MusaweNkosi: Part 2

Part two consists more of our "play time" with the children. 

These three LOVE to pose for cameras. They were cracking Mo and me up because each wanted the centre, so we were mostly getting photos of their shirts because they were too close. But after a while, we got them to cooperate.

We joked and called her "Sheh-beh-meh". She is SUPER animated and spunky. She only speaks Zulu and at one point she heard me asking the girls a couple of times: Is she being mean? (I forget why I was asking this, exactly.) She started repeating what she heard: "A sheh-beh-meh??"

Posing in Craig's specs.

The girls were extremely fascinated with Daniel's hair. It was so funny to watch! I think he enjoyed the free head massage. ;-)

This was our last day; so we took a photo with the children and Dutch team.

This particular house mother grew very dear to my heart. She forced us to really learn simple conversational (greetings) Zulu. She had a tremendous smile and laugh. She reached out to us every day that we came. I love her so much!

The partners in crime.

This is what happens when the boys get a hold of your camera! Daniel actually got some really good photos on his camera. Although I was in charge of his camera, some of the kids would get it from me and take as many shots as they could before I could get it back. Ha!

The little boys dog-piling Lydia.

It blessed my heart seeing my brothers playing with the younger boys. So many older boys and young men invested in my brothers when they were little. Now to see them doing the same, I know, is so glorifying to God and such a witness to me! God is good.

Each day when we laughed, those of who were riding in the bed of the bakki would throw the soccer ball back and forth with the kids as we drove out the gate. Some of the little boys would sprint alongside the car for about 100m too. Good times.

Here is one of the finished products. We taught them to make simple tunics just so they could get an idea of following a pattern. 

We praise God for this opportunity. It went all too fast but we definitely were taught a lot and I know this impacted each of our lives greatly. The Charltons are INCREDIBLE hosts and each day was filled with hearty laughs and deep discussions. I pray that their ministry will be blessed as they continue to glorify God with it. 

"Well... That's all I have to say about that."

MusaweNkosi: Part 1

Top of the morning to ya!

A little over a month ago, Craig, Graham, Mo and I had the privilege of going to Empangeni for two weeks. We were also honoured with the companionship of our new partner-in-crime, Daniel Oliphant, who flew over from Texas to join. I selected 55 photos from our stay that really capture our time there. We learned SO MUCH and we praise God for that opportunity.

 We stayed with an incredible British family - Dr. and Mrs. Charlton. Together, they started an orphanage, MusaweNkosi, which means "God's grace". There, they have 29 children in their care and an incredible staff of house mothers who look after the children every day. 

One of my favorite days was grocery shopping for Musa, which unfortunately I could not find photos of. (I think we were too busy shopping to really snap photos.) Imagine the looks we got when just ONE of our five buggies was filled with 100 loaves of bread!! 

Anyways... Here is part one.

Some of the girls... I believe this was when I was trying to convince them to start dancing again for me. Every now and then, you'd hear music playing and see the girls dancing. They were pretending to be shy when I came to watch. ;-)

Craig, Daniel, and Graham would play soccer every afternoon with these guys when they came home from school.

Lydia is the incredible niece of the Charltons. She spent the last year interning as a nurse in South Africa and her last bit of time serving here at Musa. The kids LOVE her... But after getting to know her, who wouldn't???

Gavin and Elaine were so kind as to take us on a safari about an hour's drive from Empangeni. Daniel had never been; so we were especially excited to take him. Sadly... He never got to see any cats or Elephants (which is REALLY odd). We spent an entire day driving around...

Since we weren't seeing any cats, Gavin proposed that we stop for a picnic lunch... We were sure that would attract some!  Ha ha! ... The whole time, Gavin explained the escape plan if we saw a lion: everyone run BEHIND him or else he would trip us. ;-) 

Spectacular view at the hippo crossing.

The man-bakki.

Twice a week, Mo and I went out to another site with Zelda to a church where she launched a sewing project. These ladies, who were all in their 50s and 60s, could do INCREDIBLE bead work... but none of them were familiar with sewing. It was such a blessing working with these ladies. They had such a great sense of humour and a love for learning.

When we weren't at the other site, Mo and I joined the boys back at Musa where they were painting the buildings for the children.

Lunch time!

It was incredibly awesome when the Dutch team arrived to help paint the exteriors! The job got done so well and so quickly. We came up with a system and worked and laughed together. I love how God works in the hearts of His people all over the world and brings us together like this. Just think... We are all part of the SAME body serving the SAME God and were unaware that God was directing our two teams to the SAME place!!

"Well... That's all I have to say about that."