Thursday, April 27, 2006

Alive and Kicking...

I am really enjoying my time here and love the bush of africa. The team has been busy every day working with the Waterberg Welfare Society on an AIDS hospice, gardening the grounds and putting in a path for the ambulance. There are tons of kids to play with here in S. Africa so they are working with them in the afternoons, playing games and hanging out. There is also a soup kitchen they volunteer with each wednesday.

The community is building a youth center where children and teens can hang out. It is a place where they can go to get off the streets and hopefully stay out of trouble. They are short on funding, though, so the team is taking part in a "mountain bike challenge" on May 6 to raise money. All in all the team is great.

I spend my days with Avery and have already read all but one of the books I brought with me on the trip! Avery and I have tons of quality time together. Despite Avery's fabulous "tarzan" impressions I do love the "grown-up" conversation I get when the team gets back each night. =)

The animals don't seem as plentiful as they were before, but i have seen ostriches running on the side of the road. That's a crazy site!

Please keep me in your prayers and be praying for the team and the ministry they are doing as well.

Mucho thanks goes out to my longtime pal Karisse who typed this blog out for me. She is wonderful and fabulous. I will be buying her a $100 starbucks card and a car when I return from outreach to show her my appreciation. (This last paragraph is strictly the interpertation of the keyboardist and does not necessarily reflect the thoughts of Heather)

Saturday, April 08, 2006

Welcome to South Africa

Somehow I quickly went from having 8 days until I left to being in South Africa for almost a week now. Crazy how fast time flies. Life was a bit hectic and only really got stressful in the last hour before I left the base because, well, quite frankly, I was still trying to pack and had to take a shower and clean my room and take care of things to be ready for me to leave, along with a whole list of other things. My friend Karisse got great joy out of watching me be a bit stressed at the last minute because she said I was just too calm to be leaving on outreach for 2 months up to that point.

I am used to having internet at my disposal anytime I want, for however long I need it but here you have to use internet cafes, which I am grateful for, but can't say I am a fan of. I am not sure if I will be able to post any pictures while I am here, but if not, I will do a series of them when I get back.

We have been in Johannesburg for the last week. Yesterday, we went to an AIDS home/orphanage. They house adults and children, but we were working with the kids. They say that 85% of the kids in there have AIDS themselves. Some come with their mothers or fathers and then when their parents die, they just live in the home as well. We did dramas and Bible stories and just sat with the kids. I am not in any of the skits so I get the pleasure of sitting with the kids and being able to enjoy the program with them. The second we walked in the gate, a little boy walked up to me and put his arms up for me to hold him....and that is what I did the entire time we were there. We then went over to another area for smaller kids, and again, as soon as I walked in, a little baby boy crawled up to me and held his hand up. I will never complain to hold a baby. Unfortunately, we can't stay forever so when I put him down, he stared weeping...like the "gasping-for-breath" crying. It's so heartbreaking to be in that position because I want to hold him and love him as much as possible and that is what he wants and needs. But there just aren't enough people working in these places to give them the attention and love that they need.

Please be praying for our team as we head north in the country to a small town called Vaalwater on Tuesday. We will be staying in the same place for the rest of the outreach (until the end of May).