Day 4 – Owls, Dance Parties, & Wild Weather

Hi Everyone! This is Amber J This post is from yesterday. Like Natalie said, the internet connection here isn't the greatest. 

Really quickly – Caitlin would like to wish a very Happy Birthday to Stephen!

            Today was truly a day filled with countless perfect moments. This morning was filled with so much joy! The view outside was something off of a postcard – African mountains & bright green trees soaked in rain. We all made our way into the common room to share our last few moments of silence before the kiddos flocked in. As I walked into the kitchen, I found one of the staff members joyfully belting out “How Great Thou Art”. He didn’t hesitate to continue when he saw me. He just wanted to share the good news.

It was the second day of OVC camp here today at the Academy. For those of you who don’t know what this looks like, there are currently 36 kids from the township of Sweet Home staying here overnight with us for 4 days & 3 nights. Each day, we share breakfast, lunch, & dinnertime with them, filling the rest of the day with crafts, games, story time, & worship. Needless to say, this is has been  & is continuing to be an exhausting but AMAZING adventure.

            First on the agenda was story time. Caitlin, Steven, & Sara told the story of Abraham & his wife. This painted a beautiful picture of family & what it means in our lives. Most of these kids are either orphaned or just don’t have your typical American family structure, so we wanted to share with them that that is more than okay because when you love God, you are a part of His family. We are all brothers & sisters in Christ. This storyline gave me the opportunity to share my testimony. I stood in the front of the room as Sisanda (a CHE from Sweet Home) translated my words into Xhosa. I told these children that although I have a family I love dearly, it is not your typical “mom, dad, brother, sister” household. I shared that because my mom was very sick when I was young, she passed away & that I never knew my dad but this was okay because my family is not limited to a bloodline. In this moment, I could see so much emotion from them. They knew my struggles thoroughly & could understand me completely. In this moment, I felt that the things I have been through finally made sense. God works in such mysterious ways – what if my life was this way because one day in 2014, a child from Sweet Home would finally be able to feel that they are not alone in their experiences? I don’t know the reasons why the things that happen to us do, but I am confident that God works for the good for those who love him & that he has a plan far greater than our own. I trust him wholeheartedly.

            The so called “cherry-on-top” to this experience occurred when I made my way into the craft room a bit later than the others as the kids were making family trees. They were told to write the names of 5 people on cut-outs of their hands that meant the most to them, family or not. A little girl named Sinipha tapped me on the shoulder and held up her family tree which had not only my name on it, but Sara, Natalie, & Erin’s as well. This was a feeling I could never explain in words. I immediately traced my hand & made Sinipha one of my five too. The smile on her face was priceless. Soon enough, all the kids were writing our names on their family trees.

            All in all, the rest of the day was just as great as the beginning. It was so sunny all day that some of us even got sunburned! Soccer games were played (Adam made a goal!), the girls from Sweet Home did some amazing South African dances for us, and a giant musical performance consisting of loud singing & the banging of spatulas against metal trash cans & tables broke out in the kitchen during dinner clean up. We made tie-dye shirts, had a glow stick party, & even did a scavenger hunt.

            There was so much love going around all day that it didn’t seem like anything could possibly go wrong until we were all in the shed being silly & dancing around, when an owl flew out from the ceiling. The kids lost it. There were screams & tears as things were being thrown across the room towards the bird. We were all so confused as to why there was such a strong reaction. Battling absolute chaos, we tried calming them down but nothing was working. It turns out that in the South African culture, owls are told to bring bad luck & are tied to witchcraft. So here we are, thinking that these kids are at the safest place possible in comparison to the place they reside each day – finally away from the gangs, violence, & abuse for a little while – when an owl, something Americans see as harmless, takes that all of that away. Luckily, some of the staff that speak Xhosa were able to calm the kids down by explaining that owls are just another one of God’s beautiful creations. This conversation turned such a horrifying experience into such an incredible God moment!

            The night is winding down now. There was just a bunch of thunder & lightning so Kristin, Kaila, & I made our way outside. We sat on some chairs on a grassy area & reflected on the day. Amongst the crashes & flashes, it even started sprinkling… but we didn’t care. And then it started pouring… so we started dancing! I think they would agree with me that this was the perfect ending to a perfect day.

            Thank you all for your continued love & support! Everyone sends their love. Please continue to keep us in your prayers!

xo,

Amber