on this trip by both Caitlin and Steven’s gift for delivering God’s word to the team and the students here these past two weeks!   I think we are all soaking up every second we can spend with these kids in the last couple days we are here.  It is really starting to sink in for all of us that we will be leaving this incredible place so soon.   

Chris Kamalski, the student's pastor at Bridges Academy, led us in a short debrief  to prepare us in out transition back home.  We were able to share our hearts and just pray and encourage one another, which was really special for all of us.  We have grown incredibly close and I can’t begin to describe how many ways I have been blessed by each member of this team.  God truly put us all here together for a reason and I feel like I have gained 14 new family members! 

I can’t wait to see everyone I love back home in a couple days!  Thank you all for your prayers and support and please continue to pray for our last days in the townships as well as our hearts and the academy students hearts as we are all going to have a very difficult time saying out goodbyes Saturday.